RAHUL GANDHI

India’s main opposition Congress party has ended a five-month cross-country “unity march” in disputed Kashmir with hundreds of members of various opposition groups joining in a public rally in freezing temperatures.

Rahul Gandhi insists India’s right-wing government is dividing the country along religious lines. Followers hope his cross-country march can save democracy.

Expect a fairly cautious government budget, but don’t rule out the risk of a slippage during the year if political pressures mount just as growth slides.

Members of India’s main opposition Congress party and thousands of supporters have walked into New Delhi as part of a cross-country “unity march” seeking to challenge what they say is a “hate-filled” version of the country under the Hindu nationalist government.

Voters in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat are casting ballots in crucial local elections.

India’s main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, is set to choose a person who is not a member of its dominant Nehru-Gandhi family as its next president as it struggles to recover before key upcoming elections.

Thousands of Indians have rallied under key opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, who made a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over soaring unemployment and rising food and fuel prices.

A Muslim woman who was gang raped while pregnant during India’s devastating 2002 religious riots has appealed to the government to rescind its decision to free 11 men who had been jailed for life for committing the crime, after they were released on suspended sentences.

Since its independence in 1947, India has transformed from a poverty-stricken nation into one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

The Aug. 5 demonstrations by India’s main opposition Congress party against soaring food prices and unemployment began like any other recent protest — an electorally weak opposition taking to the New Delhi streets against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s massively popular government. The protests, however, quickly took a turn when key Congress lawmakers led by Rahul Gandhi — Modi’s main opponent in the last two general elections — trooped to the Parliament, leading to fierce standoffs with police. “Democracy is a memory (in India),” Gandhi later tweeted, describing the dramatic photographs that showed him and his party leaders being briefly detained by police.

Police in India’s capital have arrested a Muslim journalist for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

In 2020, police charged him under India's Arms Act for allegedly promoting gun culture in one of his songs.

In 2020, police charged him under India's Arms Act for allegedly promoting gun culture in one of his songs.

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, also known around the world by his stage name Sidhu Moose Wala, was killed Sunday evening while driving his car in Mansa, a district in northern India's Punjab state.

Indian police are investigating the murder of a popular Punjabi rapper, who blended hip-hop, rap and folk music, a day after he was fatally shot

Indian police are investigating the killing of a popular Punjabi rapper, who blended hip-hop, rap and folk music, a day after he was fatally shot.

India’s government on Friday moved a commemorative flame that was lit 50 years ago to honor Indian soldiers killed in a 1971 war with Pakistan to a new National War Memorial that was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi nearly three years ago. The move triggered strong protests from opposition leaders, who said extinguishing the “eternal flame” was tantamount to erasing history. A soldier lit a torch from the flame at its location at the India Gate and carried it to the National War Memorial, less than half a kilometer (a third of a mile) away.

Thousands of Indian farmers are blocking major roads and railway tracks outside the capital of New Delhi, marking one year of protests against agricultural laws that they say will shatter their livelihoods.

NEW DELHI — Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Indian National Congress, accused the Bhartiya Janata Party-led Central Government of India of “putting India on sale.”He lashed out at the Centre over the proposed National Monetization Pipeline. Earlier on Aug. 24, the member of Parliament from the southern Indian district, Wayanad, termed the Centre’s National Monetization Pipeline as a “huge tragedy,” saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had mishandled the economy and the move was aimed at creating monopolies in specific sectors. But yesterday, the finance minister decided to sell the assets that have been built over the last 70 years. To me, this is a huge tragedy.”His remarks came after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Aug. 23, launched the National Monetisation Pipeline that includes the Centre’s four-year plan to monetize its brownfield infrastructure assets. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Aug. 25 targeted the opposition over its criticism of the National Monetization Pipeline, saying it should have done its homework before questioning the Centre.

