Superstar Rajinikanth on Friday said the BJP has not invited him to join the party, but insisted efforts were being made to paint him with "saffron", the idealogical colour the national party is associated with.

Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Friday alleged that sums of "Rs 25 crore to Rs 50 crore" were being offered to MLAs to switch sides in Maharashtra.

The disqualified Karnataka MLAs moved the Supreme Court on Friday, seeking further postponement of the Assembly bypolls which are scheduled to take place on December 5.

With government formation not happening in Maharashtra yet, the NCP on Friday accused the BJP of pushing the state towards President's rule and wanting to run it through Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA constituent's chief Amit Shah.

The CBI has booked its own officer for allegedly extorting Rs 5 crore from a Gujarat-based businessman by threatening him with action from the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department, officials said Friday.

The BJP should approach the Shiv Sena only if it agrees to share the chief minister's post with the junior saffron ally in Maharashtra, senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut said on Friday.

 In a blow to India, Moody's Investors Service has cut country's credit rating outlook to negative - the first step towards a downgrade, saying the government has been partly ineffective in addressing economic weakness, leading to rising risks that growth will remain lower.

 Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi is likely to have a meeting with Uttar Pradesh chief secretary and director general of police on Friday to assess the law and order arrangement in the state ahead of the verdict on the Ayodhya land dispute case to be pronounced next week, sources said.