An FIR has been filed against Congress MLA Bhushan Bara in Jharkhand under the POCSO and Juvenile Justice Acts over a rape allegation, Hatia DSP Niraj Kumar said on Friday.
Bara, who represents the 70-Simdega seat, has dismissed the charges as a fabricated conspiracy by his political opponents. BJP leaders and workers protested in Ranchi the same day and demanded his arrest without delay.
Seema Sharma, president of the Jharkhand BJP Mahila Morcha, wants him removed from office, and Ranchi City BJP chief Varun Kumar Sahu has warned of continued protests if he is not arrested.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will take a wide-ranging trip across Uttar Pradesh starting in late November, ahead of the state's Assembly polls. A BJP source says he will go to all six party regions to lift workers' spirits.
The first leg will cover two of those regions in November, and the party is planning for Shah to stay overnight in each of the six. He will also sit down with senior figures from each area to map out strategy.
District-level meetings and public rallies should follow.
Telangana Labour Minister Vivek Venkatswamy has attacked the BJP and BRS over their opposition to the Bharat Summit 2026, saying the opposition has little left to offer.
Damodar Rao Aveli of the TPCC added that the state government, not Congress, is organising the event, and accused both parties of petty stunts.
The two-day summit runs November 13 and 14 in Hyderabad, with about 1,000 delegates from India and around 70 nations. It also marks 80 years of Indian independence and Jawaharlal Nehru's 137th birth anniversary.
Rahul Gandhi has again pressed PM Modi to join a face-to-face public debate, saying Modi would not remain prime minister afterwards. He made the remark during an Instagram Q&A on Friday.
Gandhi says he was not allowed to speak on farm laws, SIR and China, and that his mic was switched off. He wants a short exchange with no long speeches, and would accept Gautam Adani or Mohan Bhagwat as the judge.
The BJP has dismissed the challenge and accuses Gandhi of avoiding debates in Parliament, which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says is already available for discussion.
Raj Thackeray of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena says the BJP is using Chhath Puja to stir social tensions in Mumbai, and he urged people not to fall for it.
In an X post, he alleged the party is trying to provoke a clash between Marathis and North Indians before the Uttar Pradesh polls, and pointed to Bhojpuri songs at some Mumbai railway stations that his party moved to stop.
He argued the BJP has run short of ideas and that dividing communities no longer wins it votes, citing past attempts to inflame Hindu-Muslim and caste tensions around elections.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin joined other leaders in Patna to honour former Rajya Sabha MP RK Sinha, founder of SIS, who died on October 30.
Nabin visited Sinha's home to console the family and said Sinha had helped him in many ways after his father died.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh said Sinha had brought 1.5 million families together, while Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha called him a social worker who made Bihar and the country proud.
BY Vijayendra's three-year term as Karnataka BJP chief has ended, and the party's central leaders are weighing whether his successor should be a Lingayat.
Names being discussed include Sunil Kumar, Shobha Karandlaje, Tejasvi Surya and CN Ashwath Narayan. Lingayats, about 15 to 17 per cent of the state's population, have long been the party's core support.
Past non-Lingayat chiefs have produced uneven outcomes. If one is picked, a Lingayat is expected to become leader of the opposition, with Aravind Bellad being considered.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has accused Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath of disrespecting Lord Krishna through alleged remarks about cowherds, and says the BJP will lose the 2027 Assembly elections.
Yadav shared a video clip on X of Adityanath speaking at an Uttarakhand event, where the CM allegedly said Yadav would otherwise be grazing buffaloes in his village of Saifai in Etawah.
Yadav claimed Adityanath has grown fearful of defeat, citing the 2024 Lok Sabha and recent MLC elections.
Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat has ruled out a bid for the state's top post, calling talk of it baseless. In a social media post on Wednesday, he said his aim is a Congress government in 2027 that unseats the BJP.
He said the party has many capable people for the role, and that after rising from booth worker to Union minister and chief minister, he has no wish for any specific post. He also accused two people he called the 'Bunty-Babli' duo of diverting hundreds of crores meant for school mid-day meals and food for pregnant women.
A video circulating online apparently shows Tripura BJP MLA Tafajjal Hossain making objectionable remarks about how tribal people eat and live.
Tipra Motha Party chief Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, whose party is an ally in the ruling coalition, wants an apology. CPI(M) leader Jitendra Chaudhury, who is also the Leader of Opposition, has urged the state government to act against the MLA.
