Headlines from today's papers.
Narendra Modi steals the show in Varanasi, says 'Mother Ganga' called on him
Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi filed his nomination papers from the Varanasi constituency of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday after a massive roadshow in the city. Modi told reporters that he felt as if "Mother Ganga" had called on him to contest from the city and he would make it a "spiritual capital of the world". Meanwhile, Union Minister and Congress leader Anand Sharma called the live telecast of the roadshow "a flagrant violation" of the Election Commission's model code of conduct and asked for an FIR to be registered against Modi. According to the Congress, Modi's roadshow was telecast across the country from 8am to 3pm on a day of polling and could be viewed as a "well-planned scheme" to influence voters in constituencies going to vote on the same day.
Sixth phase of polling sees record turnout
The sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections that on Thursday saw record turnouts in most parts of the country. The Puducherry constituency saw a voter turnout of 83%, while West Bengal's six seats trailed slightly behind with a combined turnout of 82%. Tamil Nadu saw polling in all 39 seats of the state with an average turnout of 73%. The lowest recorded turnouts in the phase, which saw 117 seats being contested, were from the states of Rajasthan (59.2% with five seats) and Maharashtra (55.3% for 19 seats). Thursday was the second-largest phase of polling in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. There are now three phases of polling left, with 347 of the 543 constituencies having already cast their vote.
Alleged Maoist attack in Jharkhand kills 8
Eight polling officials, including five members of the Jharkhand police, were killed on Thursday evening while returning from election duty in an area near Dumka in Jharkhand. According to reports, a land mine had allegedly been planted by Maoists on the route the bus was taking. This was the third such incident occurring during the Lok Sabha elections and the first in Jharkhand. On April 12, 13 people, including poll officials and CRPF jawans, were killed in twin strikes by Maoists in Chhattisgarh.
Indian Met Department predicts below average rainfall
The Indian Meteorological Department on Thursday predicted that the country would probably receive below average monsoon rainfall this year because of climate change and the "El Niño" factor. El Niño is a weather phenomenon where ocean waters in the Pacific coast of South America become anomalously warm, leading to changes in the climate across the world, affecting crops and resulting in droughts or floods in various regions. However, the Met Department said that there is no reason to push the panic button since there is still a high probability of "normal monsoons". The Australian Bureau of Meteorology and private weather forecaster Skymet have also predicted a likelihood of the Indian monsoons being affected by the El Niño factor.
SC rules out blanket immunity for conductors of sting ops
A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice P Sathasivam on Thursday ruled that journalists and people behind sting operations could not get blanket immunity from criminal prosecution if their actions proved that they had prima facie violated the law. The court held that "their acts shall not stand obliterated only by a clamour that what they did was in the larger public good". Currently, there is no law in the country to regulate sting operations.
Narendra Modi steals the show in Varanasi, says 'Mother Ganga' called on him
Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi filed his nomination papers from the Varanasi constituency of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday after a massive roadshow in the city. Modi told reporters that he felt as if "Mother Ganga" had called on him to contest from the city and he would make it a "spiritual capital of the world". Meanwhile, Union Minister and Congress leader Anand Sharma called the live telecast of the roadshow "a flagrant violation" of the Election Commission's model code of conduct and asked for an FIR to be registered against Modi. According to the Congress, Modi's roadshow was telecast across the country from 8am to 3pm on a day of polling and could be viewed as a "well-planned scheme" to influence voters in constituencies going to vote on the same day.
Sixth phase of polling sees record turnout
The sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections that on Thursday saw record turnouts in most parts of the country. The Puducherry constituency saw a voter turnout of 83%, while West Bengal's six seats trailed slightly behind with a combined turnout of 82%. Tamil Nadu saw polling in all 39 seats of the state with an average turnout of 73%. The lowest recorded turnouts in the phase, which saw 117 seats being contested, were from the states of Rajasthan (59.2% with five seats) and Maharashtra (55.3% for 19 seats). Thursday was the second-largest phase of polling in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. There are now three phases of polling left, with 347 of the 543 constituencies having already cast their vote.
Alleged Maoist attack in Jharkhand kills 8
Eight polling officials, including five members of the Jharkhand police, were killed on Thursday evening while returning from election duty in an area near Dumka in Jharkhand. According to reports, a land mine had allegedly been planted by Maoists on the route the bus was taking. This was the third such incident occurring during the Lok Sabha elections and the first in Jharkhand. On April 12, 13 people, including poll officials and CRPF jawans, were killed in twin strikes by Maoists in Chhattisgarh.
Indian Met Department predicts below average rainfall
The Indian Meteorological Department on Thursday predicted that the country would probably receive below average monsoon rainfall this year because of climate change and the "El Niño" factor. El Niño is a weather phenomenon where ocean waters in the Pacific coast of South America become anomalously warm, leading to changes in the climate across the world, affecting crops and resulting in droughts or floods in various regions. However, the Met Department said that there is no reason to push the panic button since there is still a high probability of "normal monsoons". The Australian Bureau of Meteorology and private weather forecaster Skymet have also predicted a likelihood of the Indian monsoons being affected by the El Niño factor.
SC rules out blanket immunity for conductors of sting ops
A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice P Sathasivam on Thursday ruled that journalists and people behind sting operations could not get blanket immunity from criminal prosecution if their actions proved that they had prima facie violated the law. The court held that "their acts shall not stand obliterated only by a clamour that what they did was in the larger public good". Currently, there is no law in the country to regulate sting operations.
You’ve read Scroll.
Now help sustain it
Scroll is funded by readers, not corporate owners. If you believe our work matters, support our newsroom. Become a member today!
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!