PM Modi To Visit Bhutan From March 21–22

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda reach the party headquarters for the core group meeting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that he will be speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh on Wednesday morning. 

At 10:30 AM tomorrow, I will be speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh, a forum which brings together stakeholders from the world of Startups, innovators and upcoming entrepreneurs. India’s strides in the world of Startups has been phenomenal in the last few years.

Anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal on Tuesday directed the CBI to investigate the cash-for-query allegations against Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra and submit findings before it within six months, according to an order.

The ombudsman's directive came while deciding a complaint by BJP Lok Sabha member Nishikant Dubey alleging that Moitra had asked questions in the Lower House of Parliament in exchange for cash and gifts from Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a State visit to Bhutan from March 21-22, 2024. The visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between India and Bhutan and the Government’s emphasis on its Neighbourhood First Policy, the Ministry of External Affairs stated. 

Former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday hit out at the BJP saying, "The names of the candidates of Maha Vikas Aghadi will be announced in a day or two. The candidates who were sent from here as MLAs and MPs betrayed the same people who made them win. Those who left us are spreading rumours that I have left Bala Saheb's ideology. I have not left Hindutva. There is a difference between our Hindutva and BJP's Hindutva. Our Hindutva is nationalist. Spreading hatred against other religions is not our Hindutva."

On Supreme Court's order, NCP leader Anand Paranjpe said, "When the SC assigned the 'Clock' symbol to us, the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) went to the Supreme Court against it. Today the SC assigned the symbol of a man blowing a 'Turha' to the Sharad Pawar faction and the 'Clock' to us. We will use the 'Clock' symbol in the upcoming elections."

In the alleged sexual harassment case of 13 female MBBS students of Delhi Medical Collage, the Directorate of Vigilance writes to the Health Secretary requesting to send the proposal for initiating necessary disciplinary action against the accused professor.

The 'Lathmaar' Holi was on Tuesday celebrated in Uttar Pradesh's Nandgaon as a part of the elaborate Holi festival celebrations. Several devotees gathered in Nandgaon from across the country to celebrate the event.

Special Judge MK Nagpal, hearing Delhi Excise policy case at Rouse Avenue Court, has been transferred to Tis Hazari Court. As per reports, District Judge (Commercial) Kaveri Baweja has been transferred to the Rouse Avenue court and will hear the cases including Delhi Excise policy and others.

The Congress will reach out to people and highlight the failures of the seven BJP MPs in Delhi during their tenures, the party's Delhi unit chief Arvinder Singh Lovely said on Tuesday. The move comes a day after the BJP's seven candidates in Delhi listed their 100-day "priorities", including improving health and education facilities, if elected. "We will go to every Lok Sabha constituency and highlight the failures of the respective BJP MP in the past 10 years," Lovely said at a press conference.

Madhya Pradesh has more than 5.65 crore voters, up from 5.60 crore enrolled at the time of November 2023 assembly elections, across 29 Lok Sabha seats where polling will take place in four phases, a top Election Commission official said on Tuesday. Of the total registered voters, 6.99 lakh are aged 80 or above. Around 3,500 'pink' booths, to be managed exclusively by women government personnel, are expected to be set up in the state, where polling for 29 Lok Sabha seats will be held in four phases -- on April 19, April 26, May 7 and May 13 -- and votes will be counted on June 4. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anupam Rajan told reporters that 5.64 crores voters, including 2.90 crores males, 2.74 crores female and 1,228 third gender electors, are registered in the state.

Two Naxals were killed in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada during a gun battle with the security forces in forest area of Dantewada. According to the reports, during the operation, a large amount of ammunition was also recovered from the forest area.

A tourist vehicle from Tamil Nadu overturned near Adimali in Kerala, leaving 14 people injured and killing three, including a one-year-old child. The condition of two of the injured is critical, says the Kerala Police.

On BJP's mission of '372 for BJP, 400 plus for NDA', AIUDF MLA Dr (Hafiz) Rafiqul Islam said, “I don't think BJP will get those many seats. BJP has no seats in South India, West Bengal, Odisha and several other states. So, this too is a 'jumla' of the BJP. They can't get those many seats.” 

"Had the Opposition fought unitedly, it would have been good. But due to Congress party's arrogance and because it doesn't make sacrifices and can't tolerate regional parties, several of the regional parties have parted ways. They should have contested the election together. But this couldn't happen, it is unfortunate. But BJP's 'jumla' of 370 and 400 will not happen. It will win lesser number of seats than it won the last time."

