Replies to notice were unsatisfactory, says party
The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday expelled Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav, Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha for anti-party activities. The decision to expel them was taken at a meeting held between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other leaders of the party. The AAP stated that its National Disciplinary Committee had found replies to show-cause notices issued to the four expelled leaders unsatisfactory. The notices were issued after the leaders established a new faction within the AAP last week, with over 2,000 volunteers of the party. Yadav and Bhushan were expelled from the party's top decision-making bodies in March, after being accused of working to undermine the party during the recent Delhi assembly elections.

‘Acche din government’ has failed India, says Rahul
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that the Narendra Modi-led “acche din government” had failed India. Gandhi criticised the government over its decision to amend the land acquisition bill. “Your corporate friends want land of our nation, you are weakening the farmers and then you will hit them with the ordinance axe,” said Gandhi in a speech to the Lok Sabha. He added that Modi had found himself on the wrong side of the debate as the vast majority of Indians opposed changes to the Act. However, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs M Venkaiah Naidu said that the plight of farmers was the legacy of “50 years of Congress rule”.

Navy, Coast Guard seize boats carrying heroin
Two boats allegedly from Pakistan carrying 140-kilograms of heroin were seized by the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard in a joint operation off the coast of Porbandar in Gujarat on Monday. Eight men were arrested during the operation, said officials, adding that satellite phones had also been recovered from the boats. The boats were intercepted after the Navy received intelligence that they had entered Indian waters. The seized heroin was estimated to be worth over Rs 280 crores.

India asks Pakistan to act on Hafeez Saeed's threats
The Union government on Monday reacted to the anti-India remarks made by Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafeez Saeed, saying that India would give a fitting reply to any threat made against it. “We are a responsible country, a responsible power,” said Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju. “Security agencies are alert and they act on every input.” Rijiju asked the Pakistani government to act against Saeed, who had allegedly called India “the number one enemy” at a rally held in Peshawar on Monday. Saeed also pledged full support to people in Jammu and Kashmir who were struggling for their freedom, saying that he backed jihad in the Indian state in concert with the Pakistani government and Army.

Giriraj apologises for remarks about Sonia 
Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Monday apologised in the Lok Sabha for his recent remarks on Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s skin colour. “Had Rajiv Gandhi married a Nigerian woman and had she not been of white skin, would the Congress party have accepted her as a leader?” Singh had asked during an informal interaction with journalists earlier this month. However, the House was adjourned after Congress MPs created an uproar and demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue. “It is an insult to the Nigerians also,” said party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia. “The Nigerian High Commission has also protested.”