NEW DELHI: Cracks within the INDIA bloc appeared to widen on Wednesday after Shiv Sena (UBT) asked the opposition alliance to “wake up” and hold discussions ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in several states.In an editorial, the party’s mouthpiece Saamana said the coalition must not wait until polls are announced to coordinate its strategy. The piece, titled “Confusion of inner voices, Mamata, Stalin or someone else?”, stressed that multiple inner voices are emerging within the grand old party.

“Once elections are announced, the INDIA bloc must certainly wake up and hold discussions. But more than that, wisdom lies in taking alert, collective decisions together,” the article titled “Confusion of inner voices, Mamata, Stalin or someone else?” read.“Mahatma Gandhi was the supreme leader of both the Congress and the nation. Gandhi had an inner voice that guided his decisions, sharpened by spirituality, patriotism, and selflessness. Today, many ‘inner voices’ are emerging within the Congress, creating confusion. This is not a healthy sign for the country. With Assembly elections approaching in five states, these internal voices have added to the disorder. Statements by Mani Shankar Aiyar, Sanjaya Baru, Bhupen Bora, and others have surfaced at inconvenient times, complicating matters for the Congress,” it added.The article also cited a recent opinion piece written by Sanjaya Baru, in which he proposed that leadership of the INDIA bloc be handed to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.“Aiyar remarked that Congress’s victory in Kerala would be difficult, citing factionalism, and suggested that Pinarayi Vijayan may return as Chief Minister. His comments left the Congress uneasy. Though Aiyar remains a Gandhian, Nehruvian, and Rajiv loyalist, he made it clear he is ‘not Rahulvadi.’ Amid this, Sanjaya Baru proposed that leadership of the INDIA alliance be handed to Mamata Banerjee, arguing that she is better positioned to lead opposition forces,” it said.“Around the same time, Aiyar suggested Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin for the role, citing his strong advocacy for regional parties. Whatever the case, the leadership question within the INDIA alliance has resurfaced. After the Lok Sabha elections, what exactly became of the alliance? This remains a delicate question,” the article read further.Earlier, Sanjaya Baru, who served as media adviser to then prime minister Manmohan Singh, said that “new ideas should” lead or manage the INDIA bloc.He argued that “as the only woman to presently head both a political party and a government”, Mamata Banerjee stands apart from the current generation of leaders at the national and regional levels.In 2026, Assembly elections are scheduled in four states and one Union Territory — West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry.The Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to announce the official schedule soon.

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday announced that biennial elections to fill 37 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant across 10 states in April will be held on March 16, with counting scheduled for later the same day.Polling will take place between 9am and 4pm, and vote counting will begin at 5pm, the Commission said. The vacancies arise as the terms of 37 members of the Upper House end in April 2026.According to the schedule released by the poll panel, the notification for the elections will be issued on February 26. March 5 has been set as the last date for filing nominations, followed by scrutiny on March 6. Candidates may withdraw their nominations until March 9.

10 states to send new representatives

The biennial polls cover Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Bihar, where one or more members are completing their tenure.Prominent MPs retiring this cycle include Upendra Kushwaha, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Tiruchi Siva, Saket Gokhale, Ramdas Athawale, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sharad Pawar, Bhagwat Karad, Mamata Mohanta, Rameswar Teli, Indu Bala Goswami, K.T.S. Tulsi, N.R. Elango, Amarendra Dhari Singh, and Kiran Choudhry.

Guidelines and conduct

To ensure transparency, the Commission will deploy observers in each state to oversee the election process. It also directed that only integrated violet sketch pens supplied by the respective Returning Officers be used for marking preferences on ballot papers, stressing that no other writing instrument is permitted.Reiterating its commitment to a fair and impartial process, the ECI said the biennial elections would be completed within the prescribed constitutional timeline to uphold the integrity of the Rajya Sabha electoral process.

NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief secretary Nandini Chakravorty on Tuesday apprised the Election Commission about partial compliance of the commission’s directions pending with the state govt—including filing of FIRs against four officers for violation of data security and suspension of the Basirhat assistant electoral registration officer (AERO) — within the Feb 17, 5.30 pm deadline set by the poll panel.However, compliance remains pending as regards EC direction dated Feb 13 to Chakravorty for cancellation of transfer orders issued by the state govt in respect of three electoral roll observers—Aswini Kumar yadav, Randhir Kumar, and Smita Pandey—without prior consultation with the poll panel. Also, the state govt is yet to send a proposal regarding appointment of returning officers (ROs) and electoral registration officer (EROs) as per criteria laid down by EC.

The norms require them to be officers at the level of sub divisional magistrate (SDM), sub divisional officer (SDO) or revenue divisional officer. At present, ROs in only 67 of the state’s 294 assembly constituencies (ACs) and EROs in only 68 ACs are of the rank of SDO/SDM. Confirming receipt of the compliance letter from West Bengal chief secretary on Tuesday, EC sources told TOI that the commission, which is currently on a visit to Assam, “shall examine the letter upon its return here”.Meanwhile, the West Bengal chief electoral officer, in a post on X on Tuesday, said he had suspended three micro observers, based on reports of EC-appointed district electoral roll observers. “Electoral roll micro observers being under deputation to ECI are directed to perform their duties diligently and not to outsource/delegate their work to anyone else, failing which they will be liable for the consequences,” he posted.Only on Sunday, the EC had suspended seven AEROs in the state with immediate effect, over “dereliction of duty”. During its meeting with West Bengal chief secretary here last week, EC had asked the state administration to comply with its directions regarding payment of honorarium to BLOs, appointment of suitable SIR/poll-related officers, rescinding of unilateral transfer of roll observers and registration of FIRs against errant officers, latest by 5.30 pm on Feb 17.The February 17, 5.30 pm deadline set by EC, however, was not in respect of the pending honorarium dues.

NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday reiterated that Hindu families should consider having at least three children.Addressing a social-harmony meeting at the Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Lucknow, Bhagwat expressed concerns over what he described as a declining Hindu population and called for uniting and empowering the Hindu society.“There is a need to unite and empower Hindus. There is no threat to us but vigilance is necessary,” Bhagwat said.Raising concerns over infiltration, Bhagwat said infiltrators should be “detected, deleted and deported”, and should not be provided employment.He also said Hindu families should consider having at least three children, citing scientific opinions that societies with an average fertility rate of below three could disappear in the future.Bhagwat said newly-married couples should be made aware of this and added that the purpose of marriage is to carry forward creation, not merely fulfilling one’s own desires.He said a lack of harmony leads to discrimination and stressed that all citizens share one country and one motherland.“The Sanatan thought is a philosophy of harmony,” Bhagwat said, adding that differences that have emerged over time must be addressed through understanding and practice.Responding to a question on University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, Bhagwat said laws must be obeyed and if a law is flawed, there are constitutional ways to change it.He said caste divisions should not become a cause of conflict and called for uplifting the disadvantaged with a sense of belonging.Bhagwat said India would guide the world in the near future and that solutions to many global problems lie within the country’s civilisational ethos.He said regular community-level meetings should promote social harmony, remove misconceptions and address social issues, while extending support to the weaker sections of the society.The RSS chief cautioned that some elements in the United States and China are working against India’s social harmony, and called for vigilance and mutual trust.

PM Modi with France’s Macron.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday shared a car ride with French President Emmanuel Macron as the two leaders travelled to the India-France Innovation Forum after holding bilateral and delegation-level talks in Mumbai.Macron posted a picture of the two leaders in the car with the caption “Jai Ho”.PM Modi said that after talks and press statements at Lok Bhavan, they were heading to further engagements, including the Innovation Forum.