Hossain says his remarks were twisted and accuses the CPI(M) of spreading misinformation about him. He also says he never meant to hurt anyone and is sorry if tribal people were upset by his words.
AAP is expected to unveil its second list of Punjab Assembly candidates on Thursday. The names will be debated at a Political Affairs Committee meeting in Delhi that evening, led by Arvind Kejriwal.
The list may feature cabinet ministers, sitting MLAs and halqa in-charges. The first list of 40 names, released on October 31, included CM Bhagwant Mann from Dhuri.
Since then, Harmeet Pathanmajra and Chetan Jouramajra have quit the party and joined the BJP, with vacancies now in Samana, Sanaur and Amritsar North.
The BJP is gearing up for the 2027 Gujarat Assembly polls, kicking off with a visit by PM Modi.
Modi is expected to stay overnight in Gandhinagar on November 13. On November 14, he is due to pray at the Ambaji temple in Banaskantha, coinciding with Labh Pancham.
On November 22, the party will hold Snehmilan gatherings in all 182 constituencies. MLAs have been asked to stay in their seats, and CM Bhupendra Patel, Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi and the state BJP president will address the events virtually.
Congress begins a statewide Haryana campaign today, with public meetings until November 24. Called Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao Chaupal Abhiyan, it targets what the party sees as problems in how elections are run.
State chief Rao Narender Singh and Sanjay Dutt will tour the state with Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala.
The party alleges the 2024 Haryana Assembly vote was tilted toward the BJP through manipulation and flawed voter rolls. It has also questioned the Election Commission's accountability under Gyanesh Kumar.
In her memoir, Sonia Gandhi says neither she nor Rahul Gandhi got any money from the National Herald revival. She accuses the BJP and RSS of acting as both prosecutor and judge against opposition leaders.
Rahul Gandhi has faced at least 30 cases across eight states, and a 2023 defamation conviction over a rally remark cost him his Parliament seat.
The revival was structured as a non-profit, yet a criminal conspiracy case was brought in 2015 and the Enforcement Directorate later launched its own prosecution. The matter is still in court more than twelve years on.
Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has accused the state BJP of staying silent over lab tests showing ethanol above the 20% cap in petrol from 67 outlets. He says the Centre must explain the discrepancies.
He claimed petrol vehicle owners are facing engine trouble and poor mileage, while the BJP is protesting price rises. He also hit out at state BJP chief B.Y. Vijayendra over recent remarks about Congress leaders.
A first list of 500 directors for boards and corporations has been signed, and two more lists will follow.
UP BJP chief Pankaj Chaudhary has accused the INDIA bloc of pushing the country toward chaos through its protests. He says the 2027 state election is about defeating those who want to unsettle the nation.
He claimed the opposition wants a movement modelled on upheavals in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. A former BSP MP and an ex-CBI DSP joined the party at the same event.
The opposition's recent march to Ramlila Maidan also called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign over alleged voter roll irregularities.
Karnataka CM D K Shivakumar says the BJP should first address concerns over ethanol in petrol before protesting price hikes. He claims the blend has hurt mileage and damaged engines.
The state says E20 samples from seven districts had up to 31 per cent ethanol, above the 20 per cent limit. Shivakumar wants the Centre to probe the fuel's source and quality, and says he is not blaming pump operators.
Meanwhile, the BJP staged a Bengaluru protest against rising prices. State chief B Y Vijayendra warned it could reach panchayat level if the hikes are not withdrawn.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari has hit back at TMC MP Kirti Azad, who vowed not to go to the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
Azad alleged that Lord Ram sent away his wife Sita even after she passed a trial by fire, and said he visits Kali temples instead.
Bhandari said on X that the TMC had disrespected Lord Ram and claimed the Congress-led INDIA bloc is against Sanatan. He predicted voters would punish the opposition in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh polls, pointing to the TMC's loss in West Bengal.
Congress leader Sandeep Dixit has thanked Sonia Gandhi for writing about his mother, former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, in her memoir. He accused the BJP of blowing up every point raised about the book.
The memoir alleges that the BJP and RSS quietly ran the 2012 Anna Hazare anti-corruption campaign to bring down the UPA government.
On the 1984 riots, Dixit said Sangh members and several BJP leaders were involved, with cases against some of them, and that courts will decide the truth.
BJP leaders met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday and sought Rs 10 lakh for each shopkeeper hit in the Diwali night fire at Jammu's Warehouse Market. Traders have kept the market shut until Wednesday.
