The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab on Friday said it would convene a special session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha next month against the Centre’s “attempt to hit the livelihoods of the poor by replacing the MGNREGA scheme”.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, “The BJP government at the Centre is trying to hit the livelihoods of the poor by replacing the MGNREGA scheme. A special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha will be called in the second week of January to raise the voice of Punjabis against this oppression.”

In the draft voters’ list, published on December 16, the number of applications for new enrolment is negligible compared to the number of voters excluded from the previous list as of October 2025.

Sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, have said that the number of applications for new voters’ enrolment during the first stage of their enrolment has been 3,24,800 compared to the massive figure of 58,20,899 excluded voters from the earlier list.

In a tumultuous session marked by loud protests and sloganeering from Opposition benches, the Lok Sabha passed the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RAM-G Bill) via voice vote on Thursday.

The winter session of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly is unlikely to take place within the current calendar year due to the pressure from the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the upcoming festive season, sources said on Thursday.

The second phase of the SIR exercise began on Tuesday with the publication of the draft voters’ list.

The Election Commission of India (ECI), from Thursday, will start sending notices for hearing on the claims and objections on the draft voters’ list in West Bengal, thus marking the end of the first stage of the three-part Special Intensive Exercise (SIR), which started from November 4.

The draft list was published on Tuesday. Sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said that to begin with, the ECI will send notices to the “unmapped” voters, which means those voters who have no connection with the voters' list for 2002, either through “self-mapping” or through ”progeny mapping".

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday met Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Delhi and presented her the Telangana Rising 2047 Vision Document.

The Chief Minister briefed Sonia Gandhi on the details of the Telangana Rising Global Summit-2025, which was held on December 8 and 9 at the upcoming Bharat Future City.

He also told her about the welfare schemes being implemented by the Congress government for the past two years, the measures being taken for the state's development, and future plans, according to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

The Lok Sabha witnessed sharp protests on Tuesday as the government introduced the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, aimed at replacing the iconic Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor led the opposition charge, terming the bill a "deeply regrettable and retrograde step" that undermines the welfare of India's most vulnerable rural citizens.

 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab strongly condemned the Union government’s move to dismantle the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and replace it with the so-called Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G), calling it a “well-planned deception” aimed at weakening the rights, dignity, and livelihood security of rural labourers across the country.

Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot has welcomed the decision of Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court in the National Herald case, calling it a clear victory of truth over 'misuse' of power.

He said that by rejecting the Enforcement Directorate’s complaint against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the court has made it unequivocally clear that no case of money laundering under the PMLA is made out.

“We have maintained from the very beginning that this was a false and fabricated case, deliberately created by the Modi government with the sole intention of tarnishing the image of the Gandhi family,” Gehlot said.

The draft voters’ list in West Bengal, marking the end of the first stage of the three-stage Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive in the state, was published on Tuesday.

At the same time, the Election Commission has also published a separate list of the excluded voters from the previous list as of October 2005. This includes deceased voters, shifted voters, untraceable voters, duplicate voters, and voters found suitable for exclusion for other reasons.

Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, on Monday, directed the police administration to strengthen surveillance through state-of-the-art technologies, including drones and AI-based tools.

A Lok Bhavan official said that the Governor chaired a state-level conference of the Home and Police Departments at Lok Bhavan in Imphal.

Governor Bhalla, a former Union Home Secretary, during the discussion in the meeting also emphasised hands-on training and capacity building of police personnel.

The Haryana government will confer Good Governance Awards to employees who have done commendable or innovative work related to Good Governance in 2024 and 2025 on the eve of Good Governance Day on December 25.

The last date for submission of applications and nominations for the Haryana Good Governance Award Scheme, 2025 (Haryana Sushaasan Puraskaar Yojana, 2025), has been extended up to December 17, after which the online portal will be closed.

A letter in this regard has been issued by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi. This extension provides an additional opportunity for eligible employees to submit their entries showcasing exemplary and innovative work in governance.

