With moves being made for government formation in Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party may be veering round to the possibility of taking a shot at power with the party chief Amit Shah virtually justifying such a course of action.
Amid reports of simmering tensions in some parts of the national capital ahead of Muharram on Tuesday, Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi assured that all security measures have been taken, especially in sensitive areas and warned that those found involved in spreading rumours will be dealt with strongly.
The Delhi government on Monday started a process of deregistering 15-year-old diesel vehicles in the city and also imposed a ban on use of fire crackers except for religious functions, following directions from Lt Governor Najeeb Jung to bring down air pollution.
The Delhi government has sought opinion over the issue of powers of the Lt Governor to appoint a chief secretary from eminent lawyers Rajeev Dhavan and Indira Jaising, who have supported its stand asserting that the LG has no independent discretion in the matter.
A day after the gang-rape of a Danish woman in New Delhi, the Delhi government on Thursday accused the Delhi police of being "highly compromised" and failing to ensure the safety of people of the national capital.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday met Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and submitted a CD of a sting operation which purportedly showed a senior Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party leader trying to poach an AAP member of legislative assembly.
The Union cabinet on Tuesday recommended dissolution of the Delhi assembly, paving the way for fresh polls ending eight months of political hibernation after the fall of the Aam Aadmi Party government in February.
The Aam Aadmi Party government on Monday appointed Chief Minister's Secretary Rajendra Kumar as principal secretary of the services department which was promptly rejected by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung.
The Apex court said, "It appears that the Lieutenant Governor (Najeeb Jung) has made positive moves in exploring the possibility of government formation in Delhi. There could be a minority government with an outside support of a political outfit. Let us wait for sometime".
Bringing relief to residents in localities swamped with garbage, the sanitation workers of East Delhi Municipal Corporation on Friday called off their strike on a day when Delhi Lt Governor cleared the release of Rs 493 crore for the civic bodies.
More than 50 inmates of Tihar Jail have gone on a hunger strike against a recent guideline by prison authorities which allows them to meet their relatives only once a week instead of the two times which was the norm before.
Sources informed rediff.com that the Army categorically conveyed to the Prime Minister's Office and the Union Home Ministry that it would be forced to withdraw the massive deployment of tanks and armoured vehicles from the Republic Day parade if the Aam Aadmi Party agitators were not removed from the protest site.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which emerged as the single largest party in Delhi assembly polls but fell short of a majority, on Thursday declined to form a government, strengthening the likelihood of fresh election in the national capital.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday asked Lt Governor Najeeb Jung not to dissolve the Delhi assembly anytime soon, saying it will hold public meetings across the city to know whether the party should form the government again.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet colleagues celebrated the second International Day of Yoga on Tuesday at different parts of the country.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
Clear indications emerged on Sunday that the new political outfit Aam Aadmi Party will form a government in Delhi with the backing of the Congress party which it trounced in the recent assembly elections.
In an alleged case of police brutality, two Dalit women were purportedly beaten up by a sub-inspector and his subordinates inside outer Delhi's Rohini south police station, following which four police personnel were on Saturday suspended.
Stating that all aspects of the 400-crore water tanker scam of the Delhi Jal Board are being analysed, the ACB on Monday said that it would question all accused very soon.
After refusing to take security cover, Arvind Kejriwal, who is set to become the Delhi chief minister, has refused to shift to a government bungalow in line with his resolve to end the VIP culture.
Asked by reporters what happens if Dikshit fails to turn up before the ACB despite the notice, Meena said, "We can't predict anything in this regard. We are taking action as per law."
"His role is suspicious in the case. Why had he written to NDMC seeking action against Khan? We demand that the LG be arrested and sacked from his position," AAP's Delhi Unit Convener Dileep Pandey said at a press conference.
This legislation, passed in 1967 on the recommendations of the National Integration Council to combat communalism, casteism, regionalism and linguistic chauvinism and to deal with associations engaged in secessionist activities, has changed colour over time and has now become a statute that has created new categories of offences and punishments, 108 ex-bureaucrats said in an open letter.
The committee has flagged decisions including the allotment of land to the Aam Aadmi Party for its party office, appointment of Minister Satyendra Jain's daughter as "mission director" of Delhi State Health Mission and a number of purported AAP functionaries as "advisors".
'We are aghast at what happened in Gujarat a few days ago, on the 75th anniversary of India's Independence'
It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah's decision to reject the possibility of government formation in Delhi as the party does not have the requisite numbers and their city unit chief Satish Upadhyay was asked to convey the same to the Lt Governor.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who sat on a two-day dharna outside Rail Bhavan, is unwell and undergoing tests at a hospital in Ghaziabad on Wednesday.
Commuters had a harrowing time as traffic came to a standstill in various parts of the city as sanitation workers blocked major thoroughfares such as NH 24 and Vikas Marg.
Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party president Satish Upadhyay on Sunday briefed senior party leader and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh about party MLAs' views on the current political situation in Delhi and is understood to have conveyed to him that cobbling together a government will not be a major challenge.
With Bharatiya Janata Party Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi set to connect with people through a discussion over a cup of tea, Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad on Wednesday expressed doubt over Modi being a tea seller and stressed it was he who used to sell tea in his childhood in Patna.
The Aam Aadmi Party government is unlikely to table the anti-graft Jan Lokpal Bill on the first day of the assembly session beginning on Thursday.
If the government of India is indeed interested in an amicable solution, instead of proposing half-hearted steps such as putting the laws on hold for 18 months, it can withdraw the legislations and think of other possible solutions, given the basic constitutional position that the subject of agriculture is in the State list in the Constitution, it said.
Sonia, Sumitra Mahajan share a laugh at the event
The Aam Aadmi Party, which has been pressing for fresh election in Delhi, has demanded that the Lt Governor call a meeting of all political parties and take a final decision till by Wednesday evening.
The PWD has issued a notice to AAP over its continued occupation of 206, Rouse Avenue as party office.
Students of the Kashmir University raised slogans supporting Kanhaiya Kumar during a signature campaign held to back the Jawaharlal Nehru University students.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to form government in Delhi through "horse trading", Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said Aam Aadmi Party will seek the President's intervention to ensure that the saffron party does not get an invitation "under any circumstances" from the Lt Governor.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal shrugged off responsibility saying that he and his ministers had no powers and one should ask the PM.
Notwithstanding Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's strong opposition, senior bureaucrat Dharam Pal remains Delhi's home secretary.
The DCW issued two summons to the AAP leader, but both have gone unanswered.
