Noting that he fully respects the Supreme Court order on electoral bonds, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the scheme was introduced to end black money in politics and added that it should have been improved rather than scrapped. Shah also said that the one nation, one election is the concept of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and when it will be implemented, it will ensure faster development and end recurring expenditure.
Electoral Bond Scheme Should Have Been Improved, Says Amit Shah
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the citizens of the country to share feedback to shape India's future as ‘Viksit Bharat’ in his recent letter to the nation on Friday, March 15, 2024.
Actor-turned politician Arindam Roy along with others joined the BJP in the presence of Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, at party headquarters in Bhubaneswar on Friday, March 15, 2024.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed on Friday, March 15, 2024, that the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) will win thirteen seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2024 in the state. He further said that PM Narendra Modi will become the Prime Minister for third consecutive time.
Himanta Biswa Sarma Claims BJP Will Win 13 Seats in LS Polls 2024 in Assam
The Indian Navy swiftly responded to an attack by pirates on a Bangladeshi-flagged vessel off the coast of Somalia and deployed its assets to rescue crew members who were taken hostage. The Bangladesh-flagged vessel MV Abdullah carrying coal was headed from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates when it came under attack by pirates.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K Kavitha in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case on Saturday, March 15, 2024. The central agency raided the residence of K Kavitha in Hyderabad, Telangana after the latter skipped many summons by the ED before.
RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav was rushed to a private hospital in Rajendra Nagar, Patna, on Friday, March 15, after complaining of chest pain. His health condition is currently being attended to, and further details are awaited on the matter.
The Madras High Court Justice N Anand Venkatesh directed the Tamil Nadu Police to permit a 4-km road show during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Coimbatore on March 18 with certain conditions. The state police had denied permission for the road show of the Prime Minister scheduled to be held on Monday, March 18, 2024.
Madras HC Directs TN Police to Permit Narendra Modi’s Roadshow
In a major setback for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, party MPs Arjun Singh and Dibyendu Adhikari joined the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in Delhi today, March 15. Dibyendu Adhikari is the brother of West Bengal leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari.
American fast food restaurant chain McDonald's on Friday, March 15, reported system outages across the world. A McDonald's in Japan took to X, formerly Twitter, and said that "operations are temporarily out at many of our stores nationwide". Customers from Australia and the UK also complained of issues with ordering.
The Madhya Pradesh government has issued orders to increase Dearness Allowance (DA) by 4% for state government employees. Consequently, the DA for employees has been raised from 42 per cent to 46 per cent.
The Supreme Court, on Friday, March 15, refused to entertain a Congress PIL seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls through ballot paper. The Supreme Court bench presided over by Justice Sanjiv Khanna was hearing a plea filed by the General Secretary of the Congress' Mathura District Committee, raising concerns about the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
An earthquake of magnitude 3.1 on the Richter Scale hit Madhya Pradesh today, March 15. The news was confirmed by the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) which said that the earthquake hit Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli today.
In what can be seen as a major setback to Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Raj Kumar Chabbewal, former Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly, joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today, March 15. Chabbewal joined AAP in the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is scheduled to hold a seat-sharing meeting this evening. However, Prakash Ambedkar has stated that he has not received an invitation to the meeting and, as a result, will not be in attendance.
The Election Commission is expected to announce the schedule for General Elections 2024 and some State Assemblies at 3 pm tomorrow (i.e) Saturday, March 16. In a post on X, the poll panel said a press conference to announce the schedule for Lok Sabha elections and some state assemblies will be held at 3 pm on Saturday. The term of the present Lok Sabha ends on June 16 and a new House has to be constituted before that.
In a significant development, India’s first underwater metro service has started operations in Howrah, West Bengal. The public can now avail this unique mode of transport.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear pleas seeking a stay on the Citizenship Amendment Rules 2024. The hearing of the pleas seeking a stay on the CAA is scheduled for March 19.
In response to the sexual assault charges filed against him, former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has issued a statement. He recounted that a distressed woman had approached him for help, leading him to personally contact the police commissioner on her behalf. However, the woman later turned against him, prompting him to bring the matter to the attention of the police commissioner. A complaint was subsequently filed against him under POCSO act.
Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, the newly-appointed Election Commissioners, took charge today, March 15. Both were appointed election commissioners by the selection panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, March 14. Election Commission of India (ECI) said that CEC Rajiv Kumar welcomed the two newly-appointed Election Commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu who joined the Commission today.
Gyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu Take Charge As Election Commissioners
Mumbai, March 14: On Thursday, March 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led three-member committee picked bureaucrats Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as election commissioners. The news was confirmed by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. The decision to elect new Election Commissioners comes days after the resignation of former Election Commissioner Arun Goel ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
On the other hand, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal moved the Sessions Court challenging the summons issued to him by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate on ED complaints for not complying with the summons. On One Nation, One Election, the Ram Nath Kovind-led panel submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The panel in its report suggested that simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and state assemblies can be held in the first step, followed by local body polls within 100 days as the second step. One Nation, One Election: Top 10 Recommendations of Ram Nath Kovind-Led Panel’s ‘One Nation, One Poll’ Report.
Home Minister Amit Shah attacked opposition leaders Asaduddin Owaisi and Mamata Banerjee after they claimed that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was anti-Muslim. Shah said the law can't be seen in isolation as it carries a history with itself. The Government of India (GoI) on Thursday, March 14, said that FSSAI certified nearly 100 prisons as Eat Right Campuses to promote food safety in jails.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami celebrated the Phooldei festival, at his official residence in Dehradun with his family. The government on Thursday blocked 18 over-the-top (OTT) platforms for obscene and vulgar content and, in some instances, pornographic content. The decision comes after multiple warnings by Union Minister Anurag Thakur. Electoral Bonds Data Received From SBI Uploaded on ECI Website; BJP, Congress, AIADMK Among Recipients of Funds.
Miles away in Japan, in what can be said to be a landmark ruling, the Japanese High Court said that the country's lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriage is "unconstitutional". The court's move is likely to mount pressure on the Japanese government to do more to protect sexual minorities in the country. Reacting to the US Bill that could ban TikTok, China slammed the United States and said that Beijing would "take all necessary measures" to protect the interests of its companies overseas. An earthquake of 6.2 magnitude struck off North Sulawesi province in Indonesia.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 15, 2024 06:59 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).