In a money laundering probe related to an environmental crime, the Enforcement Directorate attached properties, including land, building and plant and machinery, worth Rs 79.93 crore belonging to a Punjab-based company involved in water pollution, an official said on Monday.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Jalandhar Zonal Office, provisionally attached the immovable properties of Malbros International Pvt Ltd on Saturday in the money laundering investigation related to environmental crime, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday stressed that political interference in institutions should not be tolerated.

Political interference in institutions should not be tolerated and needs to be dealt with seriously, he told reporters at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) here in response to reports about the interference in the working and staff engagement in a power project allegedly by a BJP MLA.

"Political meddling in the functioning of corporations and departments is unfortunate and worrisome. Political interference should not happen. Such matters must be viewed with seriousness. Earlier, these institutions were accountable to an elected government, but now decisions are being taken without that system in place," Omar Abdullah alleged.

The Election Commission of India (ECI)’s decision for re-verification of data provided in the duly-filled enumeration forms collected by the booth-level officers (BLOs) during the first stage of the three-level ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal has led to the detection of around eight lakh additional excludable voters within just seven days from December 3 to December 11.

The re-verification of data in the enumeration forms began on December 3 and continued until December 11, which was also the last day for submitting and digitising the enumeration forms.

A day after announcing a revised schedule for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in six States and Union Territories, following requests from their respective Chief Electoral Officers, the ECI on Friday said that it has appointed Special Roll Observers (SROs) for observing the SIR of the Electoral Rolls in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

According to the ECI, the SROs have already begun their work and are expected to be present two days a week in these States until the final Electoral Rolls are published in February 2026.

Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday paid tribute to the legendary Dogra warrior Late General Zorawar Singh for his courage, purpose and commitment to bigger ideals on his 184th death anniversary.

“His vision inspired generations by igniting passion, guiding people toward a shared vision, courage, purpose & commitment to bigger ideals. We must follow his message for moral clarity, unwavering conviction to shape the better future & empower the marginalised. Let's dedicate yourself to changing lives, guiding and supporting youth and build a more just and peaceful society,” L-G Sinha wrote on his X handle.

Kerala's political formations are bracing for a decisive day as counting of votes in the local body elections begins at 8 am on Saturday across 244 centres statewide.

With turnout dipping in both phases of polling, the political fronts are closely crunching numbers to gauge which way the public mood has shifted ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

With the enumeration phase of the three-stage Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal complete, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has identified 58 lakh excludable voters from the current voters’ list.

As per figures available from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), based on the trend of digitisation of the duly filled enumeration forms collected by the booth-level officers (BLOs) from voters till Thursday night, a total of 58,08,232 voters have been found as excludable.

 With the enumeration phase in the three-stage Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal completed, a remarkably high number of existing voters identified through progeny-mapping has kept the Election Commission of India (ECI) sceptical.

As per the figures available from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), going by the trend of the digitisation of the duly filled enumeration forms collected by the booth-level officers (BLOs) from the voters, the total number of existing voters identified through progeny-mapping stands 3,84,85,166.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday inspected the under-construction Tourist Facility Centre at Kesariya in East Champaran, reviewing the auditorium and various tourist amenities being developed at the site.

He directed officials to expedite the project, noting that the Kesariya Buddhist Stupa attracts a large number of domestic and foreign tourists, and the new facility will significantly enhance visitor convenience while showcasing Bihar’s Buddhist heritage.

A key highlight of the centre is a 5D theatre with a seating capacity of 48, where visual frames on important Buddhist teachings will be displayed.

J&K Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha, said on Thursday that for long the victims of terrorism were left to struggle in silence as he handed over 41 job appointment letters to next of kin of terror victims.

Appointment letters were also handed over to 22 beneficiaries in Age relaxation cases and 19 wards of J&K Police martyrs under Compassionate Appointment Rules SRO-43 and Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme (RAS).

Earlier, on July 28, 2025, the Lieutenant Governor had handed over the appointment letters to 94 Next of Kin (NoKs) of terror victims from the Jammu division.

A group of students from J&K’s Udhampur district on Thursday called on the President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi.

Army’s Udhampur headquartered northern command said on X, “A group of students from Udhampur, Jammu & Kashmir, called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The group visited Rashtrapati Bhavan as part of the National Integration Tour.”

