Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's announcement of fare hike with effect from January 21 midnight has been received with a sense of 'fait accompli' by suburban commuters' organisations in Mumbai.
In the absence of sanction for prosecution against a railway board member, Central Bureau of Investigation's chargesheet in the railway bribery scam, which cost Congress MP Pawan Kumar Bansal his job as railway minister, may not be filed within stipulated time till July 3.
In an extraordinary step, the Lok Sabha on Tuesday suspended eight Congress members from Telangana region for four days for repeatedly causing disruptions over separate statehood issue.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday held consultations with his senior Cabinet colleagues on a number of issues including the Anna Hazare episode and the impeachment proceedings against Justice Soumitra Sen.
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi meeting their party's stalwart of many decades -- President Pranab Mukherjee -- is not unusual, but the timing of their visits is, notes Sheela Bhatt
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday held consultations with Congress leaders from Karnataka on sharing of Cauvery waters with Tamil Nadu during which they told him about the "grim" situation in Karnataka.
Parliamentary Affair Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said he wanted the BJP not to disrupt the proceedings today so that the bill can be taken up. "We have already lost three weeks due to disruptions. I would request them to let Parliament function for last two days so that important issues could be taken up," he said
On instructions from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior Union ministers were asked to brief Congress MPs on the allocation of coal blocks and the CAG report.
The government on Friday reached out to the Opposition to end the impasse in Parliament over the coal block allocation issue but the Bharatiya Janata Party remained firm on its stand that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should resign for his alleged complicity in the case.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said that parties, who had supported the Bharatiya Janata Party in disrupting the proceedings, would now prevail upon it in the next week to go for a discussion.
Rejecting as "preposterous" the opposition demand for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over alleged scam in coal block allocation, the government on Tuesday said that it was ready for a discussion on the issue in Parliament.
The much-talked about Judicial Accountability Bill that will provide for accountability of judges and establish a credible mechanism for investigating individual complaints of misbehaviour will be taken up by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Referring to the recent hike in reservation and cancellation charges, the Railway Minister said it was necessary to deter the touts as they were selling tickets of Rs 500 at Rs 1500.
Expressing concern over the 'poor financial situation' in the railways, opposition parties on Thursday asked the government to come out with steps to be taken to improve the condition of the public sector unit behemoth.
The United Progressive Alliance government on Tuesday extended the Winter session Parliament to pass four crucial anti-corruption bills -- the Lokpal Bill, the Citizens' Charter Bill, the Judicial Accountability Bill and the Whistleblowers' Bill.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday discussed with his senior Cabinet colleagues the Mullaperiyar dam issue over which Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been at loggerheads.
Union Minister for Water Resources Pawan Kumar Bansal claimed on Thursday that the Bhakra dam's water level is safe and there is nothing to worry. The minister was reacting to the allegations of some experts that the situation of Bhakra dam is precarious and that it could have been avoided.
A local court today sent six youths arrested on the charge of gang-rape of an 18-year-old girl to two-day police custody.
The collegium, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sanjiv Khanna, met on Thursday and its decision was uploaded on the apex court website.
Parliament was shut down for the 11th day running on Thursday without transacting any substantive business, costing the taxpayer a staggering sum of Rs 85.80 crore as expenditure on each day of the session is calculated at Rs 7.8 crore.
Accusing the Opposition of not allowing the government to put forth its views in Parliament on Anna Hazare's detention, two senior ministers on Tuesday said such an attitude was "not fair" in a parliamentary system. Leader of the Lok Sabha and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the Opposition created a pandemonium in Parliament forcing its adjournment.
The political storm in the United Progressive Alliance government over Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi issue on Thursday gave an opportunity to the Bharatiya Janata Party to charge that the government is short of number and is shying away from facing the amendments to the President's address in Parliament.
While Baba Ramdev walks the red carpet laid out by the government, we ask you our readers for your views on the issue.
The passengers will be able to register by providing the PNR and other details such as mobile phone number.
"Do you think the answer to break the deadlock is to demand the resignation (of the Prime Minister)? They are not moving forward. Today we had invited them for talks. But they are probably not willing to talk. Perhaps they will be ready to talk on Monday," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal told reporters outside Parliament House.
Pressing for tabling of the Lokpal Bill on Wednesday itself in the Rajya Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left sought to corner the government which was not ready for immediate discussion on it.
Uncertainty prevails over the much-talked about Lokpal Bill being brought up for consideration in the monsoon session of the Parliament beginning on August 8.
Acknowledging that consensus eluded the all-party meeting on Lokpal issue, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Thursday said the government was confident that it would be able to table the proposed bill in the winter session itself.
P Chidamabaram's February 28 Budget will not have any big-ticket ideas, reports Sheela Bhatt
Analysts on Monday gave a mixed reaction to the railway budget, with some terming it as a "non-event" saying there were no radical measures to bridge the revenue deficit in the document, and a few calling it "pragmatic" given the limitations.
Union Minister for Railway Pawan Kumar Bansal presented the Railway Budget for 2013-14 on Tuesday.
As experts have to say, this year's Railway Budget will by no means a populist one.
Nomination forms for the post of Congress president poll have been collected by Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and All India Congress Committee (AICC) treasurer Pawan Bansal, but Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has not done so yet, the party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry said on Tuesday.
Past recipients of the award include Mother Teresa, cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, actors Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor and Rajesh Khanna, among others.
Poet, artist and award-winning diplomat Abhay K will release his second book of poems Remains Thursday, June 28.
Effective from midnight of January 21, the hike will help railways earn an additional Rs 6,600 crore a year. Railway Minister P K Bansal said it was imperative.
In a written reply to the House, Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the recommendations are presently under examination by the ministry.
Worried over Baba Ramdev's indefinite fast from Saturday, the government on Wednesday took an extraordinary step to woo him by deputing Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and three other senior ministers to the airport for talks but he appeared not to relent on his plans.
The much-hyped Lokpal Bill could be tabled in Rajya Sabha in the ongoing monsoon session if a parliamentary panel looking into the legislation gives its report before the end of the session, the government said on Thursday.
The discussions are mostly one-on-one, party insiders said on Thursday, a day of many meetings.
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