I.N.D.I.A Meet Highlights: Kharge plays down 'PM face' buzz, says bloc has to win majority first

Fog covers Delhi as the temperature dips further

BSF, Punjab Police intercept drone, contraband near village in Amritsar

Assault on Belagavi woman: Karnataka High Court condemns ‘collective cowardice’

The High Court of Karnataka on Monday condemned the "collective cowardice" of villagers who remained "mute spectators" when a woman was paraded naked and assaulted in Belagavi on December 11 after her son eloped with a girl. 
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit suggested that the state come up with steps to fix collective responsibility to prevent such incidents.

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China Earthquake: As of 6:30 am on Tuesday, more than 300 injured people had been treated in the affected area.

After the 6.2-magnitude earthquake occurred in Jishishan county, Gansu Province, the Gansu health department dispatched 33 ambulances and other professional vehicles, as well as 173 medical staff, to the scene. Qinghai Province also dispatched 68 ambulances, and more than 40 provincial and municipal experts to conduct rescue operations at the scene. As of 6:30 am on Tuesday, more than 300 injured people had been treated in the affected area. The National Health Commission also urgently dispatched medical emergency response officials and national-level experts specializing in critical care, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and general surgery to Gansu, reports China's Global Times

Taiwan reports another Chinese balloon crossing Taiwan Strait

Taiwan's defence ministry said on Tuesday that it had detected a single Chinese balloon crossing the Taiwan Strait on Monday.

The balloon crossed the Strait's median line to the north of the island heading east and then disappeared, the ministry said.

Cocaine worth Rs 40 cr seized from Indian who arrived from Sierra Leone

Representative image of drugs.

An Indian national who checked in a Mumbai hotel after arriving from Sierra Leone has been found in possession of 4 kg of cocaine valued at Rs 40 crore, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said.

Based on specific information, the DRI team conducted a search in a hotel room near the Mumbai airport on Monday and recovered the drug kept in two packets concealed in a travel bag by the accused, who has been arrested, the apex anti-smuggling agency said in a statement.

China's Gansu govt says 105 people killed in earthquake

IMF sees India's economy grow at 6.3% in current fiscal year

India's economy is projected to grow at 6.3% in the current fiscal year and the next, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said late Monday, supported by macroeconomic and financial stability.

The country’s digital public infrastructure and a strong government infrastructure program will continue to sustain growth, the IMF said in its Article IV consultation report, which reviews a country's current and medium-term economic outlook.

Police arrested two accused of the gang who stole cars on demand and recovered 5 cars worth about Rs 1.50 crore from different states

Heavy rainfall in the Southern District of Tamil Nadu impacted train operations. Southern Railway is making concerted efforts to restorative of traffic & evacuation of stranded passengers at Srivakuntam Railway station: Southern Railway

Credit: X/@ANI

Moderate thunderstorms & lightning with moderate rainfall is very likely to occur at isolated places over several districts of Tamil Nadu & Karaikal. Light rain is likely in isolated places in several districts of Tamil Nadu in the next three hours: Chennai MeT

BJP MLAs and Ministers are visiting the samadhis of RSS founders Dr KB Hedgewar and MS Golwalkar today

Mamata Banerjee to meet PM Modi tomorrow

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Banerjee is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Modi at 11 am on December 20 along with some TMC MPs over the issue of pending central funds of West Bengal.

CM Pramod Sawant hoists the National Flag on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of the Liberation of Goa.

China allocates 200 mn yuan for relief in quake-hit provinces

China's finance ministry and emergency management ministry on Tuesday allocated 200 million yuan ($28 million) in natural disaster relief funds to earthquake-hit Gansu and Qinghai provinces, state television CCTV reported.

Centre's guidelines on new COVID-19 variant implemented in MP: CM Yadav

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said his government has implemented guidelines issued by the Centre in connection with a new variant of COVID-19, amid an uptick in the viral infection cases in some states.

Yadav on Monday night visited Hamidia Hospital, the largest state government hospital in Bhopal, to take stock of the arrangements.

"The health department is working with full efficiency to deal with COVID-19 as well as all other diseases," Yadav told reporters after visiting the medical facility.

I.N.D.I.A meeting today; Mamata says ready to walk with Left

Top I.N.D.I.A leaders will meet here on Tuesday to reignite vigour into the Opposition bloc that has curiously remained inactive for the past three months with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seeking to set the stage by saying she is “open to” an alliance with the Left parties in Bengal and she is ready to “walk with anybody”.

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The I.N.D.I.A meeting is expected to discuss the seat-sharing process and redrawing a joint strategy to tackle the resurgent BJP after the Congress suffered setbacks in the recent Assembly elections. Seat sharing will be high on agenda with Mamata among others emphasising that it should be a priority.

The ongoing Assembly session is an important one and the CM (Hemant Soren) must be present for it, says JMM leader Manoj Pandey on I.N.D.I.A bloc meet

On I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting today, JMM leader Manoj Pandey says, "The ongoing Assembly session is an important one and the CM (Hemant Soren) must be present for it. The party has appointed a high-level representative panel including 2 MPs who will attend the meeting and keep the party's stand before the alliance."

Ajay Maken gives an update on the collection made by Congress so far after yesterday's crowdfunding campaign

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal arrives at Tamil Nadu Bhawan to meet CM MK Stalin

In the meeting today important points like like seat-sharing and others will be discussed, Atishi says ahead of I.N.D.I.A meet

Three meetings have been held but there have been no gains till now: TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay on I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting

On I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting, TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay says, "The work on seat-sharing should start as soon as possible. Three meetings have been held but there have been no gains till now. Today's meeting should be results-oriented. With the meeting, the alliance should be able to give a message to the public that it can fight and defeat BJP."

