The juvenile accused in gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus in December is "old enough to undergo punishment", as he was old enough to commit the crime, Union minister Jayanthi Natarajan said on Friday.
Union Environment Minister and senior Congress leader Jayanthi Natarajan on Friday met Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi at his residence in Chennai, a day after he said his party would consult others on fielding a candidate in the Rajya Sabha biennial polls.
After six years of probe, the Central Bureau of Investigation filed the closure report before a special court last week as it could not find enough evidence in the case to proceed with prosecution, the officials said.
Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan was named a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee into the 2G spectrum scam after her colleague Abhishek Singhvi recused himself taking the plea that he had appeared for cellular operators in the court as a senior advocate.
Jayanthi Natarajan, the only prominent woman leader from Tamil Nadu in the Congress and a known loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family, makes a comeback to the Union Council of Ministers after a gap of nearly 13 years. Natarajan, 57, has an arduous task ahead since she steps into the shoes of high profile and activist minister Jairam Ramesh, who had given considerable teeth to the environment ministry.
The case pertains to clearance given for diversion of forest land in Saranda Forest, Singhbhum District in Jharkhand to mining company Electrosteel in alleged violation of Forest (Conservation Act) in 2012.
The former minister has alleged a motivated campaign against her in the party.
Attacked Modi only on party orders says Jayanthi Natrajan.
Eleven things we learnt about Rahul Gandhi's style of functioning from former Union minister Jayanthi Natarajan's November 214 letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Natarajan said she had an unpopular job but she never did anything wrong
The Congress on Monday termed Narendra Modi's "Jayanthi tax" barb against former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan as "in very bad taste", saying the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate "only knows to abuse".
In a shake up ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan resigned on Saturday from the Union Council of Ministers and more may be in line for being drafted into party work.
While its widely being publicised that Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan resigned from the council of ministers to work for the Congress party ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha polls, political observers point out that 'growing unhappiness' over her performance during her ministership could have possibly led to the move. Renu Mittal reports.
I have fought for the poor and the adivasis, says the Congress VP.
Opposing a FICCI-sponsored Sri Lanka visit of a team of Parliamentarians starting Monday, Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan said it would deeply hurt the cause of Lankan Tamils and asked the industry body to cancel it in expression of solidarity with them.
Stung by Jayanthi Natarajan's attack on Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders on Friday rallied behind him and slammed their outgoing "opportunist" colleague, saying she had been removed as environment minister because of 'Jayanthi tax' barb by Bharatiya Janata Party in the run up to Lok Sabha polls.
Clearance of specific files during Jayanthi Natarajan's term to be under scanner.
Jayanthi Natarajan on Sunday dismissed reports that she was removed as Environment Minister because she held up clearances to projects and insisted that she resigned on her own.
Do not blame Rahul Gandhi for the Congress's reverses in the assembly polls, Union minister Jayanthi Natarajan suggested on Sunday, maintaining that it was a "collective failure" and the party will introspect
The Chennai high court on Friday issued a notice to Congress party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan, acting on an affidavit seeking direction to probe a Rs 300 crore scam involving her. Natarajan is a Congress Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu.The affidavit alleges that Natarajan facilitated a sizeable bank loan from Vijaya Bank by misusing her links with the Union government.Natarajan is also under legal scrutiny for allegedly owning 6,88,300 square feet land.
Minister of State for Environment Jayanthi Natarajan said that countries should "define their sustainable development strategies as per their national priorities and respective stages of development".
Union Minister for Environment and Forest Jayanthi Natarajan has announced that the central government would provide an un-manned remote-controlled aircraft and an electronic surveillance system for protecting the rhino and other wildlife in Kaziranga National Park in Assam that recently witnessed a spurt in killing of flood-hit rhinos by poachers on the prowl.
Jayanthi Natarajan's tough stand ensures recognition abroad, but red-tapism & bureaucracy continue to delay approvals in India.
Indian Non-Governmental Organisations are very dissatisfied with the weak response of Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan to the Rio+20 declaration issued on the eve of the summit, reports Darryl D'Monte.
Top quotes from Jayanthi Natarajan's press conference
As the deadline for withdrawal of nominations for the Rajya Sabha biennial polls ended on Wednesday evening, legislative secretaries of the respective states announced its elected members. There were no surprises, with most seats assigned to the nominees unopposed.
The immediate trigger is the environment ministry's latest policy of asking corporates to mandatorily commit five per cent of project investments in environment protection measures.
The survey was conducted in 88 major industrial clusters in the country.
The Congress on Wednesday said the Telangana issue was a very delicate matter and that each step has to be taken after due consultations. "It is a very delicate matter in which each step has to be taken after consultations," party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters while replying to a volley of questions on the stand of the party and the way forward on the issue.On whether the issue had been badly handled by the party, she said, "No".
After GMR Infrastructure pulled out of the Ahmedabad-Kishangarh highway project, there were reports that delays in getting green clearance was one of the reasons behind the infrastructure firm's decision.
The government on Friday said it was open to imposing additional conditions on the Kudankulam nuclear power project, if directed by courts, to protect the marine ecosystem of the region.
New members of the Union Council of Ministers, including Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo, were introduced to both Houses of Parliament by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday. Dr Singh also introduced Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, who were recently inducted as Cabinet ministers, to members of both Houses.
With only months to go for the general elections, the new environment minister has gone into overdrive to clear projects.
The environment ministry has rejected the Navy's proposal to set up a missile testing site at Tillanchong Sanctuary in Andaman and Nicobar islands, saying the firing range would destroy the habitat of endangered bird species Nicobar Megapode.
Four rhinoceros have been brutally killed by poachers in flood-hit Kaziranga National Park (KNP) since Tuesday, including one on Thursday, prompting an alarmed Assam government to ask for a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into it and post army in the fringe areas.
The Congress refused to comment on the special court's verdict on Godhra train burning case but sharpened its attack against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi holding him resposible for post-Godhra communal riots in the state which claimed over 1,200 lives.
The Environment Ministry was hit by controversies in the year gone by which saw clearances for two big ticket projects -- POSCO and Lavasa -- and exit of Jairam Ramesh as the green minister.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Cabinet of ministers on Saturday declared their assets.
Rahul Gandhi and Congress have to decide when he should take over as Prime Minister, the party said Monday.
Notwithstanding efforts by the government to conserve tigers, as many as 32 big cats have died in the country in the last over four months, even as the latest official data showed an increasing trend in the national animals population estimates.
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