Talking to media persons in New Delhi, Antulay denied having ever raised doubts on who killed Karkare. The Union minister added that he will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi in this regard.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday indicated in Rajya Sabha that he might make a statement on Union Minorities Minister Abdul Rahman Antulay's remarks on Tuesday, the last day of the current Parliament session. The statement came after Bharatiya Janata Party members forced several adjournments.
Heavy fog in New Delhi and surrounding areas disrupted the schedules of several flights in the capital on Sunday. Some flights were cancelled and several delayed due to almost zero visibility, caused by foggy conditions.A similar situation had been witnessed last year, when dense fog had disrupted flight schedules and caused chaos in Delhi, Srinagar and Chandigarh airports. The government had then assured that the situation will not be repeated in 2008.
"We would like to know if the Congress will dismiss Minority Affairs minister A R Antulay," asked BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday.
Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal dismissed Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Arun Jaitley's view that the new anti-terror law is likely to be misused against the minorities. "This is not true," Sibal said.
Speaker Somnath Chatterjee rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for a joint parliamentary probe into the Spectrum deal which according to BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar is "the mother of all scams" and has favoured a few individuals to the tune of several thousand crores by resorting to underwriting the amount involved in the deal.
The Speaker referred to the Home Ministry the matter related to Sanjeev Saxena, alleged aide of Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, Sudheendra Kulkarni, a close aide of senior BJP leader L K Advani, and Suhail Hindustani, a day after the parliamentary inquiry committee said there was need for further investigation into the roles played by them.
Communist Party of India-Marxist parliamentarian, Mohammad Salim attached a dissenting note, requesting the chairman of the committee, probing the cash-for vote incident, to use it appropriately. Salim charged that the committee had failed to live up to the expectations of the people in this matter of national importance. he also claimed that the committe was prevented from reaching any conclusion to protect the 'big fish'.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani said the Mumbai attack was nothing less than a fidayeen attack.
Admitting that there were gaps in the intelligence set up, the government on Thursday said it will take steps, including strengthening laws and setting up a National Investigation Agency to insulate the country from terror strikes like in Mumbai. In a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha, Home Minister P Chidambaram said the government has decided to set up a Coastal Command to secure India's 7,500-km coastline and create various National Security Guard hubs.
The Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee who held an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, said the whole country was under scrutiny and not just members of Parliament alone after the Mumbai terror attack.
While Sheila Dikshit, chief minister of Delhi registered an unprecedented third victory in the assembly elections, Vijay Kumar Malhotra the Bharatiya Janata Party's chief ministerial candidate is still trying to come to grips with the hard realities of life.
"There is no question of replacing Manmohan Singh, there is no need to replace him as our prime minister," Moily said. He praised Congress president Sonia Gandhi who handled the massive campaign along with her son Rahul and the PM.
Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta on Saturday reviewed the coordination between various security particularly coastal security with broad range of issues relating to coastal security and how to operationalise them.
"Given that Pakistan has totally rejected all requests of the government, we expect the government to assess the stern steps that are required to ensure that Pakistan desists from pursuing jihadi terrorism. As a nationalist party, the BJP shall stand by the government in the effective steps it takes in this regard," Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh said told media persons.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday had a series of meetings with National Security Advisor M K Narayanan who briefed the new home minister about the situation in the country after Pakistan-based terrorists attacked Mumbai last week killing 195 people.
Congress leader and Union minister Kapil Sibal said at a press conference that the government has told the court that it had no clue about the source of income of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and how she accumulated this wealth. They could order a probe into the source of her money.
Vijay Jolly, who is contesting against Delhi chief minister Sheela Dikshit in the assembly polls, blamed Dikshit for using extra-constitutional means to fight her battle against him.
Former union law minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley has questioned the intention of the Centre in communalising the situation arising out of Malegoan blasts.
In an exclusive interview to rediff.com, the Delhi chief minister said, "I begin my day as early as six in the morning and continue campaign work till late night. First thing in the morning, I decide my strategy for the day and then pass on instructions for the staff to follow."