The BJP is far more prepared than the Congress as their pool of prospective candidates is much bigger, reports Prakash Bhandari.
How did a leader, once as important as Buta Singh, suffer such a precipitous fall from grace? After being Home Minister and governor, Singh is looking at a Bihar government probe at some of the actions he had taken as the governor of Bihar and his family is caught up in a clutch of court cases -- most of a criminal nature.
The ruling Congress is seeking to retain power in Chhattisgarh by banking on the welfare schemes of the Bhupesh Baghel government, while the Bharatiya Janata Party is hoping to corner it on the issues of alleged corruption, religious conversions and unfulfilled poll promises.
In a separate incident, a tribal woman had lodged a complaint at Saikul police station, stating that her 21-year-old daughter and her 24-year-old friend were allegedly raped by a mob at their rented house near Konung Mamang before brutally murdering them on May 4.
It quashed a case pending against a person as it found that the alleged abuse was made in a basement of a building, where the victim and his co-workers alone were present.
Smriti Irani, actor-turned politician of the 'saas-bahu' TV serial fame, was on Tuesday appointed as head of Bharatiya Janata Party's Women's Wing while Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal's son and Member of Parliament Anurag Thakur will head the Youth Wing of the main opposition.
The Congress leader compared Assam's BJP leadership with 'Dritarashtra' and 'Shakuni', characters in the epic Mahabharata, without naming whom she meant.
Armed vigilante groups have been taking the law into their own hands in parts of Manipur, in the wake of ethnic rioting earlier, thus complicating the peace process. At times, militant groups have joined in the fray, creating an even more volatile cocktail of ethnic tension.
According to a preliminary probe, the accused used to "harass and humiliate" the members of the Vanmore family as they were unable to repay the loans they had taken, apparently forcing them to take the extreme step, he added.
A man who was part of the mob that paraded naked two tribal women in Kangpokpi district of Manipur and was seen dragging one of them was among four persons arrested on Thursday as the incident of May 4 drew widespread condemnation.
'This is going to generate a new debate on reservation because the quota for Economically Weaker Sections is 10%, and that is for nearly 16% of the population.' 'For 16% you are giving 10%. This is set to raise eyebrows among the OBCs after the caste survey.'
Terming it 'simply unacceptable', a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed the Centre and the state government to take immediate steps and apprise the apex court on what action has been taken.
Presenting the Railway Budget 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha on Friday, she announced the launching of special recruitment drive to wipe out backlog in filling up the vacancies of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
In most parts of the landlocked northeastern state, items such as rice, potato, onion and egg besides LPG cylinders and petrol are selling at rates much above the ones fixed by the government.
Business establishments remained closed on Tuesday morning and people were asked by security personnel to remain indoors through the public address system in New Chekon area of Imphal East district, where a mob torched two houses after four armed people, including a former MLA, forced people to shut their shops on Monday.
The notification for the national level entrance exam for admission to the IIMs and other tops B-schools in India is out.
Bimola Thounaojam, the mother of an 18-year-old youth, has been trying frantically trying to work out how to get her son admitted to a college outside Manipur without having to go through the usual net-based admission procedure.
The Centre on Tuesday admitted in the Rajya Sabha that diversion of funds meant for the welfare of Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes to Commonwealth Games projects by the Delhi government was 'wrong' and efforts would be made to bring them back to the SC/ST Fund. "In my view, using Rs 678.91 crore out of the Schedule Caste Sub Plan to contribute for CWG appears to be wrong," Home Minister P Chidambaram said.
A bench headed by Justice A K Sikri said the pending review petition filed by the Centre against the apex court's March 20, 2018 verdict and the pleas challenging the new amendments made in the SC/ST verdict will be taken up together.
The government on Tuesday asked the apex industry chambers to prepare their report card on affirmative action for Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes and weaker sections before August 15, so that it can be included in Prime Minister's Independence Day speech.
The premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are gearing up to complete the implemention of the scheduled caste (SC), scheduled tribe (ST) and other backward classes (OBC) quota requirement for faculty positions from next year.
According to the data released in Patna by Development Commissioner Vivek Singh, the state's total population stood at a little over 13.07 crore, out of which the EBCs (36 per cent) were the largest social segment followed by the OBCs at 27.13 per cent.
'We are not secessionists, we want to coexist with our countrymen but not on the terms that will strip us off our dignity and a right to peaceful existence.'
A delegation of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Members of Parliament, including some union ministers, on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to demand that an order providing reservation in government jobs be replaced by an Act to bring greater benefits to them. "Members of the SC/ST Parliamentary Forum met the prime minister today to demand that an Act is necessary to provide reservations to SC/ST, which is done through a government order," LJP chief Paswan said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday declared its first list of 58 candidates for the forthcoming Jharkhand assembly elections and said the remaining names would be finalised after details of seat-sharing with ally Janata Dal-United are completed.
Calling a Dalit by his caste with a view to insulting him or her is an offence under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act), the Supreme Court has ruled, upholding the conviction of two persons in Tamil Nadu.
State chief secretary Amir Subhani said work will begin as soon as the requisite notification was issued by the general administration department.
Over seven months of violence severely hit businesses, schools, colleges and other institutions, besides disrupting transportation and communication networks. It also affected the agrarian sector, considered the mainstay of the state economy.
According to a complaint lodged by the woman's husband, Shakoor Khan broke into their home on Thursday and raped his wife when she was alone.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sources said on Saturday that they would be questioning National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Chairman and former Union Home Minister Buta Singh in connection with the Rs 1 crore bribery case involving his second son Sarabjot Singh.Sources said that Sarabjot Singh had told the CBI after his arrest, that he had informed his father about 'settling'' the complaint against Nashik civic works contractor Ram Rao Patil.
Socially backward candidates like scheduled castes and scheduled tribes cannot be granted age relaxation in jobs if the statutory rules do not provide for such benefits, the Supreme Court has ruled.
'The BJP used Shinde and Shiv Sena to decimate Uddhav Thackeray, humiliate him by taking away his party as well as party symbol.' 'The Shiv Sena and Eknath Shinde have served their purpose.'
A Cabinet meeting presided by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit decided to waive Delhi Government's share of Rs 60,000 for each dwelling unit if an SC or ST family gets a flat built under Rajiv Ratan Awas Yojna.
Officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation have been handed over two FIRs -- one filed by police at the Lamphel station and the other filed by the boy's father -- Joshua Hangsing -- at the Kangpokpi police station.
The tribal vote in Madhya Pradesh is crucial in any election. The BJP's loss in the 2018 assembly election has prompted it to take remedial action.
Lok Janshakti Party supremo Ramvilas Paswan on Saturday urged the Centre to raise the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 814 and make provisions for a separate quota for women from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, other weaker sections of society and minorities."I have serious apprehensions over the passage of the Bill in its present form. We have suggested increasing the number of seats from existing 543 to 814," said Paswan.
Altogether 45 students were injured in Manipur's Imphal Valley on Tuesday as the police fired tear gas shells and baton-charged a mob protesting against the killing of two youths who were allegedly kidnapped in July, officials said.
Polling in 70 constituencies began at 8 am and will conclude at 5 pm, except in nine polling booths in the Maoist-affected Bindranawagarh seat in Gariaband district, where voting began at 7 for security reasons, a poll official said.
The veteran politician, who has been chief minister of the erstwhile state three times as well as union minister, also said the time has come for the opposition parties to come together and fight the forces who are bent on destroying the secular fabric of the country.
'Upper castes who complain against reservations are fighting only for their own castes.'
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