Dorjee Khandu, who led the Congress to an absolute majority in the assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh, was on Saturday elected the Congress Legislature Party leader, paving the way for his second stint as chief minister. Khandu's election was announced by central observer V Narayanasamy after all the 42 Members of Legislative Assembly, in a resolution, authorised Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take a decision on the leadership.
The talks are being held with an aim of resolving the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh and reaching an agreement on the last remaining friction point in the Hot Springs area which had emerged post April-May 2020 aggression shown by Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
The assembly elections in the states of Haryana, Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh will be held in a single phase on October 13.Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla announced the dates in a press conference on Monday.The counting of votes will take place on October 22.Electronic Voting Machines will be used in the electoral process in all three states, he said. The electoral battle will be fought in 288 seats in Maharashtra, 90 seats in Haryana and 60 seats in Arunachal.
'The PLA is under constant watch.' 'There is an escalation matrix. For every degree of escalation, responses are thought of and trained for.'
Braving inclement weather, security forces early on Monday morning resumed a massive search operation along the Indo-Bhutan border to trace the helicopter carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others, which went missing on Saturday.
China has taken exception to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assertion that Arunachal Pradesh belongs to India and lodged a protest over it.
Other prominent candidates among the 904 in the fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti.
Last year, MP's Ashutosh Sharma smashed an 11-ball fifty, breaking Yuvraj Singh's record for the fastest half-century by an Indian in T20 cricket.
The decision has been taken due to a significant improvement of security situation in the state, a home ministry official said.
The trials are being held to select the teams for the Asian Championships and Asian Olympic Games Qualifiers, both scheduled to be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Former Army chief General Joginder Jaswant Singh was on Thursday appointed the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. The appointment, made by President Pratibha Patil, will come into effect from the date Singh assumes charge of his office, a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said. Singh retired as Army chief last year.
Projecting the mining operations as part of China's move to take over Arunachal Pradesh, the report said 'people familiar with the project say the mines are part of an ambitious plan by Beijing to reclaim South Tibet'.
Journalist and author Chitra Subramaniam has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) make public its findings from the "box of evidence" received from Switzerland regarding the Bofors payoffs. Subramaniam, author of 'Boforsgate: A Journalist's Pursuit of Truth', expressed concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the evidence, questioning who opened the box, when it was opened, and what it contained. She also raised doubts about the official narrative regarding the alleged bribe in the Bofors case, suggesting the sum of Rs 64 crore may not reflect the full extent of the corruption. Subramaniam also alleged that the CBI planted stories about Hindi film actor Amitabh Bachchan to derail the investigation and launched a political vendetta against the Bachchans. She recalled that Bachchan had come to her home and asked if she had seen his name. The CBI has recently requested assistance from the United States in the case, seeking information from private investigator Michael Hershman, who claims to have crucial details about the scandal. The Bofors scandal, a major bribery case involving the Indian government and the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors in the 1980s, pertains to allegations of a Rs 64-crore bribe in a Rs 1,437-crore deal for the supply of 400 155mm field Howitzers.
The Indian Army is looking at deploying over 350 light tanks, mostly in the mountainous border areas.
With his remarks on China making waves, the local administration has restrained the media from going anywhere near the Dalai Lama during his current visit to Arunachal Pradesh. The administration on Monday night announced that the Dalai Lama's visit to the Khinmey Monastery, where he was supposed to consecrate a statue of Guru Padma Sanbhava, has been cancelled. There was no official reason assigned to the cancellation.
'As a responsible law abiding nation, India has a moral responsibility to tell the truth that Tibet is an occupied country,' says Tashi Phuntsok.
Seeking to lower temperatures between India and China in the wake of recent verbal spats, both Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao did not discuss the territorial dispute over Arunachal Pradesh nor the proposed visit to that state of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama.
Even as work on border road construction in Jammu and Kashmir was stopped after Chinese objection, Arunachal Chief Minister Doorjee Khandu has asserted that his government will not succumb to any such pressure.
Voting will be held in a single phase in all these states.
The advanced light helicopter, carrying Army personnel, was on regular sorties, he said. The incident took place at 10.43 am, and search operation is underway, the official said.
Three bodies were sighted on Wednesday along with wreckage of an aircraft at a place on the path the helicopter carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others had taken and the worst is feared. Breaking information that is "not encouraging and not good news", Home Minister P Chidambaram said at a place between Kyela and Lobothang a party sent by circle officer sighted what appears to be an aircraft.
Chidambaram said this to state Chief Minister Nabam Tuki who called him at New Delhi yesterday and briefed him on the extensive damages caused by the recent spate of flash floods in the state, official sources said in Itanagar on Friday.
Sources said the Chinese had come heavily prepared but did not expect the Indian side to be well prepared.
Scheduled to be completed in 2016, the 4.94 km rail-cum-road bridge, India's longest bridge, will come up across the mighty Brahmaputra at Bogibeel in Assam. It is not only expected to be a lifeline for the Northeast, but will also strengthen the country's security.
China does not have to give up what it took in 2020, it will never give up its claim to Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and other areas, and it has all the time now to plan its next surprise, points out Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Incessant rains in the past few days have caused flood in at least three districts of Arunachal Pradesh, with Chief Minister Nabam Tuki sounding a red alert across the state.
The high voter turnout of 81 percent in the just-concluded assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh has not only proved the people's "patriotic" spirit but also silenced all critics," Governor General (retired) J J Singh said on Sunday.
By voting massively, Aruachal Pradesh, it seems, has sent out a strong vote to China.
In a major strike against the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom, the army on Tuesday killed eight of its cadres including two women in an operation in Lohit district of Aurnachal Pradesh.
'During a match, there is a lot of noise from the stadium -- cheers for sixes and fours -- but the batter focuses on the ball, not the pressure.' 'If you don't take pressure and focus on your duty, you can overcome stress easily.'
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to pass an interim order on a fervent plea of the Congress against "illegal" swearing-in of its rebel leader Kalikho Pul-led government in Arunachal Pradesh.
At the border personnel meeting, China also accused the Indian side of damaging its road building equipment when a road laying party left its gear in Tuting in December last year following a protest by India.
'China wants to change the status quo of India's Northern Border and proves that it can do whatever it wants in what it perceives as its own territory,' states Claude Arpi.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday approved 139 Padma awards including seven Padma Vibhushans, 19 Padma Bhushans and 113 Padma Shris.
25 tableaux of different states, departments and armed forces were part of the parade.
The former Army Chief said India's relations with China will always remain "somewhat tense".
At 4 am, troops roared their war cry! In the long running tradition of the armed forces, soldiers seek the blessings of the Goddess before setting out on their mission -- in war or peace. The Republic Day parade is one such mission.
It was alleged in the media report that the Thyagraj Stadium was being closed for sports activities earlier than usual so that Khirwar could walk his dog at the facility.
The minister was scheduled visit the two states on Sunday and Monday. The ministry cited no reason for the cancellation.
Though the Bharatiya Janata Party has frequently raised the issue of Chinese incursions in Parliament, Nabam Rebia was the first MP from the ruling Congress party to support the allegation.