A Correspondent In Washington, DC

Stories by A Correspondent In Washington, DC

Exclusive: Lokpal Bill to be introduced in RS on Nov 29

Exclusive: Lokpal Bill to be introduced in RS on Nov 29

Rediff.com   8 Nov 2012

The Lokpal Bill is likely to be introduced in Rajya Sabha on November 29, according to a highly-placed source. The Congress Party's confident manner towards the approaching winter session indicates the party's decision to use the bill as a political weapon to ensure that the Bharatiya Janata Party refrains from disrupting Parliament sessions.

RSS' Gurumurthy tries to defuse tension within BJP

RSS' Gurumurthy tries to defuse tension within BJP

Rediff.com   6 Nov 2012

The regret expressed by Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari's on his remark on Swami Vivekananda ahead of the party's core committee meet eased tensions among its members.

Govt struggles to fill up top posts in security agencies

Govt struggles to fill up top posts in security agencies

Rediff.com   5 Nov 2012

Vacancies to the top seven security and investigative agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, National Investigation Agency, Sashastra Seema Bal are waiting to be filled up.

Cong's 3-pt plan: Project Rahul, soft budget, early poll

Cong's 3-pt plan: Project Rahul, soft budget, early poll

Rediff.com   2 Nov 2012

Project Rahul Gandhi, give a popular budget, plan for an early 2013 Lok Sabha polls: this is the three-point action plan with which the ruling Congress plans to approach the November 4 rally in New Delhi and November 9 'free interaction' session in Surajkund.

Exclusive! What happened at rejigged Council's 1st meet

Exclusive! What happened at rejigged Council's 1st meet

Rediff.com   1 Nov 2012

Rediff.com's Delhi correspondent, who was present at the venue of Thursday's Union Cabinet meeting at PM's residence, reports how Kamal Nath and Sharad Pawar stole the thunder at the crucial meeting.

Coastal TN, AP brace for storm 'Nilam' today

Coastal TN, AP brace for storm 'Nilam' today

Rediff.com   31 Oct 2012

Coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh braced for a cyclonic storm that is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, as incessant rains hit normal life on Tuesday in Chennai.

CVC shortlists three for CBI director post

CVC shortlists three for CBI director post

Rediff.com   30 Oct 2012

In a surprise move by the Chief Vigilance Commission panel, an Indian Police Service officer of the 1976 batch from Uttar Pradesh, Atul has been short-listed to become the Central Bureau of Investigation director on December 1.

Permanent river dispute panel in offing

Permanent river dispute panel in offing

Rediff.com   30 Oct 2012

A draft legislation is ready for setting up a permanent water disputes tribunal to resolve the water related disputes among the states in an expeditious manner, new Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat disclosed on Tuesday after assuming the charge.

Coastal TN, AP brace for storm 'Nilam' tomorrow

Coastal TN, AP brace for storm 'Nilam' tomorrow

Rediff.com   30 Oct 2012

Coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh braced for a cyclonic storm that is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, as incessant rains hit normal life on Tuesday in Chennai.

Cyclone Nelam to cross over TN, south AP on Wednesday

Cyclone Nelam to cross over TN, south AP on Wednesday

Rediff.com   30 Oct 2012

The deep depression which had formed over the south west of Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclone named Nelam, which is expected to cross over Nagapattinam and Nellore (South Andhra Pradesh) on Wednesday evening,

Cong says Guj govt's company rigging pipeline bidding

Cong says Guj govt's company rigging pipeline bidding

Rediff.com   23 Oct 2012

In the season of trading allegations between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat, the opposition party has now turned to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi government's blue chip company Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation alleging huge irregularities to benefit a company engaged in pipeline manufacturing in Kutch.

Tug-of-war in DMK: Why UPA II may suffer

Tug-of-war in DMK: Why UPA II may suffer

Rediff.com   22 Oct 2012

The United Progressive Alliance government will suffer a set back if ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam doest not contain the infighting between T R Baalu, leader of DMK parliamentary party, and Union Minister S S Palanimanickam, DMK's five time MP from Thanjavur constituency, over the new railway line in Thanjavur.

Sultan of Oman to be 2013 R-Day chief guest

Sultan of Oman to be 2013 R-Day chief guest

Rediff.com   22 Oct 2012

With the acceptance of the invitation, President Pranab Mukherjee will now write an official invite to the Sultan of Oman to be followed up by telephone calls from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna.

Mamata snubs Jairam for letter jibe

Mamata snubs Jairam for letter jibe

Rediff.com   20 Oct 2012

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee strongly retorted as 'distasteful' the taunt by Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh while releasing the fourth installment of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act funds to her state that 'this reflects how sensitive the so-called 'brain-dead government in Delhi' is to the needs of the people of West Bengal'.

2G scam: JPC chief rules out summoning PM, Chidambaram

2G scam: JPC chief rules out summoning PM, Chidambaram

Rediff.com   18 Oct 2012

Even as Bharatiya Janata Party MPs are boycotting the Joint Parliamentary Committee looking into the 2G spectrum scam, the panel's chairman P C Chacko has ruled out summoning of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Prime Minister's Office email hacked

Prime Minister's Office email hacked

Rediff.com   10 Oct 2012

The email ID of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) handling the messages from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to the media was hacked on Wednesday, prompting the PMO to issue an advisory that the fake email coming with the subject line "my terrible situation" may be ignored.

Rahul's meeting with President Pranab triggers a buzz

Rahul's meeting with President Pranab triggers a buzz

Rediff.com   9 Oct 2012

The President's Office and the All India Congress Committee sources confirmed that the one-hour meeting did take place, but were reluctant to speculate on the nature of the discussions.

DLF defends itself and Vadra

DLF defends itself and Vadra

Rediff.com   7 Oct 2012

DLF, the company under the cloud due to its not-so-transparent business relations with Robert Vadra, has come out with its defence. The four-page long defence is to help take the pressure off from Congress president Sonia Gandhi whose reputation is at stake.

BJP finalises first list of candidates for Himachal polls

BJP finalises first list of candidates for Himachal polls

Rediff.com   29 Sep 2012

The Bharatiya Janata Party has cleared the first list of 45 candidates for the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, five of his ten ministers and 15 sitting Members of Legislative Assembly figure in the list cleared by the Central Election Committee, chaired by party president Nitin Gadkari and attended among others by patriarch Lal Krishna Advani.