Ukraine’s military spy agency claimed responsibility for the assassination of a Russia-backed lawmaker with a car bomb in the occupied eastern city of Luhansk on Wednesday, an operation it said it conducted with local resistance forces.

Mikhail Filiponenko, a lawmaker in a Russia-installed local assembly, had been active in Luhansk’s pro-Russian separatist movement since 2014. He had served as one of the top commanders in the army of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic.

The agency said Filiponenko was eliminated in an early morning explosion. He died at the site, it added on Telegram messenger.

It accused him of organising dungeons for civilians and prisoners of war in Luhansk region.

“Filiponenko himself brutally tortured people,” agency said, giving no details.

In September, Filiponenko was elected to the regional parliament in a vote that drew widespread international condemnation.

Bomb blasts targeting senior Russian-installed officials in occupied parts of Ukraine have been a regular occurrence since Russia ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in Feb. 2022.

Luhansk is one of four Ukrainian regions Russia claims to have annexed since the start of its invasion, something Kyiv and its Western allies strongly reject.

Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to the Rajasthan chief electoral officer, alleging that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot concealed information on criminal cases against him in his nomination papers.

A similar complaint has been made to the Jodhpur district election officer as well.

Mr Gehlot is contesting from Jodhpur’s Sardarpura seat for the November 25 Rajasthan assembly polls. There was no immediate reaction from his office on the matter.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Praveen Gupta at the secretariat, Mr Shekhawat said, “In his affidavit filed along with the nomination papers, Chief Minister Gehlot has not mentioned two such cases going on against him which are cognisable and connected with serious crimes.” 

“One case is related to a land scam and the other is related to robbery and rape. He hid information regarding both the cases in his affidavit which are cognisable under the Representation of the People Act,” the minister said.

He alleged that Mr Gehlot had full knowledge about the cases but did not mention them in the affidavit.

“We have complained to the Election Commission that it should take cognisance of this and take appropriate action,” Shekhawat added.

Meanwhile, in Jodhpur, District Election Officer Himanshu Gupta sought details from the returning officer on Gehlot’s nomination following objections on the same grounds.

The development followed a complaint by a person identified as Pawan Pareek, who claimed that Gehlot filed a fabricated and false affidavit and demanded the rejection of his nomination.

Mr Pareek also demanded a case against the chief minister in his complaint to the district election officer.

“Mr Gehlot had to furnish entire details about the pending criminal cases against him but it was incomplete and two criminal cases have been concealed,” he claimed.

Mr Gupta said the objection was registered and a detailed report summoned from the returning officer concerned.

“We will investigate the matter after receiving the report,” he added.

Dialling down the controversy triggered after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s remarks on the importance of women’s education to control the population, JD(U) National President Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh on Wednesday said that the comments of his party’s supremo were not objectionable.

The Janata Dal (United) president questioned what is the problem with the remarks of Nitish Kumar.

“What objectionable statement has he given? Everyone knows that one marries off their children to carry forward their lineage. So the chief minister had also said the same, What is the problem with this? Only those who do not get anything, look for such controversies,” Mr Singh said.

Speaking on the floor of the Assembly, Nitish Kumar on Tuesday in a rustic style said women should be educated as it would enable them to avoid sexual intercourse from resulting in pregnancy.

The Bihar Chief Minister’s remarks drew outrage from the BJP as well as the National Commission for Women (NCW), who demanded that he tender an unconditional apology.

In a scathing riposte to Bihar Chief Minister, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla today said his statement was “despicable, disgusting, atrocious, obnoxious and women virodhi”.

“The comments made by Nitish Kumar were despicable, disgusting, atrocious, obnoxious and women ‘virodhi’. It only shows the impact of the influence of RJD…If they think like this and speak like this in the assembly, imagine what the plight of the women in Bihar…Tejaswhi Yadav has justified the statement and said it is sex education. It only shows the level this alliance is following,” Shehzad Poonawalla said in a self-made video today.

Union Minister of State Nityanand Rai said that the Bihar Chief Minister has lost his “mental stability.”

“It’s objectionable; Nitish Kumar has lost his mental stability the way he spoke about women. Tejashwi Yadav’s statement in its support is also objectionable. Nitish Kumar is no longer worthy of holding the position of CM. You have destroyed the culture of this country. He should apologise and detach himself from politics,” Rai said.

However, today the Bihar Chief Minister apologised for his remarks, which created a political firestorm, saying that if anyone got hurt, he would take his words back.