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday administered oath to Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh after his re-election to the Upper House from Delhi for a second term. He was administered oath in Dhankhar's office in Parliament House in the presence of his mother and father, wife, and son and daughter. "Vice-President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar administered oath to re-elected Member of Rajya Sabha Sanjay Singh ji, in Parliament House today," the vice president's office said in a post on X while sharing pictures of the oath-taking. Singh, who is lodged in Tihar jail, was brought under a security cover, at the order of a local court.

The city police on Tuesday opposed in the Delhi High Court student activist Sharjeel Imam's plea seeking bail in a UAPA case linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 communal riots here. The police relied on the speeches made by Imam to contend that he mobilised persons from the minority community and "propagated" 'chakka jam' as a mode of disruption with "no window for peaceful protest".

Elections to all bar associations in the national capital shall be held on a single day for a uniform tenure of two years, the Delhi High Court ordered on Tuesday. The high court said a candidate cannot contest elections to more than one bar association even if they practise in multiple courts. Delhi has six district courts. "To ensure purity in elections and to curb use of money power, this court prohibits hosting of election parties, printing of posters and erection of hoardings," a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Suresh Kumar Kait said in an order. The bench said the candidates can hold physical and virtual meetings and use WhatsApp or other social media to propagate their ideas for improvements they propose to bring about in the interest of the legal fraternity.

Hitting out at Congress and the party leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said, "The Congress Party has deviated from its original essence. It is now led by divisive and narrow-minded ideologies, including anti-Hindu sentiments. Rahul Gandhi's explicit statement, 'Hindu dharm mein Shakti shabd hota hai, hum Shakti se lad rhe hain", raises concerns. 

Further questioning Rahul Gandhi, the BJP leader said, "Do you, Rahul Gandhi, possess the audacity to speak disparagingly about the fundamental principles of other faiths? This selective targeting is unjustifiable. Why do you consistently engage in such behavior?"

The Nayab Singh Saini government in Haryana carried out the first cabinet expansion on Tuesday by inducting eight MLAs as ministers. Saini and five ministers took oath last week. Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers at the Raj Bhavan here. BJP MLA from Hisar Kamal Gupta was the first one to be administered oath as cabinet minister.

The Delhi High Court was informed on Tuesday that the Manipur government is in favour of having centres outside the troubled north-eastern state for holding civil services preliminary examination for aspirants of Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts. The counsel appearing for the Manipur government told the court, which was hearing a plea seeking setting up of additional examination centres for civil services and Indian Forest Service aspirants, that the state's chief secretary has said the government would provide monetary assistance to these aspirants for their travel to centres outside the state which is in the grip of a protracted ethnic strife.

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over electoral bonds scheme, and dared it to disclose the details of funds it received through this exercise.

He was addressing a public meeting at Umarkhed in Maharashtra's Yavatmal district.

"BJP should declare the funds it collected under the electoral bonds scheme. My party Shiv Sena (UBT) will also declare the funds. Shiv Sena (UBT) also got electoral bonds, but it did not receive these donations by scaring the donors of the Enforcement Directorate or through grant of favours to them," Thackeray said.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said he was mocked for his 2019 assembly poll campaign punchline "I will be back" but asserted he returned to power after breaking two parties, a reference to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini carries out first cabinet expansion, BJP MLA Kamal Gupta takes oath as minister.

Two Naxalites, including a woman, were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Tuesday, police said.

The gunfight occurred in the morning in a forest near the villages of Purangel and Gampur under the Kirandul police station area, where a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai said.

The operation was launched based on inputs about the presence of armed Naxalites in the area, he said.

Personnel from the District Reserve Guard, Bastar Fighters, both units of the state police, and the Central Reserve Police Force's 111th, 230th, and 231st battalions, were part of the operation, the official said.

After the exchange of fire stopped, the bodies of a male and female Naxalite were recovered from the scene along with two weapons, some explosives, and other items, he said.

 The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Sharad Pawar faction to use 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' as its name for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the country.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan also permitted the NCP bloc led by the veteran politician to use as its symbol 'man blowing turha' (a traditional trumpet also known as tutari).

The bench passed the order on a plea by the Sharad Pawar group seeking to restrain the Ajit Pawar faction from using the 'clock' symbol for the polls, as allotted by the Election Commission, on the ground that it is disrupting the level playing field.

The NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar, had 'clock' as its election symbol before its split. The symbol is now with the Ajit Pawar faction.

The bench directed the Election Commission and State Election Commission (SEC) to recognise the 'Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar' and its symbol 'man blowing turha'.

Thunderstorms and lightning with gusty winds and light to moderate rain are very likely to occur over most districts of West Bengal during the next few days, the Met department said on Tuesday.

