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6:34 PM

PM Modi launches Rs 24,000-cr scheme for vulnerable tribal groups' welfare

PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday promised to work on a 'mission mode' to deliver justice to deprived tribals and said he will repay the debt he owed to them while launching Rs 24,000-crore project for vulnerable tribal groups on the birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda.

Apart from PM Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan', Modi also launched several schemes including Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra', a nationwide programme aimed at reaching out to citizens who are eligible for various central schemes but have not benefitted so far.

6:33 PM

Your brother first, chief minister second, says MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan assured all sisters that he considers himself their brother during a public meeting in Betul district on Wednesday, ahead of the upcoming state assembly polls scheduled for this week.

"I assure all the sisters that I am your real brother. Before being the Chief Minister, I am your brother. I have observed many times that women get worried even for Rs 1000 and Rs 2000. There was a need for their essentials, and they did not have money. So, it pained me a lot. I was thinking for the past many days about how to alleviate this pain of women," CM Chouhan said.

6:27 PM

Govt to make every effort to ramp up coal production to meet growing power demand: Pralhad Joshi

The government on Wednesday said that coal will continue to feed the country's power plants and it will make every effort to ramp up the output of fossil fuel to meet the growing demand for electricity.

The Centre is also aware of its responsibilities and its commitment to get 50 per cent of energy from renewable resources and the Net Zero goal for carbon emissions by 2070, which is vital to fight for a greener environment.

Speaking at the inauguration of the eighth round of commercial coal mines auction, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said, "India is consuming more power than ever before. Peak demand for power in the country has already reached 240 GW and is likely to be doubled by 2030. Therefore, while the share of coal-generated power may decline, however, in absolute terms it will increase.

6:03 PM

37 killed, 19 hurt as bus falls into gorge in J&K's Doda: Officials

At least 37 people were killed and 19 injured when a bus carrying passengers skidded off the road and rolled down into a 300-foot gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district on Wednesday, officials said.

The bus bearing registration number JK02CN-6555 was reportedly carrying 56 passengers, they said, adding that it skidded off the road near Trungal-Assar on the Batote-Kishtwar national highway and fell 300 feet downhill.

A rescue operation has been launched and some bodies have been retrieved, the officials said.

6:01 PM

Rajasthan BJP leader Amin Pathan joins Congress

BJP leader and former vice-president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association Amin Pathan on Wednesday joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other senior party leaders.

Speaking to reporters here, Pathan said he was in the BJP for 25 years as he was inspired by the policies of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and other leaders for uniting the country.

"But in today's BJP, only people from Gujarat and industrialists were being promoted," he alleged.

5:58 PM

Congress gave the country big dams, green, white revolutions and premier institutions: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday credited vision and policies of governments headed by his party over decades for big dams, ushering in green and white revolutions, setting up premier engineering and medical institutions in the country.

He was responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's repeated statements asking what the Congress had done for the country during its long rule after independence, while addressing an election rally in the Berasia constituency in Bhopal district ahead of the November 17 assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh. 

5:53 PM

Won't be surprised if JD(S) merges with BJP, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said it won't be surprising if JD(S), which is now in alliance with the BJP, merges with the saffron party in the days ahead.

Calling former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led party "communal" following its alliance with the BJP, he urged Janata Dal (Secular), to remove the word 'Secular' from its name.

"There will be political polarisation and polarisation of votes in the country in the days to come, with communal forces on one side and seculars on the other. BJP will never come out of Hindutva and their plan of creating a Hindu Rashtra. Deve Gowda and family have joined them," Siddaramaiah said.

5:38 PM

AAP says it will file complaint with EC on BJP's 'derogatory' social media campaign against Kejriwal

The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday accused the BJP of running a "derogatory and misleading" campaign on social media against its national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and said it will submit a complaint to the Election Commission.

Addressing a press conference, AAP leader Raghav Chadha said they have written to the EC seeking a meeting so that a party delegation can submit the complaint.

