Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla, who had crossed 75 years, resigned on Tuesday from the Union Cabinet along with Minister of State for Heavy Industries G M Siddeshwara.
The minority affairs ministry wanted use of the Public Premises Act, 1971, to remove unauthorised occupants from Waqf properties, but the law ministry, which is also under him, shot down the proposal on the ground that the Act is for summary evictions from "public premises" and not from the Waqf premises.
The Centre will challenge in the Supreme Court the order of the Andhra Pradesh high court striking down its 4.5 per cent sub-quota to minorities within Other Backward Classes reservation in central educational institutions and jobs, saying the decision was based on religious grounds. "We will go to the Supreme Court by way of a Special Leave Petition against the Andhra Pradesh high court order," Union Minister for Law and Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid told reporters.
K Rahman Khan, a veteran Parliamentarian who had a nearly six-year stint as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, makes a comeback into the Union Council of Ministers with a promotion to Cabinet rank.
There is a thinking in the Congress party that some of the ministers should be made to step down in the wake of the Congress's disastrous performance in the recent assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and the challenge of three other assembly elections in the coming eight months. This points to a comprehensive party-government overhaul eventually. However, no one was willing to say when
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday allocated portfolios to her newly sworn-in council of ministers, keeping to herself nine departments, including Home, Land and Land Reforms.
Contrary to popular perception, the abductors are not separatists
In a letter to chief ministers, Shinde said the central government has been receiving various representations on alleged harassment of innocent Muslim youth by law enforcement agencies.
Madrasas which do not teach primary subjects such as English, Maths and Science would be considered as "non-schools".
Asserting that decision to earmark 4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities in government jobs was not a "lolly pop" to gain votes in Uttar Pradesh, Minority Affairs Minister Salman Kurshid said the government was committed to all round development of backwards.
'If the BJP doesn't want to accept the will of the people, then we will show them what a majority means.'
A family rivalry over property was behind the assassination of former Pakistan Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who was gunned down earlier this year, and the killing was not religiously motivated, a media report said on Tuesday.
Apart from the chief minister and deputy chief minister, 13 cabinet and 10 ministers of state were allocated portfolios.
The Election Commission on Wednesday put a lid on the standoff with Law and Minorities Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid after he expressed regrets over his "defiance" of the poll body over his remarks on subquota for minorities in government jobs in Uttar Pradesh.
Government to launch a new system to ensure better transparency in the implementation of plans to uplift students from minority communities
Uttar Pradesh Minority Affairs Minister Azam Khan wants the Taj Mahal to be handed over to the Sunni Waqf Board, which has jurisdiction over Muslim tombs and graves, since the iconic monument had the mausoleum of two Muslims.
Union Minister of Water Resources and Minority Affairs Salman Khursheed, who is one of the major interlocutors from the government side in the Lokpal deliberations, answers readers' queries on Rediff Chat
Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik has claimed that foolproof security was provided to slain Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, and that his death was the result of his own negligence. Bhatti was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Islamabad on Wednesday for championing the case of Aasia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman who was sentenced to death last November for allegedly committing blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.
The murder of Pakistani Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti on Wednesday by religious extremists establishes a pattern of growing religious intolerance.
The first batch of 900 pilgrims on Thursday left for Jeddah in three flights from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi to attend the annual Haj pilgrimage.
After her elevation as defence minister, Sitharaman has become a member of the cabinet committee on security headed by the prime minister.
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Tuesday promised to take action against those responsible for the death of a 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh and ensure a speedy probe.
Former senator Amarjeet Malhotra has been included in the list of suspects involved in the killing of Singh, 52, who was the Special Assistant to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister on minority affairs.
Terming the spat between Rahul Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati as "part of democracy", Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday said the Congress leader's movement has "energised" the functioning of democracy.
Ilyas Kashmiri, considered one of the masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, was behind the assassination of Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti earlier this year, according to a media report on Tuesday.
Pakistan government is expected to confer posthumously one of the country's highest civilian awards for bravery on slain Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who was lauded by President Asif Ali Zardari as a symbol of tolerance, harmony and respect for minorities.
An emotionally-charged meeting of Pakistan's Cabinet on the day Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti was assassinated almost ended in the "near collapse" of government after several ministers accused it of inaction in the face of rising lawlessness, a media report said.
The case of Shahbaz Bhatti clearly shows that the terrorists were guided by someone from within the forces, as the killers not only knew that the minister had no security at the time they planned to attack him but they also succeeded in leaving the place undisturbed.
Her successor in the HRD Ministry Prakash Javadekar elevated as a member of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.
His nomination is effective from November 11, 2014, RBI said on Monday.
The government is considering allocation of quota to minorities within the existing 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Castes in central services, Minority Affairs minister Salman Khurshid said on Friday.
The Maulana Azad Education Foundation announces the Maulana Azad National Scholarship Scheme for meritorious girls belonging to minorities.
Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said on Monday his ministry looked at implementing the Sachar committee recommendations as its top priority despite the fact that there were some "flaws" in the report.
The Sachar Committee report is not sacrosanct like the Quran and has to be looked at with a critical eye, Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said. "The Sachar Committee report is not Quran. It could be wrong and its recommendations and observations need to be looked at with a critical eye. The recommendations should not be seen as a special thing given to Muslims," he said. The Rajinder Sachar Committee was appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani paid homage to slain Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti at a memorial service at a church attended by scores of people, as Christians protested for the second straight day against his killing and demanded arrest of his assassins.
The ministries and departments, where bureaucrats are parked after being moved out of key positions, reflect the priorities of the government.
Congress-NCP-Sena leaders discount reading too much into the meeting between the Maharashtra CM and prime minister.
Union Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, who has been elevated to Cabinet rank in Wednesday's reshuffle, had worked on many a party and governmental positions in the past. Khurshid, who is a Member of Parliament from Farrukhabad parliamentary constituency, had in the past served as junior minister of commerce and minister of state for eternal afairs during the 10th Lok Sabha (1991-96). Between 1996 and 2009,
Union Minister for Corporate and Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid on Friday expressed the need for opening up the core areas in wildlife parks to tourists.
On the eve of the maiden meeting of the 10-member joint committee on Saturday to draft the Lokpal bill, government on Friday said it has an open mind on the issue.
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