The National Food Security Bill, 2011, considered to be the world's largest experiment in ensuring food security to poor, has been a key project of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Thousands of farmers have reached the national capital on their tractor-trolleys and other vehicles, responding to the 'Delhi Chalo' call against the agri-marketing laws enacted at the Centre in September. On Saturday morning, it wasn't clear if they will agree to move to the Burari ground on the outskirts of the city, where police said they can continue with their protest. Many protesters were demanding a better venue in the centre of Delhi. Originally, the protest was meant to be on November 26 and 27.
Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday expressed grave disappointment over the railway budget with its chief Sharad Pawar telling a meeting of the United Progressive Alliance coordination committee that Mumbai has been neglected, which is "not acceptable".
Despite being a neighbour, Pakistan has never accounted for more than 2 per cent of India's total exports, and its share in India's total imports is less than 1 per cent. On the other hand, bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh has increased five times.
The reunion of the two parties, which comes after a separation of three years due to what they termed "communication gap," may alter the political scenario in the state, where the local body elections are round the corner.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union and the Mahila Aghadi have also opposed.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Bannerjee, who had not initially supported Pranab Mukherjee for the post of President, was on Wednesday hosted a dinner at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Ahead of the Congress-nationalist Congress Party Coordination Committee meeting, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Monday held consultations with senior leaders, including party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
If the protests have cemented the ties between the peasantry and the traders, the political implications for the BJP might become too serious to be disregarded because its core base was made up of the urban Khatri merchants.
The United Progressive Alliance coordination committee is scheduled to meet in New Dekhi on Thursday, with the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra to rule the roost.
Amid talk of a special session of Parliament on the Food Security Bill, government said all options are open on the issue.
"No one has been discharged from the isolation ward. Source of the virus is not confirmed yet."
The Pakistan Cricket Board has picked a 10-member delegation of former players, who will act as goodwill ambassadors in India during the much-anticipated bilateral series next month, but questions are being raised about the choices made by the PCB.
'Why shouldn't we talk against the BJP when it is solely responsible for bringing in these three laws by riding rough over Parliamentary procedures and norms?' 'We will talk against the BJP because it is the sole political party responsible for pushing these destructive farm laws'
Neither Union agriculture minister nor junior ministers were present to hear our concerns. We asked why the minister is not meeting us, why the government is playing double standards by calling us here and ministers holding virtual meetings in Punjab. There was no proper response," Darshan Pal, member of the coordination committee of 29 farmers' organisations, said after the meeting.
Deve Gowda indicated on Sunday that they were ready to compromise.
The stand-off between Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party came to an end on Wednesday with the decision to set up a Coordination Committee to address the grievance of the United Progressive Alliance ally from Maharashtra about not having a proper say in the functioning of the government.
A solution to the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party standoff appears to be in sight with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reaching out to NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday amid indications that a UPA coordination committee could be set up.
Upping the ante, sulking Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday warned the Congress that if its demands like a coordination committee for the United Progressive Alliance coalition and better treatment of allies were not resolved by Wednesday, it would pull out from the government.
The United Progressive Alliance is expected to put up a united face on Wednesday to counter opposition demand for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the Comptroller and Auditor General reports on coal block allocation and two other issues.
Thirteen Indian pilgrims were among 15 people killed when a small private plane crashed in northern Nepal on Monday after hitting a hilltop while attempting to land at the high-altitude Jomsom airport.
A private plane with 19 people on board crashed in mountain airstrip in northern Nepal, killing 14 people, including four Indians on Monday, officials said.
Dalits constitute nearly 16 per cent of the vote and 38 seats are reserved for them in the assembly, reports Satyavrat Mishra
Meet to devise strategy to minimise elephant deaths due to train-hits. K Anurag reports
A joint body of Orissa policemen on Thursday demanded withdrawal of the suspension of inspector Sadanand Pujari for 'assaulting' a magistrate last week, while the strike by Rourkela lawyers demanding his arrest entered the fourth day.
'There will be more than three to four lakh tractors and farmers, four to five times that number, displaying their resolve in front of a deaf, mute and a government blind to their plight.'
Indian Against Corruption led by Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal will undertake a survey on Jan Lokpal Bill in Uttar Pradesh seven districts, including Rae Bareli represented by Sonia Gandhi, and constituencies of members of Parliament who are on the standing committee scrutinising the measure.
Some NGOs and individual petitioners have moved the apex court against the decisions of some high courts, including the Bombay high court and the Kerala high court, to allow municipal authorities to deal with the stray dogs menace as per the rules.
Former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto's son and Pakistan Peoples Party's heir apparent, Bilawal, will test electoral waters for the first time in 2013 from the party stronghold of Lyari, his father, President Asif Ali Zardari announced on Monday.
Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's lieutenants, including central ministers from her party, will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday -- but not to resign.
The groups were asking for Shashank's ouster over a row on allowing Bru voters lodged in Tripura relief camps to exercise their franchise from there.
Several places in Arunachal Pradesh, including capital Itanagar, were cut off by floods and landslides.
'They wil show the whole world see how this government is treating its farmers.'
The seventh round of talks between protesting unions and three central ministers ended inconclusively on Monday as the farmer leaders insisted on the repeal of the three contentious farm laws right from the beginning, even as the government listed various benefits from the Acts.
A fresh controversy has erupted after Maharashtra Congress President Manikrao Thakre announced formation of a 21-member 'Coordinating Committee' to work out electoral strategy for the forthcoming civic polls here, with the anti-Kalmadi faction within the party alleging that the panel was dominated by loyalists of the tainted MP who brought disrepute to the city which he represented in Parliament.
The protest was organised by All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC), whose delegation led by its president Ravinder Raina later submitted a memorandum to the Lt Governor G C Murmu, highlighting various demands with special thrust for return and rehabilitation in their homeland.
Those who withdrew called off the blockade on the Sarita Vihar-Kalindi Kunj road and alleged "politicisation" of their "peaceful protest".
The minister also hoped that a resolution should be reached before the year ends and asserted that the Modi government is committed to address all genuine concerns of the farming community.
Ayyakannu, who is also president of the National South Indian Rivers Inter-Linking Farmers Association, said the decision to contest the polls from Uttar Pradesh was to urge the Bharatiya Janata Party to include in their manifesto that their demands, including "profitable prices for farm produce," would be fulfilled.
Protesting farmers owing allegiance to different farmers' bodies blocked state and national highways at several places on Saturday, causing inconvenience to commuters.
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