rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
International Master Atanu Lahiri, a former joint secretary, AICF, in a complaint to the Registrar of Societies, Tamil Nadu has urged the initiation of a probe on alleged mismanagement or misuse of AICF funds and even dissolve the chess body if gross violation of its objectives and obligations were found.
Thanks to a close one's illness, I have seen quite a few hospital rooms in the past half a year or so. They have revived my respect for life reinterpreted via its essentials, notes Shyam G Menon.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said he will not hesitate from facing investigation in a site allotment issue but added that he would consult legal experts to find out whether such a probe is allowed under law.
Sanju Samson influenced former IPL champions Rajasthan Royals' decision to opt for the maximum six retentions, head coach Rahul Dravid said on Monday.
Earlier, deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the state party chief, also had separate meetings with Parameshwara and Jarkiholi.
'As a course mate who has followed closely this star on the Bombay Sappers firmament, my heart swells with pride to see his extraordinary brilliance and focus; his commitment and his dedication; his hard work; and his technical as well as tactical knowledge,' says Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd) of his batchmate General Manoj Pande who will take over as chief of the army staff on May 1.
Former ISI DG Faiz Hameed's arrest sends a strong message to PTI supporters that Imran Khan's culpability for the May 9, 2023 violence could well be drawn within the purview of military courts, especially if General Hameed turns approver to save his skin, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Constituencies that are going to the polls in the first phase, slated for April 19, have just 19 days for campaigning. Contrast that with those going to polls in the 7th phase, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'What happened to Andhra Pradesh? It is the perfect example of the transientness of Federal Units.' 'Federalism is a transient thing in this country.'
Is the unusually and unbearably scorching Sun and the general laxity, bordering on laziness, among voters, responsible, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
This is for the first time that the Thackeray family has lost control of the party that was founded in 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray on the principles of justice for the sons of the soil.
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Medical seats for under-graduates and post-graduates remaining vacant in the NEET era, together with the Centre 'freezing' the number of medical colleges and seats in (Dravidian) Tamil Nadu and the launch of the PM's 'Vishwakarma Scheme' for the nation's craftsmen, are all seen as a bid to further reverse the state's progressive socio-economic agenda of and its achievements of the past hundred-plus years, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Because of the callous attitude of the railway administration, they don't take care of safety.'
The Supreme Court on Thursday held the Maharashtra governor was not justified in calling upon then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority in the assembly on June 30 last year but refused to order the status quo ante, saying he did not face the floor test and resigned.
Neither the ruling DMK nor the fractured AIADMK Opposition anticipated that an assembly by-election would put them both to test, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The entire public needs to be evacuated immediately. Any day, the entire town can collapse.'
Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com heads to south Mumbai to discover why Kitab Khana is considered one of the best bookshops in the world.
In the unlikely event of the BJP-NDA losing all five states going to the polls in February-March, the Presidential electoral college numbers could be significantly altered, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the suspension of the sub divisional magistrate, circle officer and all other policemen present at the spot in Durjanpur village in Ballia's Reoti area, police said.
'Given that the RGF is a family-controlled trust, why would the Congress defend it every time someone accuses it of wrong-doing?' asks Virendra Kapoor.
Sudin Dhavalikar hit back, terming the development as "dacoity by chowkidars".
Indications are that Modi will have words of encouragement for Stalin, and the meeting is likely to be much less acrimonious than critics of either would want it to be. notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'There is no doubt that he commands respect. He's on the ball.'
Colombo seems to be veering to the middle path between China and the US on global matters, but in regional matters of strategic security, it is increasingly identifying with India, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The best available recourse to keep the defence sector healthy, is to source most of our requirement within the country so that procurement outlays under both the Revenue and Capital heads flow within the country, recommends says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'ISRO facilities are very expensive and any damage caused by these start-ups can create havoc to our space programme.'
Strident Hindutva has not been the Shivraj Singh Chouhan's hallmark in his long tenure as chief minister. What has changed?
The sub-quota scheme may now lead to a ganging up of non-Vanniyars in individual constituencies against the Vanniyars just as in the past, such ganging up against SC-ST candidates was seen in the non-quota constituencies, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Given Nitish's track record as an accomplished trapeze artist who can dump the BJP overnight and embrace the RJD, he can leave the saffron party stranded should he fail to get the chief ministerial crown for the fourth time, notes Virendra Kapoor.
Decoding the JEE Main Paper 2.
'We want the Commission to finish its work; the issue it is investigating is too crucial for its work to be left incomplete.'
'At 1.58% of GDP, the defence budget is one of the lowest since the Chinese aggression of 1962.' 'The government of the day has lost sight of the fact that defence of the country is as important as its growth,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday filed a fresh status report in a sealed envelop in the Supreme Court on coal block allocation scam giving details of the ongoing probe in which companies, business tycoons and bureaucrats have come under its scanner.
'The government had a vaccine from January.' 'The government should have given the vaccine to all population above the age of 45, right from the start.' 'Each state has its own problems, but as far as vaccine coverage in India is concerned, there have been mistakes.'
The SP chief went to his father's residence to invite him to the October 5 national executive meeting, party MLC Sunil Singh Yadav said.
Prime Minister Modi felt there were too many silos with no arrangement to take a comprehensive view on national security. The PM has entrusted NSA Ajit Doval to evolve a comprehensive roadmap and get it implemented, reveals Nitin Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Strategic News International.
'You have been surrounded from all directions, if you want the safety of your troops and your personal safety, we will give you eight hours to make up your mind to surrender.'