Rain and thunderstorms could occur due to the presence of a cyclonic circulation over northwest Uttar Pradesh and a trough from Jharkhand to south Assam, with strong moisture incursion from Bay of Bengal, from March 19 to March 23, it said.

The weather system is very likely to cause thunderstorms with lightning and light to moderate rain in the north Bengal districts from March 19-23 and in south Bengal from March 19-21, the department said in a special bulletin.

In south Bengal, gusty wind speed is likely to reach 40-50 kmph at one or two places on March 20, and it will be around 30-40 kmph on March 21 at one or two places in all districts in the southern part of the state.

Wind speed is expected to reach 30-40 kmph at one or two places in most districts of north Bengal from March 19-23, the bulletin added. 

Hitting out at the BJP, the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday asked if the 'Modi ki guarantee' slogan meant capturing of institutions by the ruling party and claimed the prime minister has "never" kept his poll promises.

At a press conference here, TMC's Sagarika Ghose and Babul Supriyo also questioned the Election Commission's directions on the removal of officials and said the poll panel should ensure all parties get a level playing field.

"The hollow nature of Modi ki guarantee is clear, there is nothing real about it," Ghose said.

"Modi is not a prime minister, but an election minister. He makes promises at the time of election, but never keeps them. What is Modi ki guarantee? The manner in which officers in Bengal are being changed and institutions are being captured, is that Modi ki guarantee?" she said.

Supriyo raised concerns over the staggered Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, where polling will be held in all seven phases.

"The way elections are being held, DGP was transferred, what does it indicate? It has been seen that when voting goes on for a long time, people lose interest and there is less voting in the later phases. If you see the election schedule, you will see there is a pattern," Supriyo said, adding the EC should ensure a level playing field for all parties.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) yesterday traced and arrested a key absconding member of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) for the 2022 gruesome murder of RSS leader Srinivasan in Kerala.

Hours after BJP MP Tejasvi Surya led protests in solidarity of trader assaulted over playing ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ during ‘Azan’, Congress sought Election Commission action against BJP leader including Tejasvi Surya for raising communal slogans during Model Code of Conduct ahead of Lok Sabha polls. 

Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi takes cognizance on Enforcement Directorate's Prosecution Complaint (Chargesheet) filed against Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and others in a money laundering case connected with Chinese Visa case. While taking cognizance, the court issued summons to all accused named in the chargesheet including Congress leader Karti Chidambaram. The court directed all the accused to appear before the court on April 5, 2024. 

Nagaland: Major fire erupted at Kohima's Kitsubozou area; operation to douse fire is underway. 

"If something serious had happened to me in the incident that happened on Sunday, who would have been answerable? It feels good that people have come here to support me...," says the shopkeeper who was attacked by a group of over five men for playing devotional songs in Bengaluru.

The authorities have imposed Section 144 in Bengaluru amid protest by BJP leaders against the assault on Bengaluru shopkeeper. 
 

The Bengaluru Police arrived at the Siddanna Layout, in Bengaluru and detained the protestors who are voicing against the physical assault on a shopkeeper for playing ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ during 'Azaan' time.

BJP leader staged a massive protest in Bengaluru after an altercation occurred between a group of people and a shopkeeper during 'Azaan' time. The altercation occurred on Sunday (17.03.24) when a shopkeeper played devotional songs near Siddanna Layout, in Bengaluru.

On the arrest of YouTuber and Bigg Boss OTT 2 winner Elvish Yadav, DCP Noida Vidya Sagar Mishra says "We are observing the entire video footage and investigating the role of each person. All the persons whose names come forward will be interrogated. There are many videos available on YouTube and we are investigating this as well..."

Delhi's Rouse Avenue court extended the judicial custody of Manish Sisodia till April 6, the next date of hearing.

BRS MLC K Kavitha withdraws plea from Supreme Court challenging ED summons in Delhi excise irregularities case in view of her arrest.

CP Radhakrishnan, Governor of Jharkhand will discharge the functions of the Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry in addition to his duties until regular arrangements are made.

The above appointment will take effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.

Telangana: Ahead of Lok Sabha elections, as part of vehicle checking, Nalgonda police seized gold worth Rs 5.73 crores under Miryalguda 1 Town police station limits. The gold was being transported from Miryalguda to Khammam in a vehicle. Further details awaited, said Sudhakar, Station House Officer, Miryalguda 1 Town PS. 

A fire broke out at Agra's Sindhi market area in the wee hours of Tuesday. Fire tenders at the spot. More details are awaited.

SC to hear pleas of BRS leader K Kavitha, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee and others challenging various provisions of PMLA.