A Raja, the former telecom minister who stepped down from his post in the wake of the 2G spectrum scam, does not appear in the list of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders who will campaign from 2011 Tamil Nadu assembly elections. This list was finalised on Thursday by DMK chief M Karunanidhi.
The Strategic Forces Command responsible for the nuclear arsenal of the country will be headed by Air Marshal KJ Mathews, who will take over from Lieutenant General Balraj Singh.
Union Minister MK Alagiri and his sister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Member of Parliament Kanimozhi, children of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi both were travelling from Chennai to New Delhi by the same Indian Airlines flight on Tuesday.
"All foreign journalists based in India, who are on long term assignments and are applying for an extension of their 'J' visa, are requested to apply at least a month before the expiry of their present visa, to XP Division," the circular said, promising to process the applications within one week.
Political circles in the national capital are agog with the speculation that United Progressive Alliance government wants to delink the Budget Session of Parliament from the 2G spectrum logjam.
A social watchdog has expressed concern over the fact that 25 per cent of the Lok Sabha members of Parliament belong to the category of industrialists, traders, businessmen and builders, saying that this can cause a potential of conflict of interest.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi is understood to have discussed with senior party leaders the secretiveness adopted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about his offer to face the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that came as a big surprise to her at the plenary session in New Delhi on Monday.
On instructions from Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the Intelligence Bureau has taken up the task of identifying sudden quantum jump in the foreign money flowing in the country through withdrawals by foreigners on credit and debit cards issued by the foreign banks.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi is learnt to be unhappy that All India Congress Committee General Secretary Digvijay Singh has raised a fresh controversy over the killing of Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare, even as the party is already embroiled in a number of issues.
The official website of the Central Bureau of Investigation, which was recently hacked by unknown persons calling themselves 'Pakistani Cyber Army,' remains inoperative even after one week.
The Central Bureau of Investigation got into an overdrive to complete the 2G scam investigations by February after the Prime Minister's office (PMO) wanted to shrug off the impression that the government is mired in corruption.
The CVC is launching on Thursday a new portal 'Vig-Eye' (vigilance's eye) on the Internet on which the citizens can upload videos or audios direct from their mobiles on the occasion of the UN-designated International Anti-Corruption Day.
A legislation aimed at preventing sexual harassment of women at the workplace was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, amid the daily pandemonium over the opposition's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the 2G scam, before the House was adjourned for the 18th day running without conducting any business.
Tainted former Telecom minister A Raja and Kanimozhi, daughter of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief MK Karunanidhi, who featured prominently in the taped conversations that corporate lobbyist Niira Radia had are being relieved from the DMK's organisational positions in the wake of allegations on 2G corruption and their frequent conversations and "unauthorised claims " on the DMK's participation in Union Cabinet in 2009.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani said on Thursday that he will launch a "crusade" to mobilise public opinion against corruption on behalf of the National Democratic Alliance. He urged all other political parties, which are united in their demand for the joint parliamentary committee probe in the 2G Spectrum scam, to join hands with him.
The 2010 winter session is set to go down in the history of the Parliament as one and the first one which did not deliberate even a minute. It is likely to be adjourned sine die.
Union minister for new and renewable energy Farooq Abdullah came out strongly against tapping of phones, over the leak of tapes involving corporate heads, lobbyists and media personalities on Tuesday.
In a bid to end the impasse inParliament, the government reached out to the Bharatiya Janata Party saying it was ready for a discussion on 2-G spectrum issue and a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe but rejected the demand for a JPC, which failed to cut ice with the main opposition.
The decision to finance these districts for rapid improvement in schooling, health care and drinking water comes nine months after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee listed the drive in his Union Budget to ensure the poor and the tribals do not head to the Naxals for help.
Parliament was shut down for the 11th day running on Thursday without transacting any substantive business, costing the taxpayer a staggering sum of Rs 85.80 crore as expenditure on each day of the session is calculated at Rs 7.8 crore.
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