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Big Stories Today: Gayatri Prajapati gets life imprisonment in minor gangrape case, Army agrees to grant permanent commission to eligible women after SC warning

The Central government on Friday agreed to grant permanent commission (PC) to 11 women Army officers Maoist, Amit Shah, Congress Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook, Anil Deshmukh, Bahrain, Bharat Biotech, Covaxin, Covid-19, IGP Kashmir, Kangana Ranaut, Lancet, Nawab Malik, Ashok Gehlot, Sonia Gandhi

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Army women

Former UP minister Gayatri Prajapati, 2 accomplices sentenced to life imprisonment in Chitrakoot minor gangrape case

Former Uttar Pradesh Minister in the previous Samajwadi Party government, Gayatri Prajapati on Friday was sentenced to life imprisonment in a Chitrakoot gangrape case. Along with Gayatri Prajapati, accomplices Ashish Shukla and Ashok Tiwari were also sentenced to life terms.
He and his two accomplices have also been fined Rs 2 lakh. The former UP Minister, who was a key figure in the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, was convicted by a special court of lawmakers on Wednesday for raping a woman.
The special court in Lucknow had two days back pronounced Prajapati guilty in the gang rape case, and had also convicted his two associates.

Indian Army agrees to grant permanent commission to eligible women after Supreme Court warning

The Central government on Friday agreed to grant permanent commission (PC) to 11 women Army officers who meet the eligibility criteria after the Supreme Court threatened to initiate contempt proceedings.

The Centre, which was initially reluctant, conveyed its acquiescence to a Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud to grant PC to the officers within 10 days.

NIA files chargesheet against 7 Naxals in Dummugudem Maoist case of Telangana

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed the chargesheet against seven Naxals and conspirators in the Dummugudem Maoist case of Telangana.
Top members of banned CPI (Maoist) hatched a criminal conspiracy along with overground workers to wage war against the government by carrying out attack on security personnel, said NIA

Maoist leader Prashant Bose alias Kishan Da, carrying Rs 1 crore reward, arrested by Jharkhand Police

Top Maoist leader Prashant Bose alias Kishan Da, who was carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head, has been arrested in Jharkhand along with his wife Sheela Marandi, a senior police officer said on Friday.

80% single dose and 39% double doses of Covid-19 covered, informs Health Ministry

Health workers will knock at every door, check, inspire and motivate under Har Ghar Dastak, says Manohar Agnani, Additional Secretary, Union Health Ministry during an online interactive session on the ongoing Har Ghar Dastak campaign.
He said: “80 percent of the single-dose and 39 percent of the double doses of Covid-19 covered.
He said: “Every individual has a role, we’ve requested NGOs too. By November 30 we should reach our goal. We have 3 vaccines Covaxin, Covishield and SputnikV.”

Amit Shah reaches Varanasi to check BJP poll preparedness

Ahead of the state assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reached Varanasi on Friday. During the two-day visit, Shah will attend Akhil Bharatiya Rajbhasha Sammelan in Varanasi. He will also hold meetings with BJP office-bearers including state chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Congress writes to Mark Zuckerberg alleging Facebook of spreading hate, demands internal inquiry

The Congress on Friday has written to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claiming Facebook is spreading hate and demanded an internal inquiry.

It is not the first time that Congress has written to the social media giant. In earlier letters to Zuckerberg, the Congress raised issues of bias with many Facebook executives asked to set up a high-level inquiry into the Facebook India leadership team and submit a report to Facebook Inc. within a reasonable period of time. A Wall Street Journal report in August 2020 had said Facebook India’s leadership had supported the ruling BJP and violated the company’s own hate-speech rules. Following the story, the executive responsible had resigned in October 2020.

Rupee gains 7 paise to close at 74.45 against U.S. dollar

The rupee strengthened by 7 paise to close at 74.45 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, as a firm trend in domestic equities boosted investor sentiments.
Besides, lower crude prices in the international market also supported the local unit, forex dealers said.

Bahrain approves emergency use of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin

Bahrain’s National Health Regulatory Authority has approved the emergency use of India’s indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin, said the Indian Embassy in Bahrain on Friday.

