In the wake of protests being held in Beijing, India on 25 April reportedly took a U-turn and withdrew the visa granted to Chinese dissident leader and member of World Uyghur Congress (WUC) Dolkun Isa.

Dolkun, who is based in Germnay, was slated to attend a democracy conference in Dharmshala where he and other WUC members were scheduled to meet the Dalai Lama. On 21 April, the Indian government had granted permission for the visit. 

Responding to the matter, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, "I am not aware of the situation," and added "What I want to point out is that Dolkun is a terrorist in the red notice of the Interpol and Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is due obligation of relevant countries."

The fourth phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections began on 25 April across 49 constituencies and 21.69 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9AM.

Voting for the fourth phase of Assembly elections - for 33 seats of North, 24 Parganas and 16 seats of Howrah districts - kicked off at 7AM and is being conducted amid tight security arrangements. A total of 672 companies of Central security forces are actively helping the 22 thousand personnel of the state police.

A total of 1.08 crore voters will decide the fates of 345 candidates, including 40 women, by exercising their franchise across 12,500 polling stations.

The NIA has acquired a 'secret letter' apparently written on 15 October 2008 by Lt Colonel Srikant Purohit, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, in which Purohit warned the Military Intelligence wing of the Army of the emergence of right wing radical groups. He said this could lead to "communal clashes".

The letter was sent after the second Malegaon blasts, and refers to "an A-2 source" who "provided some valuable information with regard to the right-wing activities in Maharashtra and Gujarat."

Purohit had been arrested by the Maharashtra ATS on 5 November 2008, says The Economic Times.

Violence broke out between two groups of students at Aligarh Muslim University on the night of Saturday and Sunday, killing two people and injuring several others, while the proctor's office and several vehicles on campus were set ablaze and furniture was destroyed. Students reportedly shot at each other.

The violence finally died down after the police arrested a few of the students and the Rapid Action Force was deployed, according to the Hindustan Times.

One of the students who was killed had been expelled earlier and died on the spot, while the other succumbed to his injuries in hospital on Sunday.

The Narendra Modi government was wrong to label JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar as anti-national and to file a sedition case against him, said BJP ally Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray during a party meeting on Sunday.

"It is wrong to brand Kanhaiya as anti-national and slap a sedition case against him. He is not anti-national," said Thackeray.

At the meeting, Thackeray spoke about three young men who have dominated headlines since January, Kanhaiya Kumar, Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula who committed suicide at Hyderabad University, and Hardik Patel, leader of the Patedar movement in Gujarat, according to The Indian Express.

The second part of the Lok Sabha's Budget session that begins today is likely to be stormy right from the start with the government and Opposition pitched for a confrontation over the use of Article 356 on the Congress governments in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

The Opposition parties have already given notices for discussion in both houses of Parliament, but the government may not allow it since the matter of Uttarakhand is still in court, says The Indian Express.

"The issue of President's Rule in Uttarakhand is sub judice. I don't think it can be discussed until 27 April," said Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh has alleged that the government helped a few corporates to restructure their loans from public sector banks.

"I strongly demand the government bring into the public domain loans above Rs 100 crore that were restructured," said Singh. "They declare the names of defaulters but fight shy of revealing the names of corporate (entities) and industries who got the advantages of restructuring of loans."

According to The Telegraph, Digvijaya has written to finance minister Arun Jaitley with 'proof' of one instance of a company defrauding a bank over a loan worth Rs 1,045 crore.