The four-day-old Pema Khandu government in Arunachal Pradesh on 20 July passed the floor test in the Assembly, with 46 MLAs voting in favour of the Chief Minister and 11 members from the opposition BJP voting against it.

Governor Tathagata Roy hurriedly summoned the day-long session of the Assembly late on 19 July, asking Khandu to prove his majority on the floor of the House.

When the House assembled in the morning with Deputy Speaker Tenzing Norbu Thongdok in the chair, Chief Minister Pema Khandu moved the motion 'This house expresses its confidence in the council of ministers' which was seconded by former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki.

Forty-four Congress MLAs and two Independent members voted in favour of the government.

Uttar Pradesh BJP vice president Dayashankar Singh just compared BSP supremo Mayawati to a sex worker.

His offensive comments included, "Mayawati is selling tickets...She is such a big leader, a three-time chief minister... But she gives ticket (to contest) to anyone who gives her Rs 1 crore."

He continued, "If someone comes with Rs 2 crore, she gives him a ticket. If somebody gives her Rs 3 crores, she cancels the tickets of the previous candidate and chooses him. Today her character is worse than that of a prostitute."

The BSP leader responded to the comment saying it was a sign of frustration at her party's rising strength in the state.

Uttar Pradesh BJP vice president Dayashankar Singh who compared BSP supremo Mayawati to a sex worker has been removed from all party posts.

The controversial remark created an uproar in political circles with everyone condemning his statement.

His offensive comments included, "If someone comes with Rs 2 crore, she gives him a ticket. If somebody gives her Rs 3 crore, she cancels the tickets of the previous candidate and chooses him. Today her character is worse than that of a prostitute."

Finance Minister Arun jaitley also criticised the politician for making such a statement.

Minutes after making the remark Dayashankar Singh apologised for his language and said, "I can't even think about Mayawatiji in such a way. She has reached here after a lot of struggle."

The father of one of the nine people arrested in Una, Gujarat, for the assault on Dalits they accused of cow slaughter, alleged on Tuesday that his son, a Muslim, had been forced by the others to beat up the Dalit men to prove Muslims are just as anti-beef as gau rakshaks.

The boy's father said he had evidence on video to prove his claim. The boy is 17 years old, says The Indian Express. He was arrested on Monday night and sent to Rajkot's Observation Home for Boys.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj declared in the Lok Sabha on 20 July that India will never sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). She also said India will continue to engage with China over its opposition to India's entry to the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

"If someone does not agree to something once, it doesn't mean that they will never agree to it. We are continuing our efforts in engaging with China on this issue," said Swaraj on India's bid to gain entry to the NSG.

Swaraj's statements came in response to queries from Opposition members taunting the government for making India's bid to enter NSG a hype and then failing to join the elite nuclear trading group.

"We never created any hype. If some people call the government's sincere efforts (to join the NSG) as hype, then it is not right," she said in the Lok Sabha.

A teenage girl attempted suicide on Monday after being sexually harassed by a constable from the Delhi police. The constable had apparently told her that he would frame her brother in a false case if she did not have sexual relations with him, according to the police.

The police have registered a case under section 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage her modesty) against the constable, Manjit, a resident of Sirodhan village, said SP (City), Ram Mohan Singh.

The girl has been admitted to hospital. Her condition is stable, says The Indian Express. Manjit is absconding.

The brutal rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district last week led the state's MLAs to demand an equally brutal death for the accused in the case in the assembly on Tuesday.

MLAs across party lines demanded that the three accused in the case be "killed like rabid dogs" and publicly hanged. The discussion in the assembly got more and more heated until BJP MLA Ashish Shelar, a lawyer, said that the punishments demanded by the MLAs are illegal, according to The Indian Express.