Byelections to one Lok Sabha and 56 assembly seats on Nov 3 and 7

Nagpur: The Nagpur district court on Monday handed life imprisonment to former BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd engineer Nishant Agarwal under the Official Secrets Act for spying for Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI.

Agarwal will also have to undergo rigorous imprisonment (RI) for 14 years and was also fined ₹ 3,000.

Additional sessions court judge MV Deshpande stated in the order that Agarwal was convicted under section 235 of the Criminal Procedure Code for an offence punishable under section 66 (f) of the IT Act and various sections of the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

"The court sentenced Agarwal to life imprisonment and RI for 14 years under the Official Secrets Act and fined him ₹ 3,000," said Special Public Prosecutor Jyoti Vajani.

Agarwal, employed in the technical research section of the company's missile centre in Nagpur, was arrested in a joint operation by the military intelligence and Anti-terrorism squads (ATS) of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra in 2018.

The former BrahMos Aerospace engineer was booked under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the stringent OSA.

He had worked at the Brahmos facility for four years and was accused of leaking sensitive technical information to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the military Industrial Consortium (NPO Mashinostroyenia) of Russia.

Agarwal was granted bail by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court last April.

Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) unanimously elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the ruling bloc's leader on Wednesday. The decision was made during a meeting at Modi's residence in New Delhi, a day after the NDA secured a majority in the Lok Sabha election, paving the way for Modi to take the oath for a third consecutive term, a first for any ruling alliance since 1962.

The meeting, attended by prominent leaders such as TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, LJP(R) leader Chirag Paswan, and NCP leader Praful Patel, also saw the passing of a resolution reaffirming the government's commitment to serving the poor, women, youth, farmers, and deprived sections of society.

The resolution said the NDA government will continue working to lift people's living standards for the country's all-round development while conserving its heritage.

"Over the past 10 years, 1.4 billion Indians have witnessed the country develop in every sector under the leadership of the esteemed Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, through the welfare policies of the NDA government. After a long interval of nearly six decades, the people of India have chosen a strong leadership with an absolute majority for the third consecutive time."

"We all take pride in the fact that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were fought and won by the NDA under the esteemed leadership of Mr. Narendra Modi. All of us NDA leaders unanimously choose the esteemed Mr. Narendra Modi as our leader."

"Under Mr. Modi's leadership, the NDA government is committed to serving India's poor, women, youth, farmers, and the oppressed, deprived, and suffering citizens. By preserving India's heritage, the NDA government will continue to work towards comprehensive development and improving the standard of living for every citizen of India. This proposal was unanimously passed on June 5, 2024, in New Delhi," read the proposal letter passed by the leaders of the NDA in Delhi.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders, in a significant move, passed a resolution emphasizing the alliance government's commitment to serving the marginalized sections of society. The resolution, passed during a meeting in New Delhi, highlighted the NDA's dedication to the welfare and empowerment of the poor, women, youth, farmers, and other deprived segments of the population.

The NDA is set to meet President Droupadi Murmu to stake claim to form the government under Modi's leadership. JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha stated, "The government under the leadership of Narendra Modi will soon be formed, and very soon a meeting of all the MPs will take place." Eknath Shinde expressed his support for Modi, stating, "Modiji has got a majority. The NDA will form the government under Modiji's leadership."

According to the sources, discussions were held on the government formation by the NDA. According to sources, PM Modi will take the oath for the third time on June 8. Discussions are ongoing regarding the allocation of key portfolios to alliance members.

Despite the BJP falling short of the magic number for the first time since 2014, the NDA is comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha. This victory paves the way for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term in office.

Meanwhile, President Droupadi Murmu dissolved the 17th Lok Sabha on Wednesday after the recommendation of the Union Cabinet.

"The President accepted the advice of the Cabinet on June 5, 2024, and signed the Order dissolving the 17th Lok Sabha in the exercise of the powers conferred upon her by Sub-Clause (2) of Article 85 of the Constitution," a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi tendered his resignation along with his Council of Ministers to President Murmu. The President accepted the resignation and requested that the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers continue until the new government assumes office.

Also, a meeting of the opposition coalition, INDIA bloc, is convened in Delhi on Wednesday evening. INC president Mallikarjun Kharge said that leaders of the alliance will be meeting to discuss the election results and strategy thereafter.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath today along with 72 ministers of the new coalition government. 30 of them are Cabinet Ministers, 5 independent charge, and 36 Ministers of State. The portfolios will be announced later.

PM Modi, 73, will head a coalition government in his third term, or Modi 3.0, for the first time since he became Prime Minister in 2014 following a huge "Brand Modi" victory after 10 years of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule.

In keeping with 'coalition dharma', the new Council of Ministers will be 72-strong and comprise 11 ministers belonging to NDA partners. The Council of Ministers will have a broad representation of social groups, including 27 Other Backward Classes (OBC), 10 Scheduled Castes (SC), 5 Scheduled Tribes (ST), and 5 minorities. A record 18 senior Ministers will be heading major ministries.

The oath ceremony is being held at the lawns of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, with the weather office forecasting a maximum temperature of 42 degree Celsius in the national capital.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath to PM Modi. Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah took oath after PM Modi. Nitin Gadkari was the fourth leader to be administered the oath of office. JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Nirmala Sitharaman followed.

Leaders from India's neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean Region including Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended the event.