The Sampadak Express News Desk
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Mumbai on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, to discuss energy security and defence cooperation as the two countries seek to finalise a trade deal, according to The Hindu. Rubio, on a two-day visit to India, held talks at the Taj Mahal Palace and is scheduled to meet government and business leaders during his trip.
In Delhi, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) moved the High Court seeking an urgent hearing against the extension of judicial custody of its leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das. CJP legal head Ratna Singh posted on X that the party had sought an “urgent night hearing,” adding, “Saurav and Ashutosh should not spend a single minute behind bars. Their liberty must not be curtailed because of political games.”
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) ended a 17-day hunger strike after the administration agreed to revoke the rustication of student office-bearers and withdraw FIRs against students, minutes of an October 19 meeting showed. The minutes, signed by Dean of the School of Social Sciences Vivek Kumar and student representatives, also recorded decisions to review the Chief Proctor’s Office manual, withdraw proctorial inquiries and set up committees to examine additional issues raised by the students.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat cautioned against agitations driven by political motives and social divisions, warning that domestic unrest could be exploited by international forces. He said it was “a wrong perception that problems get solved only through agitation,” and urged unity rooted in a “Hindu spirit.”
In Maharashtra, the parents of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode, who died by suicide, wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking intervention in the case. Students launched a sit-in after police removed a protest site in front of the institute, while the family’s lawyer questioned the timing of a professor’s statement and the release of material linked to the case.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Punjab for a day-long tour of Gurdaspur, Sangrur and Mansa to meet families of those who died in incidents linked to opposition to the State’s drug menace. During the visit, he targeted the Aam Aadmi Party government, alleging that the growing audacity of drug traffickers has raised serious questions about the functioning of the Bhagwant Mann-led administration.
In Gujarat, the state government has proposed handing over a long-disputed Vadodara municipal plot to former cricketer Yusuf Pathan, who left the Trinamool Congress earlier this year. As per an agenda circulated on Monday, October 19, the proposal—submitted by the Vadodara municipal commissioner—would “gift” 500 square metres to Pathan and offer the remaining land at a concessional rate. Final approval is slated to be considered by the BJP-ruled civic body’s standing committee on October 23.
Separately in the capital, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke thanked organisers of a Delhi Ramlila event for what he termed “free publicity” after they announced plans to burn a 30-foot cockroach effigy alongside those of Ravan, Meghnad and Kumbhkaran. “Thank you for the free publicity,” Dipke said in response to the announcement.
The Congress accused the Union government of mounting a “surgical strike” on rural social security by replacing MGNREGA with the VB-G RAM G scheme. Party communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh alleged the “vote chori sarkaar” had perfected “gramin mazdoori chori,” citing a media report that claimed that while thousands were recorded as working under the new scheme in drought-hit Maharashtra, no workers were found on the ground at five sites in Beed. The allegations have not been independently verified in the report.
The Supreme Court has listed two high-profile matters for Wednesday, October 21: a plea by former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan related to an alleged CMRL bribery case, and a petition by the YSR Congress Party alleging that violence in Andhra Pradesh prevented its candidates from filing nominations for civic body polls.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that recent eviction drives in three districts cleared encroachments over more than 638 hectares of land in the past few days. He asserted that the government’s actions were aimed at securing the state’s interests.
Across Europe, rising fuel costs, dissatisfaction over schools, declining public services and a mounting housing crisis have driven weeks of protests in several countries. Demonstrations in France, Italy and Albania have led to arrests, looting, injuries and violence, while tent encampments have emerged in Spain and Portugal to protest unaffordable rents and housing costs.
In sport, the Portuguese Football Federation handed Cristiano Ronaldo a 30-day suspension and a €255 (about $285) fine for walking out on the national team camp. The federation had provisionally suspended Ronaldo and on Monday, October 19, called the punishment “adequate and sufficient,” noting the fine was the maximum permitted after considering mitigating circumstances.
The Vadodara standing committee is scheduled to take up the land proposal for Yusuf Pathan on October 23, while the Supreme Court’s special Bench will hear the Vijayan and YSRCP matters on October 21.