NEW DELHI — Social media sites Instagram and Facebook have removed Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s post that revealed the parents’ identity of a minor girl who was raped and murdered in Delhi, official sources said on Aug. 20. “Instagram and Facebook removed Rahul Gandhi’s post that revealed the identity of the parents of a minor victim,” said sources. Facebook had earlier issued a notice to the Indian National Congress leader in a complaint regarding a video posted on Instagram that disclosed the victim’s identity. This comes after National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had asked Facebook to develop the action report on the video posted by Gandhi. It was also alleged that Twitter had blocked around 5000 members of the Indian National Congress party.

NEW DELHI — American social media conglomerate Facebook issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India’s leading opposition political party, the Indian National Congress, on Aug. 17. “According to National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Aug. 10, 2021, notice post you (Rahul Gandhi) uploaded through your Instagram account,” the notice said. Still, the apex child rights body will issue an order on this. It stated that they have issued a notice to Gandhi and have asked to remove the post immediately,” said Priyank Kanoongo, chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. “This is not an attack on Rahul Gandhi; this is not simply shutting Rahul Gandhi down.”Twitter clarified its position and said its rules are enforced judiciously and impartially for everyone on its service.

NEW DELHI — Microblogging site Twitter on Aug. 14 unlocked the accounts of the members of India’s leading opposition political party, the Indian National Congress. The Twitter accounts of various other Congress leaders like Pawan Khera and Manickam Tagore have also been unlocked. The move comes a day after Rahul Gandhi criticized the microblogging site and called it “biased.”“Twitter unlocked all accounts linked to Congress, including that of Rahul Gandhi this morning. This is the win of the people of India,” said Rohan Gupta, Chairman of Congress’ Social Media Department. “The microblogging site would continue to take proactive action if its rules are violated,” said a Twitter spokesperson.

NEW DELHI — India’s leading opposition party Indian National Congress on Aug. 12, said it would remain active on other social media platforms after the microblogging site Twitter suspended accounts of several party members. “Twitter India has locked the official handle of the main opposition party — an unprecedented attack on the rising voice of the people,” Indian National Congress said in a statement. “Twitter is closed, but other social media platforms of Indian National Congress are fully active and disseminating all necessary information and content,” the official statement said. “We strongly condemn the blocking of the accounts of @INCIndia and senior leaders of the Congress party,” tweeted Member of Parliament Derek O’Brien. “Twitter has blocked its account for violation of rules, Twitter acting under government pressure,” Gupta said while raising questions on microblogging site’s action.

NEW DELHI — Microblogging site Twitter blocked accounts of India’s leading opposition party, the Indian National Congress, and several of its party workers. A Twitter spokesperson said the microblogging site would continue to take proactive action if its rules are violated. The content was uploaded by the party members of the Indian National Congress. Twitter had temporarily suspended the account of Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Aug. 7. AICC is the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress.

NEW DELHI — Indian National Congress, which is India’s principal opposition party, protested on Aug. 9 against Twitter India over the “temporary suspension” of their leader Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter account. The Indian National Congress on Aug. 7 said that party leader Gandhi’s Twitter account was temporarily suspended, but he stayed connected through other social media platforms. Indian National Congress leaders also alleged that the suspension was due to pressure from the central government. The youth and students organization of the Indian National Congress and National Students Union of India announced a protest against Twitter India. Party leaders started targeting Twitter and the central government, while Indian National Congress workers began tweeting “Main Bhi Rahul” [ I am Rahul, too].

NEW DELHI — The Indian apex body for child rights, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), criticized Indian Congress leader Rahul Gandhi allegedly for violating the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act by revealing a rape victim’s identity. The body also sent a notice to Twitter India asking them to take action against the Twitter handle of Gandhi for revealing the identity of a rape victim from Nangal in the national capital Delhi. “The child rights body took action after taking cognizance of reports saying the Congress leader sabotaged the identity of the minor rape victim by posting the photograph of her parents on a microblogging site,” tweeted Priyank Kanoongo, Chairperson of NCPCR. The comments came soon after Gandhi met the family of the minor girl who was allegedly raped, murdered, and cremated without her parents’ consent in Delhi’s Old Nangal crematorium. (With inputs from ANI) Edited by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Praveen Pramod TewariThe post Indian Child Rights Body Seeks Action Against Politician For Revealing Rape Victim’s Identity appeared first on Zenger News.

