Ayodhya

News India Xtra@newsIndiaxtra

Sonia Gandhi's memoir, Belonging, says a 1986 court order unlocking the Babri Masjid gates in Ayodhya revived a long-quiet dispute. She also writes that Rajiv Gandhi's Ram Rajya idea, meant to counter the BJP and RSS, fell flat.

Journalist Neerja Chowdhury's account says the government was worried about Hindu anger over the Shah Bano judgment, and that Arun Nehru pushed for the locks to be opened.

The move did not help at the polls. In 1989 Congress won 197 seats, the most of any party, but lost its majority, down from 404 seats in 1984.

India inshorts@indiainshorts

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has pushed back against UP CM Yogi Adityanath's "80-20" claim for the 2027 Assembly polls. On X, he argued it actually means the BJP-led alliance would be confined to no more than 80 seats, while the PDA stands as 20 against the NDA.

Adityanath made the remark in October, after the Rajya Sabha polls. Yadav also used a post on Monday to pledge that, if his party forms the government, Ayodhya will be developed into a global capital for Sanatan pilgrimage, with a probe into alleged land irregularities in the temple town.