Raipur, Aug 7 (IANS) Security forces in Chhattisgarh have scored a major breakthrough with the arrest of a top Maoist commander following a prolonged gun-battle in the dense forests of Khursekala, under Madanwada police station in the newly formed Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district, an official said. The arrested Maoist, identified as Shrikant Punem, is a senior member of the DVC (Divisional Committee) and commander of the Aundhi-Mohla Joint Area Committee. He carried a bounty of Rs 8 lakh on…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Thursday unanimously authorised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President J.P. Nadda to select the coalition’s candidate for the Vice Presidential election, scheduled for September 9.The decision was taken during a meeting of the NDA parliamentary party floor leaders, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by senior leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah, and Health Minister Nadda, who is also the Leader o…

Bengaluru, Aug 7 (IANS) The Dharmasthala temple family has approached the Supreme Court challenging the quashing of a restraining order against a YouTube channel accused of telecasting defamatory content related to the mass grave case. The matter is scheduled to be heard on Friday (August 8) by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai, along with Justices S.C. Sharma and K. Vinod Chandran.Harshendra Kumar D., Secretary of the Dharmasthala Temple Institution and brother of BJP Ra…

Chitrakoot, Aug 7 (IANS) Noted Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya spoke to IANS on Thursday on a host of issues, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s questioning of the success of Operation Sindoor, as well as SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav’s repeated utterances on Kathavachaks (narrators of Hindu mythology). Jagadguru Rambhadracharya took a dig at Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi for raising questions on Operation Sindoor and said that his statements are “unfortunate” and “chi…

Kochi, Aug 7 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Thursday stayed further proceedings in an FIR filed against Malayalam actor Shwetha Menon for allegedly appearing in films and advertisements containing obscene content for monetary gain.Justice V.G. Arun, who issued the interim order, observed that there appeared to be prima facie merit in the actor’s contention that due process under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was not followed before the complaint was referred …

Kohima, Aug 7 (IANS) The 5 Tribes Committee on Review of Reservation Policy (CoRRP), which has been agitating in Nagaland for the past several months demanding a review of the state’s job reservation policy, on Thursday rejected the state cabinet decision to constitute a 7-member Job Reservation Commission (JRC). An official statement said that the state cabinet, in its meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, on Wednesday, has approved the constitution of a 7-member JRC, which would be h…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) In a revealing Press conference, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged massive electoral fraud in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment of Karnataka’s Bangalore Central constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and stated that this was happening across the country too. Backed by data collected over six months by a team of over 30-40 people, the senior Congress MP accused the Election Commission (EC) of colluding with the BJ…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and public-private partnerships have incurred a capital expenditure (capex) of more than Rs 96,000 crore during FY 2019-20 to FY 2024-25 on the development, upgradation, and modernisation of airports in the country to keep pace with the growth in air traffic, the Parliament was informed on Thursday.This includes the AAI’s share of more than Rs 25,000 crore and the remaining by private airport developers. The AAI incurs capital expendi…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Manipur Budget for 2025–26, authorising an amount of Rs 30,969,44 (Rs 35,103.90 crore presented in March) amid uproar and “surprised No” from the members of the Opposition who kept on creating din in the House.Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Bill under Article 356.Despite persistent disruptions from opposition benches, the House first cleared the budget and the Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, …

Kolkata, Aug 7 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, used the death anniversary of iconic Nobel laureate as well as Indian poet and writer ‘Gurudev’ Rabindranath Tagore, to reiterate her stance against the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states. In a statement posted on her official X account, Chief Minister Banerjee paid tributes to Rabindranath Tagore and said that the iconic Indian poet and writer continued to be her insp…