With a high-powered ministerial panel on fuel pricing being scrapped, a cabinet committee may consider raising the prices of diesel, LPG and kerosene, Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy indicated on Wednesday but refused to say when the issue would be taken up.
'If the BJP seriously addresses employment, examination integrity and systemic corruption, they might salvage their position. Otherwise, they are heading toward serious trouble in 2027.'
Atishi, a prominent leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has retained the Kalkaji Assembly seat in the Delhi elections. She defeated her BJP rival, former MP Ramesh Bidhuri, by a margin of 3,521 votes. Atishi's win comes as a relief for the AAP, which suffered major losses in the polls. She had previously served as the Chief Minister of Delhi for a short period last year. Atishi's victory is significant as she is one of the few AAP leaders to win in the elections. Her win is likely to solidify her position within the party.
Being made a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs makes her an important player in BJP politics, observes Rashme Sehgal.
The chief adviser's decision to stay in office came two days after he told student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders that he was mulling resignation as he felt "the situation is such that he cannot work", citing difficulties in working amid the failure of political parties to find common ground for change.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar upon his arrival from Saudi Arabia to take stock of the situation following the terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir. The meeting also included Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. The attack, which killed at least 26 people, including tourists from the UAE and Nepal, has sparked nationwide shock and outrage.
This is the third time the party is boycotting a meeting, amid rumours that all is not well with the coalition.
Implementation of sports bill in 6 months, regulation of participation standard safeguard: Mandaviya
'The AMs are a different beast and reflect the political play within the government.' 'Prime Minister Modi does not need to assuage any interest group to take the final call on any decision that belongs rightfully to the Cabinet,' points out Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
The government will require poll panel's nod if it decides not to effect a price increase.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has not chosen any of the top ministers in his Cabinet to head the government during his visit to South Korea between March 24 and March 27. "The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs may decide on issues of national urgency. The CCPA will, in the prime minister's absence, be presided over by the senior-most minister," says a 'Secret/Most Urgent' note sent out by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth to nine senior ministers.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has long been demanding special category status for his state.
The decision was taken at a full commission meeting held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath, and communicated to the Union Cabinet, which met to take a call on the matter.
Strongly condemning the 'dastardly' terror attacks in Mumbai which claimed at least 100 lives, the Union Cabinet on Thursday took stock of the situation and reviewed the security scenario in the country.
The session will discuss a legislation on the offices of profit besides several other bills.
Manish Sisodia is set to be Deputy CM, while four new faces are likely to join the AAP cabinet.
According to the National Democratic Alliance sources, the new government may allot five to six ministerial berths to the allies Janasena and Bharatiya Janata Party.
Bowing to party pressure, the government on Thursday raised the quota of subsidised LPG to 12 cylinders per household in a year from nine at present and also put on hold paying users the subsidy into bank accounts using Aadhaar platform.
With key UPA allies -- the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Trinamul Congress and Nationalist Congress Party members -- clearly expressing their resentment to a new state, sources say the Congress is now looking to find a way out of the situation.
Dinesh Trivedi, a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, says, "Our government is seriously bothered about Anna's health. Why is Team Anna not requesting Annaji to break his fast, even once? I believe the government is more worried about Anna's health than even Team Anna."
The Left parties have slammed the government for the vote.
The government has allowed oil companies to raise diesel price by 50 paise a litre per month; bulk users to be charged market price.
Only four working days are left for the ongoing budget session to come to an end on April 4.
For the second time in as many months, the Government on Wednesday night cut petrol price by Rs 5 a litre and diesel by Rs 2 per litre, while the domestic LPG rate was also slashed by as much as Rs 25 per cylinder.
Trinamool Congress, a key constituent of the United Progressive Alliance, on Thursday opposed the hike in diesel prices, saying it was not consulted about the step and demanded its rollback. "We were not consulted for this and we are unhappy with the decision to hike diesel prices," said Railway Minister Mukul Roy.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday informed media personnel that the Centre was referring the issue of creation of a separate state of Telangana back to the Andhra Pradesh assembly to rebuild a consensus.The Andhra Pradesh assembly had passed a resolution in January last year, seeking deletion of Clause 14(F) from the Presidential Order for the purpose. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has decided to refer back the resolution to the assembly, Chidambaram said.
An emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday night took no decision on the vexed Telengana.
The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) met in New Delhi where officials briefed the meeting on the police action.
A top aide of Rajiv Gandhi spoke in contradictory voices about the Bhopal gas tragedy, first ruling out the late prime minister's involvement in the sudden release of former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson and later hinting that he may have had a role.
The Centre has been divided over the stand to be taken by it on the issue. The Culture Ministry wanted to be cautious on the issue by saying that no study has been conducted on whether the Ram Sethu between India and Sri Lanka was man-made or natural. The Shipping Ministry, however, wanted to state clearly in the affidavit that the bridge had been formed naturally.
The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs took a decision to this effect in the wake of the scrapping of the IMDT Act by the Supreme Court.
Terrorism and insurgency in J&K had subsided when India demolished East Pakistan -- for the simple reason that Pakistan understands power. We need to follow Chanakya's dictum of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed for strategising against Pakistan, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd). The ground truth is that unless we are prepared to acknowledge our shortcomings, including massive intelligence failures, punish those responsible and take corrective actions, we will continue in the same vein, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs presided over by the PM on Wednesday, sources said.
Sources say that this is a part of the government's efforts to mitigate the spurt in global oil prices.
The move would help insurance firms to get much needed capital from overseas partners.
The Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament, will debate the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday. The bill has been met with strong opposition from several parties who claim it is unconstitutional. The government, however, insists the bill aims to improve the management of Waqf properties in India by bringing transparency and efficiency.
Eighteen distinct amendments to the Constitution and other statutes would be required for the implementation of the Kovind committee's recommendations on simultaneous elections, according to the panel's report accepted by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate on Tuesday, with the opposition terming the move 'dictatorial' and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the legislation would not tamper with the powers enjoyed by states.
Sources said the reshuffle will also aim at an image makeover for the party hit by school jobs scam probe.
