Brazil are in town, but will Kolkata turn up for historic India friendly?

West Bengal Police have arrested an accused woman from central Delhi for allegedly posing as a senior Prime Minister's Office official to enter the state secretariat and meet a Bengal minister. Identified as Dr Akansha Vidyarthi, she reportedly claimed association with Jitendra Singh's office after sending an email to secure the meeting, during which she also took photographs. The minister grew suspicious during the interaction, prompting his office to lodge a complaint after verifying that her claims were false. Howrah Police subsequently booked the woman under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, apprehended her in Delhi, and brought her to Howrah on transit remand as investigations into the impersonation fraud continue.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has launched the Satyagraha Portal to map public grievances and ongoing protests across India. Announcing the initiative via a video message, Gandhi stated that the platform aims to bring together the voices of youth, farmers, tribals, and Dalits fighting for their rights. He invited citizens to register their issues and protest details, stating that information on protests nationwide will be consolidated in one place. Gandhi affirmed that the Congress party will support people in need and raise their struggles both inside Parliament and on the streets.

In an interview with India Today, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president and Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi evaluates minority representation, secularism, and coalition politics in India. Owaisi argues that while India's founding fathers guaranteed fundamental rights and constitutional equality under Articles 25, 26, 29, and 30, successive ruling governments from Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi have politically disempowered and marginalised Muslims, treating them merely as voters. Addressing Muslim representation in the Lok Sabha, he criticises mainstream secular parties for denying independent political agency to minorities while expecting their electoral backing. Owaisi also questions remarks by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, pointing to ground realities and ideological literature. Discussing electoral strategy ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, he explains his willingness to forge alliances to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party, clarifies past negotiations with regional players, and asserts that younger voters are increasingly rejecting binary political narratives in favour of meaningful political empowerment.

The Congress party has appointed former Olympian and Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh as the new president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, replacing Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Pargat Singh, a Padma Shri and Arjuna Award recipient who captained India's hockey team at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, previously served as the state's minister for education and sports. The leadership transition follows Warring tendering his resignation after meeting Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi. Warring indicated that Punjab Congress in-charge Sachin Pilot may have sought an organisational change. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and state BJP leaders criticised the Congress over factionalism, alleging multiple leaders are competing for the chief minister's post. According to the party's strategy, Singh's appointment aims to consolidate Jat Sikh votes, unite competing internal factions under Pilot's coordination, intensify outreach among farmers, and strengthen grassroots block and district organisation ahead of upcoming elections.