Author: Md Nasimuddin
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav and other allies of the INDIA bloc, led a protest march in Patna on Wednesday (July 9, 2025) against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, alleging that the exercise aimed at disenfranchising marginalised voters ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled later this year.
The Bihar cabinet on Tuesday decided that the existing 35% quota for women in government jobs will now be restricted to only permanent residents of the state, with the decision just months ahead of the crucial assembly polls coming amid a growing demand from jobseekers as well as political opponents for the implementation of a domicile policy in government jobs.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (July 8, 2025) said that she was shocked and disturbed to learn that the Foreigners Tribunal in Assam has issued an NRC notice to a resident of Dinhata in Cooch Behar and claimed that “premeditated attempt is being made to intimidate, disenfranchise, and target marginalised communities”.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused stock market regulator Sebi of “staying silent” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of “sitting with its eyes closed” in the case of the trading firm Jane Street.
With China’s dominance over global rare earth supplies looming large, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday issued a pointed call for BRICS nations to ensure that critical mineral supply chains remain secure, reliable, and free from geopolitical coercion.
Defending the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls under way in Bihar, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday (July 7, 2025) said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had held extensive consultations with all political parties and “no one was satisfied with the current status of electoral rolls for one reason or other”.
BRICS leaders at a summit on Sunday took aim at US President Donald Trump’s “indiscriminate” import tariffs and recent Israeli-US strikes on Iran.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has issued a strongly worded wake-up call to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), even as an Indian delegation made a formal pitch to host the 2036 Olympics.
Allies in governing NDA have backed EC’s ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, describing the exercise as “routine and necessary”.
Samik Bhattacharya, a 61-year-old Rajya Sabha member and chief spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s West Bengal unit, emerged as the sole contender for the post of state president on Wednesday as nobody else filed nominations during the organisational election process paving way for the veteran leader, senior party functionaries said.