It's not been a great week for the prime minister. Manmohan Singh has been blamed for the UP debacle. The UPA government's third anniversary is coming up and it has barely any achievements to showcase. And the UPA has discovered why it can no longer depend on the Muslim vote. All this and more in this week's Dilli Gupshup.
Home Minister P Chidambaram is understood to have spoken to Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and urged him not not to set precedent by striking a deal with the Maoists that would pressure on other governments in future in any similar situation, sources said.
The chief ministers of five mineral-rich states on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for local value addition in the National Mineral Policy (NMP). They also argued that foreign firms must not be allowed to grab control of prized natural resources. The team consisted of Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Chhatishgarh CM Raman Singh, Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Rajasthan's Vasundhara Raje.
Anti-incumbency is fast losing relevance as an election factor in India.
Noting that heavy deployment of security forces in neighbouring Chhattisgarh was driving Maoists to his state, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday demanded two additional Central Reserve Police Force battalions and a military chopper to "effectively" tackle the extremists.
Ignoring advice from his party, Nationalist Congress Party leader PA Sangma on Friday said he continues to be in the fray for the presidential election as a tribal candidate
Uncertainty prevailed over beginning of a joint operation against Naxalites in Orissa with the state government today accusing the Centre of not sending adequate paramilitary forces for the purpose.
Jena said that 205 bodies of the total 288 have been identified so far and handed over to their families.
The debate over Presidential candidate picked up further momentum with Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad pitching for Vice President Hamid Ansari while other parties kept the cards close to their chest.
Bowing to pressure from various quarters, the Sangh Parivar on Friday night called off their proposed Orissa bandh on Christmas day following talks with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The state-wide bandh had been called by Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati Sradhanjali Samiti in protest against alleged failure of the state government in arresting the culprits and conspirators involved in the killing of Swami Laxmanananda in Kandhamal district.
The Missionaries of Charity has been assured by the Orissa government of strong measures being taken in troubled Kandhamal district, its Superior General, Sister Nirmala said on Tuesday.
With the Centre showing readiness to spend on development to counter Left-wing insurgency, getting more of their districts declared Naxal-affected seemed to be a common idea across state chief ministers at today's National Development Council meet.
Making an appeal for early release of abducted Malkangiri District Collector R V Krishna, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said the government was evaluating all options and monitoring the situation.
Four days after release of Jhina Hikaka from Maoist captivity, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday questioned why the MLA, belonging to his party the Biju Janata Dal, should resign and said he was looking forward to meeting him.
But Haramani Sarangi of Orissa won't be meeting the prime minister when he visits the state next week. She died.
At a felicitation function, in Bhubaneswar, to honour the men's and women's Olympics hockey teams, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, an ardent supporter of the game in the country, announced that the state will continue to sponsor the national hockey teams for another 10 years.
India's sprint sensation Dutee Chand's nomination for Arjuna award and cricketer Harbhajan Singh's nomination for Khel Ratna award were rejected by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The incident took place as a large number of people congregated on Badamba-Gopinathpur T-Bridge on the occasion of Makar Mela, a police officer said.
Patnaik said the state has also urged the Centre to stop train and flight services to Odisha till April 30.
The 69-year-old leader had a fall inside her Kalighat home in south Kolkata after she returned after attending a programme, her family said.
Patnaik will take oath as the chief minister for fifth time in a row at 10.30 am on Wednesday.
The 67-year-old hasn't only received a clear-cut mandate for an unprecedented fourth term but also done it on his own. From distributing tickets to planning party campaigns to chalking out strategies for the present and the future, the chief minister had played a stellar role throughout, and emerged successful in his endeavour. Bikash Mohapatra reports
South Korean steel major Posco will start construction of its 12 million tonne, Rs 51,000-crore mega steel project near Paradip in Orissa on April 1, 2008.
Modi reviewed the situation in West Bengal and Odisha with chief ministers Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik, two days after the cyclone, the worst in years, devastated their states.
A Dalit girl, who was set ablaze after an attempted rape, died after struggling for survival for twelve days at a hospital in Bhubaneswar, triggering public protests and demands for the resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Even as spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar virtually offered to act as a mediator in the proposed talks with Naxalites, the Orissa government on Tuesday said it was not possible unless the ultras give up path of violence.
Hinting that it was open to aligning with the Third Front after the Lok Sabha polls, the BJD has said that it will not support either a Congress-led or a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre.
Talks on pre-poll alliance were being held between the ruling Biju Janata Dal and the opposition BJP for the past few days.
Odisha on Monday got its first fast-track court here to deal exclusively with cases of sexual offences against women.
Will Andhra Pradesh follow the Odisha model, voting differently in Lok Sabha and assembly elections? Or will Odisha follow Andhra Pradesh, voting in new faces in both?
January 22, 2024 has passed into history. Scenes from a day of religious fervour in many parts of India.
Unfazed by protests from various quarters, including a ruling BJD MP, the state government gave its nod to the Odisha Cricket Association to host the ICC women's World Cup matches involving players from Pakistan at Cuttack.
Senior leaders of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in India are calling for action against Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sasmit Patra for allegedly creating confusion among lawmakers regarding the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. The controversy arose after Patra, despite the party's announced opposition to the Bill, revealed he had voted in favor of it and stated that MPs could vote according to their conscience. The situation has led to accusations of a possible "deal" between the BJD and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Missionaries of Charity is a Catholic religious congregation established in 1950 by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa to help the poor and destitute,
"Very shortly we will come out with a concrete plan," Rao told reporters after meeting the Trinamool Congress president.
The ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha on Sunday announced that it would abstain from voting in the vice-presidential election scheduled to be held on August 7.
Though flood situation in Odisha's five northen districts triggered by Cyclone Phailin and resultant rains slightly improved on Wednesday, people of 647 villages continued to be marooned, while the death toll in the twin calamities stood at 28.
The central government on Wednesday got a helicopter to conduct surveillance in the riot-hit areas of Orissa as the Christian community expressed apprehension of violence during Christmas. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and asked him to take necessary steps for protecting the lives and property of the people.
In what analysts are terming as a political masterstroke, the ruling Biju Janata Dal President Naveen Patnaik Friday decided that his party will field candidates from Other Backward Castes (OBC) for 27 per cent of seats in the forthcoming three-tier panchayat elections in Odisha.
With the fate of kidnapped Jhina Hikaka still unknown after almost three weeks the Odisha government is exploring back-channel negotiations with the Maoist group, which has imposed tough conditions for the release of the ruling Biju Janata Dal tribal member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka.
