Congress' Rahul Gandhi said he will always stand with India's farmers and it makes no difference if anyone files a case against him or submits a privilege motion against him in Parliament. Gandhi accused PM Narendra Modi of betraying India’s farmers by signing India-US trade deal. "PM has sold out India’s cotton, soybean and fruit farmers,” Gandhi further said.

Tamil Nadu police have permitted TVK to hold a public meeting in Salem on Friday, with several conditions, including a cap on number of participants. Entry to venue will strictly be based on QR-code passes issued to only 4,998 people. Police and organisers have appealed to pregnant women and senior citizens to avoid attending the meeting due to security reasons.

As the Centre issued new guidelines making the playing of Vande Mataram compulsory at government programmes, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Arshad Madani called it an attack on religious freedom. He said certain lines in the song portray the motherland as God. “Remember! Muslims worship only Allah...We can tolerate everything, but we can never accept associating anyone with Allah,” he added.

Amid a row over his name being mentioned in files linked to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Union Minister Hardeep Puri said he was in touch with LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, adding, "Does that make him a terrorist?" Puri stated that he had a dislike for Epstein. "First time I met him, I was part of a delegation," he further said.

Former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu addressed students on the importance of learning Hindi without imposition, urging them to embrace multilingualism for better career prospects. He highlighted the necessity of respecting one's mother tongue while also acquiring Hindi and English skills, advising students to maintain pride in their regional languages and foster a balanced linguistic approach.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) termed Centre's mandate of singing of all six stanzas of 'Vande Mataram' in schools and official functions "unconstitutional" and said it'll move court if the government doesn't withdraw the order. "Song contains references to...worship and veneration of Durga and other deities, which directly contradicts beliefs of Muslims," it said.

Bangladesh goes to the polls on Thursday in a crucial general election, with intelligence assessments suggesting that Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) could emerge as the frontrunner, pushing the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) into second place. Voting began at 7:30 am local time across 299 of the country’s 300 parliamentary constituencies and will continue until 4:30 pm.

Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu is pulling out all the stops to fast-track the long-delayed Polavaram Irrigation Project and the ambitious Polavaram–Nallamala Sagar Link Project, despite stiff resistance from Telangana. He argued they are vital for reviving agriculture, securing drinking water, and powering growth in drought-hit regions of Andhra Pradesh.

Elections to 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations in Telangana recorded a 73.01 percent turnout on 11 February, with 38,09,399 votes cast across 2,996 wards. Several smaller municipalities, including Choutuppal, Chandur and Jinnaram, reported turnouts above 90 percent, while participation remained strong across most urban areas, with women’s turnout slightly higher than men’s.

The High Court of Andhra Pradesh has directed the State government to set up, or reconstitute, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe alleged irregularities in the evaluation of the Mains answer scripts of the Public Service Commission-held Group-I examination. The directive on February 11, added to the long-running controversy surrounding APPSC Group-I examination.