INDIA

The Election Commission has imposed restrictions on the conduct of exit polls and the publication and dissemination of their results from 7 am on April 19 to 6.30 pm on June 1, an ECI notification read. This move comes in light of the Lok Sabha election and assembly polls taking place in four states. A public notice issued by the Special Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi, Rajesh Kumar, emphasized the Election Commission's notification dated March 28, which prohibits the release of exit polls and any opinion poll results in print, electronic media, or any other dissemination method during this period. The schedule for the General Elections, State Legislative Assemblies (SLA) of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim, along with bye-elections in the SLAs of Bihar, Guja...

Voting is underway amid rain in the Kathua-Udhampur Parliamentary Constituency spread across five districts in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections. Taking off at a slow pace, the voting is expected to increase as the day progresses, said an official. He said that most of the parts in Kathua-Udhampur parliamentary constituency are hilly belts, and due to rains, voters in the beginning are coming less in number to the booths, but the percentage will swell later in the day till 6 pm. The official, however, made it clear that voting will continue after 6 pm only in case there are voters waiting for their turn at the polling station premises. The weatherman has predicted generally cloudy skies with light to moderate rain (light snow over higher reaches) at most places, with thund...

The sub-inspector of the Railway Road police station filed a complaint on Friday alleging that over 100 to 200 people offered Eid Namaz on Thursday on the road. The FIR was lodged based on a complaint filed by Yogesh Kumar, a sub-inspector posted at Railway Road Police Station in the city. The FIR has been filed under sections 143 (Unlawful assembly), 186 (Obstructing public servant), 188 (Disobedience), 283 (Danger or obstruction in a public way), 341 (Wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Yogesh Kumar stated in his complaint, “I was assigned the duty of UP Ramautar Singh at Shahi Eidgah to ensure the safe completion of the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr. I was present there when Eid-ul-Fitr namaz was offered at Shahi Eidgah by the people of the Muslim community. Before of...

Giving a major boost to Bhartiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) ongoing election campaign for Udhampur Parliamentary seat, Prime Minister Narendera Modi Friday said that for the first time in 70 years, J&K will see the Lok Sabha polls where terrorism, stone pelting, bandhs, and Ceasefire Violations (CFVs) are non-issues now. Addressing a mammoth gathering at Udhampur, PM Modi while campaigning for MoS in PMO and BJP’s candidate for Udhampur Lok Sabha seat Dr Jitendera Singh, said that in 1992, he came to Kashmir to unfurl the tri-colour. "And in 2014, I came again with a promise that if people will trust me, I will return the same with interest. I had promised you that I will resolve all issues confronting the people of J&K since the past 70 years and I have fulfilled my promise,” he...

The Allana Group, a prominent Indian exporter of processed beef, donated Rs 2 crore worth of bonds to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Quint reported. The company has also donated electoral bonds worth 5 crores to Shiv Sena. The State Bank of India (SBI) disclosed this information along with the alphanumeric bond numbers on March 21. The Election Commission of India (ECI) subsequently published the electoral bond data on its website. The data revealed that the BJP, having encashed bonds worth ₹6,060 crore from April 12, 2019, to January 24, 2024, benefitted the most from the scheme. Many companies purchased electoral bonds after facing scrutiny from government agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax department, Central Bureau of Investigation, and Goods...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a stern rebuke to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s questioning of the relevance of discussing Kashmir and the abrogation of Article 370 during his speeches. Speaking at a Jaipur campaign rally, Modi emphasized Rajasthan’s significant role in Kashmir. “When I talk about Kashmir in Rajasthan, they ask if Article 370 is removed from Kashmir, then what is the concern of Rajasthan?” Modi was quoted saying, “I just want to tell the Congress… listen with open ears and send my video to your leaders also. Go to the homes of the brave martyrs of Rajasthan. The soil of their villages will speak the story of its connection with Kashmir. Many heroes from Rajasthan have sacrificed their lives on the soil of Kashmir.” He defended his discussion of Ka...

India’s household debt soared to an unprecedented level, accounting for 40 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by December 2023, marking a significant escalation in financial strain. This surge was paralleled by a concerning decline in net financial savings, which dwindled to a meager 5% of GDP during the same period. These findings emerged from a comprehensive research report issued by the reputable financial services firm, Motilal Oswal. Earlier estimates from the Reserve Bank of India had already raised alarms, indicating that households' net financial savings had plummeted to an alarming 5.1% of GDP in the fiscal year 2022-23, representing a 47-year nadir. Despite subsequent revisions showing a slight uptick to 5.3% of GDP, the figures remained distressingly low, pain...

Following allegations by the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Haryana unit that their request to hold two election campaign events in the Kaithal parliamentary constituency was met with a response containing abusive language, the Governor of Haryana took action by suspending Braham Prakash, Sub Divisional Officer (Civil), Kaithal. Deputy Commissioner Prashant Panwar also took swift measures by suspending five individuals suspected of involvement in the incident. A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against the accused parties, as confirmed by Deputy Commissioner Panwar on the social media platform X. He explained, "An incident occurred on April 4, 2024, where the user ID of Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) Kaithal, Parliamentary Constituency (PC) Kurukshetra, was misused by uni...

A latest report released on the health scenario in India indicated a significant growth in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across the nation and said the country was witnessing fastest rise in cancer cases, PTI reported. On average, at least one in three Indians today were pre-diabetic, two in three were pre-hypertensive and one in 10 were depressed, the 4th edition of Apollo Hospitals' flagship Health of Nation Report on World Health Day 2024, said. The report sheds light on the concerning rise of NCDs in India, including cancer, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and mental health issues, all of which significantly impact the nation's overall health, the hospital said in a release in Chennai. Particularly alarming was the escalating incidence of cancer in India co...

Tejasvi Surya, the current Member of Parliament for Bengaluru has declared total assets worth ₹4.10 crore. This represents a remarkable surge of 3150% from the ₹13 lakh he reported during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. On the final day for filing nominations for the initial phase of polls in the state, Surya, know for his remarks against Muslims, submitted his nomination papers for the upcoming general elections. The controversial MP's assets include investments of ₹1.99 crore in mutual funds and over ₹1.79 crore in shares. https://twitter.com/SaketGokhale/status/1776633796248629314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1776633796248629314%7Ctwgr%5Ee1b7bfe266ab25b5d1de88b691049801bff7a080%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmaktoobmedia.com%2Findia%2Fbjp-mp-te...