Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said that the 1971 census must remain the basis for delimitation of Lok Sabha for the next 30 years. His demand, at an all-party meeting on the topic, came amid concerns that a population-based nationwide delimitation exercise to redrawn constituencies could hurt southern states’ representation in Parliament.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader proposed to set up a committee comprising MPs from the southern states to draft a joint response to the proposed exercise. The meeting was attended by ally Congress, the Left front and the Opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, among others, who agreed on opposing the exercise. The Bharatiya Janata Party boycotted the meeting.

On February 25, Stalin had claimed that the delimitation exercise could cost his state eight Lok Sabha seats. Read on.

New private universities in Assam will require a “national security” clearance from the state government, said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The institutes would also need to undergo “periodic inspections to ensure full adherence to the secular principles of our Constitution”, he said.

Sarma added that the universities would also be required to “confirm that they are not directly or indirectly involved in religious conversion”.

Sarma said the Cabinet’s decision on Tuesday to amend the 2007 Assam Private Universities Act was prompted by the controversy involving the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya and its Chancellor Mahbubul Hoque.

Sarma has previously made disparaging remarks about Hoque and the institute. Read on.

Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi was suspended from the remainder of the Maharashtra Assembly session for remarks he made about Mughal emperor Aurangzeb two days ago. The state’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandrakant Patil claimed that Azmi’s comments were an insult to Chhatrapati Sambhaji and disrespected the House.

Azmi had said on Monday that he did not consider Aurangzeb a cruel ruler, claiming, “Wrong history is being shown.”

Following criticism, he retracted his remarks, saying they had been distorted and not meant to offend. Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske filed a complaint alleging Azmi’s comments hurt Hindu sentiments. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde sought that a sedition case be filed against Azmi. Read on.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was ready to work under the “strong leadership” of United States President Donald Trump to end the war with Russia. He added that Kyiv was also ready to sign a controversial deal that will give Washington access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

Zelenskyy’s statement came after Trump on Friday accused him of “gambling with World War III” during a public confrontation at the White House. The tense meeting led to the collapse of the minerals deal and created uncertainty about American military support for Ukraine amid the war with Russia.

Hours later, Trump told a joint sitting of the US Congress that he had received a letter from Zelenskyy about his willingness to negotiate.

“Wouldn’t that be beautiful?” he said. “It’s time to stop this madness. It’s time to halt the killing. It’s time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars you have to talk to both sides.” Read on.

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