Bihar: BJP is Bharat Jalao Party, says Lalu

As campaigning for the Bihar assembly elections drew to a close on Saturday, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad took a parting shot at the Bharatiya Janata Party. Speaking in Chakand village in the Belaganj constituency, Prasad asked the crowd, “Do you know what Bha-ja-pa [BJP] means? Bha means Bharat, Ja means Jalao [burn], Party. It is Bharat Jalao Party.’’ Prasad added that “the wind has been taken out” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sail and that he was confident the Grand Alliance coalition would form the government in Bihar. Prasad also said that once Bihar is conquered, Delhi will be their next target. The five-phase Bihar elections begin on Monday and end on November 5.

Delhi: I’m being made a scapegoat, says Khan

A day after being sacked by Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on live television over corruption charges, former Delhi food and environment minister Asim Ahmed Khan said he has become a victim of the party’s internal politics and has been made a scapegoat. Criticising Kejriwal's move to sack him publicly without his knowledge and refuting the corruption allegations, Khan claimed there hadn’t been a thorough investigation into the matter. He added he will be making more revelations in the next couple of days.

Jammu and Kashmir: Truckers burnt with petrol bombs

Opposition legislators took on the government in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Saturday over an attack on Kashmiri truckers on the Srinagar-Jammu highway. Two Kashmiri drivers and a policeman suffered serious burns when miscreants allegedly attacked a truck with petrol bombs in the Udhampur district. The incident took place a day after Udhampur and adjacent areas observed a shutdown after carcasses of cows were found in the district. However, the district administration ruled out any foul play and said that the bovines had died a natural death.

Andhra Pradesh: Naidu launches e-Pragati project

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced on Saturday that Andhra Pradesh will become the first state in India to adopt state-wide enterprise architecture for governance by 2017, through the e-Pragati project. Launching the Rs 2,398 crore IT project, Naidu said the e-Pragati platform will help establish AP as a leader in enterprise architecture and also help the state earn revenue. The project will involve 33 secretariat departments, 315 government agencies and 745 services, and will be rolled out in four waves of 14 packages and 72 projects.

Maharashtra: Uddhav to skip Modi visit

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray chose to skip events planned around Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to Mumbai on Sunday, instead deciding to visit the drought-hit Marathwada region. "Uddhavji will be in the Beed district as per a pre-decided programme to review the drought situation there," said Shiv Sena media adviser Harshal Pradhan. Modi is visiting Mumbai to lay the foundation stone for Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's memorial at Indu Mills and to conduct a bhoomi pujan for two new Metro rail lines. The prime minister will also address a rally in the city.