All India

Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot and several party leaders were detained by the police in Jaipur today soon after they took out a march against the state government's criminal laws amendment bill.

Pakistan Rangers have violated the ceasefire 105 times along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir in the first nine months of the year, a senior BSF official said.

The Shiv Sena today lashed out at ally BJP without directly naming it, claiming that "one party" possessed "unlimited money" and had come to power in Goa and Manipur despite being "rejected by the people".

In the Bilkis Bano case, where Bilkis Bano was gang-raped during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Supreme Court today questioned the Gujarat government on policemen who were convicted but are still in service. The court also allowed Bilkis Bano to apply for more compensation than what was announced by lower courts.

Debojit Roy had to walk five kilometres with his 18-month-old child and pregnant wife due to traffic restrictions in West Bengal during Durga Puja last month. He said there were no rickshaws on streets and wrote about his harrowing experience on Facebook. His post criticising the police also blamed the battery-operated rickshaw drivers and was shared by several others who were caught in similar situations.

The Supreme Court today asked the Gujarat government to apprise it within four weeks whether any departmental action had been initiated or taken against the police officers whose conviction was upheld in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case.

Elections in Gujarat will be called now that the festival season has ended and major relief and rescue work for the floods that deluged parts of the state has been completed, said Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti to NDTV today

With the season for mass nesting of Olive Ridley sea turtles approaching, the Odisha government has geared up to ensure safety of the endangered species.

A day after Narendra Patel, activist Hardik Patel's senior aide from north Gujarat, alleged that he had been offered a crore to join the BJP, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said that "Gujarat is priceless and can never be bought".

A few hours after Hardik Patel, 24, texted reporters to say he was busy and so could not accept an invitation to meet Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi today, Congress leaders said the two had met at an Ahmedabad hotel. Close associates of Hardik Patel, the face of the Patidar or Patel agitation for reservation in government jobs and colleges, are still denying that they have met.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today congratulated his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on his re-election and said he looked forward to further strengthening the relations between the two countries.

The upcoming municipal elections in Uttar Pradesh is being seen as a test for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as it would indicate whether residents of the state are satisfied with the BJP government led by Mr Adityanath.

Hardik Patel aide Narendra Patel's dramatic late night allegation that he was offered a crore to join the BJP, has spurred another former member of their group to quit Gujarat's ruling party. Patel leader from Surat Nikhil Sawani had joined the BJP along with 150 associates last month. This morning, he said, "Heard about Rs 1 crore offer by BJP to Narendra Patel, I'm upset. I am leaving BJP today." Mr Sawani later met with Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi in Gandhinagar. Mr Gandhi is scheduled to meet Jignesh Mevani, who has taken on the BJP government over attacks on Dalits.

The controversy over Vijay-starrer "Mersal" continued today, with actor Vishal taking exception to senior BJP leader H Raja's reported remarks that he had watched the movie online. Referring to Raja's remarks, reported in a section of the media, Vishal, head of the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) and general secretary of the South Indian Artistes' Association (SIAA), demanded an apology from him.

Rajasthan's widely-criticised order shielding ministers, lawmakers and government officials from investigation into complaints against them was challenged in the High Court today and openly opposed by two lawmakers of the ruling BJP - one even referencing the Emergency of 1975. A petition in the court says the order allows a "large section of the society the license to commit crime". The ordinance or executive order put out last month by the Vasundhara Raje government stops courts from taking up complaints against public servants without the government's approval. It also makes it a crime for the media to report on the accused minister, lawmaker or official without sanction.