The big news: BJP hopes to retain bastions as voting underway in 19 states, and 9 other top stories
Other headlines: The Indian Army chief said 3 terror camps in PoK were destroyed, and the police recovered blood-stained knife in Kamlesh Tiwari murder case.
A look at the headlines right now:
- Voters queue up as polling in Maharashtra, Haryana begins: Bye-polls to two Lok Sabha constituencies and 51 Assembly seats spread across 17 states is also under way.
- ‘Three terror camps in PoK destroyed, six to 10 Pakistani soldiers killed,’ says General Bipin Rawat: A Congress leader in Bihar questioned the timing of Army strikes, asked why such attacks occur before polls.
- In the Kamlesh Tiwari murder case, the police recover blood-stained knife, clothes of suspects from Lucknow hotel: The three accused arrested in the case will be taken to Uttar Pradesh for questioning on Monday.
- BJP leader advises Hindus to prepare for Ayodhya verdict, asks them to ‘buy swords, not gold, on Dhanteras’: Gajraj Rana said he was confident that the judgement would be in favour of a Ram Temple. This could vitiate the atmosphere, he added.
- Gita Gopinath says ‘IMF is ‘a little less optimistic’ about India’s growth than it was a few months ago: The IMF chief economist said India suffered because of a weakness in rural demand, and problems in the non-banking financial sector.
- Manmohan Singh wants to attend Kartarpur inauguration event as an ‘ordinary man’, says Pakistan: Earlier this month, the former prime minister accepted Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s invitation to join the first group of pilgrims to the shrine.
- In Goa, Piyush Goyal calls for ‘mass movement’ against those who oppose development: The Union minister said the action of NGOs and people who impede development was the ‘worst form of obstructing justice’ for the poor.
- Rahul Gandhi targets BJP for criticising Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee: On Saturday, Banerjee said he would have helped the BJP had it asked, and added that he did not ‘believe in restricting good policy out of political prejudice’.
- Political solution without Naga flag, Constitution is inconclusive, says NSCN(IM): The group also clarified that the 2015 framework agreement was the meeting point for the two sides and the “rallying point for the divided Nagas’.
- Stray cattle have turned non-vegetarian, sent for treatment, says Goa BJP MLA Michael Lobo: The minister claimed that 76 animals in Calangute and Candolim were now used to eating ‘leftover chicken scraps’ and ‘stale fried fish from restaurants’.