During the visit, India and France elevated their ties to a ‘special global strategic partnership’, pledging to expand cooperation in defence, trade and critical minerals. Both leaders described the relationship as a ‘force for global stability’ amid rising geopolitical uncertainty.Following the talks, the leaders also virtually inaugurated an assembly line in Karnataka’s Vemagal to manufacture H125 helicopters by Airbus, a move expected to strengthen India’s aerospace manufacturing ecosystem.The two sides signed 21 agreements and documents aimed at expanding collaboration across sectors such as critical minerals, defence, high technology, renewable energy and healthcare.Key agreements included a defence cooperation pact and a joint venture between Bharat Electronics Ltd and Safran to manufacture Hammer missiles in India. Another agreement provides for reciprocal deployment of officers between the Indian Army and the French Land Forces.PM Modi hosted Macron for the talks hours after the French president arrived in Mumbai for a three-day India visit. “The world is going through a period of uncertainty. In such an environment, the India-France partnership is a force for global stability. We are combining France’s expertise and India’s scale,” PM Modi said in his media statement.He described France as one of India’s oldest strategic partners and said both sides have infused their relationship with ‘unprecedented depth and energy’. “Based on this trust and shared vision, today we are establishing our relationship as a ‘special global strategic partnership’,” PM Modi said, adding that the partnership supports both global stability and progress.Referring to the helicopter project, PM Modi said the assembly line reflects deep mutual trust. He noted that the helicopter can operate at extreme altitudes, including near Mount Everest, and will be exported globally. “In other words, the India-France partnership knows no boundaries; it can reach from deep oceans to the tallest mountain,” he added.

NEW DELHI: SC on Tuesday criticised 12 ’eminent’ persons who together filed a PIL “targeting” CMs of BJP-governed states for alleged hate speeches while making a plea for framing guidelines to restrain constitutional functionaries and bureaucrats from breaching fidelity to constitutional morality. Appearing for petitioners, senior advocate Kapil Sibal told a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices BV Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi that the country’s atmosphere had become toxic and “it is only the SC which can and should remedy it.”However, the CJI-led bench was quick to point out that the petition had selectively named individuals while highlighting the problem. “This petition is definitely targeting certain individuals as it leaves out others who routinely make such hate speeches. Let the petitioners not create an impression that it is targeting certain individuals.”The petitioners, including Roop Rekha Verma, Mohd Adeep, Harsh Mander, Najeeb Jung, John Dayal and Ashok Kumar Sharma had cited the alleged hate speeches of Himanta Biswa Sarma, Yogi Adityanath, Devendra Fadnavis, Pushkar Singh Dhami, Anantkumar Hegde and Giriraj Singh, all of whom belong to BJP, in addition to certain remarks by some bureaucrats.“Come with an impartial and neutral petition. The issue is important. Ultimately, there must be restraint in speech from all sides. We would like to say all political party functionaries must be mindful of constitutional morality and exercise restraint in their speeches, and any guideline should be applicable across the board,” said the CJI.The bench said there are political parties which brazenly make speeches based on their communal ideology and openly profess hatred. “You have not cited a single example from the other side.”When Sibal said he would delete all references to individuals in the petition, the bench responded that it would hear the PIL after the necessary amendments are carried out.Justice Nagarathna said, “Political party leaders must foster fraternity. Courts can pass orders. But the remedy lies in political parties and democratic institutions living up to constitutional values and morality.” Justice Nagarathna added, “The origin of speech is the thought process. Can by court order the thought process of a person be altered or restricted? What about free speech?”Justice Bagchi told Sibal, “It is such a vague petition. Instead of it being a populist exercise, let it be a constructive constitutional exercise. Humdrum of politics should not dictate the filing of the PIL.”Sibal sought two weeks to amend the PIL.The two prayers of the petitioners read like fundamental duties of a citizen: a) declaration that public speeches of constitutional functionaries or holders of public office are subject to constitutional morality and should not violate fundamental rights of others; b) formulation of guidelines to govern public speech by constitutional functionaries and bureaucrats to ensure fidelity to constitutional morality, without imposing prior restraint or censorship.