Manipur has been experiencing unrest on account of the people's unhappiness with the alleged misuse of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. They are demanding that it be repealed.
Normal life was badly affected in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions as a bandh against the Union cabinet's approval of a bill for division of Andhra Pradesh began on Friday.
The move was opposed by exporters and rice growers as it led to depressing of prices in the domestic market and deprived the growers the benefit of lucrative exports. This prompted Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath to review the situation early this week.
A proposal, which will empower the Juvenile Justice Board to decide whether a juvenile above 16 years involved in heinous crimes such as rape is to be sent to a observation home or tried in a regular court, is learnt have been cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
During the meeting, Home Minister P Chidambaram would bring in the Action Taken Report for approval before it is laid on the table of the House along with the Liberhan commission report. Pranab Mukherjee will chair the Cabinet meet in Dr Singh's absence.
Signalling both change and continuity, India's new government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third consecutive term, got into work gear on Tuesday with cabinet ministers and ministers of state filing into their respective offices to assume charge.
Ajit Kumar Seth, an IAS officer of the 1974 batch from the Uttar Pradesh cadre has been appointed the new Union cabinet secretary. The announcement was made hurriedly to avoid an embarrassment to the government after speculation that the incumbent KM Chandrasekhar, who retires next month, would get a fourth extension
While the BJP has assured voters that these benefits will not be discontinued, AAP leaders have questioned the party's long-term commitment.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said he will extend all possible cooperation to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and will work as a team. Addressing a news conference, Shinde described his tenure as chief minister as very successful and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their support. He also said the Mahayuti government secured a majority in the recent elections. Shinde said that when he was the chief minister, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar extended cooperation to him and they worked as a team. He added that he will now be "dedicated to the common man" 24 x 7. In the first cabinet meeting after the swearing-in ceremony, officials were instructed to disburse the next instalment of the Ladki Bahin scheme to beneficiaries. Shinde also rubbished all talk of him being upset over not being made chief minister. He pointed out that 39 Shiv Sena MLAs were with him when he led a revolt in 2022, and today, the party has 57 MLAs, which he asserted was a seal of approval from the people. Shinde was given a rousing welcome at Anand Ashram, the headquarters of the Shiv Sena in Thane, following the swearing-in ceremony. Several hundred party workers thronged the area carrying placards and shouting slogans in his praise.
The BJP has accused the Congress of politicising the death of former prime minister Manmohan Singh and levelling "baseless allegations" of disrespect and mismanagement at his State funeral. The Congress has countered by alleging that the government's arrangements for the funeral were a "shocking display" of disrespect. The row comes as the Congress alleges that the Centre did not allow news agencies except for DD (Doordarshan) to cover the funeral, did not provide enough space for Singh's family around the pyre, and did not stand up for the national flag during the gun salute. The BJP has refuted all of these charges.
While Joon was a Congress rebel, Kadyan fought as an Independent after the BJP denied him ticket.
Currently, CM Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis are the only members of the cabinet.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties, led by the Congress, staged a walkout from both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, in protest against all states except two being 'ignored' in the budget, an allegation termed 'outrageous' by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanm, who said all the states never found a mention in any of the previous budgets, including those presented by the Congress.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for Bengaluru, Bommai said he held a meeting with Nadda on Wednesday on the matter.
A bill seeking to prevent sexual abuse of children with provisions for stringent punishment for such offences was approved by the Union Cabinet.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday hiked Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) by 3 per cent to 34 per cent to compensate for the price rise, benefitting over 1.16 crore central government employees and pensioners. The additional instalment will be effective from January 1, 2022, said an official release after the Cabinet meeting. "The Union Cabinet...has given its approval to release an additional instalment of DA to central government employees and DR to pensioners w.e.f. January 1, 2022, representing an increase of 3 per cent over the existing rate of 31 per cent of the Basic Pay/Pension, to compensate for price rise," an official statement said.
