Next week, US Secretary of State John Kerry travels to India for the fourth annual US-India Strategic Dialogue
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Prahlad Singh Patel, as also former election commissioner Ashok Lavasa and poll strategist Prashant Kishor were among those whose phone numbers were listed as potential targets for hacking through an Israeli spyware sold only to the government agencies, an international media consortium reported on Monday.
Eight of the newly inducted ministers in the Union cabinet have criminal cases against them, a report released by election watchdog Non-Governmental Organisation's on Monday said.
'ADR's success is its ability to remain non-partisan for a very long period, sheer professionalism and tenacity, and that makes it one of the good things to happen to our democracy.'
According to the report, 32 (73 per cent) out of 44 candidates analysed from the Rashtriya Janata Dal have declared criminal cases against themselves and 22 (50 per cent) of them have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
During the Karnataka elections held in May this year, the average amount spent on the campaign by each candidate was Rs 7.43 lakh. Interestingly, this is just 46 per cent of the allotted budget of Rs 16 lakh per candidate.
Cases range from murder to attempted murder and even rape. Some candidates even face cases of communal disharmony. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
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Dhankar wins vice presidential election by bagging more than 500 votes.
Union Minister and State President of the Congress party Sachin Pilot is the top performing Member of Parliament among the 25 MPs of Rajasthan.
Karnataka goes to polls in about a fortnight and the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress is going toe-to-toe to win the elections, results of which will be announced on May 15. Here's a simple guide to all things about the Karnataka polls.
The total income of seven political parties from unknown sources was Rs 2,512.98 crore in 2018-19.
Late former finance minister Arun Jaitley's son Rohan is all set to become the next president of the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) and has promised to halt 'unnecessary expenses' in the corruption and controversy-ridden body.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking stay on further sale of electoral bonds ahead of assembly elections.
The BJP has the maximum number of such politicians.
The Committee of Administrators announced the elections date in New Delhi on Tuesday after due consultation with the apex court-appointed amicus curiae P S Narsimha.
'Unknown' location advertisement spends were nearly 74% higher than the next biggest spender, Uttar Pradesh.
'It is for the cricket organisers to do it and these organisers are the elected bodies. Now the reforms require that they associate cricketers also. They take care of the game that's all. I think things are moving positively. The process of reforms commenced long back has taken time. Now it is time for implementation'
Twenty-three per cent or 244 candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves, it said. Serious criminal cases are non-bailable offences with over five years of imprisonment.
A day after the Congress brainstormed over its electoral reverses, senior leader M Veerappa Moily on Monday said Sonia Gandhi should take "full control" of the party with a free hand to change non-performing leaders, and asserted that a "mere culture of tweets and social media propaganda" would not take the organisation forward.
As per the law, political parties are to declare a list of their political donors. However, as per the latest report, political parties continue to enjoy donations without providing their names or addresses, reports Vicky Nanjappa
As many as 51 MPs and MLAs have declared cases of crime against women.
Out of the 167 candidates, 54 are crorepatis. Manipur Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms ADR said.
Several candidates have a low level of literacy, but know just enough about social media to know it is important to have a presence there.
A prominent Indian businessman facing deportation from Thailand has said that he will continue to participate in anti-government protests, even as the Thai authorities were considering his case.
With the latest expansion of the Union Council of Ministers, the total number of crorepatis there has risen to 72, while the number of those with declared criminal cases is up at 24, a study said.
83 MLAs from the BJP, 11 from the SP, four from the BSP, one from the Congress and three Independents have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
As per the report, out of 612 candidates, 168 (27 per cent) are crorepatis.
Disclosing details of his assets, he said the reports about the rise in his wealth had been done without checking facts.
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Disclosing details of his assets, he said the reports about the rise in his wealth had been done without checking facts.
The average assets of an MP are now 345.8 times that of an annual income of a tax-filing individual, reports Sachin P Mampatta.
Among MLAs with criminal cases, 33 have declared serious cases including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, dacoity, robbery etc.
The National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms have analysed the affidavits of 165 MPs who were elected again in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The Association for Democratic Reforms has urged political parties to refrain from giving tickets to candidates who are facing serious criminal charges and asked them to disclose the criteria for the selection of candidates during elections.
A public interest litigation has been filed in the Bombay high court stating that IPL matches must be shifted out of Maharashtra owing to the acute shortage of water in the state. Advocate Ankita Verma, Partner, DM Legal Associates, advocates for the petitioners, tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf how hosting the IPL in Maharashtra is tantamount to wasting huge amounts of water.
Of the 137 candidates having criminal records, 78 candidates are facing serious cases such as murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and rape.
For some of the business majors, the fund outgo for the 2019 elections has risen as much as 15 to 20 times, compared to the amount given to political parties five years ago.
India has helped the world discover the true potential of democracy and the keyword for the country today is compassion for the downtrodden, needy and those on the margins, President Droupadi Murmu said on Sunday.
The average asset of a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament is Rs 20.17 crore, says a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms. It also says that 67 per cent of Rajya Sabha MP's are crorepatis.
'No Indian political party functions in a democratic way.'
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