AAP Leaders Detained by Delhi Police, FIR Filed for Assaulting Cop Amid Protests

Addressing the media following the conclusion of the Congress Working Committee meeting, leaders detailed the party's roadmap for nationwide agitations over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision process of electoral rolls. The party demanded the immediate suspension of the SIR exercise and the restoration of over thirteen crore votes allegedly deleted from voter lists. The leadership also called for the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner and demanded the Prime Minister's resignation, citing moral responsibility for not intervening in alleged electoral malpractices. Demonstrations across eight hundred districts were highlighted, alongside plans for joint strategy discussions with INDIA alliance partners. Party leaders emphasised that resistance through peaceful movements will continue across grassroots booths.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi accused both the BJP and Congress of failing to ensure meaningful political representation for Muslims, alleging that successive governments have treated the community largely as a vote bank rather than an equal political stakeholder. Speaking at the India Today Conclave South in Kochi, he said parties claiming to be secular had also failed to show the “intellectual honesty” needed to politically empower minorities. Owaisi said Muslims constitute around 18 crore of India’s population but account for only 4 per cent of elected members in Parliament. He questioned why other communities had been able to build political leadership and agency while Muslims remained largely confined to the role of voters. “Where is my political voice? Where is my political agency?” he asked, arguing that political marginalisation had persisted from the era of Jawaharlal Nehru to the present government. Targeting both sides of the political spectrum, Owaisi said the BJP did not give Muslims enough electoral representation, while parties that call themselves secular had reduced the community to “voters and showboys”. He said Muslims had often voted for the “lesser of two evils” because there was no viable alternative, and argued that political justice was essential for achieving social and economic justice.

Lovely Professional University in Punjab witnessed widespread unrest and arson following student protests over alleged rape rumours, which the university authorities dismissed as fake news. Protests escalated as over 2,000 students blocked the national highway for more than 18 hours. CCTV footage from UniMall within the university premises captured mobs looting shops, stealing laptops, mobile phones, and damaging ATMs. Shop owners claimed damages amounting to crores of rupees. While the university alleged that outsiders with vested interests breached campus gates to vitiate the atmosphere, shopkeepers stated that regular students were among those involved in the vandalism. Punjab Police registered a First Information Report and constituted a Special Investigation Team to investigate the violence. Simultaneously, the university administration formed a three-member disciplinary action committee to identify 30 to 40 students suspected of leading the arson and loot.

At India Today’s Conclave South, Indian Coast Guard Director General S Paramesh said India is using both indigenous and imported technologies, including AI, to strengthen maritime and coastal security and counter new-age threats such as unmanned drones. He said DPSUs and domestic equipment manufacturers have developed credible software solutions, while stressing that technology cannot replace physical checks of vessels and people. Looking ahead to 2035, Paramesh outlined plans for larger ships, improved crew facilities, longer operational endurance and real-time data flow from the ocean to maritime operating centres. He also called for greater participation of women in the Coast Guard.