Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda on Wednesday filed his nomination papers for the Assembly bypoll as the common candidate of the ruling alliance, thereby crossing the first big hurdle threatening his continuation in the top post.

Division in outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) was visible on Wednesday when publicity incharge of elusive Ulfa chief Paresh Baruah threatened fresh strikes to achieve “sovereignty for Assam at any cost”.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to former Gujarat minister of state for home Amit Shah and 18 other accused in the Soahrabuddin “fake encounter” case on the CBI’s petition for shifting of the trial outside the state.

Unfazed by West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s complaint of Trinamul Congress-Maoist nexus to Union home minister P. Chidambaram, Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee dismissed it as inconsequential.

Bringing the bitter political rivalry with the Left to the national capital, the Trinamul on Wednesday held a dharna at the Jantar Mantar, where not only party MPs but also its ministers in the Central government participated and delivered speeches lashing out at the Left Front-led Bengal government. Later in the day, the party’s MPs called on

In what must have come as some relief to the beleaguered West Bengal government, the Calcutta high court on Wednesday refused to accept a prayer for CBI inquiry into the Netai carnage.

Lal Chowk is Srinagar’s nerve centre, often used for political articulation in the past nearly seven decades, besides being the business hub of Jammu and Kashmir’s main town.

Cautioning against likely showdown over the issue of flag hoisting at Lal Chowk, which may disturb peace in J&K and thwart dialogue process, K-panel on Wednesday urged both the separatists and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to reconsider their decisions as “the important thing was not just to show the patriotism, but to facilitate the dialogue”.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday asked the BJP not to “precipitate” the situation in the Valley by going ahead with its “Ekta Yatra” to hoist tricolour at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk on Republic Day. Dismissing Mr Omar’s appeal, the BJP said that it does not need a no objection certificate from the chief minister and it would be better if Mr Abdullah welcomes the Yatra when it reaches the state.

With the BJP adamant to hoist the tricolour at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk on Republic Day and the separatists readying to impede what is seen by them is a deliberate attempt to taunt the people of Kashmir, the state government has geared up its law and order machinery as well as the local administration to meet the eventuality.