President Pranab Mukherjee questioned the Centre's recommendation of President's Rule in Arunachal Pradesh and sought clarifications from Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday, reports The Hindu. The Congress party which rules the state, meanwhile, has moved the Supreme Court on the issue, calling the recommendation unconstitutional. Arunachal Pradesh has been in political turmoil since 9 December when its governor demanded that the assembly meet early for its budget session.

The BJP has requested the Maharashtra government to investigate the Sunday incident at Dharavi, Mumbai, when Dalit students protesting the suicide of Rohith Vemula clashed with RSS workers, reports The Economic Times. The RSS claims that they were not involved. BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said on Monday: "They (the protestors) were hell bent on creating a nuisance.. It was a stage managed incident." He added that most of the BJP and RSS workers in Dharavi were Dalits. The Mumbai police has registered a case against RSS workers under the SCST Atrocity Act, but no arrests were made.

The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act will come into force on Tuesday, reports The Indian Express. The law, which ensures stringent punishment for those guilty of discrimination against scheduled castes and tribes, had been passed by President Pranab Mukherjee on 1 January, but had not been notified by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment since its rules had not been finalised. However, the Centre has been under attack for its allegedly anti-Dalit stance since the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad, and it has been decided to enforce the new law right away.

Fourteen agreements were signed by India and France on Monday, as part of the bilateral talks on the eve of Republic day when French President Francois Hollande will participate in the parade, reports The Hindu. The deal regarding the purchase of the Rafale fighter jets was also signed, though the two countries are still haggling over the price. Other agreements include nuclear reactors, French railway locomotives, a space programme and a commitment to cooperation over terrorism.

More than 1,500 women will defy the rule of the Shani Shingnapur Temple in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, against letting women worship in the core shrine area, reports The Indian Express. The women, led by the Bhumata Ranragini Brigade, will gather at the temple at 1 pm today and then climb the platform that bears the idol of Shani. The housewives and college students who will mostly comprise the crowd know that they will face action from the police who have imposed prohibitory orders in the temple area and will make preventive arrests.

Students of Hyderabad University protesting against the suicide of Dalit student Rohith Vemula on 17 January have demanded a 'Rohith Act' on the lines of Nirbhaya Act, reports The Hindu. The Joint Action Committee (JAC) for Social Justice announced on Monday this to students and teachers from across the country who had arrived on the university campus as part of the 'Chalo HCU' programme in solidarity with the protests. "We demand that a Rohith Act be introduced and implemented which will ensure legislative protection for students from marginalised communities in higher educational institutions," said the JAC members. The JAC wants Union HRD minister Smriti Irani sacked and an all-India universities' strike on 27 January.