Covaxin recently received emergency use approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) for people aged 18 and above. Earlier on November 10, Hong Kong and Vietnam also joined the list of countries that approved the jab.

AAP announces first list of candidates for 2022 Punjab Assembly polls

The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday released the first list of 10 candidates for the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls. This is the second such announcement by a political party in the state. Earlier on Sunday last, the BJP announced that it will contest all 117 seats in the Punjab Assembly elections 2022.

Anil Deshmukh sent to Enforcement Directorate custody till November 15 in money laundering case

Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has been sent to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till November 15 in the money laundering case. Deshmukh’s judicial custody ended on Friday. In its arguments seeking custody, the ED said that they needed to question the former Maharashtra Home Minister for at least two more days. READ STORY

After meeting Sonia Gandhi, Sachin Pilot says those who worked for party should be given the respect they deserve

Congress leader and former Rajasthan Deputy CM Sachin Pilot met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence on Friday. After the meeting, Pilot said those who have worked for the party should be given the respect they deserve.

Pilot said he spoke about the political situation in the state, and said that if there was any change required, it should be done. Pilot met Sonia Gandhi a day after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Delhi government slaps Rs 5 lakh fine on NBCC for flouting anti-dust norms

The Delhi government on Friday imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the National Building Construction Corporation Ltd (NBCC) for flouting anti-dust norms at its construction site in Karkardooma, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai told the media. Earlier in October, the Delhi government issued a show-cause notice to the NBCC for not following the 14-point anti-dust guidelines at its World Health Organization (WHO) building redevelopment site in the capital.

133 terrorists including many top commanders neutralised in Jammu and Kashmir so far in 2021, says IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar

Kashmir Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar on Friday said 133 terrorists including many top commanders have been neutralised this year. He said: “Two terrorists including Shiraz Molvi and Yawar Bhat have been neutralised.” Shiraz was active since 2016 and was involved in several civilian killings. One other terrorist killed in the Srinagar encounter has been identified as Aamir Riyaz, he added.

Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik asks Centre to take back Kangana Ranaut’s Padma Shri, arrest her

Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik has launched a scathing attack on Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut for her controversial remarks on the country’s Independence and demanded that the Padma Shri award conferred on her should be revoked.
The Nationalist Congress Party leader said the actor seemed to be speaking untruths.

Read Also: What are new RBI schemes launched by PM Modi? Here’s all about retail direct scheme and integrated ombudsman scheme

Covaxin’s efficacy pegged at 77.8%, says Lancet study

In a study published in The Lancet, Covaxin, the coronavirus vaccine developed by ICMR and Bharat Biotech, was found to have a 77.8 percent efficacy rate against symptomatic Covid-19. The study also found it to be 65.2 percent effective against the more dangerous Delta variant of the coronavirus in its preliminary analysis, but said further investigations are necessary to confirm it.

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AI errors in voter list digitisation causing hardship during SIR, Mamata writes to EC chief

Mamata Banerjee has written to the chief election commissioner alleging that AI-driven digitisation errors in electoral rolls are causing hardship, harassment and distress to genuine voters during the SIR process in West Bengal.

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3 hours ago

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January 13, 2026

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mamta banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has once again written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that errors arising from AI-driven digitisation of the 2002 electoral rolls are causing widespread hardship to genuine voters during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state.

In her fifth letter since the SIR process began, Banerjee claimed that the use of artificial intelligence tools to digitise older voter lists led to serious inaccuracies in electors’ personal details. According to her, these errors have resulted in large-scale data mismatches, with many genuine voters being wrongly flagged as having “logical discrepancies”.

The chief minister accused the Election Commission of disregarding statutory processes that had been followed over the past two decades. She said voters were now being forced to re-establish their identity despite corrections having been made earlier through quasi-judicial hearings.

Calling the approach arbitrary and illogical, Banerjee alleged that it went against the constitutional spirit by effectively disowning the commission’s own past actions and mechanisms. She further claimed that voters submitting documents during the SIR exercise were not being given proper acknowledgements, terming the procedure “fundamentally flawed”.

