Modi has proven to be a past master in the art of political survival. This means that learning to navigate the choppy waters of coalition government will be an art he will not take long to master, argues Shyam Parekh.
On Wednesday, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal announced an across-the-board hike in fares of all classes from midnight of January 21 to net an additional Rs 6,600 crore (Rs 66 billion) a year.
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.
An accused in the paramedical student gangrape case, who had been identified during a test identification parade, was on Tuesday remanded in 12 days judicial custody by a Delhi court while another will undergo TIP on Wednesday.
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.
Union Minister and Congress leader K Chiranjeevi on Saturday disapproved of his actor-brother Pawan Kalyan, who has launched a new political party, meeting Bharatiya Janata Partu's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
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.
The new railway minister's biggest contribution would be to allow the technocrats in the Indian Railways to function freely.
Maintaining that he was innocent, beleaguered former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, who was forced to resign in the wake of arrest of his nephew on bribery charge, today said "nothing will come out from this case".
A day after he was forced to step down, former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Saturday night maintained that he had nothing to do with the bribery allegation for which his nephew was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Railway officials said important projects at crucial stages would now be stuck for a long time.
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.
Simranjeet Singh and Rajni Etimarpu will lead the men's and women's sides respectively as Hockey India on Sunday named the Indian teams for the upcoming FIH Hockey5s World Cup to be held in Muscat, Oman.
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.
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.
While 39 members of the all-important panel are general members, it has 32 permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state and 13 special invitees.
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 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.
When Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal presents his maiden Budget, he might not have to deal with growth worries alone.
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.
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.
Actor Sathish Ninasam talks about his new film Lucia.
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.
The monsoon session of Parliament is likely to begin on August 8 and continue till September 7, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said on Wednesday.
Five more devotees died en route the Amarnath shrine pushing the toll since the commencement of the annual yatra to 47 even as the number of pilgrims paying obeisance at the cave temple crossed the 3-lakh mark on Sunday.
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.
Additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana issued notice to Tihar Jail authorities on the pleas moved of Akshay Singh and Pawan Kumar Gupta, directing the officials to file their response by March 2.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday conducted raids on the premises of two independent members of Legislative Assembly and the relatives of several other legislators in connection with allegations of horse-trading that had led to countermanding of the March 30 Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand.
Cases related to sexual assault and other crimes against women continued to pour in twin states of Punjab and Haryana including those allegedly involving cops, even as police claimed to have become "over sensitive" to gender-related offences in the wake of Delhi gangrape episode.
The railways are in the process of forming a Rail Tariff Authority but Bansal said the fare rise would be independent of the formation.
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.
Unlike the taint associated with run-of-the-mill politicians, Pawan Kumar Bansal had a certain image of "Mr Clean" and was known for being meticulous in work.
Daily revelations about the wealth amassed by Bansal's family made it increasingly difficult for the Congress leadership to protect him, reports Anita Katyal
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.
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