A five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court is scheduled on March 15 to hear an application filed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking the return of electoral bonds’ documents. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

Electoral bonds data | BJP received ₹6,060 crore, highest among all parties

The Bharatiya Janata Party encashed electoral bonds worth ₹6060.5 crore — the highest among all parties — between April 12, 2019 and January 24, 2024. In the period, BJP’s share in the total bonds encashed was over 47.5%. The All India Trinamool Congress received ₹1,609.50 crore (12.6%) via this route followed by the Congress ₹1,421.9 crore (11.1%), the second and third biggest parties in terms of encashment in the period.

Electoral bonds data | Future Gaming and Hotel Services purchased ₹1,368 crore worth electoral bonds, most among firms 

Future Gaming and Hotel Services PR whose managing director is the well known lottery magnate Santiago Martin, is the largest donor to political parties for the period April 12, 2019 to January 24, 2024, the electoral bonds data released by the Election Commission, on receipt from the State Bank of India, revealed.

B.S. Yediyurappa booked under POCSO Act

The Sadashivanagar police booked senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, 81, under a section of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) acting on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old of sexual assault.

ECI asks Supreme Court to return sealed electoral bonds documents

A five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud is scheduled on March 15 to hear an application filed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking the return of electoral bonds’ documents handed over to the apex court in sealed cover/sealed boxes on two occasions. The application referred to a direction issued on March 11 by the Bench in its order that the “copies of the statements which were filed by the ECI before this court would be maintained in the office of the ECI”.

Petrol, diesel price cut by ₹2: Petroleum Minister

Oil companies have cut petrol and diesel prices by ₹2, effective from 6 a.m. on March 15, said Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. “Reduction in petrol and diesel prices will boost consumer spending and reduce operating costs for over 58 lakh heavy goods vehicles running on diesel, six crore cars and 27 crore two-wheelers,” Mr Puri said in a post on X.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee suffers injury after fall at residence

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was injured on her forehead after a fall at her Kalighat residence in Kolkata on. After a few tests, doctors found her stable to be discharged. She was then taken back home. There was widespread concern in the State after the incident. Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was seen at the health facility along with other Trinamool leaders.

Will find a way for people without documents to apply under CAA: Amit Shah

The Union government will soon find a way for people who do not have the required documents to apply for benefits under the Citizenship Amendment Act, (CAA), 2019, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said. In an interview with news agency ANI, Mr. Shah said that according to government estimates, 85% of the people seeking to apply under CAA have the required documents, adding that the government would soon find an alternative for those who do not have the requisite papers.

As Canada doubles down on Nijjar allegations, New Zealand says its stand on investigation has not changed

Canada said that it continues to “actively” investigate the killing of Khalistani separatist Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The comment, that came in response to statements by New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters during his visit to Delhi, where he spoke about the case in Canada, and evidence shared thus far by Canadian authorities. Canada and New Zealand are part of the “five eyes” intelligence sharing network along with the U.S., the United Kingdom and Australia, that regularly coordinate on security issues.

India seriously considering FTA with Eurasian Economic Union: Belarus Foreign Minister

India is “seriously considering” starting talks for a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Foreign Minister of Belarus Sergei Aleinik declared during his two day visit to India. The remarks from the Belarusian Minister acquires significance as Belarus has been closely aligned with Russia even as President Vladimir Putin continues to push ahead with the military operation against Ukraine since February 2022. 

Rahul Gandhi promises GST exemption, loan waiver for farmers; offer prayers at Trimbakeshwar

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for working only for ‘media attention’ through actions like performing undersea pooja, flying on aircraft and visiting Pakistan and China borders while neglecting the urgent issues faced by farmers, including loan waiver for agrarian and export and import policies. The grand old party’s ally Nationalist Congress Party (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut joined the former Congress president in his yatra.

I&B Ministry blocks 18 OTT platforms and associated social media accounts for publishing vulgar content

The Information & Broadcasting Ministry has blocked 18 OTT platforms on the charge of publishing obscene and vulgar content. The 19 websites, 10 apps and 57 social media handles associated with these platforms have also been blocked nationwide. Among the blocked OTT platforms are Dreams Films, Voovi, Yessma, Uncut Adda, Tri Flicks, X Prime, Neon X VIP, Besharams, Hunters, Rabbit, Xtramood, Nuefliks, MoodX, Mojflix, Hot Shots VIP, Fugi, Chikooflix, and Prime Play. The Ministry said a significant portion of the content hosted on these platforms was found to be obscene, vulgar, and portrayed women in a demeaning manner.