Raising concerns over the nature of hearings, Banerjee said the SIR process had become largely mechanical and overly dependent on technical data, lacking sensitivity, human judgment and compassion. She argued that such an approach undermines democratic values and the constitutional framework.

Highlighting the human impact of the exercise, the chief minister claimed that the revision process had already seen 77 deaths, four suicide attempts and 17 cases of hospitalisation. She attributed these incidents to fear, intimidation and excessive workload caused by what she described as an unplanned exercise by the Election Commission.

Banerjee also criticised the treatment of several eminent citizens, alleging that they were subjected to harassment during the process. She further expressed concern over the handling of cases involving women voters, particularly those who had changed their surnames after marriage or shifted to their matrimonial homes.

According to her, women electors were being questioned and summoned to prove their identity, reflecting a lack of social sensitivity and amounting to an insult to women and genuine voters. She questioned whether a constitutional authority should treat half of the electorate in such a manner.

Urging immediate corrective steps, Banerjee called on the Election Commission to address the issues arising from the SIR exercise to end what she described as harassment and agony for both citizens and officials, and to safeguard democratic rights.

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Communist Party of China delegation visits BJP headquarters in Delhi

A delegation from the Communist Party of China, led by Vice Minister Sun Haiyan, visited the BJP headquarters in Delhi and held discussions on inter-party communication.

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3 hours ago

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January 13, 2026

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China delegation visits BJP office

A delegation from the Communist Party of China (CPC), led by Sun Haiyan, Vice Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC), visited the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in Delhi on Monday.

During the visit, the Chinese delegation held discussions with a BJP team headed by party general secretary Arun Singh. The talks focused on ways to advance inter-party communication and engagement between the BJP and the CPC.

Sharing details of the meeting, BJP foreign affairs department in-charge Vijay Chauthaiwale said the interaction involved an in-depth exchange on strengthening party-to-party dialogue. He confirmed the visit in a post on social media, stating that the CPC delegation was received at the BJP head office as part of ongoing inter-party interactions.

The Chinese Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, was also present during the meeting, accompanying the CPC delegation.

According to Chauthaiwale, the visit was led by Sun Haiyan in her capacity as Vice Minister of the IDCPC, underscoring the importance attached to party-level exchanges between the two sides.

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Only Marathi leadership will run BMC, says Fadnavis ahead of civic polls

Devendra Fadnavis says BMC will remain under Marathi leadership, dismissing opposition claims of threats to the Marathi community ahead of civic polls.

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3 hours ago

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January 13, 2026

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Devendra Fadnavis

With elections to major civic bodies approaching, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday asserted that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) would continue to be led by a Marathi leader, rejecting opposition claims that the interests of the “Marathi manush” were under threat.

Addressing the political narrative around Marathi identity, Fadnavis said that it was not the Marathi community whose existence was at risk, but certain political forces attempting to create fear ahead of the polls. He stressed that Maharashtra belongs to all Marathi people and not to any single political group.

“I want to reiterate that only a Marathi person will be at the helm of affairs in the BMC. Only Marathi will lead,” the chief minister said, pushing back against allegations of marginalisation of the Marathi community.

Language policy row and cabinet decision

Responding to criticism over the language policy debate, Fadnavis said the recommendation to teach Hindi and English in schools was approved during the tenure of former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. He clarified that the present government had merely constituted a committee to examine the implementation of that earlier cabinet decision.

According to Fadnavis, the report recommending the inclusion of Hindi and English was submitted in September 2021 and received cabinet approval in January 2022, with the decision being reaffirmed later. “We have only formed a committee to study the implementation of that decision, yet unnecessary controversy was created,” he said.

Opposition sharpens attack

Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray accused the state government of damaging Mumbai over the last three years and claimed that the work carried out by the undivided Shiv Sena over 25 years was being undone.

The political rhetoric intensified further after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray called for Marathi unity, warning that Maharashtra’s language, land and identity were under threat. Addressing party workers, he said any attempt to impose Hindi in the state would be opposed and described the upcoming BMC polls as a decisive election for the Marathi community.

The exchanges come ahead of elections to 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, including the BMC, Pune Municipal Corporation and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. Polling is scheduled for January 15, with counting to take place on January 16.

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