On the second day of protests in the Seemandhra region over the bifurcation of the state, legislators from the region cutting across party lines resigned in large numbers on Thursday.

Led by Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, a confident BJP is rapidly becoming an extremely worried party. Most opinion polls have indicated the saffron party might not cross the 160 mark in the Lok Sabha election on its own, which is a major cause of concern for the Sangh Parivar. The BJP will need at least 190 Lok Sabha seats on its own to come close to power. Relentless efforts to “sell” Mr Modi to the people were not evoking the expected response.

The government on Thursday cleared a DoPT proposal to amend the RTI Act to keep political parties out of its ambit. “The Cabinet decided to bring an amendment bill to change the RTI Act of 2005,” a government source said.

India’s new foreign secretary Sujatha Singh has said the peace dialogue with Pakistan will resume soon. “We will be picking up the threads,” she said while taking charge at South Block Thursday.

Mr N. Srinivasan will be back as de jure president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India when he chairs Friday’s working committee meeting here. Mr Srinivasan was de facto president even in self-exile, but this move may spark off a fresh controversy and possible judicial action.

Roshni Gupta, the 22-year-old JNU student who was allegedly attacked by her male friend in the classroom, is battling for life at the Safdarjung Hospital here. However, the victim is “stable”, said sources.

A day after JNU student Akash allegedly committed suicide after attacking his female classmate in the classroom, the police on Thursday recorded statements of several students and professors.

Taking strict action against graft, AIIMS has sacked or asked to proceed on compulsory retirement six of its staffers, including a top-level officer, on charges of corruption. After a long-drawn inquiry, a Group-A officer was found guilty of purchasing hospital articles at high rates from various sources despite the existence of a rate contract.

Delhi BJP slammed Delhi government’s transport department on Thursday and alleged a `1,000 crore scam. Demanding a CBI inquiry into the matter, Delhi BJP claimed that investigators were not allowed to carry out a thorough probe as high profile people, including the chief minister were a party to it.

The baby girl from Tripura, who underwent treatment for Hydrocephalus is in good health and ready to travel back to her hometown, doctors attending to her said on Thursday. Hydrocephalus, a rare disorder, had caused the baby girl’s head to swell to an unprecedented 94 cm.