West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, said in the post-Pahalgam episode, the responsibility lies with the Union government to ensure proper security arrangements in J&K so that more tourists could travel there.

On Thursday, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah arrived in the West Bengal state secretariat of Nabanna and had a meeting with Mamata Banerjee.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that though 2025 was not easy considering the Pahalgam terror attack, the tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir has started bouncing back.

While admitting that the tourists have an area of concern over the Pahalgam massacre, he assured that all necessary actions have been adopted to ensure the safety and security of the tourists there.

He said that his assurance could be vouched for by the tourists who visited and returned from Pahalgam recently.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced a sweeping package of educational support during the 'Guru Purnima Mahotsav' in Bhopal, centred around improving access, equity, and digital empowerment for students across Madhya Pradesh.

At the heart of the Rs 195 crore initiative was the distribution of free bicycles to over 4.30 lakh students who travel more than two kilometres to attend school.

The launch was symbolised by the Chief Minister personally handing over 50 bicycles to students at Kamla Nehru Sandipani Girls School in Bhopal, marking a state-wide rollout of the MP Free Cycle Yojana.

The Omar Abdullah-led government in Jammu and Kashmir has approached Lt Governor Manoj Sinha with the demand that July 13 and December 5 should be restored as public holidays on account of Martyrs Day and the birthday of the National Conference (NC) founder, late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, respectively.

Both July 13 and December 5 were government holidays in the erstwhile J&K state and were declared as public holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881.

After the abrogation of Article 370 and the division of J&K into two union territories on August 5, 2019, these two holidays were removed from the government’s list of holidays.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday objected to the PILs filed by several NGOs and other political activists in the Supreme Court challenging its decision to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the poll body, objected to the locus standi of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and other PIL litigants.

“None of them are voters in Bihar! Before you (SC) are some sections of people who write articles and then file petitions. I have a serious objection to this,” submitted Dwivedi before a Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi.

He said that ADR was recently deprecated by the Supreme Court, apparently referring to the observations made against it in the 100 per cent VVPAT verification judgment.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has asserted that he will serve a full five-year term and claimed that there is no power-sharing arrangement between him and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is also considered a contender for the top post.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, CM Siddaramaiah acknowledged that Shivakumar is an aspirant for the Chief Minister’s position and said there is nothing wrong with that. He added that Shivakumar himself has clarified that the CM's post is not vacant.

"Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar has never stated that the Chief Minister should be changed," Siddaramaiah said.

He reiterated his intention to remain in office for the full five-year term. “...I am CM for full term...I will lead the party in the 2028 Assembly elections,” he declared.

“However, I am committed to following the orders of the high command. Both Shivakumar and I are bound to obey the high command’s decisions. As of now, there are no discussions on any power-sharing arrangement,” he added.

Under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh created history on Wednesday with a record-breaking plantation drive. As part of the "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam 2.0" initiative, the state planted 37,21,40,925 saplings by 6:06 PM, surpassing the government’s set target of 37 crore by an impressive 21,40,925 saplings.

Known for his tough stance on the mafia and a soft heart for children, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is deeply committed to environmental conservation. Acknowledging the growing threat of global warming, the state once again prioritised a large-scale afforestation campaign this year.

Hours after Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accused the Centre and Election Commission of trying to “steal” the Bihar Assembly elections through voter list revision, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary hit back, calling the protest a 'drama.'

“Leaders like Rahul Gandhi come to Bihar for a picnic. He has nothing to do with Bihar’s problems or development. He just comes, does drama, and leaves. He should at least look at Patna’s airport if he wants to see development,” Choudhary said while interacting with the media persons in Patna on Wednesday.

Congress National General Secretary and Karnataka incharge Randeep Singh Surjewala on Wednesday refuted reports regarding a meeting between the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar in New Delhi, as "purely imaginary".

Answering a question by the media on a possible meeting as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Dy CM Shivakumar are in New Delhi over developments in the state, he dubbed them "purely imaginary."

"I have no knowledge of any such meeting of LoP Rahul Gandhi with the Karnataka CM and Dy CM. Yes. the CM and Dy CM are in Delhi in order to raise issues concerning people of Karnataka and the state government. There is designed discrimination and hatred in BJP and the Union government for the people of Karnataka for voting them out," Surjewala stated.

Aam Aadmi Party National Convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sparked a fresh political debate by declaring that he deserves a Nobel Prize for governance and administration, despite what he called the persistent "obstacles" placed in his path by the BJP-led Centre.

While addressing a public gathering in Mohali, Punjab, Kejriwal said, "We worked despite not being allowed to work for as long as our government was in power in Delhi. I feel that I should get a Nobel Prize for governance and administration for the amount of work I did in Delhi during my tenure as CM."

Kejriwal has long accused Delhi's Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena of acting on the instructions of the Union government to derail the AAP's efforts in the national Capital.