Counting of votes in the Maharashtra assembly elections will begin at 8 am on Saturday, with all eyes on the outcome of the battle between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti coalition and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, which is seeking to make a comeback.
Admitting there is a development deficit in areas affected by Left-wing extremism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said his government is determined to address the deficit, while maintaining that the menace remains a "major problem."
United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday favoured an approach of welfare and development to defeat left-wing extremism and insurgency and bring back youth involved in it back to the democratic mainstream.
The government on Monday announced service medals for 954 police personnel of various central and state forces on the eve of Independence Day.
Terrorism, left-wing extremism and cyber crime will be the subject of discussions at the three-day director general of police conference that commences on Thursday.
Terming Left-wing extremism as the "most violent movement" in India, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said that the burden of governance in the Naxal-hit districts must rest with the states.
Left-wing extremism is a greater challenge to the country than terrorism in terms of the number of lives lost in violence, Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Wednesday. "Terrorism is a major challenge for the security and sovereignty of our country. But left-wing extremism is a greater challenge than terrorism in terms of the number of people killed in violence," Chidambaram said. "Ten times more people are killed in Naxal attacks than in terror strikes," he said.
Over 1,000 police personnel have been awarded with different categories of gallantry and service medals on the eve of the 75th Republic Day, a government statement said Thursday. This includes 277 gallantry medals.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address a specially convened meeting of chief ministers of Naxal-affected states on Tuesday to chalk out a fresh strategy to curb Left-wing extremism.
Against the backdrop of a string of Maoist attacks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday pitched for urgent and considered action to root out the problem of Left-wing extremism and asserted that no quarter can be given to those challenging the authority of the Indian state.
The Home Ministry, on Tuesday, convened a meeting of chief secretaries and police chiefs of nine states which are most hit by the left-wing extremism. Official sources said the 24th meeting of the Coordination committee on left wing extremism, chaired by Home Secretary G K Pillai, discussed the developmental activities that needs to be undertaken in the Naxal affected states.
The Centre on Tuesday said it has approved Rs 7,800 crore under a road connectivity plan and a special infrastructure scheme in Left-wing extremism affected states in the Eleventh Five Year Plan."Rs 7,300 crore has been provided under the road connectivity plan and Rs 500 crore under the Special Infrastructure Scheme for Left-wing extremism affected states, to meet the gaps in critical infrastructure, not otherwise covered under any other existing schemes," said a minister.
The Union home ministry has said resolute implementation of the national policy and action plan led to a 55 per cent reduction in violent incidents perpetrated by the Naxals and 63 per cent in deaths over a period of eight years.
The report had also expressed concern over Maoist-related violence escalating in Orissa and Jharkhand.
With the completion of this third extension, Rajiv Gauba will become the longest serving cabinet secretary of the country. Till now, B D Pande had been the longest serving cabinet secretary from November 2, 1972, to March 31, 1977.
A maximum of 92,000 personnel of CAPFs are likely to be deployed in politically volatile West Bengal, where elections will be held in seven phases, followed by 63,500 personnel in militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir, where polling will be held in five phases.
A total of 901 police personnel drawn from the CAPFs and state forces have been awarded various service medals, including for gallant action, on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day, the Union home ministry said Wednesday.
Can a culture survive as a way of life, even as the language and writing at its core, alter with time? Can we be rational and Malayalee or do we have to necessarily be religious and proudly cultural to be Malayalee? asks Shyam G Menon.
Kumar, who put in his papers sometimes ago due to personal reasons, has vacated his accommodation in Delhi and relocated to Chennai.
Forest's tally is the same number as Leicester City had accumulated by the same point of the 2015/16 campaign when they went on to become shock Premier League champions.
Police personnel checked vehicles and conducted flag marches at various places in Punjab on Wednesday while central forces maintained a tight vigil in Tripura.
The search operation is underway in nearby areas.
The 39-year-old officer was bestowed with the PPMG, the highest police gallantry award, for skillfully killing a terrorist holed up in a building in Kashmir on June 21, 2020, officials said.
A total of 939 service medals, including 189 for gallantry, was announced by the Union government on Tuesday for personnel of various central and state police forces on the eve of Republic Day.
According to the police, these villages have never seen unfurling or hoisting of the national flag since 1947, but that will change when its residents will join the rest of the country in celebrating Republic Day, which commemorates the day when the Constitution came into effect in 1950.
Of the ten police personnel who lost their lives in a Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, five had joined the force after quitting Maoist violence, a senior official said on Thursday.
The power of the left-wing extremist groups is immense and they can, in one sense, if they want to, bring many sectors of the Indian economy to its knees, warns former home secretary GK Pillai
The RTI query revealed that 3,125 security personnel, too, lost their lives tackling the Naxal menace.
The Battle of Lhagyala on November 23, 1962, fought by the 4 Rajput Regiment against the Chinese PLA, remains a forgotten chapter of heroism, with no survivors left to tell their story.
The government on Tuesday said it has begun using unmanned aerial vehicles in Naxal-affected areas of the country.
Maoists, gravest threat to National Security: PM
Forest land that will also be exempted includes land situated within 100 km along the international borders, Line of Control, or Line of Actual Control, proposed to be used for construction of strategic linear projects for national importance or security.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on Monday warned that the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh will spawn a host of problems, including political instability, Naxal threat, terrorism and communal violence.
The Election Commission of India has set up more than 200 polling stations within housing societies in the urban areas of Uttar Pradesh to increase the voter turnout in the politically crucial state.
In an exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Anita Katyal, Singh speaks about his candidature from Varanasi, the party's prospects in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and how the Congress is likely to fare in Andhra Pradesh.
Asking Maoists to abandon the path of violence, President Pratibha Patil on Saturday said they must come to the negotiating table for working out a solution. Addressing the nation on the eve of 64th Independence Day, she also said terrorism poses the biggest threat to global peace and to defeat it all nations should come together and ensure that terrorists do not get sanctuaries and financial assistance.
The Naxal attack on the Congress convoy in Chhattisgarh, which killed several top politicians, has once again raised questions about security and governance in the left wing extremism-affected areas. Former home secretary Gopal Pillai talks to Avantika Bhuyan about the ways to counter the problem
Gauba is said to be the key architect of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act under which Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two Union territories following the abrogation of the special status given to the erstwhile state under Article 370 of the Constitution.
The PMG was announced by the Union home ministry on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day, being celebrated on January 26 (Thursday).
In an advisory to the states, ministry of rural development has also asked them to take effective measures to ensure that rural households receive their 'due entitlement' under the Act in the districts facing drought.
