Senior Congress leader from Andhra Pradesh G Venkataswamy, who caused a flutter demanding the resignation of Sonia Gandhi as party chief, could be shown the door. Indications to this effect were available with Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, who is in charge of party affairs in Andhra Pradesh, saying that his "viciousness" in attacking Gandhi and his "arrogance" certainly warranted action.
A reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers is scheduled for Tuesday evening at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The swearing-in has been fixed for 5 pm. Trinamool Congress' Dinesh Trivedi is likely to get the railways portfolio. The portfolios of a number of ministers are likely to be changed, including civil aviation, currently with Vayalar Ravi, and law, which is with Veerappa Moily. Minister Beni Prasad Verma from Uttar Pradesh is likely to be promoted to the Cabinet rank.
Moily said there would be no change in the bill compared to that passed in the Rajya Sabha and exuded confidence that it would get through the Lok Sabha also in April.
The government is not engaged in any 'back door' dialogue with yoga guru Ramdev, who went on an indefinite fast on the issue of repatriation of black money, Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily said. "There is no back door and open door talks with any one. Whether it is Ramdev or anyone," he told reporters. Moily evaded reply when asked whether the government has sought the help of Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar for negotiations with the yoga guru.
The government has said that Ajmal Amir Kasab, who has been sentenced to death in the Mumbai terror attacks case, may be hanged in a year.
The three-member panel of Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad met in New Delhi on Tuesday evening and "critically analysed" the pros and cons of the Delhi High Court judgement legalising gay sex.
The first meeting of the Group of Ministers on inclusion of caste categories in the census is likely to be held on July 1.
Reacting to Kerala government's plans to file a case against the MP for his anti-judiciary statement, Moily said: "You cannot pass remarks that will bring the institution to disrepute".
Chief Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas resigned from his post on Thursday following the Supreme Court verdict which quashed the appointment of the former bureaucrat.
The government on Monday ruled out imposition of President's rule in Andhra Pradesh, saying it was 'absolutely foolish' to even think about it.
The United Progressive Alliance government on Wednesday said a solution to the contentious Telengana issue is 'under discussion' but refused to set a timeframe for it.Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily said the issue is under discussion but the government has not yet arrived at a decision to the issue, which hogged the limelight following violent protests by the Telanagana Rashtriya Samiti and an indefinite hunger strike by its chief K Chandrasekhar Rao.
There are indications that the Centre will order a reinvestigation of the case against former Haryana director general of police S P S Rathore, convicted of molesting a teenaged girl who later killed herself, in the face of public outcry that he got away with a light punishment and that should be charged with abetment to suicide.
The Centre on Saturday sought to downplay the growing momentum for carving out of small states in some regions after the decision on Telangana and said cooperation of (undivided) states and political parties is needed in addressing such demands.
Former Chief Justice of India A M Ahmadi, whose dilution of charges in the Bhopal gas case has created a storm, on Saturday said he would not like to enter into the blame game over the issue of accused getting light punishment.
There is no question of banning the Bajrang Dal if it plays by the rulebook and behaves itself, senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said on Friday, as his party's manifesto proposing to outlaw the outfit continues to come under fire from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Thirty-five of the 77 Union ministers have failed to file annual details of their assets and liabilities before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh even over a month after the passage of the deadline.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had a brief meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on salient features of the Budget.
Friends, family members and Union ministers on Friday hailed the Supreme Court order granting bail to activist Binayak Sen, who was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of sedition by a Chhatisgarh trial court.Union ministers P Chidambaram and Salman Khurshid expressed happiness over the court's decision to release Sen, who was convicted and sentenced for helping Naxals set up a network against the State. Law Minister M Veerappa Moily termed it as an "eye opener".
Controversial Jairam Ramesh was on Tuesday elevated to Cabinet status and shifted from the high-profile Environment Ministry and Veerappa Moily replaced by Salman Khursheed as Law Minister in a substantive reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers, in which several ministers continued to hold additional charge of some key portfolios.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have hailed M Veerappa Moily's announcement after taking over as the Union law and justice minister that the next five years will be an era of judicial reforms. The party's legal hands, including former ministers, said that the BJP was willing to go the extra mile to cooperate with the government in ushering in the much-delayed judicial reforms.
Government will assist the Supreme Court in arriving at a "right decision" on the issue of decriminalising homosexuality and no decision should be expected from the Union Cabinet on the matter, Law Minister M Veerappa Moily said on Sunday.
Union minister for law and justice M Veerappa Moily said India was committed to opening its legal sector to foreign law companies as agreed under the World Trade Organization negotiations, but would tread cautiously on this decision. At the same time, the country would not do anything that undermined the autonomy of the Bar Council of India, he added.
The United Progressive Alliance government will move the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha in the coming session, Union Minister for Law and Justice M Veerappa Moily said on Monday. The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and other parties have assured their "unconditional" support to the bill, which has prompted the government to introduce it for consideration and passing in Lok Sabha, Moily told media-persons in Karnataka.
A day after the Congress brainstormed over its electoral reverses, senior leader M Veerappa Moily on Monday said Sonia Gandhi should take "full control" of the party with a free hand to change non-performing leaders, and asserted that a "mere culture of tweets and social media propaganda" would not take the organisation forward.
A homemaker in every family would get a monthly assistance of Rs 1,000, the manifesto said.
In a message for the Congress, poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Friday said those looking for a quick revival of the grand old party-led opposition following the Lakhimpur Kheri incident are in for a big disappointment as there are no quick fix solutions to the "deep-rooted problems" of the party.
Terming Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ordering FIR against it as shocking, Reliance Industries said the complaints that were used to base the action are baseless and devoid of merit or substance.
It said the Congress will infuse new blood in leadership roles without creating new fault lines and cementing its ideological moorings.
Union government limits powers of Anti Corruption Bureau to corruption cases involving Delhi state govt officials
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh puts it succinctly: "Arun Jaitley was every non-BJP person's favourite BJP-ite."
The opposition on Tuesday termed as an 'election jumla' the women's reservation bill brought by the government with many leaders raising questions over the proposed legislation, contending it doesn't account for reservation for OBC communities and that it will be effective at the earliest by the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.
Criticising various provisions in the proposed GST regime, Moily said it will be a "technological nightmare" and the anti-profiteering provisions in it are "far too draconian."
The Congress released its second list of 71 candidates on Tuesday night. It is an interesting list, considering the names which have been taken on and the ones which were dropped. Renu Mittal reports
There is ambiguity as some top leaders are not comfortable about moving the motion.
Petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily would like to import 11 million tonnes of Iranian crude in this financial year.
Although the Congress leadership and UPA has given its nod for Telangana, the road to the separate state is surely going to be a complicated one, reports Anita Katyal.
Former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal was re-nominated by Congress from Chandigarh on Thursday brushing aside the "taint" argument as it released the second list of 71 candidates who include film star Nagma in Meerut and Youth Congress chief Rajeevv Satav from Hingoli.
The Group of Ministers on Telangana met for the first time on Friday with an assurance that the concerns of Andhra Pradesh would be addressed with "fairness and objectivity".
With lakhs of these workers stranded on highways and inter-state bus terminus, the government stepped in and asked states and union territories to immediately set up relief camps for migrant workers and others who are returning to their home states or trying to do so during the nationwide lockdown period.
Mallikarjun Kharge may be a respected politician and a loyal Congressman, but he is not a great orator nor does he have exceptional debating skills. Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com reports
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