Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat is in the United States, and he attended a community event at New York's Madison Square Garden on Saturday. At the event, he spoke on humanity, religious harmony, and social service. Stating that truth and humanity are one despite diverse paths and rituals, he emphasised that diversity decorates innate unity.
Recalling his 2018 speech in Delhi, Mohan Bhagwat reiterated that 'if any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslims in Bharat, he will not remain Hindu.' He noted that RSS swayamsevaks run 1,30,000 service projects across Bharat without discrimination, citing their rescue work following a midair plane collision over Dadri, Haryana.
Bhagwat stated that politics has become a game of self-interest and asserted that lasting social change must begin within society rather than through political channels. He advocated for continuous dialogue across communities at local, district, and national levels to foster unity and selfless service.
On this broadcast of Battle Cry on India Today, host Gaurav Sawant convenes Lieutenant General Raj Shukla, Air Marshal M Matheswaran, and Sandeep Unnithan to assess how artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and drone swarms are transforming contested battlefields.
In this edition of Statecraft, anchor Geeta Mohan analyses key geopolitical developments across the globe. At the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended strikes on Iran and displayed a Starlink terminal alongside references to pager explosions, amid a walkout by delegates and a cancelled meeting with Elon Musk. Meanwhile in Washington, US President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping with full ceremonial honours, agreeing to extend the bilateral trade truce by two months while strategic disagreements over Taiwan, artificial intelligence, and rare earths persisted. The broadcast examines the regional implications of potential US-China rapprochement for India and the wider Indo-Pacific. Additionally, the programme covers Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif evading questions on Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed at the UN, as well as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's new cabinet decree prohibiting face coverings in schools and capping non-Italian speakers at 30% per classroom.
A major political and institutional controversy has erupted over allegations of an internal rift within the Election Commission of India concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The INDIA bloc and Congress workers launched nationwide street protests across multiple cities, demanding the immediate resignation and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The opposition has also approached the Supreme Court seeking criminal prosecution and the quashing of decisions related to the electoral roll revision, while the BJP defended the CEC. Former Chief Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat dismissed allegations of illegality, describing procedural issues as minor and stating that dissent among commissioners is natural. In contrast, former CEC S. Y. Qureshi termed the unilateral decision-making unprecedented and illegal, claiming genuine voters were deleted and calling for an audit and rollback of recent electoral rolls.
In an interview, former Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Quraishi addressed the reported internal rift within the Election Commission of India involving CEC Gyanesh Kumar and fellow election commissioners. Quraishi stated that unilateral decision-making by a single individual within the multi-member body renders decisions invalid, remarking, "Any, all decisions taken by a single man, whosoever he may be, he may be the chairman of the Election Commission, but they're all illegal." He discussed opposition demands to nullify recent elections, noting that extensive voter deletions have compromised the electoral process. Quraishi observed that dissenting election commissioners face distinct operational pressures, citing historical instances where dissenting members were removed. Addressing public agitation and street ultimatums, he described the diminishing public trust in the commission as unprecedented. He also called for a technical and legal audit of all decisions taken by the Election Commission over the past two years.