PM Modi addresses election rallies in Assam

An election race is in full swing in Assam as it goes to polls this week.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attending three campaign rallies in the northeastern state on Monday.

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Rahul Gandhi clams PM at Kerala election rally
After early addressing an event in Puducherry, India's opposition leader Rahul Gandhi spoke at a campaign rally in Kerala ahead of the state's upcoming legislative elections.

Gandhi's Indian National Congress has spent a decade in opposition in Kerala.

The state is currently governed by a bloc led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), also known as the CPI(M).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not represented in Kerala's assembly and has typically been a minor force in the state.

"How come the BJP does not attack the chief minister of Kerala?

How come no interrogation of him and his family?" Gandhi told supporters.

Man arrested after breaking into Delhi Assembly and placing flowers
Police have arrested a man accused of driving through the gate of the Delhi Legislative Assembly on Monday.

The man reportedly rammed his car through the iron gates at around 2 p.m.

local time.

He then placed a bouquet of flowers outside the speaker's office.

Lawmaker Sanjeev Jha from the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has called the incident "another major question mark on Delhi's security arrangements" in the wake of a bomb threat last month.

"Breaking through the gate and entering a high-security place like the Legislative Assembly is a serious lapse," he wrote on X.

"On one hand, elected opposition MLAs are stopped at the gate, and on the other, some vehicle drives straight inside!"
Supreme court refuses plea to pause Adani real estate, F1 track deal
India's Supreme Court has refused to interfere with an order of a tribunal, declining to pause a proposed takeover of a bankrupt real estate giant by the Adani group .

The top court on Monday dismissed the plea by mining group Vedanta — owned by billionaire Anil Agarwal — allowing the acquisition process to move forward for the moment.

The court, however, directed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to hear Vedanta's appeal on  priority on April 10 or the working day if arguments do not conclude, legal news website LiveLaw reported.

Vedanta has gone to courts against the decision of a lender's panel to give the assets of the now-insolvent Jaiprakash Associates or Jaypee Group to business mogul Gautam ​Adani's ‌group.

Vedanta claims that its $1.8 ⁠billion (€1.4billion)​ bid was better, but the panel gave a decision in Adani's favor as its $1.5 billion bid had ​higher upfront payments and a faster repayment timeline.

The acquisition includes a $4 billion pool of assets, including India's only Formula One track — the Buddh ‌International Circuit.

Security breach at Delhi Assembly as car breaks through barricades
A speeding car rammed through the barricades of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, forcing its way into the high-security premises, reports said Monday.

The incident soon took a bizarre turn as a man exited the car, placed a "flower bouquet" within the complex and escaped, news agency ANI cited the Delhi Police as saying.

The complex is the meeting place of Delhi's unicameral legislature.

According to The Times of India , the breach occurred at around 2 p.m.

local time, triggering a security scare.

An eyewitness told ANI that the car drove inside, pushing through multiple layers of security.

The car reportedly had a registration plate of Uttar Pradesh state.

A probe is underway to track the vehicle.

Rahul Gandhi vows full statehood for Puducherry in campaign trail
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday promised full statehood to the Union Territory of Puducherry if his party, the Congress, comes to power in elections scheduled for Thursday.

"We are committed to giving full statehood to Puducherry," Gandhi said at a campaign rally in Puducherry's Lawspet.

Gandhi claimed that the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was running Puducherry's administration through "remote control."
Puducherry is currently governed by a coalition of the All India N.

R.

Congress (AINRC) and BJP.

"Government in Puducherry is not an expression of people, but imposed from Delhi.

BJP running state by 'remote control'," Gandhi alleged.

At the rally, Gandhi vowed to provide monthly financial support of Rs 2,000 (€18.64) to unemployed youth and to create 30,000 new jobs in the public and private sectors.

He also promised ⁠free bus travel for women and a health insurance of Rs 2,000,000 (€18,640) for every family.

WATCH — India kicks off world's largest census
India has begun counting its population in the world's largest census, which will include caste enumeration for the first time in nearly a century.

More than 3 million officials will be deployed to carry out the count.

Find out more about the mammoth exercise in this report:
World's largest census underway in India
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Modi holds massive rallies in Assam, criticizes Congress
Prime Minister Narendra Modi railed against the Indian National Congress party as he spoke at election rallies in the poll-bound northeastern state of Assam.

Speaking from Barpeta, where he held a roadshow, Modi reiterated his claims that the Congress party was supporting "infiltrators" in Assam and opposing action against illegal land encroachments.

Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deems alleged illegal migrants — primarily Muslim Bangladeshi migrants — as "illegal infiltrators."
In Assam, activists have accused India of pushing Bengali-speaking Muslims, some of whom they say are Indians, to Bangladesh as part of a contentious citizenship exercise .

India forces Bengali-speaking Muslims into Bangladesh
Modi accused the Congress of attempting to introduce laws that could treat "infiltrators" in the northeastern state as "victims."
"The Bharatiya Janata Party is freeing such lands from every illegal encroachment," he said.

"Congress is openly supporting infiltrators.

Congress is opposing action against illegal encroachments.

Congress wants to make such a law in Assam that if the word 'infiltrator' is used, one could be jailed.

Congress will declare infiltrators as victims in the law itself, and the majority of indigenous people here will face the threat of imprisonment," the prime minister added.

