The Congress, however, dismissed it saying that the BJP was levelling baseless charges as it sensed imminent defeat in the Bihar assembly elections.
After books by a former media adviser to the Prime Minister and a top bureaucrat, a member of the outgoing Planning Commission has added grist to the mill saying it was Sonia Gandhi who called the shots on all appointments and policies of UPA governments.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that it needed assistance to analyse the Central Bureau of Investigation's CBI's voluminous coalgate probe reports and suggested appointment of amicus curiae to lend a helping hand to it.
The apex court-appointed panel is investigating alleged scuttling of probe into coal block allocation scam cases by Sinha whose meetings with accused persons have been held as "completely inappropriate".
Zee News editor Sudhir Chaudhary on Monday moved the Delhi High Court seeking anticipatory bail in a case registered against him for telecast of a show allegedly based on forged documents against Jindal Group in connection with Coalgate.
A court asked for further investigation into an illegal coalfield allocation case involving Hindalco Industries on Tuesday, rejecting an earlier report from the CBI that said the probe was likely to be closed.
Jindal Steel and Power Ltd has shelved a $10 billion coal-to-diesel project, its chairman told Reuters, becoming the first big casualty of a court decision to scrap coalfields allocated to private firms since 1993.
The judiciary has sent a strong message against crony capitalism.
PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi hoped that whosoever comes to power after the next elections will manage the country well so that India clocks a consistent 7-8 per cent economic growth.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday demanded that the government order a CBI inquiry monitored by the Supreme Court to find out the manner in which the Jet-Etihad deal was carried out in "half-cooked" and "objectionable" manner.
There is no need for increased superintendence over the CBI in the aftermath of the coal blocks allocation and 2G scam cases, CVC K V Chowdary said on Sunday.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav lashed out at his one-time ally, the Congress, and said that in the state the BJP is nowhere.
Ballooning debt forces more and more Indian promoters to sell out to global majors and PE players.
Congress slammed former Comptroller Auditor General Vinod Rai for his claim that he was pressurised to drop names of those involved in scams during the United Progressive Alliance regime, saying "sensationalizing" things has been his staple.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday said former Army chief Gen V K Singh and Anna Hazare's aide Kiran Bedi should be invited to join the party, a day after the former IPS officer endorsed party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Political exchanges between Congress and BJP today hit a low with the latter asking Rahul Gandhi to "grow out of diapers" after he took jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying people will reduce his 56-inch chest to 5.6 inches.
De-allocation could raise import bill by $3 billion, add to coal shortage.
'Why should the accused in scams visit the CBI chief so frequently?'
It is up to the government to take a decision on this before it starts auctioning.
A day after the Supreme Court issued notice to CBI director Ranjit Sinha for allegedly protecting some accused in 2G case, another bench on Tuesday sought explanation from the top cop on similar allegations in the coal scam.
Going ahead with its "game changer" measure for next Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Tuesday rolled out the ambitious food security scheme in three states -- Delhi, Haryana and Uttarakhand with party President Sonia Gandhi hailing the measure as "historic" and "unparalleled".
The events of September 24 have not only earned the country a whole lot of interest but also showed the world how a lot more can be accomplished with a shoestring budget.
Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal warned that it would take years to alleviate coal supply shortages, which have reduced stocks at thermal power stations to their lowest since a huge blackout in 2012 cut off 620 million people.
The former coal secretary opens up in a free-wheeling interview.
Jindal's house was raided by the CBI on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Piyush Goyal: 'I hope the Congress governments and other states like West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Telangana will support our effort to bring petrol and diesel into the GST regime.'
In an urgent need for its image makeover, the scam-tainted coal sector will require mammoth efforts in 2015 from the government and the corporates too.
Milind Deora, minister of state for communication and information technology and shipping, is one of the Congress' young guns under Rahul Gandhi. He tells Kavita Chowdhury that the core problem for the United Progressive Alliance in its second term has been its inability to communicate effectively. Edited excerpts:
The 1995 judgment in the Union of India vs Cricket Association of Bengal case emphasised that free speech is essential for a successful democracy and citizens must have a plurality of views and a range of opinions on all public issues, says M J Antony.
'The BJP must realise that a resurgent Rahul Gandhi will take the battle straight into its camp.' 'He is not going to be held back by the misdeeds of UPA 1 and 2, so there is no point harping on them,' says Sanjeev Nayyar.
Narendra Modi, says T V R Shenoy, is 'busy trying to woo back two constituencies that were crucial when the BJP won power in the elections of 1998 and of 1999, namely UP (and the Hindi belt in general) and educated youth.'
The government should give the first right of refusal in the ensuing coal mine auction to the companies which lost the blocks in the mass cancellation by the Supreme Court on Wednesday, former Coal Secretary PC Parakh said.
It is an open secret that Manmohan Singh is not a popular figure in the Congress, but Sonia's presence, support and strategy are proving a blessing for the good doctor. When P V Narasimha Rao ran into rough times, Sonia remained indifferent and the Congress had left him to the wolves, says Rasheed Kidwai, author of books on Sonia Gandhi and the Congress party.
In the long run, the decision could bring clearer rules to a sector that has failed to provide India with enough power because it has been so hamstrung by confusion and scandals over concessions allegedly handed to government cronies.
Former top bureaucrats have come out in support of ex-coal secretary P C Parakh, who has been named by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the coal blocks allocation scam, warning that harassment of honest officers will erode the government's credibility and stop senior officers from taking decisions.
Stepping up attack on Sanjay Baru's book brought out in the midst of Lok Sabha elections, Congress on Tuesday dubbed it as "mother of all plants" and asserted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi have the "best of relations".
'Good politics is not just staying in power. You cannot sacrifice everything at the altar of trying to ensure the coalition remains in power.'
Corporate legal cases kept India Inc on its toes in 2014 as high stake matters on coal, telecom and mining came up in the Supreme Court, which also sent Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy to jail.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said the larger interest of the public sector would be fully protected.
'One thing is sure: After this Budget, no Ambani-Adani tag will be attached to the government.'
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