India’s Parliament has erupted in protests as opposition lawmakers accuse the government of using military-grade spyware to monitor political opponents, journalists and activists.

India’s Parliament erupted in protests on Tuesday as opposition lawmakers accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using military-grade spyware to monitor political opponents, journalists and activists. The session was disrupted repeatedly as opposition lawmakers shouted slogans against Modi's government and demanded an investigation into how the spyware, known as Pegasus, was used in India. “This is a national security threat,” an opposition Congress party official, Kapil Sibal, said at a news conference.

“We have started a Youtube channel in 2018,” said Aiyanaar, one of the crew members of the channel. He cooked and ate with us, which made it reach the next 3 million quickly.”“Now we have 10 million subscribers for our channel. “We started this Village Cooking channel with six crew members, and we have grown well,” said Periyathambi, another member. As we crossed a 1 crore (10 million) subscriptions for our YouTube channel, we were awarded the diamond button. The channel was awarded a Diamond Play button by YouTube for its achievement of reaching 10 million subscribers.

Father Stan Swamy, a jailed Jesuit priest and longtime Indian tribal rights activist, has died at age 84 of cardiac arrest in western India.

India’s government, facing calls for a strict lockdown to slow a devastating surge in coronavirus infections, has been ordered by the Supreme Court to submit a plan to meet New Delhi hospitals’ oxygen needs within a day.

Hawaii officials are moving forward with a plan to allow people who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus to skip pre-travel testing and quarantine requirements for flights between islands.

India is experiencing its worst pandemic surge, with average daily infections exceeding 143,000 over the past week.

FILE- In this Sept. 14, 2017, file photo, Indian army trucks drive near Pangong Tso lake near the India China border in India's Ladakh area. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)SRINAGAR – Indian and Chinese soldiers brawled last week along the countries' disputed border, Indian officials said Monday, as a monthslong standoff between the nuclear-armed rivals continued. Two Indian security officials said at least 18 Chinese soldiers tried to cross into Indian-claimed territory at Naku La last Wednesday night and were blocked by Indian soldiers, leading to clashes with sticks and stones. The two officials said over a dozen Indian soldiers and at least eight Chinese soldiers received minor injuries. The frontier is broken in parts where the Himalayan nations of Nepal and Bhutan border China, and where Sikkim, the site of the latest brawl, is sandwiched.

The protesting farmers say the laws will dismantle regulated markets, favor big corporations, and make family-owned farms unviable, eventually leaving them landless. Protesting farmers fear the government will stop buying grain at minimum guaranteed prices and corporations will then push down prices. “Through these agricultural reforms, we have given better options to the farmers,” Modi said in his live address. On Thursday, the government again invited protesting farmers to further talks. Farmers union leaders have also accused the government of trying to weaken and discredit them by describing protesting farmers as “anti-nationals."

A passer-by takes a selfie with an extra newspaper reporting on President-elect Joe Biden's win in the U.S. presidential election, in Tokyo Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. Other leaders who sent congratulations included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Prime Minister Janez Jansa was the only world leader who congratulated Trump even before all the votes were counted, and showed support after Biden’s win was announced. Many people, particularly in nations with turbulent politics, took Biden's win as improving the outlook for respect of democracy. In Egypt, where the government is cracking down on dissent, pro-democracy activists welcomed Biden’s win.

Awasthi also said the police officers, the four suspects in the case and the victim's family will also undergo lie-detector tests as part of investigation. Bhaskar said the hasty cremation of the victim’s body without the family's approval showed the callousness by the state government. Videos on social media showed the family weeping as police insisted on cremating the body without allowing them to take it home. Dalits — formerly known as “untouchables” and at the bottom of India’s Hindu caste hierarchy — are victims of thousands of attacks each year. In India, rape and sexual violence have been under the spotlight since the 2012 gang rape and killing of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus.