In another rally in Hojai, Modi emphasized the developmental works during BJP's 10-year governance in Assam while continuing his potshots at Congress.

He accused the opposition party of looking after its own interests and depriving Assam of development when it was in power in the state.

"The development of every region is a priority for the NDA," Modi said referring to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance that currently governs the state.

"Congress kept Assam in trouble and deprived it of development.

Till Congress was in power here, it only looked after its own selfish interests," he said.

A single-phase election is set to take place in Assam on Thursday.

India stock markets jump to green after early morning loss
Indian markets showed a sharp rebound in afternoon trading after opening with a decline, as reports said that the US and Iran have been presented with a draft ceasefire proposal.

Both benchmark indices the Sensex and the Nifty50 turned green after a weak beginning on Monday.

When the markets opened in the morning, Sensex had slid almost 600 points and Nifty was below 22,600.

By afternoon, Sensex surged around 500 points while Nifty rose above the 22,850-level.

India seeks 2.5 million metric tons of urea amid Middle East supply disruptions
India is seeking to buy 2.5 million metric tons of urea to bolster domestic supplies that have been impacted by the US-Israel war with Iran , reports said.

Indian Potash Limited (IPL) floated a global tender on Saturday to import 1.5 million tons through the country's west ​coast while the remaining 1 million tons ​will ‌arrive through the east coast, news agencies ANI and Reuters said, citing document;s posted on the fertilizer company's website.

IPL operates under the administrative framework of India's Department of Fertilizers and specializes in the import, distribution and marketing of fertilizers, primarily urea and potash.

Bids for the tender are to be submitted by April 15 and the shipments are expected to leave the load port by ‌June ​14, the tender notice showed.

The imports will come at a crucial time as planting for crops like rice, corn, and soybeans begins in ​June.

India is the world's largest importer of the crop nutrient.

The Middle East accounts for ​roughly half of India's diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea imports.

Oman is the country's biggest urea supplier.

IPL recap: Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Chennai Super Kings
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) sealed a victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK), winning by 43 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday night.

RCB's Tim David scored 70 not out off 25 balls, hitting eight sixes.

Meanwhile, skipper Rajat Patidar made 48 not out off 19 balls.

The partnership between David and Patidar thrashed 99 runs off just 35 balls for an unbeaten fourth wicket.

At the end of their innings, RCB put up a total score of 250/3 against Chennai.

CSK's top five batters were dismissed on single-digit runs.

Sarfaraz Khan tried to stand in the face of Bengaluru's onslaught, scoring a blazing 50 off 25 balls.

He was, however, dismissed on the first ball after his powerplay.

Ace India and RCB batter Virat Kohli applauded Khan's innings with a thumbs up as the Chennai player walked back to the stands.

Matches between RCB and CSK have been one of the cash-rich league's most fiery contests and are popularly called the southern derby.

Sunday's match marked CSK's third consecutive loss this IPL season and the fourth consecutive loss in IPL history to Bengaluru.

Campaigns on full throttle ahead of state Assembly elections
Election fever is gripping India, where four states and one Union Territory are gearing up for polls in the coming weeks.

Assam is up first, with the northeastern state set to vote on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address a string of election rallies in the key state on Monday, a day after opposition leader Rahul Gandhi appeared at a campaign event in the central district of Biswanath.

According to news agency PTI, Modi is slated to first attend a rally at Bhabanipur-Sorbhog in the Barpeta district in Lower Assam.

He will then make an appearance at a rally in central Assam's Hojai before moving on to Upper Assam's Dibrugarh.

It is the second time this month that Modi is on the campaign trail in Assam to drum up support for candidates from his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which which currently governs the state.

Rahul Gandhi condemns Assam chief minister
On Sunday, Gandhi launched an attack on Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Biswanath, calling him the "most corrupt and hate‑spreading Chief Minister" of the country.

Meanwhile, Modi was at a rally in the poll-bound state of West Bengal on Sunday, where he criticized the ruling Trinamool Congress government, saying it would be held accountable for what he called its "sins."
"In this election, fear will be driven out of Bengal.

Confidence will awaken through the BJP's grand victory.

I assure you, after this election, a full accounting of their (TMC's) sins will be done.

It will be settled one by one," Modi told the crowd.

West Bengal will hold elections from April 23 to 29.

TVK's Vijay cancels poll rally in Chennai
Down south, in the state of Tamil Nadu where elections take place on April 23, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party's chief, Vijay, called off his Monday campaign in Chennai over time constraints, news agency ANI reported.

ANI cited party sources as saying that the actor-turned-politician was to hold rallies in the constituencies of Villivakkam and T Nagar in the state's capital city.

While the permission for the rally was granted, the party alleged that the time allotted by police to move between the two locations was not sufficient, ANI reported.

The TVK plans to file a complaint with the Election Commission over the issue, according to ANI.

This is Dharvi Vaid Dhulia from DW's Studio in New Delhi, bringing you your daily wrap of all the major headlines from India.

It's a sunny morning here in the capital as people shift gears from the Easter holiday weekend to Monday mode.

There was no rest over the weekend for India's top political adversaries — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi — as they conducted election rallies ahead of key state polls.

Speaking of rivalry, in cricket news, Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Chennai Super Kings by 43 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

We have these stories and more.

Stay tuned to know what India is talking about today.