
Deputy CM Bhatti gets a ₹25 crore defamation notice from BJP president Ramchander Rao
Mr. Vikramarka has been given three days to apologise or criminal action will be taken claiming damages of ₹25 crore, said the legal notice sent on Tuesday. The notice sent through Mr. Ramchander Rao's advocate M. Vijayakanth and associates, mentions that the Deputy CM at a press conference held in New Delhi at the AICC headquarters has alleged that Mr. Rao was one of the persons responsible for instigating the suicide of the research scholar.
The notice stated that the BJP leader was 'absolved' of any involvement in the final report filed by the police in the Court of Special Sessions Judge for Trial of Cases under the SC/ST Act, Ranga Reddy district 'due to lack of evidence'.
The police, after examining 59 witnesses and gathering crucial evidence, has held that Mr. Ramchander Rao has not abetted directly or indirectly in the tragic suicide. Yet, Mr. Vikramarka had made 'false statements' which are 'defamatory in nature' with a 'preconceived motive to tarnish the fame and reputation' of the BJP leader, said the notice.
Condemning the Deputy CM's statements, the notice said it has caused 'irreversible' damage to the Telangana BJP president's reputation. The notice has cautioned Mr. Vikramarka against making any more such 'false, malicious and defamatory remarks' or further criminal proceedings will be have to be initiated.

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India Today
31 minutes ago
- India Today
Can Congress's Haryana revamp serve as its template for other states?
After years of organisational drift, the Congress in Haryana is attempting a structural reset that could determine whether it remains electorally relevant in the part of its 'Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan' (Organisational Rejuvenation Campaign), the party is set to appoint a new crop of District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents across Haryana—for the first time through a semi-democratic, consultative high command is expected to finalise and announce the new district chiefs by the end of July. According to B.K. Hariprasad, AICC general secretary in charge of Haryana, the party has received feedback from all districts. 'Some districts sent two to three names, others five to six. The observers have done interviews, and deliberations are on,' he eligibility criteria for DCC presidents include at least five years of party work and being in the age group of 35-55. However, caste representation and district-level political suitability will also play a decisive role. Party insiders say the AICC observers—appointed in coordination with the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC)—conducted extensive interviews with shortlisted candidates, assessing their ideological alignment, ability to counter the BJP-RSS narrative and potential to unify faction-ridden local units. Special emphasis was laid on including women, minorities and grassroots organisers with credibility beyond the party the first week of June, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made a brief visit to the Haryana Congress headquarters in Chandigarh to convene a meeting of a 17-member committee, comprising senior state leaders and AICC officials. Among them were former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana PCC chief Uday Bhan, Lok Sabha MP Kumari Selja, former Union minister Birender Singh, and Rohtak MP Deepender reportedly urged them to rein in factionalism. Subsequently, the AICC appointed 22 observers, including MPs and former ministers, to work alongside the 51 Haryana PCC-appointed observers to assess aspirants across marks the first time in over a decade that the Congress is methodically rebuilding its organisational pyramid in Haryana. Earlier attempts floundered. When Rahul loyalist Ashok Tanwar was the state unit chief, the Hooda camp resisted; when Kumari Selja and later Uday Bhan took charge, factionalism continued to plague the process. The 2024 assembly polls exposed the underbelly of a defunct organisation, with the BJP managing an improbable win—securing 48 seats in the 90-member the overhaul was inevitable. In the past, appointments were largely top-down—decided by the state Congress president in consultation with the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader. This time, however, the exercise carries the imprint of Rahul's push for internal reform, catalysed by his visit to Chandigarh after the party's electoral Congress appears to be adopting a hybrid model—partly democratic, partly high command-driven. It resembles the BJP's older practice of appointing district presidents based on ground-level feedback from RSS-aligned workers but retains Congress's penchant for top-down endorsement. Whether this becomes a durable template remains to be the Congress is rolling out similar Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan exercises in Gujarat, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh and other states where the party faces organisational atrophy but harbours electoral ambition. Haryana, with its history of alternating governments and caste-based polarisation, could serve as a pilot model for this new approach to internal the surface of this rejuvenation effort, however, lies an unspoken tension: the Congress high command's unease with Bhupinder Hooda's continuing dominance in Haryana. His loyalists currently account for 32 of the party MLAs and four of its five Lok Sabha MPs. PCC chief Uday Bhan is also from the Hooda camp. Yet, the high command has conspicuously left the CLP leadership post vacant, refusing to officially confirm Hooda as its is growing apprehension in Delhi that Hooda may continue to treat the Haryana unit as a political fiefdom, restricting the rise of new voices and alternative power centres. 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The Chautala family competes with Hooda for the dominance of Jat voters. This bloc could easily shift towards them if the Congress doesn't plan the transition is perceived that the BJP's Nayab Saini government takes cues from Saini's political guru and predecessor Manohar Lal Khattar and that decision-making is dominated by a group of bureaucrats. Thus the Congress senses an unless the new DCC chiefs can overcome the legacy of internal sabotage, caste tokenism and organisational apathy, they may end up as placeholders rather than powerbrokers. For the Congress to mount a credible challenge in 2029, these appointments must go beyond symbolism. The Congress's future in Haryana may hinge on whether this quiet overhaul results in genuine grassroots mobilisation or fizzles out as yet another aborted experiment in to India Today Magazine- Ends advertisement


India Today
31 minutes ago
- India Today
Rahul vs Himanta: I will send you to jail; you are out on bail
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His reminiscences of Rahul's dog and the biscuit and jibes about a 'master-servant' culture are meant to underscore that the Congress under Rahul was a feudal family firm where merit had no continually poking at Rahul, Sarma keeps alive the narrative that he is everything Rahul is not: grounded, hardworking, aggressive in pursuing his state's interests and unafraid to take the fight to much bigger supporters cheer Sarma's caustic put-downs of Rahul, the dynasty's prince, for it reinforces their belief that the once unchallenged Gandhis can be humbled by a self-made regional leader. Sarma's very presence in the BJP is a talking point to woo other Congress leaders: it says, join us and you too can eclipse the simmering feud has lately entered a new phase, one that sees Rahul and Sarma face off almost as equals. Rahul may be a national figure and scion of India's most famous political family while Sarma is 'only' a chief minister of a far-flung state. 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Rahul positions the campaign against Sarma as something of a moral crusade, to save Assam from a 'raja' (king) who has betrayed the public trust and will eventually face justice at the hands of the people. This shows that the Congress leader has finally recognised his former party junior as a formidable opponent worthy of sustained a barely noticed snub in a drawing room to thunderous threats from rally stages, the journey of this rivalry is a story of pride and power, of a relationship soured and then set ablaze. And as the barbs about 'jail' and 'bail' fly, one thing is certain: neither man is likely to back to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch


NDTV
31 minutes ago
- NDTV
Those Who Mess With India Will Face Consequences: Amit Shah
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