5:27 PM

Centre gave Rs 571 crore for infrastructure development in tribal villages in Gujarat: CM Patel

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday said the state has so far received Rs 571 crore from the Union government for providing basic infrastructure in tribal-dominated villages under the Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana.

He was speaking at a gathering in Ambaji town of tribal- dominated Danta taluka in Banaskantha district on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas and launch of the 'Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra'.

"The Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has allotted Rs 571 crore for developing basic infrastructure in 2,803 tribal-dominated villages of Gujarat under the Pradhan Mantri Adi Adarsh Gram Yojana," Patel said.

5:11 PM

Shivraj's address planned at 5.30 pm, EC asks official to ensure no campaigning when silence period kicks in

With Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan scheduled to address people at 5.30 pm on Wednesday, the Election Commission asked the state's CEO to ensure no campaigning takes place after 6.00 pm when the 48-hour silence period kicks in.

The Congress had approached the poll panel complaining that according an election advertisement published by the BJP in newspapers across Madhya Pradesh, Chouhan will speak with "brothers and sisters" of the state at 5.30 pm on Wednesday.

In a post on X around 4.30 pm, the Madhya Pradesh BJP confirmed the planned addresses, "Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will interact wit the brothers and sisters of Madhya Pradesh on Bhai Dooj at 5.30 pm"

5:10 PM

Chhattisgarh polls: Campaigning for second phase ends, voting on 70 seats on Friday

The high-octane campaigning, marked by bitter exchanges between the ruling Congress and opposition BJP, for the second and last phase of Chhattisgarh polls scheduled on November 17 ended on Wednesday evening.

The BJP's campaign was virtually spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who addressed four well-attended rallies for the second phase and targeted Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel-led government over corruption, particularly the alleged Mahadev betting app scam and recruitment scandal, and Naxalism.

4:55 PM

Once OBCs, tribals know their actual population, country will change: Rahul

Reiterating his party's demand for a caste census, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the day the Other Backward Classes, Dalits and tribals learn about their actual population, the "country will change forever."

Speaking at a rally in Chhattisgarh's Bemetara district ahead of the second phase of assembly elections on November 17, he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not taking a clear stand on the issue.

4:47 PM

Senior Congress leaders, including Gehlot, Pilot, hold meeting ahead of Rajasthan Assembly polls

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, the party's Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and former Union minister Jitendra Singh held a meeting at the party's "war room" set up in view of the upcoming state Assembly polls here late on Tuesday night.

Gehlot posted a photo of the meeting on social media platforms on Wednesday. The photo was captioned: "Ek Sath. Jeet Rahe Hain Phir Se (Together. Winning once again)."

4:47 PM

Cash seizures by tax officials rise ahead of elections in five states: CBDT

In the run-up to the assembly elections in five states, the income tax department has seized more unexplained cash as compared to elections held in those states earlier, CBDT chairman Nitin Gupta said on Wednesday.

Gupta said that prior to both state assembly and Lok Sabha elections, the enforcement agencies, including the I-T department, increased surveillance and also got information about unexplained cash and jewellery on toll-free numbers created for the purpose.

"The states where we are right now in elections we have seized more cash than what was seized in the corresponding time in the state assembly elections or Lok Sabha 2019," Gupta told reporters here.

4:42 PM

In poll-bound MP, Priyanka terms Jyotiraditya Scindia a traitor

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday attacked Union minister and her former party colleague Jyotiraditya Scindia, calling him a traitor.

Priyanka was addressing a rally to canvass for the Congress candidate in the Datia assembly seat of Madhya Pradesh, which will go to polls on November 17.

She said that inflation has shattered the dreams of the people in the state.

Do you know Scindia ji? We worked together in Uttar Pradesh... We the people of UP express our complaints or anger... We vent out everything... We don't have a habit of addressing (him) Maharaj, Priyanka said.