Manickam Tagore counters Amit Shah’s “vote chori” claim, says Gandhi chose Nehru in 1946

NEW DELHI: Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Thursday hit back at Union home minister Amit Shah’s remark that Jawaharlal Nehru became India’s first prime minister through ‘vote-chori.’ Tagore listed five points to argue that Nehru assumed the post fairly and legitimately.“What really happened in 1946 — Patel, Nehru & the ‘vote chori’ myth. Shah claims that in 1946 “PCCs chose Patel, Nehru got two votes, and someone stole the election. Here’s the historical truth based on INC records, letters & historians — not WhatsApp University,” he posted on X.

According to the Congress MP, the first ‘fact’ is that in 1946 the Congress was electing its national president, and whoever was chosen for that role would automatically head the interim government — a position equivalent to that of a prime minister.He added that the second ‘fact’ is that while Patel received nominations from 12 of the Congress’s 15 provincial committees, Nehru did not receive a single nomination.The third ‘fact’, as per Tagore, is that no election was held between the two and, therefore, the ‘vote-chori’ claim is ‘pure fiction.’His fourth ‘fact’ stated that after the nominations were in, Mahatma Gandhi — who supported Nehru — asked Patel to withdraw from the race. Out of respect for Gandhi, Patel stepped aside, leaving Nehru as the sole remaining candidate.The fifth and final ‘fact’ is that with Patel withdrawing himself, the Congress Working Committee endorsed Nehru as the party president, making him the head of the interim government.“Those shouting ‘vote chori’ are rewriting history for politics. History is clear: it was Gandhi’s intervention, not Nehru’s ‘two votes’, that decided the leadership. Let facts speak louder than propaganda. India’s freedom struggle deserves honesty — not manufactured stories,” Tagore said.Amit Shah’s Lok Sabha speechShah’s comments came during his reply to the Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms on Wednesday, where he responded to concerns raised by opposition members, including leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi — Nehru’s great-grandson. The home minister cited three instances of what he described as ‘vote theft,’ beginning with the 1946 Congress leadership decision.“I want to tell you about three incidents of ‘vote-chori’,” Shah said. “First, after independence, when the country’s prime minister was to be chosen… Sardar Patel received 28 votes, while Jawaharlal Nehru got only two. Yet Nehru became the prime minister.”He went on to cite the case of former prime minister Indira Gandhi — Nehru’s daughter — who won from Rae Bareli before her election was challenged in the Allahabad high court by Raj Narain. “The high court ruled that Indira Gandhi’s election had violated the rules and declared it invalid. That too was vote theft. They then brought a bill in Parliament stating that no case could be filed against the prime minister,” Shah stated.He also referred to a Delhi court case in which it was alleged that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi — Rahul Gandhi’s mother — had “become a voter before becoming an Indian citizen.”

The Supreme Court questioned Delhi Police on invoking stringent UAPA provisions against riot accused for speeches, seeking justification for linking terror acts to their words. Justices sought clarity on how Section 15, pertaining to terrorist acts, applies when arms weren’t directly used by the accused, who have been jailed for over five years.

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court questioned Delhi Police Wednesday over how Section 15 of UAPA, which pertains to terrorist acts, can be invoked against Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and other accused in a Delhi riots case for giving speeches and how terror acts can be linked with such speeches.A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria, which reserved its order on bail pleas of the six accused, sought a response from additional solicitor general S V Raju in light of senior advocate Siddharth Dave’s contention that at most Section 13 (unlawful activities) and Section 18 (conspiracy) could be invoked for the speeches. The ASG submitted that the riots took place because of a conspiracy hatched by the accused and whatever they had said in their speeches became reality. Raju said Imam’s speech on blocking Chicken’s Neck was an attack on the integrity of the country and Khalid’s speech on chakka jam was an attack on economic security and justified invoking Section 15.Sharjeel seems to be a punching bag: SCThe court thereafter pointed out that Delhi Police had not attributed the wielding of arms or explosives to the six accused, which is a requirement under the provision. Raju, however, said that petrol bombs were used in Delhi riots. “It is a case of conspiracy. It is not my case that they used petrol bombs. My case is that they are part of the conspiracy to create the situation for the use of petrol bombs. For use of petrol bombs, there is a separate case against other people,” he said.The bench then wrapped up the hearing, which had stretched over 11 days, and reserved its order. As the Delhi Police’s arguments were particularly focused on Imam’s speeches, which were also played in the courtroom to oppose the bail plea, and the other five accused – Umar Khalid, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shadab Ahmed and Mohd Saleem Khan – had distanced themselves from him, the bench observed that Imam seemed to be a punching bag for both sides.The accused, who have been in custody for more than five years, approached the apex court after their bail plea had been rejected by Delhi High Court. Opposing their bail plea, Delhi Police accused them of indulging in regime change and told the court that they were behind “well-crafted, orchestrated, preplanned, choreographed riots” to divide the country on communal lines to achieve “the final regime change goal”.The accused, however, told the court that holding protests and opposing the govt was not an offence, and they are being prosecuted to send a message to others that anyone who raises their voice would be similarly punished. Invoking Gandhi, they said that non-violent protest and civil disobedience was a part and parcel of democracy and cannot be criminalised, as happened in the colonial era. As Delhi Police played their allegedly inflammatory speeches, the accused brought to the court’s notice clippings of their speeches in which they had talked about the constitutional spirit and responding to hate with love, to violence with non-violence and enmity with brotherhood.

