Mumbai, Sep 28: The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) on Monday launched massive demonstrations across all district collectorates, demanding the dismissal and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

The party accused him of undermining democratic institutions and manipulating voter rolls to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Congress leaders described Gyanesh Kumar as a “stain on democracy” and submitted memorandums outlining grievances to district collectors. The protests featured creative forms of dissent: in Amravati, protesters paraded an effigy of the CEC on a donkey before destroying it; in Thane, demonstrators forced an effigy to do sit-ups (uthak-baithak) as punishment.

Large rallies were also held in Pune, Kolhapur, Solapur, Nashik, Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Chandrapur, Nanded, Latur, Beed, and across the Konkan and North Maharashtra regions.

Senior Congress leaders led protests in several districts: Satej Patil in Kolhapur, Praniti Shinde in Solapur, Yashomati Thakur and Balwant Wankhede in Amravati, Kalyan Kale in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Pratibha Dhanorkar in Chandrapur, Ravindra Chavan in Nanded, Shivaji Kalge in Latur, and Kumar Ketkar in Thane.

Addressing gatherings, the Congress reiterated allegations earlier raised by Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, about “vote theft.” The party claimed that over 13 crore voters nationwide, including more than 3 crore in Maharashtra, were arbitrarily removed from electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

It further alleged that 47 lakh untraceable voters were added to Maharashtra’s rolls ahead of the 2024 assembly polls.

Congress spokespersons highlighted reported written dissent from two Election Commissioners over procedural deviations by the CEC, saying it validated their charges of bias. Leaders warned that the agitation would escalate into a national movement unless action were taken against Gyanesh Kumar.

New Delhi, Sep 28: India’s industrial production surged to 8 per cent in August this year, compared to the same month of the previous year, driven by a robust performance in the manufacturing sector, according to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics on Monday.

The manufacturing sector, which accounts for more than three-fourths of the index of industrial production (IIP), posted an impressive 9 per cent growth during August compared to the same month of the previous year.

“In a record performance, the manufacturing sector has recorded growth of 8 per cent or more in the last three consecutive months,” according to the official statement.

This augurs well for the economy as the sector plays a key role in providing quality jobs to the young graduates passing out from the country’s engineering institutes and universities.

Within the Manufacturing sector, 18 out of 23 industry groups have recorded a positive growth in August over the same month last year. The top three positive contributors for the month in this segment are the manufacturing of motor vehicles which recorded a 25.2 per cent growth, along with the manufacturing of electrical equipment (30.9 per cent) and the manufacturing of machinery and equipment (25.3 per cent).

The electricity and gas supply sector recorded a strong growth of 12.3 per cent during August while Water Supply, Sewerage & Waste Management posted a 6.3 per cent growth.

However, the mining sector posted a negative growth of (-) 5.6 per cent during the month.

The figures on use-based classification show that the production of capital goods, which comprise machines used in factories, jumped by a robust 16.9 per cent in August this year. This segment reflects the real investment taking place in the economy, which has a multiplier effect on the creation of jobs and incomes going ahead.

There was also a double-digit increase of 11.1 per cent in the production of consumer durables such as electronic goods, refrigerators, and TVs during August reflecting the higher consumer demand for these items amid rising incomes. Consumer non-durables such as soaps and cosmetics posted a growth of 2.1 per cent growth during the month.

The infrastructure and construction goods sector also recorded a growth of 6.4 per cent during the month driven by the Government’s big ticket investments in highways, ports and railway projects which create large-scale employment and drive up the overall economic growth rate.

The Ministry of Statistics has decided to adopt output PPI as a deflator in place of WPI for item groups for which output is collected in value terms. This affects 234 out of the 463 item groups in the IIP basket, representing 36.02 per cent of the total index weight, the official statement said.

The ministry has now revised and released the entire IIP 2022-23 series with Output PPI and it supersedes the earlier WPI based IIP 2022–23 series released on 1st June 2026, the statement explained.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the new series of the All India Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base year 2022–23 on 1st June 2026, using the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) as the deflator.

Srinagar, Sep 28: Five people were killed and six others were injured on Monday in a road accident in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K) Kupwara district.

Officials said five people were killed and six others injured after a passenger vehicle skidded off the Teetwal–Simari road and dropped into the Kishenganga river in the Karnah border area of Kupwara district on Monday.

The accident occurred in Karnah’s Simari area. The injured were first shifted to sub-district hospital Tangdhar for treatment.

They were subsequently referred to Government Medical College (GMC) hospital in Handwara town. The exact identities of the dead passengers and those injured in the accident are being ascertained.

J&K Lieutenant-Governor, Manoj Sinha expressed grief over the loss of lives in the tragic road accident in Kupwara district.

In a post on X, L-G Manoj Sinha said, “Deeply pained by the loss of lives in an unfortunate road accident in Kupwara. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the early recovery of the injured. I have directed the District Administration to ensure best possible treatment to the injured.”

Overspeeding and reckless driving are the primary causes of fatal road accidents in J&K.

Overspeeding has been identified by the traffic department and parliamentary data as the single-largest contributor to severe crashes and fatalities.

Actions like sudden overtaking, aggressive manoeuvering, and ignoring lane discipline cause deadly head-on accidents.

Hilly geography, fragile mountain roads, landslides, and seasonal monsoon or snow-related road erosion frequently lead to a loss of vehicle control.

Narrow corridors, loose soil in mountainous cutting areas, and a lack of protective crash barriers or proper service lanes compound the risk.

Inadequate monitoring and poor traffic regulation enforcement allow persistent safety violations, especially by heavy commercial vehicles.

The local traffic department has deployed special teams to hilly districts in J&K to check traffic violations that lead to loss of precious human lives.