Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called upon residents of the national Capital to avoid bursting firecrackers during Diwali, pointing to the severe air pollution it causes in the city. Instead, he encouraged people to light diyas as a safer, more environment-friendly way to celebrate the festival of lights.

The Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) National Convenor stressed that the issue of firecrackers was not about religious sentiments but rather the health and well-being of Delhi's residents.

“This is not a matter of Hindu or Muslim sentiments. The Supreme Court, the High Court, all courts have emphasised the need to control pollution. Diwali is the festival of lights, we should celebrate it by lighting diyas and candles, not firecrackers,” he stated at a press conference in Delhi on Wednesday.

Congress MLA from Haryana Vinesh Phogat has alleged that women who raise their voices are often suppressed and she had firsthand experience about this.

Phogat along with All India Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba held a press conference on Monday here in support of a Youth Congress leader and her family, Roshni Jaiswal in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, who allegedly thrashed a BJP supporter here over "rape threats" issued by him on social media.

A video was played during the press conference where Jaiswal said that in September she had slapped a man, named Rajesh Kumar, in response to rape threats she received.

Roshni alleged in the video that after this incident, she got a notice for the attachment of her house.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has described Manusmriti as fundamentally anti-constitutional. Speaking at the 'Samvidhan Samman Sammelan' here on Saturday, he remarked that the ideological conflict between the Constitution and Manusmriti has persisted for generations.

Rahul Gandhi emphasised that although India's Constitution was formally written in 1949-1950, its underlying philosophy is thousands of years old, shaped by visionaries like Lord Buddha, Guru Nanak, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Birsa Munda, Narayana Guru, and Basavanna (philosopher and poet). “Without the influence of these great leaders, the Constitution might not have come into existence. Today, however, that progressive thinking is under siege,” he said, adding that safeguarding the Constitution is the nation's most urgent task.

Criticising the Central government, Rahul Gandhi accused not only Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, but also others of systematically weakening the Constitution. "Their goal," he warned, "is to undermine and destroy it, but we will not let that happen."

Senior National Conference leader and former J&K Speaker Mubarak Gul was on Saturday sworn in as the Pro-tem Speaker of the Assembly by Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha at the Raj Bhawan here.

An official statement said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and other senior NC leaders were present at the ceremony.

Gul will remain Pro-tem Speaker till elections are held for the new Speaker.

A Raj Bhavan communication had said yesterday that the Lt Governor, exercising powers conferred upon him under Section 24 of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, has appointed Gul to the post to administer oath/affirmation to the newly elected legislators.

Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday condemned the killing of a non-local by terrorists in Shopian district.

Omar said on his X on Friday, “Very sorry to hear about the death of Ashok Chouhan at the hands of militants in South Kashmir. These attacks are abhorrent & must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. I send my condolences to the family & loved ones of the deceased."

On Friday, police recovered the bullet-riddled dead body of a Bihar resident identified as Ashok Chouhan in Wanduna village of Zainpora area in Shopian district.

“The body was sent for completion of medico-legal formalities. A case has been registered in this incident and an investigation is underway,” police said.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders on Friday hailed the Delhi court’s decision to grant bail in a money laundering case to former health minister and party colleague Satyendar Jain and called it a victory of truth.

“Finally, truth has triumphed,” said Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha in a post in Hindi on his social media handle on X, welcoming the end of the two-year incarceration of the former health minister.

Thanking the judiciary for offering relief to Jain, Chadha wrote, “Satyendar Jain is the father of health revolution in Delhi. He is the force behind providing free health services in world-class hospitals and creating mohalla clinics.”

Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia also welcomed the bail granted to Jain. “His house was raided four times but no evidence against him was found. He was kept behind bars in a fake PMLA case. Lies and baseless allegations were used to imprison Satyendar Jain for so long,” said Sisodia in a post in Hindi on social media platform X.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has announced its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections to be held in two phases. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest 68 seats, while its key allies, AJSU Party, Janata Dal-United (JDU), and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJP), have been allotted 10, 2, and 1 seats respectively.

The details were revealed during a joint press conference held here at the BJP's state office on Friday.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Jharkhand BJP President Babulal Marandi, and AJSU Party President Sudesh Mahto were among the leaders present at the press meet.

On the recommendations of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Jammu & Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has assigned portfolios to five ministers of the Union Territory.

An order issued from Raj Bhavan, Srinagar said: “In pursuance of Rule 4 (2) of the Transaction of Business of the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Rules, 2019, LG Sinha assigned the charge to various ministers."

Surinder Kumar Choudhary, Deputy Chief Minister, will handle Public Works (R&B), Industries & Commerce, Mining, Labour & Employment, and Skill Development.

Sakeena Masood Itoo will manage Health & Medical Education, School Education, Higher Education, and Social Welfare.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday issued notification for the first phase of Assembly elections in Jharkhand, marking the beginning of the nomination process.

In the first phase, elections will be held in 43 Assembly constituencies.

Candidates can now submit their nomination papers both offline and online. Nomination papers will be accepted at the Returning Officer's (RO) office between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

A maximum of four persons, including the candidate, can enter the RO chamber. If the candidate belongs to a registered party, only one voter is required to propose their candidacy. However, independent candidates and those from non-recognised political parties will need ten proposers.

The Jammu & Kashmir Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has passed the resolution for restoration of statehood.

Official sources said that during its first meeting on Thursday, the J&K Cabinet passed a resolution urging the Central government to restore statehood.

“The draft of the resolution has been prepared and the Chief Minister will travel to New Delhi in a couple of days to hand over the draft of the resolution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to restore statehood to J&K,” sources said.

The meeting was presided over by the Chief Minister and was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and ministers Sakeena Masood Itoo, Javed Ahmad Rana, Javaid Ahmad Dar and Satish Sharma.