NEW DELHI: In a first-of-its-kind move, DGCA on Wednesday set up an eight-member “oversight team” of senior flight operations inspectors to oversee IndiGo’s operational aspects, including monitoring flights, crew availability and pilot shortage situation on a daily basis.

Two officials (not pilots) will oversee the cancellation and refund status; payment of compensation to passengers for deficiency in services as per norms and status of baggage return. Two senior FOIs (who are pilots) will remain at the airline’s Gurgaon office on a daily basis to keep a close vigil. Both teams will submit a daily report to DGCA. The order came as it emerged IndiGo had cancelled a fourth of 17,404 domestic flights it was to operate from Dec 1-9 (both days included), as per govt data released Wednesday.

IndiGo scrapped 25% of over 17k domestic flights from Dec 1-9

IndiGo had cancelled a fourth of 17,404 domestic flights between Dec 1 and 9, which explains the unprecedented chaos witnessed at Indian airports. On the other hand, just a shade over 2% of the 2,702 international flights it was to operate in the same time were cancelled.The scale of disruption has seen multiple steps taken by DGCA and govt with the airline’s CEO Pieter Elbers and his team again summoned to the regulator’s office at 3 pm on Thursday to submit “comprehensive” data and also state the steps being taken to steady the ship through steps like hiring of pilots to meet crew shortage. SpiceJet and Air India could operate additional 160-170 daily flights.DGCA officials will be carrying out inspections at 11 airports, including Nagpur, Jaipur, Bhopal, Vijaywada, Cochin, Lucknow, Amritsar and Dehradun to assess the operational preparedness of IndiGo at these places and also see the airline’s “responsiveness during the disruption”.Despite inducting a plane every week and increasing its flights, IndiGo has gone slow on pilot hiring leading to the current mismatch between the requirement and availability of crew members. Now the airline has to submit its entire operational details to govt and then its schedule will accordingly be approved to avoid a rerun of the disruption being seen this month.Elbers and his team on Thursday will have to tell the regulator on Thursday the status of flight restoration, how affected passengers are being accommodated and the monitoring mechanism to ensure timely completion of restoration. They will be asked about the status of refunds, baggage return, how is its improving timely communication about delays and cancellations and the policy on re-routing passengers on alternate flights.

NEW DELHI: In a boost to Indo-US space cooperation, Isro will launch its heaviest American commercial communication low-earth orbit satellite, the 6.5-tonne BlueBird-6, from the Sriharikota spaceport on Dec 15. Isro’s ‘Bahubali’ rocket LVM3 will put the US satellite into orbit.AST SpaceMobile, a Texas-based company that has built the space-based cellular broadband network, said, “BlueBird-6, a US licensed satellite, is scheduled to launch on Dec 15. It is the first of AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation satellites. When launched, it will feature the largest commercial phased array in low earth orbit at nearly 2,400 sqft. This represents 3.5 times increase in size over BlueBirds 1-5 and supports ten times the data capacity.”BlueBird-6 is a “Block-2” satellite and part of a larger plan by AST SpaceMobile to deploy a series of satellites to achieve non-continuous service, with further launches scheduled through 2026. Its aim is to bridge the “digital divide” by offering fast, unhindered direct-to-device mobile broadband service in areas with poor or non-existent terrestrial network coverage.The BlueBird satellites are designed to deliver a high amount of bandwidth, with each unit capable of up to 10,000 MHz. They operate by partnering with existing mobile network carriers to enhance their networks using licensed spectrum.The BlueBird-6 satellite arrived in India from the US on Oct 19. It was later transported by road to Sriharikota for integration with launcher LVM3, fuelling and final checks ahead of its launch.The liftoff is being handled by New Space India Limited (NSIL), Isro’s commercial wing. LVM-3 had recently put India’s heaviest CMS-3 satellite, weighing 4.4 tonnes, into its orbit on Nov 2. A three-stage launch vehicle, LVM3 rocket can carry payloads weighing up to 8,000 kg to low-Earth orbit (LEO) and 4,000 kg to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). The human-rated version of this vehicle will fly three Indian astronauts to space, as part of the Gaganyaan mission, which is planned for 2027.

