LIVE: Council of ministers brainstorms over 'Viksit Bharat 2047' plan

From former Health Minister Harsh Vardhan announcing retirement from politics to CBI filing charge sheet against 7 in Manipur in armoury loot case, catch all the updates here

Council of Ministers brainstorms on vision document for 'Viksit Bharat 2047', detailed action plan for next five years: Govt sources.

At Council of Ministers meeting, 100-day agenda also worked upon for quick implementation after formation of new govt: Sources.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday claimed that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre was neglecting 73 per cent of the country's population, which belongs to marginalised sections of the society.

Addressing the 'Jan Vishwas Rally' organised by the RJD here, Gandhi, in an apparent reference to the BJP, alleged that "one party" was trying to create hatred among people but "we are offering 'nafrat ke bazaar mein mohabbat' (love in the market of hatred)".

He alleged that injustice is being meted out to farmers, youths and downtrodden in the country.

Former Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has announced his retirement from politics today. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, the former minister wrote, "After over thirty years of a glorious electoral career, during which I won all the five assembly and two parliamentary elections that I fought with exemplary margins, and held a multitude of prestigious positions in the party organisation and the governments at the state and centre I finally bow out to return to my roots"

Officials said that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet against seven accused in connection with the looting of arms and ammunition from the Bishnupur police armoury during the Manipur ethnic violence last year. The agency recently filed its charge sheet before the court of chief judicial magistrate in Kamrup (Metro) in Assam's Guwahati.

On Saturday, Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren claimed that if the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) will not be defeated in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, it will loot tribal lands and uproot the people from forests and coal-bearing areas. He further stated that the BJP-led government at the Centre tried to amend various laws that protect tribal rights, however, the coalition government in the state will protest against such attempts.

Ahead of the United States Presidential elections, which are scheduled to be held in November this year, former President Donald Trump is continuing with his march toward GOP nomination. Trump won Idaho and Missouri caucuses and has swept the delegate haul at a party convention in Michigan. On Saturday, he earned every delegate at stake, which brought his count to 244 as compared to 24 for Nikki Haley, the former United Nations Ambassador.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday claimed that in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) will win all 29 constituencies in the state. Singh, who is nominated from Vidisha seat, further added, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the heart of the people of Madhya Pradesh. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win all 29 seats. We all will contest jointly," he told reporters at his residence.

9:53 PM

Lok Sabha elections: BJP seeks to woo farmers, poor under GYAN campaign in UP, increase vote count

The BJP in Uttar Pradesh will be seeking to increase its vote count through its campaign GYAN Ghareeb, Youth, Annadata, Nari by taking its work among the young, poor and farmers, and women. The campaign has been forged in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to party workers in the state to increase the vote count in each booth by 370 votes a cue to remind people that it was the BJP government which enabled the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Modi had earlier in February claimed that BJP will cross the 400-mark in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

9:18 PM

Lok Sabha elections: AIADMK slams BJP for 'hijacking' its icons MGR, Jayalalithaa

Tamil Nadu's main opposition AIADMK on Sunday condemned the BJP for its "cheap politics" of "appropriating" its late leaders, M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa. When asked about the reported use of images of MGR and Jayalalithaa by the Puducherry unit of the BJP in its campaign on social media, senior AIADMK leader D Jayakumar said his party leaders in the union territory have already condemned it. Appropriation of AIADMK stalwarts is "cheap politics and this is condemnable", he told reporters.

8:21 PM

Lok Sabha elections: Ex-Gujarat Dy CM Nitin Patel opts out of race for Mehsana Lok Sabha constituency

Former Gujarat deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Patel on Sunday said he has withdrawn his claim to contest from Mehsana Lok Sabha seat. Patel didn't assign any reason for this decision, which he announced on social media, even as the BJP is yet to officially announce the contestant from Mehsana. In a post on social media, Patel said he had staked a claim for Mehsana seat and requested the party to field him as its nominee.

7:49 PM

Lok Sabha elections: Centre govt suffering from 'anti-Punjab' syndrome, says Arvind Kejriwal

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday alleged that the Centre is suffering from "anti-Punjab" syndrome and asked the people to punish it in the coming Lok Sabha polls. He also appealed to the people of Punjab to make his party victorious on all 13 seats.

6:50 PM

Delhi Chalo protest: Farmers plan to march to Delhi on Wednesday as demands for higher crop prices

Farmers plan to march to the capital New Delhi on Wednesday as they push their demands for higher crop prices, a protest leader said, after several rounds of failed talks. Farm union leaders are seeking guarantees of state support or a minimum purchase price for farmers' produce. "On March 6, farmers will come to Delhi from all over the country by train, bus and air," protest leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal told reporters.

