National

KOLKATA: A section of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) on Thursday wrote a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, seeking deployment of paramilitary forces after receiving threats to include "false names" in the voter's list.

NEW DELHI: In a jolt to the Telangana government, the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with the interim stay granted by the Telangana High Court on a Government Order (GO) providing 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in local bodies across the state.

JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Thursday approved financial relief of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of those killed in the Jodhpur–Jaisalmer Highway bus tragedy.

BENGALURU: The Congress-led government in Karnataka on Thursday re-released an old circular issued by the office of the Commissioner of the Karnataka Public Instruction Department, which forbids using government school grounds for private purposes.

KOLKATA: On the occasion of World Food Day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee outlined the details of the initiatives her government has taken to ensure food security for every person in the state, and pointed out that over seven crore people were provided free ration every month.

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, on Thursday slammed the Centre over US President Donald Trump's claim that India will stop buying oil from Russia.

JAISALMER: In a heartbreaking incident, four friends were burned alive after their vehicle caught fire following a collision with a truck in Rajasthan’s Barmer district, said officials on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is set to hear on Thursday a clutch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah will inaugurate a two-day conference on 'Extradition of Fugitives: Challenges and Strategies' in New Delhi on Thursday.

AMARAVATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate, lay the foundation stone and dedicate to the nation several development projects worth around Rs 13,430 crore in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday.

JAIPUR: The death toll in the massive fire in a sleeper bus near the War Museum on the Jaisalmer-Jodhpur route has increased to 21. Among the deceased is a 10-year-old boy who succumbed to his injuries this morning.

PATNA: The Janata Dal (United) has not fielded any Muslim candidates in its first list of 57 nominees for the Bihar Assembly elections.

AGARTALA: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and urged him to take steps to start the Vande Bharat train from Agartala to Guwahati and double-laning of the railway track in the state.

NEW DELHI: BJP National spokesperson Tuhin Sinha on Wednesday accused the Hemant Soren-led government in Jharkhand of being involved in a massive Rs 2,000 crore scam related to the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Trust.

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government has said that the threats to Minister for RDPR, IT and BT Priyank Kharge will be probed even as the security at his residence in Bengaluru was tightened.

PATNA: The Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday released its first list of 57 candidates, including the names of several state ministers and new faces, for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

NEW DELHI: With momentum building for Bihar Assembly elections and alliances upping the ante, Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Wednesday expressed confidence in NDA's performance across the state, particularly in Lakhisarai district.

NEW DELHI: A two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday referred to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to make the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) mandatory for all schools imparting education to children aged 6-14 years, including minority institutions.

CHENNAI: The EMRI Green Health Services, which operates the ‘108’ emergency ambulance service in coordination with the Tamil Nadu Health System Project, has put its entire fleet of 1,353 ambulances on high alert across the State to handle medical emergencies during the Deepavali festival from October 19 to 25.

BENGALURU: Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara, one of the senior-most leaders of the Congress party, stated on Wednesday that if AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge decides to enter state politics, he is most welcome.

JAIPUR: In view of the devastating bus fire that claimed 20 lives in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Wednesday postponed his scheduled campaign programme in Bihar.

BHUBANESWAR: The Central Election Committee of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday formally announced Jay Dholakia as its candidate for the Nuapada by-election in Odisha.

SRINAGAR: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday announced the names of its candidates for the bypolls to the two Legislative Assembly constituencies of Nagrota and Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir.

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department (WRD) will release about 700 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water from the Poondi reservoir and 200 cusecs from the Red Hills reservoir on Wednesday to manage rising inflow caused by heavy rainfall across the state.

KOLKATA: As the Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to unveil its new West Bengal state committee this month, the party’s central leadership has asked the state leaders to ensure most members focus on strengthening the organisation rather than contesting elections.

PATNA: Amid preparations for the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls, election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, founder of Jan Suraj, has put an end to speculation over his candidature.

BENGALURU: The row over the proposal to ban activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Karnataka took another turn on Wednesday, with Priyank Kharge, the Minister for RDPR, IT and BT, releasing an abusive video and audio clip and said he is not unnerved by this.

NEW DELHI: As a reprieve, the Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted the sale and bursting of green crackers in Delhi and the adjoining NCR region from October 18 to 21.

MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena(UBT) on Wednesday alleged that the online registration of voters is a scam, and the Election Commission of India (ECI) has become a "lifeless puppet working under the pressure of the BJP".

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will resume hearing on Wednesday a plea filed by Gitanjali J. Angmo, wife of Sonam Wangchuk, challenging the detention of the Leh-based climate activist.

CHENNAI: Widespread heavy rain continued to lash several parts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, on Wednesday, disrupting normal life and prompting weather officials to issue alerts for 12 districts across the state.

JAIPUR: Around 20 people were burnt alive in a horrific tragedy on Tuesday afternoon when a moving AC sleeper bus caught fire on the Jaisalmer-Jodhpur Highway near Thaiyat village in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With tribal leader C.K. Janu, whose political party is presently unaligned with any of the three political fronts in Kerala openly expressing her desire to join the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), political circles across the state are abuzz with speculation that more smaller allies of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) may be rethinking their future course ahead of two crucial elections.

RANCHI: The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure over the state government’s continued delay in holding elections to municipal corporations and other urban local bodies.

BHUBANESWAR: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sujeet Kumar, on Tuesday, claimed that the party is likely to field Jay Dholakia, son of former Odisha Minister and late Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Rajendra Dholakia, as its candidate for the upcoming bye-election in the Nuapada Assembly constituency.