ED Raids Hyderabad Ganja Don Mithubai's Premises Over Hawala Links, Illicit Syndicate

A political controversy has erupted following remarks made by a cleric concerning the role of women, asserting that women should remain within their homes and that appearing without a veil can be destructive. An influential religious body met with the state leadership after strong objections were raised against these statements. Political parties across the spectrum have opposed the regressive remarks, while an allied league defended the cleric as a religious scholar. The leadership has maintained its firm stance against the comments despite pressure from the religious faction.

A major political and economic debate has broken out over India's 7.8% GDP growth numbers. The opposition and former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg questioned the data, claiming a revision in previous figures lowered the base and masked lower growth. The central government strongly rejected these allegations, clarifying that the 7.8% growth rate is accurate, calculated at constant prices using the new 2022-23 base year series, and accused critics of comparing different series. Meanwhile, NVIDIA Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang praised India's artificial intelligence potential, highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's early vision and urging rapid adoption across Indian startups and enterprises.

The Madras High Court dismissed a petition filed by DMK chief MK Stalin challenging the election victory of the TVK candidate in the Kolathur assembly constituency. The plea sought to nullify the election outcome, citing alleged VVPAT slip mismatches during post-counting verification. The court rejected the petition as not maintainable, stating there was insufficient evidence to support claims of counting discrepancies. Kolathur had previously served as a stronghold for the DMK leader before the assembly election defeat. The DMK legal team is expected to consider further legal recourse following the verdict.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Mayor and Collector of Varanasi to review the flood situation in the constituency. The Prime Minister was briefed on ongoing relief measures and directed the local administration to ensure citizens face minimal inconvenience and work on a war footing. Continuous rainfall has pushed up the water levels of the river Ganga, breaching the warning mark and submerging pedestrian paths and the famed ghats along the riverbank. Authorities have suspended boat operations in the city, while displaced residents are being moved into relief camps with arrangements for food and drinking water.