The party also wants a new market built and stricter fire safety in commercial buildings. A six-member panel led by MLA Sham Lal Sharma is handling the demands.
The fire department says it handled 60 fire incidents across Jammu province that night, 35 of them in Jammu district alone.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief Nainar Nagendran told reporters in Tiruchirappalli on Monday that some people are running a corruption scheme through books written and sold using AI, and he wants the TVK government under Chief Minister Joseph Vijay to investigate.
The claims relate to the Periyar Intellectual World row. Recent titles appear under made-up names like Trisha and Vijay, he said.
He also criticised law and order, citing 15 murders on Diwali alone. He asked the Chief Minister to explain the killing of a Special Sub-Inspector in Theni.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari has challenged Sonia Gandhi over the Bofors arms scandal, saying her new memoir has brought it back into focus. He claims Congress has stayed silent and wants to know how Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Ottavio Quattrocchi were linked.
He also said the book dwells on the Babri Masjid issue while skipping Bofors questions.
A 1986 contract for 155 mm howitzers, worth about $1.4 billion, later drew bribery claims. The Supreme Court closed the case in August 2026 without a criminal conviction.
Former Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan used a BJP rally in Sambalpur to attack Congress over its stance on democracy and the Election Commission. He said the party backs these institutions only when it wins.
Pradhan also said Congress and the Gandhi family were growing more intolerant as voters kept backing PM Modi. The BJP will continue such rallies across the country, he added.
Panchayati raj minister Rabinarayani Naik described questioning the Election Commission after defeats as a feudal mindset.
Telangana BJP chief Ramchander Rao has accused Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of time and again failing to show regard for soldiers and paramilitary forces. Gandhi had just renewed his call for PM Modi to take part in a public debate.
Rao said the Congress never condemned the killing of CRPF personnel in Bastar, and that Gandhi has stayed quiet on Naxal violence and terror attacks.
He urged Gandhi to join a debate in Parliament rather than flee abroad. The exchange follows Modi's warning that the Naxal menace persists.
Rahul Gandhi has written to IDBI Bank employees, backing their opposition to the government's plan to sell the bank.
He said public banks are tools for nation-building, asked why a profitable lender is being sold, and warned that SC, ST and OBC reservations would pass into private hands with the bank.
Some experts see Congress's economic politics taking a leftward tilt under him, while party leaders argue the BJP's rightward swing is what makes it look that way. One expert notes the party has yet to set out a clear economic policy.
Two years on from 2024, the BJP is struggling to build on its Odisha win. Its former ally, the BJD, still has strong ground support and was narrowly ahead on vote share in the assembly polls, 40.22% to 40.07%.
Some senior BJP leaders are unhappy with the state government's progress, and three party MPs have complained in letters about slow, poor-quality infrastructure work in their constituencies.
Meanwhile, the BJD has attacked the Centre over the MMDR Amendment Act, 2026, calling it anti-federal, and has joined Opposition criticism of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
BJP MP Tapir Gao has backed the 11,200 MW Siang Upper project in Arunachal Pradesh, saying it will be built regardless of protests. He said the Centre and the state are still seeking a feasibility report before a final decision.
Gao accused anti-dam agitators of political motives, noting that 92 people have been arrested over the October 23 Pasighat violence, with over 100 more still to be taken into custody.
Gao also pointed to China's upstream hydropower generation as something that could have serious consequences for Assam and Bangladesh.
Congress workers protested at several petrol pumps in Bengaluru on Monday, alleging fuel has more ethanol than the 20 per cent limit. They want the Centre to halt the blending programme.
Led by S Manohar, they demonstrated at Nehru Circle and in Malleswaram. The party cites Karnataka government samples showing 21 to 30 per cent ethanol.
Food minister Rizwan Arshad has asked oil companies to explain the content of 63 samples, while BJP MP Yaduveer Wadiyar dismisses the claims as a way to deflect from price rises.
Thousands marched in Kolhapur on Monday against the state's decision to appoint directors to the Gokul Milk Cooperative.
The row stems from a board election where Satej Patil's panel won 13 of 25 seats to the BJP's 12. After four directors were given voting rights, the BJP's tally rose to 16, which Congress says came from post-election rule changes.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis defends the move, saying neither side has enough votes for a quorum to choose a chairman. If the chairman vote fails three times, powers would go to the District Deputy Registrar.
News India Xtra@newsIndiaxtra
India inshorts