Notification for granting pension to women issued in Himachal Pradesh

Facing criticism for not honouring a poll promise of giving ₹1,500 per month to women in the age bracket of 18 to 59 years, the Himachal Pradesh government issued a notification for granting pension under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana. On March 4, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced that the State government will give ₹1,500 per month to women and said a sum of ₹800 crore would be spent on the initiative, benefitting more than five lakh women annually.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

Information shared by members of an intelligence-sharing alliance was part of what Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used to make public allegations of the Indian government’s possible involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the U.S. ambassador to Canada said.

“There was shared intelligence among ‘Five Eyes’ partners that helped lead Canada to [make] the statements that the prime minister made,” U.S. Ambassador David Cohen told Canadian CTV News network.

CTV News released some of Cohen’s comments late Friday, and the network said that it would air the full interview with the U.S. envoy on Sunday. No further details were released about the shared intelligence.

On Thursday, a Canadian official told The Associated Press that the allegation of India’s involvement in the killing is based on surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, including intelligence provided by a major ally — without saying which one.

The “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance is made up of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The relationship between Canada and India reached its lowest point in recent history when Mr. Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh separatist, in June in a Vancouver suburb. Both countries have expelled some top diplomats.

India, which has called the allegations “absurd,” also has stopped issuing visas to Canadian citizens and told Canada to reduce its diplomatic staff.

Canada has yet to provide public evidence to back Mr. Trudeau’s allegations.

Nijjar, a plumber who was born in India and became a Canadian citizen in 2007, had been wanted by India for years before he was gunned down in June outside the temple he led in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

U.S. President Joe Biden was “ mindful of the serious allegations” made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the White House’s strategic communications Chief, John Kirby has said, as he urged India to cooperate in the investigation. Mr Trudeau alleged on Monday that Indian government agents were involved in the June 18 killing of the separatist leader in Canada, an allegation that New Delhi has rejected.

“Certainly the President is mindful of these serious allegations … and they are very serious … and we support Canada’s efforts to investigate this,” Mr Kirby told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

Also read | Canada not looking to ‘provoke’ India, says PM Trudeau; urges New Delhi to take killing of separatist Sikh leader Nijjar seriously

“We believe a fully transparent, comprehensive investigation is the right approach so that we can all know exactly what happened and of course we encourage India to cooperate with that.”

Asked if the U.S. , as a ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence sharing partner of Canada, knew what the allegations were based on, Mr Kirby demurred, saying he wanted to respect the sanctity of the investigation. In terms of the fallout if the allegations were true, Mr Kirby said once the facts were available “you can start to look at recommendations or behaviours you might want to pursue”.

The U.S. is going to stay in touch with both its partners, India and Canada, about this issue, Mr Kirby told CBS News.

The U.S. was “ deeply concerned “ about the allegations, U.S. NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson had said on Tuesday, adding that it was critical that “ the perpetrators be brought to justice.”

India’s lack of response prompted Trudeau to go public: Canada’s UN Ambassador

In conducting its probe into Mr Nijjar’s death, the government of Canada had used “energetic , quiet diplomacy” with the Modi government over the last few weeks, according to Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations Bob Rae.

Mr Rae nalleged that the government was not engaging with the Canadian side adequately, prompting Mr Trudeau to publicize the issue.

“I don’t think anybody who really looked at this objectively would say that Canada has anything to gain from making the statement that the Prime Minister made yesterday. It was not a partisan statement, it was a statement about [sic] deep concern.” Mr Rae told CBC News on Tuesday.

“We didn’t see much coming from the other side,” he said, adding that this prompted Mr Trudeau to go public.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson at 10 Downing Street said work on the trade negotiations with India “continue as before”. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The U.K. government said on September 19 that the “serious allegations” over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada will not impact its own ongoing trade negotiations with India.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson at 10 Downing Street was asked about the impact the issue may have on India-U.K. relations after a government spokesperson said the U.K. remains in “close touch” with the Canadian authorities.

It follows Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in Parliament on Monday that it is pursuing “credible allegations” of “potential” Indian links to the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Chief of Khalistan Tiger Force and a designated terrorist. Canada also expelled an Indian diplomat.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi on Tuesday strongly rejected the claims as “absurd and motivated” and dismissed a senior Canadian diplomat in a reciprocal move.

“We are in close touch with our Canadian partners about these serious allegations,” a UK. government spokesperson said.

“It would be inappropriate to comment further during the ongoing investigation by the Canadian authorities,” the spokesperson said.

Later, when Mr. Sunak’s spokesperson was pressed on the matter, he said work on the trade negotiations with India “continue as before”.

India and the U.K. earlier this month agreed to continue to work at pace towards a “landmark” free trade agreement (FTA).