Arvind Kejriwal meets Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin at Tamil Nadu Bhavan

I.N.D.I.A bloc's crucial meet Tuesday; seat sharing, redrawing 2024 LS poll strategy on agenda

A day before the meeting, to be held at the Ashoka Hotel around 3 pm, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said the I.N.D.I.A bloc's prime ministerial candidate will be decided after the 2024 general elections.

Floor leaders of I..N.D.I.A alliance parties meet in the chamber of Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament

Fire breaks out at a shopping mart in Gurugram's Badshahpur

Credit: X/@ANI

Seat sharing will be clear this time: Mahua Maji on I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting

Fire broke out at clothing showroom near Marathahalli Bridge in Bengaluru earlier today

Punjab CM Bhagwat Mann holds meeting with farmers to discuss various issues, including MSP of crops

Credit: X/@PTI_News

Senior BJP MLA and former Chief Minister Raman Singh unanimously elected speaker of Chhattisgarh assembly

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah meets PM Narendra Modi to seek drought relief in New Delhi

Siddaramaiah and PM Modi.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah had earlier said that he was likely to press for the release of relief grants from the Modi-led government.

Posters put up in Patna, Bihar demanding Nitish Kumar be made the PM face of the alliance ahead of I..N.D.I.A bloc's meeting in Delhi today

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti arrives in Delhi ahead of the I.N.D.I.A Alliance meeting scheduled for today

Opposition leaders, including SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress' Jairam Ramesh, arrive for the I..N.D.I.A Alliance meeting

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and party leader & Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav arrive for the I.N.D.I.A Alliance meeting

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and DMK MP TR Balu arrive at the venue of the I.N.D.I.A Alliance meet

Congress for National Alliance Committee with Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Baghel, Mukul Wasnim, Salman Khurshid and Mohan Prakash as members. Wasnik will be Convenor. The panel will steer Congress' alliance talks

NCP chief Sharad Pawar, MP Supriya Sule, and party leader Jitendra Awhad arrive for the I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting.

Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Kejriwal and Mann arrive for I.N.D.I.A bloc meet

Supriya Sule slams Modi govt over suspension of Oppn MPs

“We were standing up for the farmers and demanding an enquiry (into the Parliament security breach). Why will you suspend us if we demand something for farmers? The culprit is still sitting inside (the Parliament). This is an emergency," the NCP MP said to news agency ANI.

Uddhav Thackeray met West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee before I.N.D.I.A meet

Nitish Kumar arrives at Delhi's Ashoka hotel for Oppn meet

I.N.D.I.A meet commences as major Oppn leaders huddle to tackle BJP's dominance of national politics

'Democracy being mercilessly murdered by Modi govt', says Congress

The opposition leaders are deliberating on a blueprint for a joint campaign, seat-sharing arrangement and redrawing their strategy after the Congress suffered a setback in the recent assembly polls, where BJP won in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Here are the major leaders who are in attendance at the I.N.D.I.A meet

Kharge, Gandhis, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in attendance besides NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.

Other names include former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad, DMK's T R Baalu, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav, CPI's D Raja, NC's Farooq Abdullah, E T Mohammed Basheer, E K Elangovan, RSP's N K Premchandran, Kerala Congress (M)'s Jose K Mani, NCP's and Supriya Sule and JMM's Mahua Maji.

Reports suggest the I.N.D.I.A. bloc will hold a press briefing at 6:30 pm.

In the I.N.D.I.A meeting, the suspension of Opposition MPs from the Parliament was taken up for discussion and condemned

-ANI

Mamata, Kejriwal propose Cong Prez Kharge's name as bloc's PM face

I.N.D.I.A meeting ends, Kharge addresses media

There has not been any decision on who the bloc's convenor will be. Kharge reiterates Oppn's demand of an address by HM Shah on the Parliament security breach.

Such massive suspensions have never been seen in Indian Parliament's history.

Kejriwal happy with how meeting turned out

"We have decided to hold 8-10 meetings across the country. If alliance partners don't come together on one stage, then people will not know about it. It's a good thing that the meeting lasted for 2-3 hours," said Kharge in his press briefing

'Seat-sharing, mass contact program - all of these will begin within 20 days...All decisions will be taken within 3 weeks,' says RJD MP Manoj Jha.

K C Venugopal speaks to the media after I.N.D.I.A meeting

"It was a very successful, fruitful meeting. Everybody opened their mind and spoke, there was a little criticism here and there because we are 25-26 parties. The main focus was to finalise the seat sharing. A lot many things were discussed but everything can not be decided today itself. Seat-sharing discussions should be started immediately, that is what was discussed..." the Congress MP said.

First we have to win and get a majority, then MPs will decide democratically: Kharge when asked if he could be INDIA bloc's PM face.

Banerjee proposed making Kharge the face of the alliance, which was supported by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

At a press conference after a meet of the I.N.D.I.A parties, Kharge said any decision on the prime ministerial face will be taken after the polls.

A group of top leaders from the Congress, TMC, DMK, AAP, JD(U), RJD, Shiv Sena, NCP, CPI(M), JMM and RJD will oversee the seat sharing between the I.N.D.I.A constituents, the sources said.

According to sources, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) stressed at the meeting that while the other parties in the alliance will support the Congress, it should take a back seat in states like Uttar Pradesh, where Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party) should take the lead, Punjab and Delhi -- ruled by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) -- and West Bengal.

The party also cautioned that if an agreement on seat sharing is not finalised soon, the prospects of the alliance would be hurt.

The issue of electronic voting machines (EVMs) was also raised by the TMC at the meeting. Banerjee had said on Monday that there should be 100 percent VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail), along with electronic voting.

The TMC also said the opposition alliance should raise pro-people issues and not just be "anti-Modi".