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Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addressed a large crowd at a rally, praising the Prime Minister for giving a green light for a caste census in the poll-bound state. The applause from attendees soon turned into peels of laughter owing to a slip-up by the Janata Dal (United) chief – “Whatever Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee…sorry, he had served earlier…for whatever Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing for you, let’s give him a standing ovation”.

At a rally in Rohtas district on Friday, Mr Kumar called the caste-based census a “historic step” and a long-standing demand he had championed. He thanked PM Modi for his “unwavering” support in Bihar’s development journey and urged the gathered crowd to stand up and raise their hands in collective gratitude to PM Modi.

The Chief Minister also used the occasion to highlight the transformation of Bihar since 2005, citing improvements in infrastructure, health, education, and governance. “Since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, the pace of development in Bihar has accelerated,” he added, positioning the state as a model of growth under NDA governance.

The event, part of PM Modi’s two-day visit to Bihar, witnessed the launch and inauguration of development projects worth over Rs 48,500 crore. During the rally, PM Modi announced the inauguration and foundation laying of key development projects spanning sectors like infrastructure, transport, agriculture, aviation, and food processing.

The key difference between the BJP today and the opposition is leadership, said veteran politician and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu.

“The BJP has an inspiring leadership. PM Modi is selecting leadership on the basis of effectiveness. He is even selecting young leaders on the basis of performance. That makes all the difference,” Mr Naidu told NDTV, his first time on national television since he supported the Narendra Modi 3.0 government.

Mr Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was among the key allies whose support helped the BJP form the government after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. TDP won 16 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh and also won the simultaneous assembly election in the southern state, which catapulted him to the position of Chief Minister for a fourth term.

“The BJP leadership has dynamism,” the Chief Minister added.

Avoiding any direct criticism of his political rivals, Mr Naidu, when probed on the leadership of the opposition, said, “Electoral wins are proof,” obliquely hinting at the poor track record of the opposition in fighting and winning elections against the BJP.

He even hinted that times change, and even parties and politics have to change with the times. “At one point, communists were very powerful, but today, what is the scope for communists after the economic reforms?”

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has responded to a social media post that claimed fraudulent activities in the GST registration process.

Her statement came after a LinkedIn post by Vinod Gupta, founder and director of VG Learning Destination, went viral. Mr Gupta alleged that he would be forced to “commit a crime” by paying a bribe to get a registration number for his firm.

Referring to the post, Ms Sitharaman said, “It is our responsibility to serve taxpayers. But while doing that, we must be honest and transparent, because that’s how we earn their trust. I believe the GST Board and officers will continue to be careful and quick in responding to people’s issues.”

Mr Gupta, in his now-viral LinkedIn post, claimed that he hasn’t received the GST number even though he applied for it 20 days ago. He wrote, “Tomorrow I will commit a crime. Giving and taking bribery: both are crimes. I applied for a GST registration number for a firm in which my wife and daughter are partners 20 days ago.”

India’s military confirmed for the first time that it lost an unspecified number of fighter jets in clashes with Pakistan in May, while saying the four-day conflict never came close to the point of nuclear war.

“What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down,” Anil Chauhan, chief of defence staff of the Indian Armed Forces, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Saturday, while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

He called Pakistan’s claims that it shot down six Indian warplanes “absolutely incorrect,” though declined to specify how many jets India lost.

“Why they were down, what mistakes were made – that are important,” General Chauhan said when asked about the fighter jets. “Numbers are not important,” he added.

“The good part is that we are able to understand the tactical mistake which we made, remedy it, rectify it, and then implement it again after two days and flew all our jets again, targeting at long range,” General Chauhan said.

The comments are the most direct yet from an Indian government or military official on the fate of the country’s fighter jets during the conflict with Pakistan that erupted on May 7.

Earlier this month, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country shot down six Indian fighter jets, an assertion that hasn’t been independently verified. India’s government had earlier refrained from commenting on whether it lost aircraft in the fighting.

Billionaire Elon Musk sparked fevered speculation when he turned up with a black eye for his Oval Office farewell with US President Donald Trump on Friday.

But the South African-born tech magnate said he had a simple explanation: his son had punched him in the face.

“I was just horsing around with lil’ X, and I said, ‘go ahead punch me in the face,’” 53-year-old Musk told reporters when asked how he got the shiner.

“And he did. Turns out even a five-year-old punching you in the face actually is…” he added, before tailing off.

“I didn’t really feel much at the time but I guess it bruises up.”

Trump hosted the press conference with Musk to mark the Tesla boss’s last day at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk had expressed increasing disillusionment with the job but said he would remain a “friend and advisor.”

Musk’s appearance was overshadowed by allegations in the New York Times that he had engaged in heavy drug use while on the campaign trail for Trump in 2024.

Trump said he “didn’t notice” the purple bruise next to Musk’s right eye, but added: “X could do it, if you knew X.”

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