UP Assembly session to start tomorrow: Speaker

Former Andhra Pradesh Minister Gudivada Amarnath on Thursday said that the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the land policy of the state government, alleging that large extents of valuable public land are being allotted to a few real estate companies at very low prices.

The attached properties are in the form of land parcels situated in Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu advised district collectors to be proactive in attracting investments to promote industries for wealth creation.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday launched the distribution of seed capital under Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyaan (MMUA) to women beneficiaries by handing over cheques amounting to Rs. 10,000 to each of the 5,155 women beneficiaries of Jalukbari Legislative Assembly Constituency at a programme held at Swahid Smarak Kshetra in Boragaon in Guwahati.

Residents of Vandiyur Theerthakadu near Anna Nagar, which falls within the limits of the Madurai Corporation under the Madurai East Assembly constituency represented by Registration Department Minister P Moorthy, have alleged on Thursday that their locality has been deprived of basic amenities such as electricity, drinking water and proper roads for more than four decades.

BJP MLA and West Bengal Assembly Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday expressed confidence that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) would be defeated in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.

According to sources, the meeting involved extensive discussions on around 160 Assembly constituencies across the state. During the deliberations, the party is learnt to have finalised candidates for nearly 145 seats, out of 294 assembly seats in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, marking significant progress in the selection process.

Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said that the upcoming assembly elections in Kerala are expected to set a benchmark for democratic practices, expressing confidence in the preparedness of the state's election machinery and cooperation from political parties.

The West Bengal government on Thursday provided officers of requisite seniority for being appointed as Returning Officers for the forthcoming Assembly Elections, on the insistence of the Election Commission of India.

In an 'X' post, TMC said the government has "ek hi naara, line mein rahe desh bechara," pointing to past governmental measures including demonetisation, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the Special Identification Registration (SIR), and now the LPG shortage. The party described demonetisation as a "Tughlaqi farman" that forced ordinary citizens to wait in serpentine queues outside banks and ATMs for days to access their own money. The post also highlighted the 2020 COVID-19 oxygen crisis, when families stood in long lines outside hospitals and suppliers as the public health system collapsed.