Highlights: For 60 yrs, Cong could not find a tribal who could be country's President, says PM Modi

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Lok Sabha polls 2024: BJP committed towards welfare of poor, works honestly, but Congress sells fear, hunger and corruption in its shop, said PM Modi in Banswara, Rajasthan on Sunday. He further alleged that for 60 years Congress was unable to find a single tribal person who could become the country's President. 

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is set to address the party's rally in Satna in Madhya Pradesh today as senior leader Rahul Gandhi is unwell. 'Rahul Gandhi is not well so Kharge will address the Satna meeting for party candidate Siddharth Kushwaha,' party's state unit chief Jitu Patwari said. Kushwaha is up against the ruling BJP's Ganesh Singh, who has been MP from the seat since 2004. Voting in Satna will take place on April 26.

At least 10 personnel of the Madhya Pradesh police were injured when a bus ferrying them for Lok Sabha poll duty overturned in Bastar, Chhattisgarh today. The incident took place near Raikot village on Geedam-Jagdalpur road under Geedam police station limits, the official said. After the poll duty in Bastar Lok Sabha seat, where voting was held on April 19, the security personnel were heading from Faraspal (Dantewada) to Gariband in Mahasamund parliamentary constituency which will go to polls on April 26. 'The bus, with 36 personnel from the Madhya Pradesh police onboard, skidded off the road when its driver took a turn in order to save a cattle which suddenly arrived there and the vehicle overturned,' a senior official said.

The provisional figures of direct tax collections for the Financial Year (FY) 2023-24 indicate that net collections stand at Rs. 19.58 trillion, compared to Rs. 16.64 trillion in the previous financial year (FY) 2022-23, marking a significant increase of 17.70 per cent.

The Budget Estimates (BE) for direct tax revenue in the Union Budget for FY 2023-24 were initially set at Rs. 18.23 trillion. However, they were later revised, and the Revised Estimates (RE) were fixed at Rs. 19.45 trillion. The provisional Direct Tax collections (net of the refunds) have surpassed the BE by 7.40 per cent and RE by 0.67 per cent.

Lok Sabha polls: Ahead of the remaining six phases of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, the constituent parties of the INDIA alliance are gearing up for a massive show of strength at the Ulgulan rally scheduled today in Ranchi. While the first phase of polling concluded on April 19, Jharkhand is set to begin its four-phased election from May 13. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife, Sunita Kejriwal is also expected to particiapte in the mega rally organisied by the opposition parties.

On Saturday, the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives passed the first in a series of bills as part of a $95 billion legislative package. This package aims to provide security assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, despite objections from party hardliners. The Senate, which is currently majority Democratic, passed a similar measure over two months ago. Leaders from both parties, including Democratic President Joe Biden and top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, have been urging embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring it up for a vote. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US lawmakers after they voted in favour of aid packages for their countries.
 

9:24 PM

President Muizzu-led People's National Congress poised to win parliamentary elections in Maldives: Report

President Muizzu-led People's National Congress poised to win parliamentary elections in Maldives, claims media report.

8:59 PM

INDIA bloc rally: Lord Ram belongs to everyone, not only Hindus, says Farooq Abdullah

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said on Sunday that Lord Ram belongs to everyone, not only Hindus. Abdullah was addressing the opposition INDIA bloc's ‘Ulgulan Naya Maharally' in Ranchi. Without naming any party, he said, “They are selling Lord Ram, claiming that they brought him. They do not know Lord Ram. He does not belong to Hindus alone but to the world. Ram is for everyone. But they have made Ram their own, claiming He is only theirs.” Attacking the saffron party, Abdullah said that it got scared of the popularity of former chief minister Hemant Soren and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. “They were put behind the bar without any fault,” he said. Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. He is lodged in Tihar jail.

7:50 PM

Congress approaches Press Council of India seeking action against CPI(M) mouthpiece

The Congress in Kerala on Saturday lodged a complaint with the Press Council of India (PCI) against the ruling CPI(M)'s mouthpiece in the state for allegedly publishing fake news about its leaders. The Congress alleged that the CPI(M) mouthpiece carried an article on April 18 accusing it of carrying out an obscene campaign against Left candidates. A caricature, published along with the report, features photos of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President, Leader of Opposition in Kerala, UDF Candidate of Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency, and others holding a digital device, indicating that they were spreading "extremely derogatory morphed porn videos", it alleged. The complaint was lodged by Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan.

7:28 PM

Fire breaks out at Ghazipur landfill site in Delhi

6:43 PM

Hemant Soren sent to jail for refusing to part ways with INDIA bloc: Kharge at Ranchi rally.

Hemant Soren sent to jail for refusing to part ways with INDIA bloc, alleged Congress President Kharge at Ranchi rally.

6:23 PM

BJP will be wiped out if it continues to terrorise tribals: Kharge at Ranchi rally

BJP will be wiped out if it continues to terrorise tribals, says Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge at Ranchi rally on Sunday. 

6:23 PM

Students with 4-yr undergrad degrees can directly pursue PhD if they have 75% marks or equivalent grade: UGC

Students with 4-year undergraduate degrees can now directly pursue PhD if they have 75% aggregate marks or equivalent grade, says UGC chief Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar.

