LIVE: Mamata to sit on dharna against 'undemocratic' EC campaign ban

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi comes in support of students to cancel the CBSE board exam 2021. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

Haridwar is all set for the second royal bath of Maha Kumbh, which will be held today amid the alarming situation of coronavirus cases in Uttarakhand.

The Delhi High Court today will hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directions to Centre and Delhi Government to remove the age limitations for deciding upon the beneficiaries of Covid-19 vaccination drive.

Election to three Rajya Sabha seats from Kerala falling vacant next month will be held today. As per practice, votes will counted in the evening after conclusion of polling at 4 pm.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

2:17 AM

TMC writes to EC, seeks strict action against BJP leaders for 'inflammatory' remarks

The TMC on Monday urged the Election Commission to take strict action against BJP leaders who allegedly made inflammatory remarks over the Cooch Behar firing incident that claimed the lives of "four unarmed civilians", shortly before the poll panel barred party supremo Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours.
 

In a letter to West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Ariz Aftab, the party said several BJP leaders, including party state Dilip Ghosh, were "instigating" violence with their warnings of more Cooch Behar-like episodes.
 

Amid the polling for the fourth phase of assembly elections on Saturday, four persons were killed in Sitalkuchi area of Cooch Behar when CISF personnel opened fire allegedly after coming under attack from locals who had "attempted to snatch their rifles".
 

Citing the first instance, the letter said, "On April 11, 2021, at a rally in Baranagar, Dilip Ghosh said people have seen what happened at Sitalkuchi and warned that if anyone oversteps boundary, the incident of Sitalkuchi will be repeated. An official complaint has already been lodged with the CEO."
 

The letter, signed by TMC MPs Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Derek O'Brien, also has mention of similar remarks made by BJP leaders Rahul Sinha and Sayantan Basu.
 

9:25 PM

Rajasthan BJP demands deployment of additional central forces for bypolls

The BJP on Monday demanded the deployment of additional central forces in three assembly constituencies in Rajasthan where bypolls will be held on Saturday.
 

A delegation of the opposition party met the additional electoral officer Krishna Kunal and raised the demand, claiming there is a possibility of booth capturing and intimidation of voters by the ruling Congress in the state.
 

The bypolls to Sujangarh (Churu), Sahara (Bhilwara) and Rajsamand assembly seats will be held on April 17.
 

The BJP state media in-charge, Vimal Kataria, said that the demand for deploying additional central forces in all the three constituencies has been made.

Meanwhile, Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari accused the workers of NSUI, the Congress' students wing, of trying to forcibly enter her place of stay in Nathdwara to hold a "gherao".
 

She said the demonstration was not appropriate from a political perspective.
 

“For the last two years, I have travelled across the entire region of the constituency and have been easily accessible in all areas of work. Such kind of a demonstration is not justified even against those leaders who have not been present in the area for a long time,” she said in a statement.
 

In Jaipur, the party wrote to the additional chief electoral officer about the incident and demanded action against the accused.
 

8:36 PM

EC working as BJP wing, black day for democracy: TMC

Shortly after the Election Commission on Monday barred West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC boss Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours, her party claimed that the poll panel was behaving like a "wing of the BJP" and its decision smacks of authoritarianism.

 

Derek O'Brien, the ruling party's Rajya Sabha MP, said it was a black day for India's democracy.

 

"EC stands for Extremely Compromised. April 12 BLACK DAY in our democracy," O'Brien tweeted.

 

"Always knew we were winning Bengal," he added. (PTI)

8:27 PM

LIVE: Mamata to sit on dharna against 'undemocratic' EC campaign ban

8:11 PM

'Factually incorrect': EC responds to Mamata's reply over her appeal for votes along communal lines

It is self-evident from the perusal of all reports that allegations mentioned in your hand-written note are factually incorrect, without any empirical evidence whatsoever and devoid of substance: ECI responds to CM Mamata Banerjee's reply over her appeal for votes along communal lines

7:38 PM

LIVE: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee banned from campaigning for 24 hours

7:28 PM

Sushil Chandra appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner with effect from April 13

7:24 PM

Kumbh Mela: 3.1 million devotees take a dip in Ganga so far

6:27 PM

TMC delegation meets EC over BJP leaders' remarks

6:26 PM

LIVE: CCI approves acquisition of shareholding in Magma by Adar's Rising Sun

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves acquisition of shareholding in Magma Fincorp Limited by Rising Sun Holdings Private Limited and Mr Sanjay Chamria and Mr Mayank Poddar.

 

The proposed combination envisages acquisition of stake in Magma Fincorp Limited (Magma Fincorp) by Rising Sun Holdings Private Limited (Rising Sun) and Mr Sanjay Chamria and Mr Mayank Poddar.

 

Rising Sun is part of Mr Adar Poonawalla’s Rising Sun group of companies. It is present in the financial services sector through its subsidiary, Poonawalla Finance Private Limited, which is a systemically important non-deposit taking non-banking finance company (NBFC). Read full release here

6:15 PM

LIVE: CBI summons Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday over corruption allegations

LIVE: CBI summons Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday over corruption allegations

5:47 PM

LIVE: President Ram Nath Kovind discharged from AIIMS after surgery, says Spokesman

LIVE: President Ram Nath Kovind discharged from AIIMS after surgery, says Spokesman

5:23 PM

Latest News: Oil rises but remains rangebound as Covid-19 cases soar

Oil prices rose on Monday on optimism over a rebound in the US economy as coronavirus vaccinations accelerated and on tensions in the Middle East, though rising Covid-19 cases elsewhere kept a lid on prices.

Brent was up 86 cents, or 1.4 per cent, at $63.81 a barrel by 1121 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) U.S. crude rose 78 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to $60.10. (Reuters)

4:58 PM

Latest News: Byju's raises $455 mn led by Baron Funds as part of $1 bn round

Leading ed-tech company BYJU'S has raised $455 million from investors that include Baron Funds and Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin's B Capital Group, as part of a $1 billion 'Series F' round, the media reported on Monday.

 

Citing government filings by the company, Inc42 reported that existing investors like Silver Lake Management, Owl Ventures, and T. Rowe Price etc are also participating in the round.

 

The latest fund-raising comes after the BYJU'S announced to acquire Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) through a strategic merger. The deal size is also pegged at close to $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the transaction. (IANS)

4:50 PM

Rajasthan: Students of class 6 and 7 to be promoted without exams

Rajasthan: Board of Secondary Education has decided to promote students of Class 6 and 7 in the state without exams