HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9 pm: NATION DEL129 RJ-4THLD MACRON When Macron met Modi: French leader joins PM in roadshow, gets Ram temple replica as gift Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron took part Thursday in a roadshow in the Pink City, where the visitor was presented a replica of Ayodhya’s Ram temple and offered masala chai from a teashop before the leaders sat down for bilateral talks.

DEL139 PM-MACRON-TALKS PM Modi holds talks with French President Macron Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday held wide-ranging talks at a 19th century palace that showcases Jaipur's royal heritage to further consolidate bilateral strategic engagement.

DEL115 RDAY-PREZ-ADDRESS Ram temple will be marked in history as India's continued re-discovery of its civilisational heritage: Prez in R-Day address New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday said the Ram temple will be marked in history as ''India's continued re-discovery of its civilisational heritage'' and as a grand edifice, giving a befitting expression not only of people's faith but also as a testament to people's enormous trust in judicial process.

DEL79 PM-UP-2NDLD PROJECTS Don't need to sound poll bugle, people do it for me: PM Modi in Bulandshahr Bulandshahr/Rewari: Launching a slew of projects in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asserted that he only sounds the bugle of development and it is the people who sound the poll bugle for him.By Sagar Kulkarni DEL142 INDIA-PAK-ALLEGATIONS-REJECT India trashes Pak's charge of Indian links to killing of 2 Pakistanis New Delhi: India on Thursday dismissed as ''false and malicious'' propaganda Pakistan's allegations linking Indian agents to the assassination of two Pakistani terrorists in Sialkot and Rawalkot last year.

CAL29 BH-NITISH-LD DYNASTY Nitish didn't target RJD by speaking about dynasty: JD(U)'s KC Tyagi Patna: Amid speculations of a rift in the ruling Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, senior JD(U) leader KC Tyagi on Thursday asserted that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's remarks about dynasty politics were not aimed at ally RJD, headed by Lalu Prasad whose one son Tejashwi Yadav is his deputy and another, Tej Pratap Yadav, is a minister.

DEL97 JK-SHAH-2NDLD TERRORISM No stone pelting incident in J-K in 2023, 66 per cent decline in terror attacks: Amit Shah Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir did not witness a single incident of stone pelting in 2023 while there was a 66 per cent decline in terrorist incidents and an 81 per cent drop in civilian killings since the scrapping of Article 370, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday.

DEL143 CONG-2NDLD MAMATA Cong chief Kharge speaks to Mamata; Jairam Ramesh says 'will find way forward' New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday spoke with West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said and asserted that the two parties ''will find a way forward''.

CAL25 BH-BJP-DYNASTY-ROHINI BJP demands apology from Lalu’s daughter Rohini for 'insulting' Bihar CM Patna: The Bihar BJP on Thursday accused RJD supremo Lalu Pasad's Singapore-based daughter Rohini Acharya of insulting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and demanded a public apology from her. MDS15 KL-ASSEMBLY-LDALL GOVERNOR Kerala Governor gives 1.24 mins policy address in assembly; UDF terms it 'mockery' Thiruvananthapuram: Amidst a running feud between the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government and the Raj Bhavan, state Governor Arif Mohammed Khan in an unusual move on Thursday read out only the concluding paragraph of the government's customary policy address in the Assembly. MDS16 TL-LD KHARGE-MODI People's stomach can't be filled by showing God's picture, says Cong prez Kharge Hyderabad: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday made a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and others, saying that a poor man's stomach cannot be filled by showing him a picture of God.

BOM27 MH-QUOTA-SHINDE Govt committed to providing quota to Marathas, reiterates Maharashtra CM Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday reiterated that his government was committed to providing reservation to Marathas without touching the existing quotas of other communities. LEGAL LGD24 SC-HALAL CERTIFICATION SC notice to UP on plea against ban on manufacturing food products with halal certification New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government and others on a plea challenging the notification prohibiting manufacture, storage, sale and distribution of food products with halal certification within the state, except for items produced for export.

LGD7 SC-UMAR ANSARI Violation of model code of conduct: SC grants protection from arrest to Umar Ansari New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted protection from arrest to Umar Ansari, son of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, in a criminal case registered against him during the 2022 assembly elections for alleged violation of the model code of conduct.

FOREIGN FGN48 PAK-INDIA-ASSASSINATIONS Pakistan claims it has ‘credible evidence’ of links between alleged Indian agents and the assassination of two Pakistanis Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday claimed that it had “credible evidence” of links between what it called as ''Indian agents'' and the assassination of two Pakistani terrorists associated with the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Lashkar-e-Taiba in Sialkot and Rawalkot last year.

FGN41 CHINA-INDIA Boundary dispute with India 'legacy issue', doesn't represent whole picture of bilateral ties: China's military Beijing: China's military on Thursday said the boundary dispute with India is a ''legacy issue'' and it is ''unwise'' to link the border issue with the overall relations as it does not represent the whole picture of the bilateral relations.