Indian police detained the party's key leaders after preventing them from visiting a village where a 19-year-old woman from India's lowest caste was gang raped last month and later died in a hospital. Police officer Manoj Dixit said the two party leaders were detained for violating an order banning the assembly of four or more people in the area to prevent any violence by protesters. Police stopped their convoy on a highway on the way to the village, where the party leaders planned to meet with the woman's family. Dozens of Congress party workers scuffled with the police, who used sticks to disperse them. Also Thursday, several dozen students held protests in the Indian capital and in the southern Indian city of Hyderbad demanding protection for women.

An Indian activist argues with a police officer before being detained by police during a protest in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. The gang rape and killing of the woman from the lowest rung of India's caste system has sparked outrage across the country with several politicians and activists demanding justice and protesters rallying on the streets. The attack of the 19-year-old is the latest gruesome case of sexual violence against women to rile India, where reports of rape are hauntingly familiar. The victim, who belonged to the Dalit community, was raped by four men on Sept. 14 in the heartland state of Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district. The woman was cremated early Wednesday, with the family alleging that police did not allow them to perform her final rites.

NEW DELHI – Amid an uproar in Parliament, Indian lawmakers on Sunday approved a pair of controversial agriculture bills that the government says will boost growth in the farming sector through private investments. The bills are also aimed at removing middlemen from the farm trade and making farming market-oriented, the government has said. The upper house passed two out of three bills, amid a war of words between ruling lawmakers and those opposing the legislation. “The prime minister should explain why there’s a hurry to pass the bills amid the pandemic,” he said. More than half of India’s farmers are in debt, with 20,638 killing themselves in 2018 and 2019, according to India’s National Crime Records Bureau.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media as he arrives at the Parliament in New Delhi, India, Monday, Sept.14, 2020. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told reporters before Parliament resumed that he hoped the session will be productive. “Parliament session is beginning in distinct times. The Parliament session is expected to be challenging for Modi and his government. But many opposition lawmakers worry that his government looks like it is not in control.

Opposition Congress party lawmaker Shashi Tharoor said the information technology committee he heads in Parliament will take up the findings of the Aug. 14 report in The Wall Street Journal. Since coming to power in 2014, Modi's party has increasingly used Facebook to reach voters across India. The party has vastly outspent its main opposition, the Congress party, on social media ads. Panda and other BJP leaders said the allegation that Facebook was giving the governing party preferential treatment stemmed from the once-dominant Congress party's political misfortunes in recent years. The Congress party denied the whistleblower's allegation.

Like millions of dads around the globe, Gandhi has taken on more responsibilities at home during lockdown. The pandemic has reshaped the way fathers are involved with their families and children, he said via email. Stay-at-home orders were issued and schools, child care centers and non-essential businesses were shuttered, putting a strain on families and demolishing barriers between work and home. More than one-quarter of both fathers and mothers reported an increase in the housework and child care that mothers perform. Things that I usually would just do on the weekend are now things that require thought every day."

Google Maps(CNN) - A group of Indian opposition party leaders who had traveled from New Delhi to Indian-controlled Kashmir on Saturday were refused entry into the regional capital on Saturday. The group had decided to travel after local authorities had requested them to stay out of the disputed region. A number of prominent opposition leaders have also been arrested, including three former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir state. In response, Satya Pal Malik, Jammu and Kashmir's governor offered to send a plane for Gandhi and bring him to the region, local media reported. And if the situation is calm then the leaders of so many political parties who want to go and see; help the government.

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India's main opposition Congress party, is formally stepping down just months after a resounding defeat in the 2019 parliamentary elections. "I think it was inevitable that Rahul Gandhi takes ... the responsibility because there has been a series of national setbacks that the party has received," said Sandeep Shastri, pro vice chancellor at Jain University in Bengaluru, India. The move takes away any criticism within the party of Gandhi's role in the election defeat, Shastri told CNBC's "Street Signs " on Thursday. It also leaves Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party without its most important focus of attack on the Congress party that it is dynastic and has the wrong type of leadership. Congress won only 52 seats in the parliamentary elections that concluded in May.