Centre likely to order SIT probe into 1984 anti-Sikh violence

In her debut electoral contest, Vinesh Phogat, a celebrated wrestler-turned-politician, has secured a decisive victory for the Indian National Congress in the Julana assembly constituency of Haryana. Phogat garnered approximately 65,080 votes, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Captain Yogesh Kumar by a margin of over 6,000 votes. This win marks a significant turnaround for Congress, which had faced defeat in Julana for the last three assembly elections and had only won the seat four times since 1967.

Phogat's victory also saw her outpace the incumbent MLA, Amarjeet Dhanda, a Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader. The results of the Haryana Assembly elections were officially announced on Tuesday, October 8.

Phogat, who transitioned into politics after her wrestling career, had been disqualified from competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal match due to weight category issues. Many speculated that she had been “deliberately defeated” in the competition, while Phogat herself alleged that the Union government had failed to provide her with adequate support.

In the aftermath of her disqualification, Phogat filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), seeking to share the silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylys Guzmán Lopez, whom she had defeated in the semi-finals. Four pro bono lawyers in Paris submitted the protest appeal on her behalf. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) also sought more time to appoint legal representation. However, despite days of deliberation, the CAS ultimately dismissed the appeal.

On September 6, shortly after her sporting career came to an end, Phogat, along with fellow wrestler Bajrang Punia, formally joined the Congress party. Reflecting on her decision, she remarked that she had not retired from wrestling during the Jantar Mantar protests in order to inspire young girls and women. “The whole country thought I would retire during the protests because the BJP IT cell tried to paint us as troublemakers, as though we were finished and only playing politics,” Phogat stated.

Vinesh and Punia were at the forefront of protests against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP, who faces multiple allegations of sexual harassment. The protests, which took place at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi last year, were met with significant police aggression.

During the protests, Phogat had publicly accused Singh of subjecting her to severe mental harassment, to the point where she struggled with suicidal thoughts. Despite these personal battles, she persisted, even as the Indian Olympic Association president and former athlete PT Usha accused the wrestlers of “tarnishing India’s image” during the protests.

In a candid reflection on her retirement, Phogat shared, “Many urged me not to retire, but I had to ask myself – for what purpose should I continue wrestling? There is politics everywhere. Now, I want to do politics that can bring real change, to fight for the future of our children and stand by them when it matters.”

Mumbai: The final rites of Ratan Naval Tata - the industrialist with a heart of gold - were performed with full State honours at a Mumbai crematorium this afternoon.

Home Minister Amit Shah was among the many high-profile dignitaries on hand to pay their final respects to Mr Tata; he stands in for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is en route to Laos to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits. Mr Modi last night hailed Mr Tata as a "an extraordinary human being".

Mr Shah was accompanied by Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

Earlier today  Ratan Tata lay in state, wrapped in the national flag, at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Nariman Point, before his body was transported to the crematorium in Worli, a distance of 12 km.

Thousands lined the streets to bid goodbye to one of their own, an unassuming Mumbai-born and bred 'chhotu' who transformed the Tata brand into a global powerhouse.

And the country's most powerful politicians were joined by its most influential celebrities - actors and sportspersons - and the country's richest, including the Ambanis and the Adanis, in paying their respects.

Maharashtra has announced a day of mourning as a mark of respect for a business leader and philanthropist admired in India and abroad for his simplicity, sincerity, and humanity.

Ratan Tata's contributions to the industrial and development sectors, to the economy and to the lives of tens of thousands of men and women, are too many to count.

Some, perhaps, deserve mention, such as the 'revenge' purchase of luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover, which heralded India's arrival on the global automotive stage, and his commitment to the welfare of dogs, exemplified by the ₹ 165 crore hospital in Mumbai.

But his death unquestionably marks the end of an era; he was, perhaps, the last of his kind, someone who, despite fabulous privilege, never appeared to flaunt his wealth.

Indeed, Mr Tata could never be found on a list of billionaires simply because he donated the vast majority - 60 to 65 per cent, if some sources are to be believed - of his income.

Ratan Tata died at Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital late last night at the age of 86.

He was admitted Monday but, as was his nature, played down any fuss, declaring he was undergoing routine age-related medical check-ups. "There is no cause for concern. Thank you for thinking of me..."

Hours later, just as discreetly and quietly, the Tata family broke the news.

"It is with a profound sense of loss that we bid farewell to Mr Ratan Naval Tata, a truly uncommon leader whose immeasurable contributions have shaped not only the Tata Group but also the very fabric of our nation," the group's Chairperson, N Chandrasekaran, said.

As the news spread the outpouring of grief underlined Mr Tata's stature, but it was a fellow industrial titan, Anand Mahindra, who best captured the emotions of 145 crore Indians.

"I am unable to accept..." he said.

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday afternoon filed a formal complaint with the Election Commission regarding a delay in publishing the leads and results of the Haryana poll. In a brief letter the opposition party said that between 9 and 11 am there was "an unexplained slowdown in updating of results".

"As you can imagine this allows bad faith actors to spin out narratives that undermine the process. You can see examples of it already playing out on social media. Our fear is also that such narratives can then be used by these mala fide actors to influence processes where counting is still underway, i.e., in most of the counting centres," the Congress told the Election Commission.

"We request you to issue immediate directions to your officials to update the website with true and accurate figures, so that false news and malicious narratives can be countered immediately."

Minutes earlier the Congress' Jairam Ramesh said, "... we hope the Election Commission will answer our questions. The results of 10-11 rounds are out... but only four to five rounds are updated on the site." He also flagged those "trying to build pressure by sharing outdated and misleading trends..."

The Congress had raced into an early lead in Haryana as postal votes were counted, only for the BJP to stage a thrilling comeback late morning as ballots were opened. The ruling party then raced into a lead of its own, which it has held since; at noon the BJP held 48 seats - two over the majority mark.

Early celebrations at the Congress' Delhi HQ ground to a halt as the party - which is set to win the first Jammu and Kashmir election in a decade - contemplated a third straight defeat in Haryana.

The party's senior leader in the state - Kumari Selja, who is also in the Congress' chief ministerial race - told NDTV the Election Commission will "have to answer" the question posed.

 "Why is the counting going slowly? It was fine during the Lok Sabha election... so why is the counting going slowly now? It is the responsibility of the EC to tell the world why counting has slowed," she said.

Mr Ramesh, however, insisted the party remains confident.

"There is no need to be disheartened..." he told ANI, "Mind games are being played. There is no need to be disheartened. We are going to get the mandate. Congress will form the government."

The BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi responded swiftly, declaring the complaining meant the Congress had "accepted defeat". "If Congress has started pointing fingers at Election Commission then we should understand they have accepted defeat..." he told reporters, "Per current trends I feel we are moving to an important win and Congress has started taking precautionary measures for future defeat."

The Congress had made similar complaints in June, when votes were being counted for the general election. Then Mr Ramesh implied the poll panel may have received "orders" to slow down counting.

In that case he had flagged apparent delays in publishing results for seats in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which account for over 120 seats between them and in which the ruling BJP (and its ally, the Janata Dal United) was facing a tough challenge from the Congress-led INDIA bloc and its allies.