Akshita Kapoor

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: The political class rushed to embrace and celebrate B R Ambedkar with generous tributes on his 135th birth anniversary, adding to celebrations by his followers across cities, and cementing the icon's status as the sole bipartisan figure on the contemporary socio-political firmament.Political biggies PM Modi, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi among others gathered for annual garlanding and floral tributes at the Ambedkar statue in Parliament complex.The celebrations from politicians merged seamlessly with the many roadshows and bus trips to Ambedkar parks taken out by Ambedkar's supporters.If Ambedkar is enjoying a pan-political popularity which appears unprecedented in post-independent India, it is largely owing to the emancipator having emerged as the bridge to the sprawling Dalit populace that forms a critical vote base for parties. The success of opposition's "Constitution in danger" campaign during 2024 LS polls appears […]

[ad_1] PM Modi offering shoes to Rampal Kashyap in Yamunanagar PM Modi Monday met Rampal Kashyap from Kaithal, who had walked barefoot for 14 years, vowing not to wear shoes until Modi became PM and they met.When Kashyap stood before Modi, the PM said, "Brother, why did you do this? Why trouble yourself?" Kashyap made the vow in 2011, and though Modi became PM in 2014, Kashyap's wish to meet him remained unfulfilled - yet he stayed true to his resolve.On Ambedkar Jayanti, during Modi's stop in Yamunanagar, Kashyap's 14-year wait ended. Modi urged him to end his vow, and gifted him a pair of shoes. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] People outside government-run hospital after fire broke out LUCKNOW: Panic gripped patients and staff at the government-run Lokbandhu Hospital in Lucknow Monday after a fire broke out around 10pm, causing chaos and triggering evacuation, report Pathikrit Chakraborty & Mohsin Usmani. Over 200 patients, including those in critical care, were shifted out as thick smoke engulfed the premises.Hospital authorities said the fire is suspected to have originated from a short circuit in the women's medicine and emergency ward located on the second floor. It quickly spread across the floor. There were reports of one death of a patient en route to SPIMS hospital, but official confirmation was awaited. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Waqf bill protest in Bengal KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress and BJP clashed sharply Monday over the ongoing violence in Bengal's Murshidabad district, with TMC accusing protesters of disrupting life to serve what it called the saffron party's agenda and leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari calling for 2026 assembly elections to be held under President's rule.Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh questioned why waqf protests were being held in Bengal instead of Delhi, saying demonstrations were being hijacked to destabilise the state. "Why should roads in Bengal be blocked? Why life should be disrupted daily?" he said. "This is the trap laid out by BJP and in the name of protests you are falling for it."Ghosh said CM Mamata Banerjee had assured that any anti-people provisions in waqf law would not be implemented in Bengal. "Trinamool has opposed waqf in Parliament, outside it, […]

[ad_1] MUMBAI: Tariff-related developments, the direction in which prices of US government bonds move, trading pattern of foreign funds, and corporate results for the Jan-March quarter will decide investor behaviour on Dalal Street in the truncated three-day trading week starting Tuesday. Market players, however, warned that volatility is expected to continue even though there seems to be some thaw in the US-led tariff war, especially with China, its biggest trading partner.The trading week of April 7 was equally volatile. Following global markets, the sensex and Nifty saw wild swings as US President Donald Trump first hiked tariffs on most of America's trading partners, then kept changing several parameters without warning, and China retaliated. At close, sensex was at 75,157 points while Nifty closed at 22,829 points.On Monday, the US markets opened sharply higher and were holding on to the levels […]

[ad_1] Immigration agents detained Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi at a US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in Vermont on Monday, just as he arrived for his citizenship interview. Mahdawi, a Columbia University student and activist, was arrested after a decade-long stay in the US, where he had obtained a green card. He had been a vocal leader in the anti-Israel protests on Columbia’s campus, which likely drew the attention of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts. In a video shared on social media, Mahdawi, hands shackled, is seen being escorted by federal agents to an unmarked vehicle. His attorney, Luna Droubi, called the arrest unlawful, stating, "He came to this country hoping to be free to speak out about the atrocities he has witnessed, only to be punished for such speech." Mahdawi, who led the Palestinian student union at […]

[ad_1] Hundreds flee Murshidabad district, take shelter in Malda RANCHI?MALDA: Fleeing Murshidabad with his family was the only thing on Hriday Das's mind after he lost a cousin, an uncle, and his house in the spiral of violence that singed the Bengal district since Friday night. He hired an ambulance to get out of his village, then boarded a train to neighbouring Jharkhand's Sahibganj. Hriday is unsure if he will ever return to the place he once called home.Murshidabad may not have reported any fresh flare-up since Sunday, but fear remains the dominant emotion along a 7km stretch lined by neighbourhoods where mobs ran riot over the new waqf law the previous two days."It was a relentless rampage," Hriday, 46, said of the attack in which his cousin Chand Das and paternal uncle Hargobindo were killed. "I sensed it was […]

[ad_1] A lighthearted mishap took centre stage outside the White House on Monday when vice president JD Vance accidentally toppled the College Football Playoff National Championship trophy during a celebratory event honouring the Ohio State Buckeyes.As the team posed for photos with President Donald Trump, Vance lifted the trophy for the cameras — only for the top to come loose and tumble to the ground, drawing gasps followed by nervous laughter from the crowd as the trophy’s base hit the pavement.LIVE: Trump welcomes Ohio State football to the White HouseThe Buckeyes, who claimed the national title in January with a 34-23 win over Notre Dame, were being formally recognised for their achievement. Vance, taking the moment in stride, quipped: “I didn’t want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it.”Despite speculation over whether the […]

[ad_1] KOLKATA: Violence linked to the new waqf law escalated in Bengal on Monday, enveloping Bhangar on the outskirts of Kolkata as mobs took over the streets and unleashed a barrage of bricks that left at least 16 police officers wounded.The trigger for the street anarchy in Bhangar, a volatile pocket with a history of political violence, was police preventing Indian Secular Front (ISF) rallyists from heading to Kolkata's Ramlila ground for a rally against the waqf law, report Dwaipayan Ghosh & Sukumar Mahato.The sight of cops being outnumbered in Bhangar contrasted with a crackdown in flashpoint Murshidabad, where 11 FIRs were registered and the number of arrests exceeded 200.Police rounded up over 50 of the suspects in Murshidabad overnight, based on accounts of how mobs barged into homes since Friday night and targeted people. Suspension of internet was extended […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: National Testing Agency (NTA), already under scrutiny over its conduct of competitive exams in recent years, faces fresh allegations of serious errors in JEE Main papers of April 2025. After the release of answer keys, question papers and recorded responses, students from Kota - the country's coaching capital - have flagged at least nine disputed questions in physics, chemistry and mathematics papers. Expert reviews from leading institutes back these claims, adding fuel to growing criticism of NTA's competence and transparency.Among the objections raised, four are from physics, three from chemistry, and two from mathematics. Experts say these are not minor ambiguities but outright factual errors. A director of a coaching centre stated that "objections have been submitted with evidence," urging NTA to award bonus marks or drop the flawed questions altogether. One such example, cited by a […]