Two personnel from 128 Battalion of CRPF lost their lives and two colleagues were wounded in an attack by unidentified militants at 12.15am Saturday in Manipur’s Bishnupur district. This was the first attack on a Central Armed Police Force deployed for peacekeeping duties in the state since the ethnic conflict began in May last year.
Stoking the suspense further on Amethi and Rae Bareli candidatures, Congress on Saturday left it to party president Mallikarjun Kharge to decide on the nominees, amid another strong demand that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra contest from the twin seats identified with the Gandhi family. Congress has announced all its 17 candidates from UP, barring Amethi and Rae Bareli.
PM Modi alleged at a campaign rally in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, on Saturday that Congress wants to extend the “Karnataka model” of offering reservation to all Muslims in the country by “planning a dacoity on 27% OBC quota”, and that it “plans to change the Constitution for this appeasement”. Later, addressing a rally in Sancoale, South Goa, Modi said “the Constitution holds no significance” for Congress.
Voter turnout in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election reached 66.7%, as of Saturday evening, for 88 constituencies that went to the polls. There’s possibility of a slight increase as the Election Commission receives more reports from states. The turnout until late Friday night was approximately 64.7%. The overall turnout was 69.4% in 2019 in 81 of these seats.
Accusing the Centre of “misusing” Enforcement Directorate to “crush” its political opponents ahead of the parliamentary elections, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has told Supreme Court that his arrest was illegal, arbitrary and an unprecedented assault on the tenets of democracy based on free and fair elections and federalism. CM said ED was acting with “malicious intent” against him in a gross affront to due process of law.
Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav criticizes BJP's shift from '400 paar' to '400 haar' slogan, emphasizes on Constitution, reservation policies and promises of free wheat, data for Kannauj Lok Sabha seat.
The Indian National Congress on Saturday disagreed and took action against Union Minister Anurag Thakur's claims about the «distribution of property to Muslims, » by taking it to the Election Commission of India. Thakur during a public rally in Himachal Pradesh said, «You have to decide whether the children's property should remain with them or should it go to Muslims.»
Indian Railways is gearing up to commence trial runs of short-distance Vande Metro trains in July, alongside the launch of the sleeper version of Vande Bharat next month. The Vande Metro trains are slated to operate on routes spanning 100-250 kilometers, while the Vande Bharat Sleeper trains will be designated for routes exceeding 1,000 kilometers. Officials indicate that the Vande Metro trains will establish connections across approximately 124 cities.
In Bardhaman-Durgapur, Dilip Ghosh faces TMC's Kirti Azad and Left-Congress' Sukriti Ghoshal. The battleground saw S S Ahluwalia's win in 2019. The election promises a three-cornered fight, highlighting unemployment and agrarian crisis.
TMC raised concerns over the CBI raid during Phase II polling, suspecting BJP-CBI collusion in arms recovery at Sandeshkhali. TMC wrote a letter to EC to raise a complaint against CBI raids and also alleged weapon planting and targeting by Modi in West Bengal elections. TMC also claimed that they wanted to tarnish TMC's image.
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently investigating products from spice manufacturers MDH and Everest following Hong Kong's decision to halt sales of certain items due to the alleged presence of high levels of a carcinogenic pesticide. Earlier this month, Hong Kong suspended the sale of three MDH spice blends and an Everest spice mix for fish curries.
Yemen's Houthis attacked the Andromeda Star oil tanker in the Red sea en route from Russia to India. The vessel, involved in Russian trade, reported damages. The incident raises concerns about the Middle East stability.
In its bid to ensure more availability of onion when supply dips, govt has decided to irradiate 5,000 tonne of the key kitchen item this year, which will improve shelf-life and reduce storage losses. Last year as a pilot 1,200 tonne of onion was irradiated using gamma rays in line with the protocol developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
TDP leader focuses on rebuilding Andhra Pradesh by contesting elections, targeting Jagan Mohan Reddy, and forming alliances with BJP. Emphasis on job creation, financial aid, and fulfilling promises to tackle public debt and governance issues.
Congress on Friday said PM Modi and BJP chief JP Nadda were resorting to polarisation as they were fearful of losing Lok Sabha elections. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Nadda presented former PM Manmohan Singh’s comments in a wrong context. The party’s reaction came after Nadda claimed that Congress intended to snatch the rights of SCs, STs and OBCs to benefit Muslims.
As part of its overall policy to bolster bilateral defense-strategic cooperation, Germany has speeded up clearances and simplified the licensing regime for military sales to India, which include lifting restrictions on the sale of small arms and their spare parts. German govt, for instance, recently approved a request by the NSG to buy spare parts and accessories for its MP5 submachine guns, sources said Friday.
