A landslide on the Kedarnath route in Uttarakhand killed two pilgrims and injured six, while heavy rain led to the temporary suspension of the Char Dham and Hemkund Sahib pilgrimages.
Shivakumar also said that the central observers have spoken to Sukhu, party MLAs and state unit chief Pratibha Singh and all differences have been ironed out.
With the Congress emerging victorious in Himachal Pradesh, state party president Pratibha Singh is considered a key frontrunner for the chief minister's post, closely followed by former party chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and outgoing Congress Legislature Party leader Mukesh Agnihotri.
With the party bagging its first victory in the hill state without the charismatic presence of Virbhadra Singh, Sukhu's elevation makes it clear that the party is ready to move on.
In a jolt to the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh, state party chief and Mandi MP Pratibha Singh on Wednesday announced that she has decided not to contest the Lok Sabha elections as the ground situation was "not favourable" and workers were disheartened.
The Congress on Sunday retained the Mandi Lok Sabha seat when its candidate Pratibha Singh, wife of Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, trounced her BJP rival Jai Ram Thakur by a huge margin of over 1.36 lakh votes.
The announcement from the Congress lawmaker brought fore cracks in the party, which on Tuesday lost the sole Rajya Sabha seat to the Bharatiya Janata Party and is apparently scrambling to keep its members together to prevent the fall of its government.
A Rashtrapati Bhavan announcement said the appointments would take effect from the date they assume charge.
The party is slated to organise yoga events in 403 madrasas of UP on International Yoga Day (June 21).
Here's the full list of 49 MPs suspended from Lok Sabha:
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said the views of the newly-elected MLAs in Himachal Pradesh were being sought to bring out a consensus on who will be their leader.
Speaking to ANI, Pratibha Singh said, "After all the big responsibilities were given to me by Sonia Gandhi ji, she told me that she has elected me as the party's state president where I would have to visit in all 68 constituencies and also to make sure that the party wins in the state. I did that work with utmost sincerity and the result is in before all of us today."
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday approved 139 Padma awards including seven Padma Vibhushans, 19 Padma Bhushans and 113 Padma Shris.
The political crisis arose in Himachal Pradesh during the recently held polling for the Rajya Sabha elections as nine MLAs, including six Congress rebels and three independents, voted in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan.
Check out the winners at the Zee Cine Awards.
Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly, was administered the oath as the deputy chief minister.
Amid the political crisis in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Sukhu on Thursday left for Delhi to 'meet' the Congress high command.
'Something very drastic must have happened.'
Congress sources said internal surveys indicate that the party is likely to get a majority in Himachal polls leading to increasing the number of contenders for the chief minister's post.
On the eve of the Haryana assembly poll results, the issue of chief minister-ship has taken centre stage in the Congress with all eyes on its high command's next move as the party expects to regain power after 10 years in the state.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi also appointed Harsh Mahajan, Rajender Rana, Pawan Kajal and Vinay Kumar as the new working presidents of the Himachal Pradesh PCC.
Naib Subedar Chunni Lal is the only soldier awarded the Ashok Chakra, Vir Chakra and Sena Medal.
Special Judge B L Soni, who had reserved framing charges on conclusion of arguments on June 6 last said that sufficient evidence existed for framing of charges against Singh and his wife in the "infamous" CD case in which they were allegedly having a conversation with IAS officer Mohinder Lal and some industrialists regarding monetary transactions
From the morning itself, Congress MLAs made a beeline to Cecil Hotel in Shimla where the party's central observers -- Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda -- were staying.
Later, Pratibha Singh said she and her son Vikramaditya Singh have received a joint invitation and she is yet to take a call on attending the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya on January 22.
The high point of the 19 Shastri months was the 22-day war that he fought against great odds and won in principle, even if military historians often call it a stalemate. Pakistan saw a great opportunity to conquer Kashmir and lost. It was the last time they had the relative strength militarily and diplomatically to take Kashmir. Shastri's resolve buried that dream forever, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'We should support cinema that's rooted in our culture and not ape the West.'
Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat met United Progressive Alliance-Left presidential candidate Pratibha Patil on Saturday.
Accompanied by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, 72-year-old Pratibha filed the documents before the returning officer and Lok Sabha Secretary General P D T Achary at the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
The BJP in Himachal has its own problems. But it is not a party that sits around twiddling its thumbs.
The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Thursday restrained the Central Bureau of Investigation from arresting Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh in connection with the disproportionate assets case but allowed the enquiry in the matter to proceed.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday hailed the party's performance in the Karnataka assembly polls as the victory of politics that unites the country.
On the 94th anniversary of the revolutionary giant's martyrdom, Utkarsh Mishra revisits the events of February 27, 1931.
Officials said the agency has issued fresh summons to Singh as it wants to record his statement under the PMLA.
As she prepares to take charge, join as in congratulating India's first female President.
Bangladesh's prime minister met Advaniji and Soniaji on her short visit to New Delhi.
Thackeray also attacked BJP, accusing it of "bargaining" for Shekhawat by making him contest as an independent and for "mud-slinging" on Pratibha over the cooperative bank issue.
President-elect Pratibha Patil on Saturday described her win as the "victory of the principles," which the people of the country uphold.
Pratibha bagged votes with a value of 3,25,180 while her rival 'independent' candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat got votes worth 1,67,050.
