Indian political issues, particularly when they intersect with the Middle East

The ruling party has “weaponised” the suspension of MPs as a convenient tool to “undermine democracy, sabotage Parliamentary practices and throttle the Constitution”, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said in a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. In his reply to a letter written by Jagdeep Dhankhar, Mr Kharge said the Chairman’s letter “unfortunately […]
The post Kharge tells

The Indian Navy’s explosive ordnance disposal team on Monday carried out a detailed inspection of merchant vessel MV Chem Pluto on its arrival at Mumbai harbour, two days after the ship was hit by a drone off India’s west coast in the Arabian Sea when it was on its way to New Mangalore port. In […]
The post Navy

An Airbus A340 carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, landed in Mumbai early this morning, following a four-day detention in France over suspected human trafficking allegations. The aircraft landed in Mumbai shortly after 4 am. It had taken off from Vatry airport near Paris around 2.30 pm local time. French authorities confirmed that 276 passengers had boarded […]
The post France-grounded human

A video of DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran, which party sources claim is old, can spell trouble for the unity of INDIA bloc at a time when it is gearing up for the big Lok Sabha contest just a few months away. In a video, the authenticity of which NDTV cannot verify, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran […]
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French police have taken two men into custody a day after grounding a Nicaragua-bound plane carrying over 300 Indian passengers over suspected “human trafficking”. Indian authorities have also reached the spot and are investigating the situation. France grounded a charter flight headed to Nicaragua carrying 303 Indian passengers on Friday to conduct a judicial investigation. […]
The post Consular access

INDIA Bloc member parties are staging street protests today against the suspension of a historic number of MPs from Parliament in an “undemocratic manner” during the Winter Session. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party president Rahul Gandhi and other members of the alliance were to address the protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. A series of […]
The post Suspensions: INDIA Bloc

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi reached out to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Thursday evening, amid talk of yet more rifts in the INDIA bloc ahead of next year’s general election. Sources have told NDTV Gandhi could not speak to the Janata Dal (United) boss since he was in a meeting, but the two are expected […]
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The Congress on Thursday did not divulge its stand on whether top party leaders would attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, even as it said it was thankful for the invitations. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi and the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha […]
The post Cong

Access to the Parliament complex – a particularly high-profile issue after last week’s security breach – will now be guarded by the Central Industrial Security Force, or CISF, the government has said. In a notification issued Wednesday, the Home Ministry said the CISF will replace Delhi Police as the agency in charge, and will take […]
The post Parliament security

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has sparked a controversy by addressing what she sees as a compatibility issue between Islam and Europe. Speaking at her right-wing party’s event, the firebrand Italian leader touched upon the issue of Saudi-backed Islamic cultural centres in Italy. “I believe there is a problem of compatibility between Islamic culture or […]
The post Italian

Amid the massive row over the suspension spree of MPs over their conduct in the House, Opposition parties have questioned why two BJP members in Lok Sabha have not faced any action yet despite being at the centre of huge controversies. These two BJP MPs are Ramesh Bidhuri and Pratap Simha. While Mr Bidhuri had […]
The post Opposition asks

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has demanded Chief Minister MK Stalin drop K Ponmudi from his cabinet after the Higher Education Minister was convicted in a corruption case, sources told NDTV Wednesday afternoon. The demand is likely to develop into the latest Governor Vs government flashpoint in the southern state; the two sides are locked […]
The post Tamil

Allegations an Indian national conspired to murder an American-Canadian citizen – Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun – will be examined, but “a few incidents” cannot derail ties between India and the United States, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday, in his first public remarks since US federal prosecutors last month announced murder-for-hire charges against Nikhil […]
The post <a

Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee today stated “mimicry is an art” to defend his parody of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar outside the parliament, and said he has high respect for him. Banerjee was seen mimicking Dhankhar, who also chairs the Rajya Sabha, in an incident that has been condemned by both the Prime Minister […]
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Adding to the shock surrounding the suspension of 79 Opposition MPs from Parliament in a single day, as many as 49 members faced the same action today. This has taken the total number of MPs suspended this session to a whopping 141, the highest ever. National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and […]
The post 141 MPs suspended in

In a crucial judgment in the Gyanvapi case, the Allahabad High Court today rejected all petitions by the mosque committee challenging civil suits that seek restoration of a temple at the mosque site. The high court asked the Varanasi court to complete hearing in one of these civil suits, filed in 1991, within six months. […]
The post Court rejects Gyanvapi mosque

BJP veterans LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi who were at the forefront of the agitation for the Ram temple in Ayodhya are unlikely to attend next month’s consecration ceremony due to their health and age, the temple trust said in Ayodhya on Monday. “Both are elders of the family and considering their age, they […]
The post <a

‘Jo ucchit samjho woh karo’ (Do whatever you deem appropriate), this is what Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told the then Army Chief Gen MM Naravane on the night of August 31, 2020 following a tense situation arising out of Chinese PLA moving tanks and troops in Rechin La mountain pass on the Line of Actual […]
The post Ex-Army chief

Restrict China’s penetration into Pakistan to only economic corridor, and don’t provide any access to Beijing in security set-up, the US has clearly instructed Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir during his ongoing visit to Washington. The move is being seen as stopping Chinese security outposts in Pakistan, according to top […]
The post US warns

Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh is set to witness a huge rush of pilgrims on January 22 for the grand opening of the Ram Mandir – when a new idol of ‘Ram Lalla’ will be placed in the sanctum sanctorum or ‘garbhagriha’ of the temple. It’s a dream come true for many in the country. People […]
The post Ram

Days after its drubbing in the Madhya Pradesh elections, the Congress has replaced senior leader and former chief minister Kamal Nath as the state unit chief with other backward class (OBC) leader Jitu Patwari. OBCs account for over 50% of voters in Madhya Pradesh and the selection of Patwari – who lost to a BJP […]
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Chief Justice DY Chandrachud has sought a status report from the Allahabad High Court administration after an open letter – purportedly written by a woman judge in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda alleging sexual harassment by a senior – went viral on social media. In the letter addressed to the Chief Justice, the woman judge sought permission […]
The post UP

Lalit Jha – the alleged mastermind behind the Parliament security breach – burned the mobile phones of four accomplices in a bid to destroy evidence, Delhi Police sources told NDTV Friday. Jha, who surrendered to the cops last night, said he had kept the mobile phones of the two men who popped yellow smoke canisters […]
The post Parliament breach planner

The stunning breach in Parliament on Wednesday was a result of at least 18 months of meticulous planning and several meetings among the accused, all of whom hailed from different states but had one common link – a social media page called the ‘Bhagat Singh Fan Club’, police officials have said. The shocking scenes, which […]
The post 18 months of