6:27 PM

BJP's Asansol candidate Pawan Singh steps aside from Lok Sabha contest, TMC mocks decision

Bhojpuri singer-actor Pawan Singh withdrew from the Lok Sabha poll contest from the Asansol seat in West Bengal on Sunday, a day after the BJP named him as its candidate from the constituency currently represented by the TMC's Shatrughan Sinha. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) was quick to mock the BJP by saying it surrendered the seat even before the commencement of the election campaign. In a post on X, Singh thanked the BJP leadership for his candidature but added that he would not be able to contest from Asansol "due to some reason".

5:59 PM

Pakistan's new PM Shehbaz Sharif vows to revive ailing economy; to secure G20 membership by 2030

Pakistan's newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday vowed to do a "deep surgery" and bring changes in the system to bring the cash-strapped country out of the alarming debt crisis and secure G20 membership by 2030. Shehbaz, who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), became the Prime Minister on Sunday for a second time after receiving 201 votes in the 336-member Parliament.

5:00 PM

Congress defectors are beneficiaries of 'washing machine': Jairam Ramesh

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday used the "washing machine" analogy to target the leaders who have quit the Grand Old Party and joined the ruling BJP, a remark coming amid allegations that the turncoats get protection in pending cases. Ramesh also said Rahul Gandhi has talked about five "nyay" guarantees targeting farmers, youth, women, and labourers during the last 50 days of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

3:36 PM

Shehbaz Sharif becomes Pakistan's Prime Minister for a second time

Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday became the prime minister of Pakistan for a second time to lead a coalition government after he comfortably won a majority in the newly-elected Parliament amidst sloganeering by the Opposition. Shehbaz, 72, who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), received 201 votes, 32 more than what was required to become leader of the House in the 336-member Parliament. Shehbaz's challenger Omar Ayub Khan of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secured 92 votes.

2:41 PM

Shehbaz Sharif becomes Pakistan's Prime Minister for a second time

Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday became the prime minister of Pakistan for a second time to lead a coalition government after he comfortably won a majority in the newly-elected Parliament.

Shehbaz, 72, who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), received 201 votes in the 336-member house.

2:16 PM

Former Health Minister Harsh Vardhan retires from politics

Harsh Vardhan, former health minister announces retirement from politics just months ahead of Lok Sabha polls. Taking to X, he wrote, "After over thirty years of a glorious electoral career, during which I won all the five assembly and two parliamentary elections that I fought with exemplary margins, and held a multitude of prestigious positions in the party organisation and the governments at the state and centre I finally bow out to return to my roots"

 

"Service to mankind was my motto when I joined MBBS in GSVM Medical College, Kanpur fifty years back with a desire to help the poor and needy. A swayamsewak at heart, I have always been an ardent admirer of Deen Dayal Upadhyay ji’s Antodaya philosophy of striving to serve the last man in the queue. It was at the insistence of the then RSS leadership that I jumped into the electoral fray. They could convince me only because for me politics meant opportunity to fight our three main enemies - poverty, disease and ignorance", he further wrote. 

1:53 PM

J&K L-G Sinha hands over appointment letters, allotment orders of land measuring one Kanal each

Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha handed over appointment letters and allotment orders of land measuring one Kanal each, to the Next of Kin (NoK) of three civilians who had lost their lives in Poonch. He assured them of all possible support from the J&K Administration.

 

1:37 PM

Pakistan to take up resolution seeking permanent ban on social media sites

Amidst serious concerns over the continued disruption of the social media platform X in Pakistan for over a fortnight now, a member of the Senate has demanded a permanent ban on all social media due to its negative impact on the younger generation.

Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi, who was recently expelled by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) after he moved a resolution seeking the delaying of the February 8 polls, in the resolution called for a complete ban on all social media platforms, deeming them detrimental to the future of the young generation, Dawn News reported.

12:48 PM

PM Modi to inaugurate Howrah Maidan-Esplanade, two other sections of Kolkata Metro next week

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will next week inaugurate the much-awaited Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section of the Kolkata Metro, a government release said on Sunday.

 

The PM will also inaugurate the Kavi Subhash-Hemanta Mukhopadhyay and the Taratala-Majerhat metro sections, it said. Modi is scheduled to visit Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar from March 4-6, the release said.

12:29 PM

Spending on paan, tobacco, intoxicants increased in last one decade: Govt survey

Consumption of paan, tobacco and other intoxicants has increased with people spending a bigger portion of their income on such products in the last 10 years, according to a survey.

The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23, released last week, revealed that the expenditure on paan, tobacco and intoxicants as a portion of total household spending has increased in rural as well as urban areas.