Stung by Jayanthi Natarajan's attack on Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders on Friday rallied behind him and slammed their outgoing "opportunist" colleague, saying she had been removed as environment minister because of 'Jayanthi tax' barb by Bharatiya Janata Party in the run up to Lok Sabha polls.
The less charitable in the party say he owes his appointment Sonia Gandhi -- the family wanted someone who wouldn't talk back and would not exert himself too much, notes Aditi Phadnis.
RIL had said at that time the allegations were baseless and devoid of any merit.
The government appointed panel will look at the difficulties consumers faced in receiving the subsidy after buying gas cylinders at market rates.
The Prime Minister's Project Monitoring Group (PMG) chairman Anil Swarup said 40 per cent of the 419 stalled large investment projects in his hand were struck due to environmental clearances.
Moily had last week rejected Vedanta's proposal to mine the Niyamgiri hills after 12 village councils of Dongriya Kondh tribal groups opposed the project in their forests.
'Soniaji is like a mother to the party. We revere her even now'
Several members had moved adjournment motions to raise the issue, but Speaker Meira Kumar said she has not accepted the demand.
The oil ministry is rejecting the monetisation of new discoveries as their production will not be viable at the present price of $4.2 per mmbtu
The senior Congress leader asserted that those calling for reform should have had a discussion with others as well.
Stoutly defending the hike in gas prices, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily said the move would benefit the government in terms of revenue as many gas discoveries have been made by public sector companies rather than private sector.
.jpg)
On June 27, the Cabinet approved a new formula that uses weighted average of the price of LNG into India and average price at major gas hubs.
The nation on Friday remembered former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 30th death anniversary with President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari and other leaders paying tributes to her.
Who's calling the shots in the party, asks Aditi Phadnis.
'What is there to worry about, he has asked, when there is so much freedom in the country?' 'Freedom can never be adequate, as Kher seems to think.' 'Its presence should be so pervasive that all citizens will feel secure and expect justice to be done if anything untoward happens,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
Congress on Tuesday cautioned against probe "inspired by political vendetta", as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ordered filing of an FIR against its party leader and Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily alleging collusion in hike in prices of natural gas from KG basin.
Besides PESB selected chairman designate B Ashok (currently Executive Director retail sales in IOC) having no board experience, the case for extending Butola's service is more compelling because all the other six directors on board of the nation's largest oil firm are retiring in next one year.
For simplification and a sharper strategic focus, BHP Billiton has been reassessing its global assets portfolio.
As he was to take the bus, he set out early, walking a short distance from his office to the Krishi Bhawan bus stop from where he boarded bus number 781 to Race Course.
As industry voiced concern over the CBI naming industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla in a case, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily on Friday said investigating agencies and the judiciary must ensure that India does not become like Russia, where investors are not prepared to go and billionaires are put behind bars.
The demand for turning Hyderabad into a UnionTerritory on the lines of Chandigarh and make it the joint capital of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana may be considered by the government.
The letter was not a challenge to leadership but a parchment of action to strengthen the party, Congress MP Vivek Tankha asserted, while former union minister Mukul Wasnik said those who saw the letter as an "offence" will also soon realise that the issues raised are worth consideration.
State-owned ONGC and Oil India Ltd (OIL) are likely to buy a 10 per cent stake in Indian Oil Corp (IOC) from the government at Rs 220 per share, aggregating about Rs 5,300 crore (Rs 53 billion).
All cases that were registered last year during will be pursued.
Despite a massive decline in crude oil prices since 2012 -- Modi has been prime minister in six of these eight years -- petrol in Delhi has become 10 per cent costlier and diesel 97 per cent, as of July 2.
In a presentation to investors in Mumbai last week, Aramane Giridhar, Joint Secretary (Exploration) gave detailed reasons for pendency of decisions in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas where officials approved of decisions but refused to issue formal orders, resulting in delays in production of oil and gas.
Teheran bargains on OilMin plan for more rupee payment via increased import; wants investment deal on gas block.
Government gives 3 months, starting June, for the 20 districts to be covered under its direct benefits transfer scheme.
Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily approved continuation of the existing rate of $4.2 per million British thermal units until the new government, which will be in place in May, decides on implementation of the new price formula.
Controversial chief of right wing outfit Sri Ram Sene, Pramod Muthalik, on Monday claimed that it was the Congress party's "conspiracy" that had stalled his entry into Bharatiya Janata Party, which cancelled his party membership within hours after opposition from within and severe flak from other parties.
With lakhs of these workers stranded on highways and inter-state bus terminus, the government stepped in and asked states and union territories to immediately set up relief camps for migrant workers and others who are returning to their home states or trying to do so during the nationwide lockdown period.
The coming election to the Delhi assembly has so far been labelled a two-way contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party, but the Congress is not throwing in the towel yet.
The Department of Disinvestment, which is looking at mopping up Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) from the sale of shares in public sector units this fiscal, has raised about Rs 1,325 crore (Rs 13.25 billion) so far.
.jpg)
India, which is 79 per cent dependent on imports to meet its crude oil needs, is building underground storage at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka.
Petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily would like to import 11 million tonnes of Iranian crude in this financial year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation, and assured all possible assistance to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. The prime minister also chaired a meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to assess the situation.
The government had in May last year disallowed $1.005 billion expense of RIL on the flagging KG-D6 gas fields for not implementing the approved field development plan.
Launching a fresh broadside at Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily, CPI leader and MP Gurudas Dasgupta on Tuesday said no action has been taken against Reliance Industries for deliberately keeping natural gas output low and is instead being rewarded by a steep hike in prices.
Delhi Police claims that the FIR reveals serious cognizable corruption & cheating offences, so matter is within its jurisdiction.
It was a changed scenario in the new Lok Sabha with the churning brought out by the elections throwing in contrasts.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances