In a ceremonious start to the irrigation season, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday released water from the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur for delta irrigation.

The release took place on the customary date of June 12 in the presence of seven Cabinet Ministers, marking a significant event for the state’s farming community. The Chief Minister arrived at the dam after travelling from Mettur, receiving a warm welcome from residents and schoolchildren. He interacted with the students before proceeding to the reservoir, where representatives from various farmers’ associations greeted him.

In the presence of key ministers -- Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan, Agriculture Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam, PWD Minister E.V. Velu, Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar, Tourism Minister R. Rajendran, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, and Adi Dravidar Welfare Minister M. Mathiventhan -- CM Stalin formally opened the sluices and showered flower petals as water was released from the dam.

The West Bengal government has approached the Supreme Court seeking revision of the earlier order related to the clearing of pending dearness allowance.

State secretariat sources said in the petition at the Apex Court, the state government had also sought certain clarifications on certain points of the order that was delivered last month.

However, the sources added, while moving the petition, the state government is carrying out the preparatory process for paying 25 per cent of the pending dearness allowance dues within the stipulated date.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab President Aman Arora has openly welcomed BJP Punjab President Sunil Jakhar's recent statement advocating for greater transparency and accountability in politics. Jakhar suggested that all political leaders undergo drug tests and disclose their properties, starting with party presidents.

Speaking at a press conference, Aman Arora lauded this initiative and said, "The Aam Aadmi Party was founded by Arvind Kejriwal with the vision of bringing transparency, honesty, and accountability to politics. I am grateful that other parties are now echoing this vision." Aman Arora was accompanied by Minister Lalchand Kataruchakk and AAP Senior Spokesperson Neel Garg

The momentum of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Ludhiana West by-election continues to grow steadily. Every day, hundreds of people are leaving Congress, BJP, and Akali Dal to join AAP. On Wednesday, over 100 individuals associated with these traditional parties joined the party.

Punjab AAP President Aman Arora, along with Working President Shery Kalsi, Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO, and Punjab AAP General Secretary Dr. Sunny Ahluwalia, welcomed all new members to the party. AAP leaders Surinder Kalyan, Simmi Chopra, and Ranjit Singh Banth were also present on this occasion. Their relentless efforts and dedication have played a crucial role in the large number of people joining the Aam Aadmi Party.

Before returning to Srinagar on the Vande Bharat train on Wednesday, former Chief Minister and ruling National Conference (NC) President, Dr Farooq Abdullah paid obeisance at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K) Reasi district.

Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Dr Farooq said, “I had a great 'darshan' and I am hopeful that all our prayers for peace, progress and brotherhood at the shrine will be answered so that we can move forward and our country also marches ahead and we become part of its development trajectory.”

On Tuesday, the 87-year-old NC President took his maiden ride from Srinagar to Katra town on the Vande Bharat train, which connects Kashmir to the rest of the country.

Dr Farooq stayed at the sanctum sanctorum of Mata Vaishno Devi shrine overnight and took part in special prayers there.

He was accompanied by his grandsons, Zamir and Zahid.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief, Lalu Prasad Yadav turned 78 on Wednesday, and the celebration was nothing short of grand.

In a symbolic gesture of strength and festivity, Lalu Yadav cut a 78-pound cake with a sword, surrounded by his entire family, including elder daughter Misa Bharti and Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav.

A massive crowd of RJD supporters gathered at his residence in Patna, with tremendous enthusiasm and fanfare marking the day.

The event wasn't just a birthday party — it became a political and social message.

The RJD has declared June 11 as 'Social Justice and Goodwill Day', transforming the occasion into a statewide celebration of Lalu Yadav’s ideological legacy.

In line with Lalu Yadav’s long-standing advocacy for the marginalised, RJD workers across all districts of Bihar and in other parts of the country organised activities such as food distribution, distribution of reading material to children, tree plantation drives, community outreach among Dalits, Mahadalits, deprived and minority groups.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) was conducting raids at locations linked to four Congress leaders and others in connection with the Maharshi Valmiki Tribal Welfare Board Scam in Ballary district and Bengaluru on Wednesday.

A team of 60 officers attached to the ED has been conducting simultaneous raids in eight locations, five in Ballary and three in Bengaluru city, since early this morning, sources stated.

According to ED sources, raids are currently underway at the residences and offices of Congress Ballary MP E. Tukaram and Congress MLAs Na. Ra. Bharath Reddy, J.N. Ganesh aka Kampli Ganesh and N. T. Srinivas.

Sources further stated that raids are also being conducted at the Bengaluru office of former Minister and Congress MLA Nagendra.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raising serious concerns over the barriers hindering educational opportunities for students from marginalised communities.

Gandhi called upon the government to urgently intervene and address two critical issues affecting students from Dalit, Scheduled Tribes (ST), Extremely Backward Classes (EBC), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and minority groups.

In his letter, the Congress MP stated that the conditions in residential hostels for students from these communities are in a "deplorable" state.

"I request you to resolve two critical issues which hinder education opportunities for the 90 per cent of students who are from marginalised communities. Firstly, the conditions in residential hostels for students from Dalit, ST, EBC, OBC and minority communities are deplorable," he wrote.

BJP Member of Parliament Nishikant Dubey, citing declassified documents, has alleged that the Congress government, under pressure from the United States, aborted plans to conduct a nuclear test in 1995.

He claimed that fear of American backlash influenced the decision, despite initial readiness by then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao.

“Go back and read the history of how Rahul Gandhi, whom I call 'Rahul Baba,' gets scared of America,” Dubey said in a post on X on Wednesday.

“In 1995, Prime Minister Narasimha Rao had decided to carry out a nuclear test, but confidential information was leaked -- allegedly by a senior minister or government official -- to the United States.”

Dubey further claimed that the leak prompted direct intervention from the US President, who reportedly contacted the Indian Prime Minister's Principal Secretary via an urgent nighttime telegram requesting a meeting.

In a significant political development, the Congress party has suffered a major setback ahead of the Ludhiana West by-poll as senior leader Sunil Kapoor has joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). This move is expected to provide AAP with a considerable advantage in the upcoming By-polls.  

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann formally  inducted him into the party during a Jansabha on Tuesday evening. The event was attended by prominent AAP leaders, including MP Dr. Rajkumar Chabbewal, Punjab party president Aman Arora, and Ludhiana West by-election candidate Sanjeev Arora.