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Dear Reader, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi gave the party's Karnataka unit a target of winning at least 150 seats in the assembly elections due in a year. In a stern message to party leaders to set aside their differences and work hand in hand for a Congress victory. Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's meeting with NCP chief Sharad Pawar at the latter's official residence has triggered feverish speculation in the political circles. Azad is the leader of the Congress change-seekers' group and Pawar is seen as an important mover in the larger opposition camp. Here are the top political stories of the day...

Rahul Gandhi sets 150-seat target for Congress in Karnataka In the polls to the 224-member assembly in 2018, the Congress, which was ruling then, had emerged the second largest, winning 80 seats in the 2018 assembly polls, while the BJP emerged single largest winning 104 seats. Read more

Buzz in Congress circles as opposition Pawar play takes Azad route Given Azad is the leader of the Congress change-seekers' group and since Pawar is seen as an important mover in the larger opposition camp added to the buzz after the duo's meeting at Pawar's Janpath residence, which is a stone's throw away from Congress president Sonia Gandhi's official residence. Read more

Adityanath orders drive for women safety, activate anti-Romeo squads Dressed in plain clothes, sleuths are generally deployed at public places like colleges, shopping malls, markets, parks, bus stands, railway stations and schools to "protect" women. Read more

Vandalism outside CM house: Delhi Police tells HC it ha filed FIR Delhi Police said that all steps were being taken to address the concerns and all the evidence, including the CCTV footage from cameras around the chief minister's residence, as well as the arterial roads, will be preserved. Read more

Punjab Assembly passes unanimous resolution seeking transfer of Chandigarh to state Except the BJP, members of all political parties including the AAP, Congress, SAD and the lone BSP legislator came out in support of the resolution and dubbed the Centre's move as "dictatorial and autocratic." Read more

Gujarat Congress trying to woo Khodaldham Trust Chief Naresh Patel If he joins Congress, the party plans to project the assembly polls as a 'battle between a Gujarati Patel and Maharashtrian Patil'. However, BJP, aiming at staging its best electoral show, and the Aam Aadmi Party are also in touch with Patel. He has already indicated his interest in joining electoral politics but has been less than forthcoming about his choice of party and has maintained a suspense till now. Read more

'Don't punish states for successfully implementing family planning': Opposition ​​​Taking part in a discussion over Population Regulation Bill, 2019 -- a private member bill moved by BJP's Rakesh Sinha, that seeks to regulate population by promoting two-child per couple policy -- Jairam Ramesh of Congress and Tiruchi Siva of DMK argued that states must not be made to lose out on Central allocations which are based on population. Read more

NCP to resume 'Janta Darbar' from April 4 as Maharashtra lifts all COVID restrictions After the Maharashtra Government announced that all COVID-19 related restrictions including the wearing of masks in public places will be withdrawn from Saturday, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Thursday said that the party's 'Janta Darbar', which was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will now resume from April 4, 2022. Read more

Pariskha Pe Charcha: PM advises students to celebrate exams as festivals "Who is tense? You or your parents? There are more people here whose parents are tensed. If we make exams a festival it will feel vibrant," he said. Read more

Too early to do away with face masks, but onus on public: Experts They have advised people to voluntarily mask up in order to also stay protected from infections such as influenza and swine-flu, apart from coronavirus. The Maharashtra and Delhi governments recently decided to ease the restriction on the compulsory wearing of face masks in public, a norm that was in place for two years and its violation attracted a fine of Rs 2,000. Read more

Keshav Prasad Maurya plays down Shivpal Yadav's meeting with UP CM Shivpal is miffed with the Samajwadi Party chief for not inviting him for a meeting of all the SP legislators. It seems Akhilesh Yadav's "reunion" with uncle Shivpal Yadav was apparently short-lived. Days after the Samajwadi Party lost the Uttar Pradesh election, speculations are rife that Shivpal Yadav is set to end his alliance with Akhilesh. Read more

Welcome Centre's decision, but AFSPA should be repealed: Irom Sharmila Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday announced a reduction in the number of "disturbed areas" in the three northeastern states where the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 continues to be imposed along with Jammu & Kashmir. Sharmila, hailed as the 'Iron Lady of Manipur', termed AFSPA an "oppressive law" and said that it has never been a solution to tackling insurgency. Read more

Quashing of reservation in promotion to SC/ST employees may lead to unrest, multiple litigations, Centre tells SC In an affidavit filed before a bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai, the Centre informed it that the policy for reservation is in consonance with the constitution and the law laid down by this court. Read more

Confident that Congress will win Karnataka with clear majority: Rahul Gandhi Addressing a party meeting here, he said Karnataka has a "spirit of Congress" and is a "natural Congress State". "....we should win with a minimum of 150 seats (in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly)," Gandhi said. "We should fight united, on right issues and with merit as criteria". Read more

'Make in India' & 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' seek to increase India's self-sufficiency: US report According to the report, India has proposed and promulgated several data localisation requirements that would serve as significant barriers to digital trade between the US and India. Read more

ED opposes journalist Rana Ayyub's plea challenging LOC issued against her Ayyub was detained at the Mumbai Airport by the Bureau of Immigration on March 29, when she was supposed to travel to London to attend some journalistic events. She approached the high court challenging the LOC issued against him and sought to quash any direction or instruction preventing her from travelling abroad. Read more

Maharashtra: 15,000 homes allotted amid COVID-19 pandemic, says CIDCO These include COVID warriors, police personnel, families in the low income group, people with disabilities (PwD) among others, an official said. Read more

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