New or higher taxes are justified only when the economy is booming, the former finance minister said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks come after the central government hiked excise duty and cess on petrol by Rs 10 per litre and on diesel by Rs 13 a litre.

The RSS may want to be incorporate the broader policy adjustments -- both domestic and international – in the working and objectives of the government in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Former J&K CM Omar Abdullah said Hizbul Mujahideen commander Reyaz Naikoo's destiny was decided the moment he picked up the gun and adopted the path of violence and terror.

It is clear that Sonia now wants to make COVID-19 the launching plank of sorts of for the Congress. And, in many ways it is the return of Manmohan Singh as the trump card.

Chief ministers of Congress-ruled states said they would urge the PM to provide an assistance package to cope with the pandemic as well as the economic situation.

The Congress said the decision to go back or stay in the state should be with the labourers and not the government, with the former being free to choose health or work.

In a letter to the prime minister, Tharoor expressed appreciation for the central government for 'finally deciding to address the plight' of stranded 'pravasis' by commencing the process of repatriation from May 7 onwards.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked the government to clarify on the security and privacy concerns raised over the application, especially after an ethical hacker has pointed out its alleged flaws.

N Chandrababu Naidu urged the Centre to immediately send medical experts to the district as it may not have the required expertise to treat people affected with styrene gas.

In a series of tweets, he also said that there is a steady rise in the number of calls regarding COVID-19 on the police helpline number 100.

Former prime minister and JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda expressed shock over the incident and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend all required assistance to Andhra Pradesh.

The prime minister also chaired a meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to assess the situation.

In a letter to Gandhi, the Railways' largest union of workers said travelling during the coronavirus pandemic is dangerous but railway staffers are making it possible through their hard work.

This comes in view of demands from various members of Parliament (MP) for holding such meetings through video conference amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown.

BJP-nominated Rajya Sabha member Sambhaji Raje had earlier asked Fadnavis to apologise for "hurting the sentiments" of the followers of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj through his tweet.

Sachin Pilot has been making onfield presence in his home constituency, Tonk, where he was seen meeting with officials and religious leaders to make people aware of COVID-19.

While Singhvi has never have been a grassroots leader, he enjoys complete trust of the Gandhis, in all critical cases has stood by the party like a rock, and in court ensured a fighting chance for the Congress.

The Election Commission is yet to take a call on the polls, presumably in view of the nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

The intervention came after reports in a section of local media claimed about prospects of Mandavia taking over the reins from Chief Minister Vijay Rupani amid the state battling the coronavirus crisis.

Special Shramik train arrived at the Amethi Railway station on Thursday with 1,212 Uttar Pradesh migrant workers on board, out of which 282 belonged to Amethi.

Studies show that the fear of contagion leads individuals to become more conservative and less accepting of experimentation. They prefer quietly falling in line, however long, rather than taking on eccentricity.

However, Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat also alleged that along with Gujarat, states of Odisha, Karnataka and West Bengal have, too, denied migrant workers from their states to return.

Indore is among the cities worst-affected by the coronavirus outbreak and as on Friday, the city has reported 1727 cases, including 86 deaths

Gandhi also called upon the government to immediately put money into the hands of the poor and provide a financial package to the industry to help revive the economy.

Gopichand Padalkar, who joined the party on the eve of last year's Lok Sabha polls, also figures in the list.

The former UP chief minister had gone to the Hospital for routine checkup, but the doctors admitted him for monitoring his health over some stomach and urine-related issues.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday passed an ordinance to suspend most of the labour laws in the state, in order to attract new companies to invest in the state amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Sixteen migrant workers sleeping on rail tracks while returning to Madhya Pradesh were crushed to death by a goods train in Aurangabad district on Friday.

BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi said the Modi government has been very much receptive to suggestions from the opposition but it should be constructive, adding that it is very typical of Gandhi to speak before media without studying facts.

A freewheeling interview, some banter thrown in, and careful attention to the fact that no personal attacks on PM Narendra Modi are made while questioning the government over the coronavirus pandemic crisis was the template of Gandhi's press conference.

The decision was an unfortunate one, withdrawing the protection given to workers and labourers, BMS general secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said.

The Chief Minister noted that Punjab was successfully moving in the service of the nation towards meeting its target of wheat procurement, notwithstanding the challenges imposed by the lockdown.

After a cabinet meeting on Friday, MP minister for Home and Health Narottam Mishra said no work was done when Nath was in power and "whatever funds were received were diverted to Chhindwara (the CM’s home town)".

Workers are being treated as slaves, said the letter signed by CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D Raja, CPI (ML)'s Dipankar Bhattarcharya and RJD MP Manoj Jha among others.

As most of the states are yet to respond on the matter of bearing the travel costs of the stranded workers, the Delhi government has decided to bear the cost to avoid any further inconvenience to these people, a statement said.

A 52-year-old doctor had allegedly committed suicide in Durga Vihar in south Delhi on April 18, holding Jarwal responsible in his suicide note, following which police had registered a case against the legislator on charges of extortion and abetment to suicide.

Union home minister Amit Shah said not allowing trains to reach West Bengal is 'injustice' to the migrant workers from the state.

The BJP leaders waged a social media war against the Bengal government by accusing the state of hiding Covid-19 figures and also complaining the Centre that TMC-led government in Bengal has completely failed in handling the coronavirus crisis.

Echoing similar sentiments put forth by several eminent economists, the senior Congress leader appealed to the central government to shed its reservations and borrow more in 2020-21.

Union Home Minister Shah, in a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said the West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrant workers to reach the state that may further create hardship for the labourers.

The Union Home Minister took to Twitter to clarify that these are just rumours and that he has been working as the country deals with the coronavirus pandemic.

The state government had allowed the home delivery of liquor during the third phase of the coronavirus lockdown from Thursday.

Government should tell the people clearly about the exact state of the pandemic to enable them to prepare accordingly, said Congress senior spokesperson Ajay Maken.

The newspaper, Saamana, however, did not make it clear whether it blamed the BJP-led Centre or the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government for the tragedy.

Pawar spoke over phone to Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on the issue of repatriation of migrant workers to their home states during the lokdown period.

The JDU, headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accused the AAP of resorting to "cheap politics to gain popularity" as the Arvind Kejriwal government has sought reimbursement of the payment.

Her marriage has made an impact on her career, says Samantha Akkineni, admitting that she isn't being offered as many film roles as she used to be when she was single.

Tamil Nadu is now facing one of the worst droughts in over a hundred years, and Balachander saw this coming and worsening nearly four decades ago.

Though the channel has launched nothing but just the logo of the third season of Bigg Boss Telugu, the promo video is all about the show going on floors soon.