Muslim Air Force men cannot grow beards – Supreme Court

The Supreme Court today upheld service rules and provisions that impose ‘clean shaven’ rules for the Indian Air Force. Dismissing a petition by a Muslim person, the court said the Air Force was well within its authority to lay down the rule prohibiting the sporting of a beard for its personnel. Many organizations, including the […]

Rijiju backtracks on ‘2 cr Bangladeshi immigrants living in India’ claim?

Two weeks after claiming that around 2 cr illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are living in India, minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju seems to be backpedaling on the claim. “There is no confirmed data with regard to number of Bangladeshi citizens illegally residing in the country..” he told the Lok Sabha today, two weeks […]

Jayalalitha’s successor: Crucial meet starts at AIADMK headquarters

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam (All India Anna Dravidian Progressive Party) started a crucial meeting of its top leadership at 6:30 PM today, minutes after the party hurriedly re-hoisted the flag on its headquarters. All the party’s MLA’s are attending the meeting. The decision to lower its flag at around 5:30 pm today […]

Sorrow after Tamil channels say Jayalalitha dead, AIADMK lowers flag

The AIADMK has lowered its flag at its headquarters, setting off a frenzy of sorry in Tamil Nadu as desperate followers of Chief Minister J Jayalalitha broke down in tears. UPDATE: The AIADMK has rehoisted its flag after bringing it down initially. There were wailings and sobbings around the Apollo Hospital in Chennai, where Jayalalitha […]

PM Modi’s official Twitter account gets ambushed by AAP

For long, the Bharatiya Janata Party held the upper hand on Twitter — which — along with comment boards on news websites — forms the ‘wild west’ of political online campaigning in India with large-scale manipulation, ‘fake’ accounts, bullying and targeted attacks. Not to be outdone, the Aam Aadmi Party — or some of its […]

There can be no Equality without Reservations – Ravi Shankar Prasad

Law and Justice minister said that reservations to Dalits and backward communities was essential to ensuring equality of opportunity in government jobs. Delivering a talk on the concepts of freedom and equality in the Indian constitution, Prasad said it was wrong to think that reservations — based on caste and community — was against the […]

Rahul Gandhi seeks Parliamentary probe into ‘leak of information’ ahead of demonetization

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi dismissed charges that the opposition was not speaking in one voice on demonetization and said the entire opposition is united in their demands. Asked whether the opposition parties wanted a roll-back, Gandhi said there were only two demands — one that Modi should speak in Parliament, and the secondly that […]

Congress’ Tiwari compares Modi to Hitler, Mussolini and Gaddafi

Congress Party leader Pramod Tiwari caused a flutter today in the Rajya Sabha after he compared India’s prime minister Narendra Modi to Hitler, Mussolini and Gaddafi, saying that Modi has moved from the company of great leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru to that of well-known dictators with his demonetization drive. “When history is written, and a […]

Praful Patel says Modi has made it difficult to fight elections

Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel said political parties are facing a lot of problems in fighting elections due to the ongoing crack-down on cash by Narendra Modi government. “You know what is going on with fighting elections.. you have also been a treasurer,” Patel said in the Rajya Sabha today, looking at a fellow […]

Apprehensions on Trump to prove wrong: ASSOCHAM

Industry body ASSOCHAM today expressed confidence that apprehensions linked to President Elect Donald Trump of United States “would certainly prove wrong” in the coming days. The industry association said Trump’s sober, very fair sounding and statesman like demeanor promising a fair deal with the rest of the world should indicate an opportunity to take India’s […]

Will currency ban hit non-BJP parties in UP elections?

The currency ban could give the Bharatiya Janata Party an upper hand in the upcoming UP election by denying funding to opposition parties. The Congress has already attacked the move to ban 500 and 1000 rupee notes with effect from midnight today. Since nearly the entire money used to fight elections in India is in […]

Finally, Kerala CM takes a stand on Lawyers vs Media fight

Almost three months after the tussle between various lawyers associations and journalists first hit the headlines, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today took a stand on the issue, urging lawyers to let the media do their job. “The lawyers should realize that they do wrong in blocking journalists from accessing the court premises,” Vijayan said […]

Indian Army conducts ‘surgical strikes’ on Pakistan border

The Indian Army said it conducted ‘surgical strikes’ along infiltration ‘launch points’ along the Indo-Pak border. The action has since ceased, but the Indian army is “fully prepared for any contingency that may arise,” Director General Military Operations (DGMO), Lt Gen Ranbir Singh said. He said several militants have been killed as part of the […]

Jignesh Mevani takes to the Internet to raise cash for Dalit protests

Jignesh Mevani, the young lawyer spearheading the protests against atrocities against Dalits, has launched a campaign to raise Rs 13 lakhs via crowdfunding platform BigGiving. This marks the first time a socio-political movement is trying to use the Internet to generate funds after the stunning success of a similar effort by Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi […]