BJP Targets Opposition Meet As INDIA Bloc Leaders Skip Key Delhi Gathering

Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri reflected on Operation Sindoor, the Mahabharata and the Kalinga War while examining the difficult balance between responding to violence and preserving peace. He described Operation Sindoor as a measured response to repeated terror that stopped before escalating into full-scale war, while stressing that a ceasefire does not erase the suffering of families who lost loved ones. Speaking at India Today’s Conclave South 2026, he questioned whether absolute peace is possible in a world shaped by violence and competing interests. Drawing on religious teachings around ahimsa and restraint, he said peace also requires accepting differences and learning to “live and let live”. He added that wars rarely remain confined to battlefields, with their consequences spreading through economies and communities.

A Bharatiya Janata Party leader addressed a press conference, criticising the Congress leadership, including Rahul Gandhi and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. The spokesperson accused the opposition party of attempting to divide Hindu society along regional lines, specifically contrasting northern and southern India, as well as dividing communities by caste, language, and gender. He cited statements regarding revenue contributions and Aryan-Dravidian theories, while also recalling remarks concerning DNA and regional identity. Addressing arguments regarding Hindu deities, the speaker contested assertions contrasting Lord Shiva and Lord Ram by citing classical scriptures, including the Shiva Purana and Ramcharitmanas, arguing that both traditions are deeply interconnected. Furthermore, he highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's spiritual visits, naming the lunar south pole landing site as Shiv Shakti Point, and contrasted this with Rahul Gandhi's political stance, alleging that the Congress party views religious traditions through an external, divisive lens.

The Election Commission of India has restored the original Form 6 format for non-SIR states, removing the extra declaration annex, Annexure D, from online voter registration. Under this update, new eighteen-year-old voters will no longer be required to provide their parents' or grandparents' previous electoral details, such as constituency booth and serial numbers, ending mandatory family mapping in those regions. However, the additional declaration requirement will continue in states where the Special Summary Revision is currently underway. The decision follows political controversy and scrutiny from the opposition INDIA bloc regarding voter registration procedures and past irregularities.

Tensions between the Left parties and the ruling TVK in Tamil Nadu have come out into the open ahead of assembly by-elections. CPI(M) leader P. Shanmugam claimed that by-polls are not in favour of TVK and alleged that TVK candidates are being chased away by voters in Dharapuram and Madurantakam. The Left parties have decided to field their own candidates in both constituencies despite providing outside support to the government. Left leaders accused TVK of engineering the resignations of AIADMK legislators to contest on its ticket, describing it as horse trading.