Security experts are blaming Home Minister P Chidambaram for his handling of the important NCTC legislation. They now believe that the legislation, which has come under scathing attack from various states, would eventually lack any sting. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Ahead of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's meeting with chief ministers of four Naxal-affected states next week, top bureaucrats of these states on Friday held a strategy session here on the roadmap for dealing with the menace.
Former Telecom Minister A Raja on Monday told a Delhi court that former finance minister and now Home Minister P Chidambaram, should be summoned and examined as a witness in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj, who is gunning for the removal of Reddy brothers from the state ministry on the issue of illegal mining, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram and is understood to have discussed the issue.
Coming out in strong defence of Home Minister P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal on Saturday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance of attempting to "foist" culpability on him in the 2G scam saying it was a desperate attempt to make Parliamentary democracy dysfunctional.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Wednesday that there has been no spurt in infiltration from across the border into Jammu and Kashmir. "There has been no spurt in infiltration though there have been good attempts at it," he said in reply to a question.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram urged the captains of Indian Confederation of Industries to invest in naxal-affected areas too for the upliftment of the country.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said recommendations of two panels on replacing the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, in force in some northeastern states, with a more humane law would soon be placed before the Cabinet.
Inaugurating a conference of the chiefs of police forces of the country on Wednesday, Chidambaram also expressed concern over the situation in the Kashmir valley and hoped that in the next few days, a "starting point" would be found to reach out to the protestors and restart the process of a dialogue
India is expected to seek voice samples of Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed and other handlers of 26/11 attackers during the visit of Home Minister P Chidambaram to Islamabad later this month.
On a visit to Maoist-affected states of Chattisgarh and Jharkand, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said there is no move to involve the army in the fight against Naxals who pose the "gravest challenge."
The latest statement by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram that the Centre would constitute a committee next week to examine the demand for Telangana state has left the all-party Joint Action Committee divided, with only Congress leaders from the region welcoming it.
Assuring all assistance to the cyclone affected, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said a Central team would visit Puducherry and Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore district soon to make an on-the-spot assessment of the damage caused by the calamity that left 47 dead.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday backed Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah saying Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani had attacked the CM without getting the "real context" of the remarks made by him on the issue of the state's accession to India.
The court directed Tihar authorities to provide Chidambaram with medicines, western toilet, security and separate cell.
The Congress leader was first arrested by the CBI on August 21.
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram is Congress nominee from Maharashtra for the biennial elections to Rajya Sabha while senior leaders Kapil Sibal and Jairam Ramesh have been named from Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka respectively.
Differences within the Congress on the use of the phrase 'saffron terror' on Wednesday resurfaced with party leader Digvijay Singh saying that he had objections to the usage of the words. "I have objection to the use of caste, colour and religion to describe terror," the senior Congress leader told reporters shortly after Home Minister P Chidambaram maintained that the phrase had brought home the message of right-wing terror and the purpose had been served.
Chidambaram also made it clear there would be no compromise on the security of the nation in the operations of Research In Motion -- makers of Blackberry -- and other service providers like Google and Skype.
According to an intelligence input, some cadres of the LTTE, who escaped the wrath of the Sri Lankan Army during the all-out operations in the island nation earlier this year, were trying to regroup in India and planning attacks on top political leaders, particularly when they travel in Tamil Nadu.
India on Friday asked Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice all those behind the Mumbai terror attacks, including Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and handlers of terrorists, including some Pakistani army personnel. Home Minister P Chidambaram said he will 'politely' tell Pakistan that the time has come to address issues concerning the deadly Mumbai terror attacks with the seriousness that they warrant.
"The fact is that after 106 days of pre-trial incarceration there is not a single charge framed against me as I speak now," said Chidambaram, who is expected to attend the Rajya Sabha proceedings on Thursday.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram during his four-day visit to United States to boost \n\nsecurity co-operation, met with Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chairwoman of the US Senate's \nSelect Committee on Intelligence, in Washington on Wednesday.
Charging Home Minister P Chidambaram with adopting a 'partisan approach', the Communist Party of India - Marxist on Monday said the purpose of his letter to the West Bengal government on the alleged role of armed CPI-M cadres was meant to 'serve the political interests of Trinamool Congress'. The party also sought an explanation from him, saying the media was briefed about his letter to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee even before it reached the state government.
Reacting to reports that Home Minister P Chidambaram may be appointed as head of the Empowered Group of Ministers on telecom, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said, this is a "cruel joke" on the nation and goes against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's claim of maintaining a high level of integrity.
A petition challenging the election of Home Minister P Chidambaram to the Lok Sabha from Sivaganga constituency in Tamil Nadu was filed in the Madras High Court today by his AIADMK rival Raja Kannappan.
Some of them also flagged a lack of consultation before finalising the reports.
Home Minister P Chidambaram appealed to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on Friday to call off its fast-unto-death agitation and create a conducive atmosphere for the December 21 tripartite talks.
The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on the plea for a probe into the alleged role of Home Minister P Chidambaram in the 2G scam after a spirited defence of him from government and the Central Bureau of Investigation, both of which maintained that no case has been made out against him.
India's capacity to deal with terror is better today than what it was two years ago. And I can say with confidence our capacity to deal with terror next year would be even better from what it is today, says home minister
He arrived at the CBI headquarters early in the morning to face the investigation team. The questioning is likely to continue throughout the day with a lunch break, they said.
The text of the Home Minister P Chidambaram's opening remarks at the meeting where he released the Justice BN Srikrishna report on the Telangana issue
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has slammed Home Minister P Chidambaram's strong-arm tactics to counter the Maoists, saying development is the key to resolving the problem, which should not be treated as a law and order issue.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday parried questions on the truce between him and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the controversial 2G note and whether he had offered to quit during the crisis.
Barely 15 hours after a low intensity blast rocked Varanasi and killed a two-year-old child, Home Minister P Chidambaram, who visited the pilgrimage city on Wednesday, claimed that he had warned the Uttar Pradesh government about a terror threat to Dasshwamedh ghat."We had sent a letter to the UP government way back in February to share intelligence reports hinting at the possibility of terrorist outfits targeting this particular ghat of Varanasi," Chidambaram said.
Federal Bureau of Investigation chief Robert Mueller will arrive in New Delhi on Tuesday and hold a series of meetings with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and other top functionaries of the government.Mueller's visit comes after India and United States shared details of intelligence and investigations in the terror strikes on Mumbai in November last year -- a joint effort which forced Pakistan to admit that a part of the conspiracy was hatched on its soil.
Chidambaram said dimensions of security problem increased manifold in the online space and 'we have to build lawful interception capabilities'.
In a complaint to the Election Commission, the Communist Party of India Marxist on Wednesday alleged that Home Minister P Chidambaram and his ministry were trying to "portray" the Left Front as an "aggressor" in West Bengal, thereby violating the model code of conduct in place in the state.The party petitioned to the commission that statements being made by Chidambaram during the course of his campaign for the ongoing assembly elections.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu charged that the Central Bureau of Investigation was misused by the then United Progressive Alliance government to harass its political opponent and 'defame' the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.
As part of efforts to drum up international pressure for nailing Islamabad's lies, Home Minister P Chidambaram will travel to the US next week armed with evidence about involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in the Mumbai attacks.