HydroMingle 2025, hosted at the India Habitat Centre by GuruJal in partnership with FluxGen Sustainable Technologies, AIM–NITI Aayog, AIC–IIT Delhi, Sonipat Innovation Foundation, Water Digest, TERI School of Advanced Studies, and several industry collaborators, brought together innovators, policymakers, and experts to explore India’s water challenges and solutions.The event was attended by Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, ministry of planning, who engaged with entrepreneurs and stakeholders working at the intersection of water systems, emerging technologies, and nature-based solutions. The minister highlighted government initiatives such as Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Catch the Rain, Jal Jeevan Abhiyan, and Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari Abhiyan, and expressed support for innovations that can scale and are suited to Indian conditions.HydroMingle 2025 functioned as a live innovation hub, combining keynote sessions, panel discussions, technology showcases, and workshops. Participants explored how digital water intelligence, AI-driven monitoring, nature-based models, and community-led approaches can address water management challenges.A key feature of the event was the pitch sessions, where innovators presented solutions including nanobubble technologies, mobile wastewater treatment units, ecological recharge interventions, sensor systems, predictive analytics tools, and AI-based platforms for monitoring groundwater and water infrastructure. These sessions provided real-time feedback from policymakers, financiers, incubators, and experts from organizations such as AIM–Niti Aayog, AIC–IIT Delhi, Microsoft India, the World Bank, GRIHA Council, TERI SAS, ACWADAM, JSW, and the Embassy of Finland.Speakers at the event emphasized the interconnection between water, food, and energy security in India and highlighted the need for governance reforms, community participation, and rapid deployment of digital technologies. Experts from NIUA, Water Digest, S M Sehgal Foundation, ACWADAM, and other institutions discussed financing models, data-led governance, district-level decision-making systems, and collaborative mechanisms for scaling emerging water technologies.Archana Varma, Mission Director of the National Water Mission, emphasized the importance of community participation and data-driven approaches in managing water at scale and mentioned the launch of a hackathon to identify India-specific digital innovations for water governance.Shubhi Kesarwani, Founder of GuruJal, said the event aimed to bring stakeholders together to facilitate collaborations and partnerships on water solutions. The event also saw participants committing to continued collaboration, citizen science initiatives, and resource-sharing mechanisms to advance water resilience in India.

NEW DELHI: The Luthra brothers, owners of Birch by Romeo Lane, sought transit anticipatory bail in Delhi, maintaining their Thailand trip was work-related even as their Goa beach shack faces demolition after a nightclub fire that killed 25 people. Meanwhile, the civil aviation ministry moved to curb passenger inconvenience by deploying a special team to monitor IndiGo’s operations following widespread delays and cancellations. West Bengal also saw fresh controversy, with Sandeshkhali attack witness Bholanath Ghosh critically injured in a road accident that killed his son and driver – an incident his family alleges was a conspiracy to silence him.Political tensions rose after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor declined the Veer Savarkar Award, accusing organisers of announcing his name without consent, a claim they deny. On the sports front, India continued its strong run in international cricket rankings, with Virat Kohli climbing to the No. 2 spot in ODIs- just behind Rohit Sharma- following a standout series against South Africa. Significant ranking boosts for KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav further highlighted India’s dominance across formats.

Here are the top 5 stories of the day

‘Went to Thailand for work’: Goa nightclub owners cry foul, seek anticipatory bail

The Luthra brothers – owners of Birch by Romeo Lane – have applied for transit anticipatory bail in Delhi, asserting that their trip to Thailand was work-related and that they are willing to cooperate with investigators. At the same time, authorities in Goa have ordered the demolition of their beach shack after a massive fire at their nightclub claimed 25 lives.Read full story

IndiGo crisis: DGCA deploys oversight team at airline’s Gurgaon HQ; flight ops under lens

Following widespread flight disruptions that left numerous passengers stranded, the civil aviation ministry has formed a dedicated monitoring team to keep a close watch on IndiGo’s operations. The move is intended to help reduce the inconvenience caused by major delays and cancellations.Read full story

Witness against jailed TMC MLA in Sandeshkhali case hit by truck en route to court; son, driver killed

A key witness in the Sandeshkhali attack case, Bholanath Ghosh, was severely injured after a truck rammed into his car, killing his son and driver. His family claims the crash was a planned attempt to silence him, allegedly orchestrated by TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh, who is presently in jail. The accident happened while Ghosh was on his way to court.Read full story

‘Will not accept’: Shashi Tharoor declines ‘Veer Savarkar Award’; here’s what he said

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has refused the Veer Savarkar Award, criticising the organisers for publicly declaring his name without seeking his approval. Tharoor said he first heard about the award through media reports and had neither been informed nor agreed to accept it. HRDS India, however, maintains that they had notified him and even met him in person to invite him.Read full story

ICC Rankings: Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma – Battle for No.1 ODI batter heats up

India’s star batter Virat Kohli has moved up to the No. 2 spot in the ODI rankings, narrowing the gap with top-ranked Rohit Sharma after an impressive run against South Africa. Several other Indian players, including KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav, also made notable gains across formats in the latest ICC rankings, underscoring India’s strong performance on the global stage.Read full story