The Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) has suffered another major setback in the Majha region. Senior Akali leader from Tarn Taran, Harmeet Singh Sandhu, along with dozens of his supporters, left the Akali Dal and joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday.

Harmeet Sandhu has been elected MLA from the Tarn Taran constituency three consecutive times. In 2002, he was first elected as an independent candidate. After that, he won the elections twice on the Shiromani Akali Dal’s ticket in 2007 and 2012. He also contested 2017 elections and 2022 assembly elections, he stood second.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Raebareli Member of Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, appeared before the MP-MLA court in Lucknow on Tuesday in connection with a defamation case filed against him for allegedly making objectionable remarks about Indian soldiers during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

The court promptly granted him bail on the condition of furnishing his personal bond of Rs 20,000 with two sureties of the like amount. The next date of hearing is August 13.

Rahul Gandhi surrendered before the MP-MLA court, following which his legal team filed a bail application. The court accepted the bail plea and granted him relief. He remained in the court premises for about an hour.

The Congress party on Tuesday demanded a full-fledged debate on China in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament, in light of the two nations heading towards ‘re-normalisation and resetting’ of ties, as stated by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar after the SCO foreign ministers' meeting in China.

EAM Jaishankar, during his visit to China, the first in five years after the 2020 Galwan clashes, met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Monday and noted the improvement in bilateral relations between the two nations.

Taking note of the development, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh argued that if the country’s Parliament could discuss the border situation in 1962, when the Chinese invasion was at its peak, why could a similar debate not take place now.

Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday criticised the Gujarat government for the lathi charge and use of tear gas on livestock farmers protesting outside the Sabar Dairy facility in Sabarkantha district.

The farmers protested on Monday, demanding a fair share in the dairy’s profits and a hike in milk procurement prices.

Kejriwal condemned the use of force against the demonstrators, calling it an act of "brutality".

Taking to X, he posted, "The BJP government has crossed all limits of brutality by ordering a lathi charge and tear gas on the livestock farmers peacefully protesting outside Gujarat's Sabar Dairy. Demanding a share in the dairy's profits is not a crime."

He also paid tribute to a dairy farmer who died while going home after the protest concluded.

In a press conference on Saturday, Punjab Finance Minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Harpal Singh Cheema launched a blistering attack on the Congress and BJP, alleging that both parties are working in coordination to protect drug traffickers and gangsters while attempting to stifle the AAP's war against drugs through false FIRs and political pressure.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) senior leader and Punjab’s Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains strongly criticized previous Congress and Akali-BJP governments for neglecting the state’s education system and stated that under the leadership 

A building collapse in North-East Delhi’s Janta Colony in Seelampur area early on Saturday morning claimed two lives and injured at least eight people, including three women and a baby.

The building, located in the narrow lanes of Janta Colony near Idgah Road, collapsed around 7:05 A.M., triggering panic and a massive rescue operation.

According to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot following an emergency alert. Rescue teams managed to pull four individuals out of the debris and transported them to GTB Hospital for immediate medical care.

Senior BJP leader and MLA from Pathankot, Mr. Ashwani Sharma was recently appointed as the Working President of the Punjab unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is set to officially assume charge on Sunday, July 13 at 11:00 AM at the party’s State Headquarters in Chandigarh.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday targeted the BJP, alleging that the ruling party has launched an attack on the Constitution of India, which protects the Dalits, tribals and poor people of the country.

While addressing a gathering at ‘Samvidhan Bachao Samavesh’ rally, Gandhi said the state government in Odisha was "looting the land, forest, water which belong to the tribals without giving adequate compensation to them".

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema accused the BJP of openly shielding gangsters and attempting to destabilise non-BJP state governments through violence and fear tactics.

Cheema alleged that several top BJP leaders, from Punjab to Delhi, were seen defending the accused instead of standing with the victim.