With the deadline for the submission and digitisation of the enumeration forms in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal coming to end at 12 midnight on Thursday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to handover the separate lists of excludable voters to the booth-level agents (BLAs) of all the political parties in the state that are registered with the it.

Sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said the list will also contain the detailed breakup of the excludable voters, like deceased voters, shifted voters, untraceable voters, duplicate voters, and voters deemed to be found excludable for other reasons.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, to conduct the hearings on the claims and objections in the second stage of the three-stage Special Intensive Revision (SIR) only at the offices of the District Magistrates who are also the District Electoral Officers concerned.

The Commission has directed that such hearings should not be conducted at the block development offices or the panchayat offices under any circumstances, sources in the CEO's office confirmed.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has reported significant progress in Phase II of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with data showing that seven states and Union Territories have achieved 100 per cent distribution, and four recorded complete digitisation of Elector-specific Enumeration Forms (EFs) amongst 12.

The update was shared in the Commission’s daily bulletin released on Wednesday.

Amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, the digitisation of 99.53 per cent of enumeration forms has been completed, and the number of excludable voters stands at little over 57 lakhs.

The scheduled deadline for completion of the enumeration form digitisation is December 11 evening, after which the draft voters' list will be published on December 16.

According to sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officers (CEO), West Bengal, of the 57 lakh potentially excludable voters, a little over 24 lakh are dead.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab General Secretary Baltej Pannu launched a sharp attack on the Congress party for not answering questions related to the alleged “sale” of the Chief Minister’s chair for ₹500 crore and ₹350 crore in Congress.

Punjab Finance Minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema, on Tuesday cornered the Congress party over serious allegations of corruption, suggesting that the party should put up a 'menu board' outside its office. He quipped that this board would inform the public about the fixed rates for obtaining tickets for the post of Chief Minister, Cabinet Minister, Member of Parliament, Member of Legislative Assembly, and other positions including Panchayat elections.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has reported significant progress in Phase II of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with data showing that most states and Union Territories have achieved near-total distribution and digitisation of Elector-specific Enumeration Forms (EFs).

The update was shared in the Commission’s daily bulletin released on Tuesday.

The enumeration phase for the ongoing revision began on November 4 and will conclude on December 11.

The first phase of Kerala's local body elections witnessed brisk polling across seven districts on Tuesday, with long queues of voters seen at booths from early morning.

Polling began at 7 a.m. after mock polling and will continue till 6 p.m.

By noon, the overall turnout had crossed 47 per cent across the seven districts voting in the first phase, reflecting strong voter participation.

Alba Smeriglio has taken charge as the British Deputy High Commissioner in Chandigarh on Monday.

She represents the UK in the four states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Alba is a diplomat with a range of experience in roles overseas and in London. Her previous postings include Montserrat, where she served as Head of Programmes and Office, as well as other positions in the Caribbean and in South Asia.

Calling the debate on Vande Mataram an attention-diverting tactic of the government, Congress MP from Wayanad Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Monday that the national song is a part of the country’s soul and “there can be no debate on it”.

During a special discussion on the song in Lok Sabha, the Congress MP said the “needless” discussion had been called by the ruling party with the dual intention of setting a narrative ahead of the Bengal Assembly elections and levelling new allegations against freedom fighters to divert public attention.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (L-G), Manoj Sinha, said on Monday that all those who suffered in Operation Sindoor as well as floods will get new houses with family health insurance cover and other facilities.

The L-G said that a new chapter will start in the lives of those who have suffered due border shelling in Operation Sindoor and floods.

"I am thankful to HRDS India which agreed to construct houses for such affected families. I approached the heads of HRDS India with a request for construction of new houses for such families. They agreed to do so."

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi on Saturday, delivered a blistering critique of the INDIA bloc, describing it as fractured, indecisive, and incapable of mounting a serious challenge to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

He warned that the alliance, once touted as a united front, is now “on life support,” crippled by infighting and a lack of cohesion. Abdullah argued that the Opposition has squandered opportunities to present itself as a credible alternative, pointing to Bihar as a glaring example of self-sabotage.