5:58 PM

LS polls update: 'Kejriwal ko insulin do': AAP workers protest outside Tihar jail

Carrying insulin, the workers and leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party protested outside the Tihar jail in west Delhi on Sunday and demanded that insulin be given to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who is suffering from diabetes. Delhi cabinet minister Atishi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Sanjeev Jha were present at the protest site. Scores of party workers carrying placards saying 'Kejriwal ko insulin do' sang 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' outside the jail. "This is not a protest. The people of Delhi are worried about the health of Chief Minister Kejriwal who is diabetic. They have sent insulin for him," she said.

Atishi alleged there is a "conspiracy" to harm Kejriwal.

"The Tihar administration had said they have specialist doctors but yesterday they wrote to AIIMS for a diabetologist. Kejriwal has been in judicial custody for nearly 20 days but they are asking for a diabetologist now.

4:58 PM

Will fight against dictatorship; Arvind Kejriwal, Hemant Soren will come out of jail: Sunita in Ranchi

"BJP govt wants to kill my husband Arvind Kejriwal. He is not getting insulin in jail," says Sunita Kejriwal at Ranchi rally.

4:42 PM

Lok Sabha polls Live: Congress slams BJP govt for 'rolling back' pro-people schemes in Rajasthan

Congress on Sunday said its previous government in Rajasthan passed a series of visionary laws to meaningfully improve the quality of life of thousands in the state and asked why the current BJP dispensation is "rolling back" pro-people schemes. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed the questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his rallies in Jalore and Banswara. "Why is the BJP Government rolling back the INC's pro-people schemes? Does the PM prioritise his businessmen friends over Rajasthan's rural communities? Why has ERCP not been designated a national project yet," Ramesh asked in a post on X.

Elaborating on what he said were "jumla details", Ramesh said when the Congress was in power in Rajasthan, it passed a series of visionary laws that would meaningfully improve the quality of life of thousands in the state.

4:24 PM

Amit Shah skips Darjeeling rally as helicopter fails to land due to inclement weather

 Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday could not attend a scheduled election rally in Darjeeling town of West Bengal as his helicopter failed to land due to inclement weather, a party leader said. Shah was scheduled to address the rally in support of BJP candidate for Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, Raju Bista. "Amit Shah ji's visit to Darjeeling had to be cancelled as his helicopter failed to land in Darjeeling because of bad weather," he said. Later, while talking to reporters, Bista, who is the local MP, said Shah might come to the hills at a later date before Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat goes to polls on April 26.

4:23 PM

LS polls: Regional bias, favouritism in jobs rampant during Cong rule, says Haryana CM Saini

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Sunday slammed the Congress, alleging there was regional bias and favouritism in jobs while corruption was rampant in all spheres when the party was in power in the state. At a poll rally in Jhajjar, he claimed the Narendra Modi government initiated many schemes in the last 10 years for the benefit of the poor and farmers, bringing smiles to their faces. On the other hand, the Congress in its six decades in power did nothing for poverty alleviation other than raising the 'garibi hathao' slogan, he alleged. In a veiled jibe at Rahul Gandhi, the senior BJP leader said, "Now, Congress' 'yuvraj' says that he will eradicate poverty in one stroke. Which 'Aladdin Ka Chirag' (magic lamp) has he got now?" Asserting that the Modi government's scheme benefitted all sections of the society, Saini said that across the country there is a consensus that "Ab ki baar 400 paar". 

3:44 PM

Congress' fight is only to cross 40: Anurag Thakur slams 'INDIA' bloc

Claiming that the "corrupt coalition" of the opposition's INDIA bloc will be wiped out in the Lok Sabha polls, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on Sunday that Congress's fight is only to "cross 40 seats." "INDI alliance partners and these princes (Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav) want this (BJP to be reduced to 150 seats) but their intentions will never be fulfilled. They had come together before as well but the public had wiped them out. This time again, this coalition of corrupt people will be wiped out in Lok Sabha polls. I want to tell Rahul Gandhi that neither in 2014 nor in 2019, the public made you win. This time too, Congress' fight is only to cross 40, the public will bless BJP with absolute majority and to cross 400," Anurag Thakur told reporters.

3:14 PM

Israeli strikes on Rafah kill 18

Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight killed 18 people, including 14 children, health officials said Sunday, as the United States was on track to approve billions of dollars of additional military aid to its close ally. Israel has carried out near-daily air raids on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million has sought refuge from fighting elsewhere. It has also vowed to expand its ground offensive to the city on the border with Egypt despite international calls for restraint, including from the US.

2:32 PM

Rahul unwell, Kharge to address Cong's rally in MP's Satna today, says Jitu Patwari

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is set to address the party's rally in Satna in Madhya Pradesh today as senior leader Rahul Gandhi is unwell.

'Rahul Gandhi is not well so Kharge will address the Satna meeting for party candidate Siddharth Kushwaha,' party's state unit chief Jitu Patwari said. Kushwaha is up against the ruling BJP's Ganesh Singh, who has been MP from the seat since 2004. Voting in Satna will take place on April 26.