Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily recently said that chargesheeted candidates may be barred from polls. But those who attended consultations on electoral reforms say the government lacks the political will to do so. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Announcing the fifth poll 'guarantee' of the Congress ahead of the May 10 assembly polls in Karnataka, party leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday promised free travel for women in public transport buses, if it's voted to power in the state.
Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will head all the three committees.
A government-appointed panel, headed by industrialist Adi Godrej, has already submitted its recommendations. The panel has laid down 17 guiding principles.
The FIR by the ACB was registered a day after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the agency has been told to probe their alleged collusion over hike in prices of natural gas from KG basin.
Veerappa Moily's suggestions on oil use do not inspire hope
The Election Commission on Wednesday strongly disapproved Oil Minister Veerappa Moily's announcement of raising subsidised LPG quota ahead of Gujarat elections and asked him to be circumspect in future.
Karnataka will be re-emerge as an IT superpower and will make India proud, Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily has said as he accused the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government of damaging the state's image as an investment destination.
Moily's background in law has stood him in good stead, notes Aditi Phadnis.
After five years of stay in the 340-room Presidential mansion, Pratibha Patil on Wednesday moved to a four bedroom bungalow here at a high-security area in the heart of the capital.
Veerappa Moily's allegation that an import lobby was against an increase in gas prices has found no takers among sectoral experts.
Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily on Tuesday lashed out at global credit rating agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) for describing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as "unelected" leader and saying the comment "smacked of politics".
The proposed National Competition Policy may help in tackling inflation by creating a fair playing field for producers, farmers and traders, Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily said on Friday.
Those losses, or 'under-recoveries', are of course eventually covered partly by the central government, and are the most potent contributor to India's problems with its fiscal deficit.
India's policy to subsidise retail prices of fuels such as diesel, which accounts for about 40 per cent of refined fuel consumption, is a major drain on the budget.
Power Minister Veerappa Moily informed the Rajya Sabha, on Monday that steps are being taken by the government to bridge the gap between demand and supply of power in the country.
Assuring the nation that massive power outage due to transmission grid failure will not recur, Power Minister Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said he has called a meeting of chief ministers of some of the affected states on August 6. "Now there is absolute normalcy, 100 per cent restoration has taken place and I can reassure the entire nation that what has happened all these two-three days will not recur. Nothing will happen again," Moily said.
Taking a jibe at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks that the National DemocratiC Alliance would come to power in the next general elections, Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily on Tuesday wondered whether the Bharatiya Janata leader would return to power in his own state.
The Telangana issue assumed centre stage on Thursday night as Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily held consultations with Congress members of Legislative Assembly and members of Parliament. Though a lot of hope was pinned by the Telangana leaders on this meeting there was absolutely no decision taken on issue of statehood, say insiders. However, the mass resignation programme by these elected representatives will be put on hold till the assembly elections in five states.
"Mercy petition filed by Tabassum, wife of the Parliament House attack convict Afzal Guru, should be rejected. Nature of the crime committed is heinous and he deserves no mercy," a ministry note said. Guru was awarded the death sentence by a Delhi court on December 18, 2002 after being convicted of conspiracy to attack Parliament on December 13, 2001, waging war against the country and murder.
Jaipal Reddy, who has been given the science and technology ministry, is deeply upset by his transfer from the petroleum and natural gas ministry and did not come to handover charge to new minister Veerappa Moily.
Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily takes a U-turn on the suggestion of keeping petrol pumps shut from 8 pm to 8 am.
'Can governments which consistently let their lawyers down, be trusted to uphold the rights of their people? How much longer will the State fight against its own citizens, inside and outside court?' asks activist Nandini Sundar.
Regretting that the concept of voluntary CSR has not picked up in India, Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said the new Companies Bill would make it mandatory for corporate to earmark part of their profit for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
Civil society members of the joint committee on Lokpal will seek a referendum on the points of difference with government representatives including the issue of bringing the prime minister and the higher judiciary under the ambit of the anti-graft ombudsman.
Rights activist Binayak Sen, released on bail while serving a life sentence for sedition and links with Maoists, on Monday night asserted he is not a 'traitor' and said the Supreme Court observation in his case will have 'deep political implication.'
Besides Mukherjee and Deora, the EGoM would have power minister Sushilkumar Shinde, fertiliser minister M K Alagiri, law minister Veerappa Moily and Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Contradicting Law Minister Veerappa Moily, Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas's counsel Wills Mathews said that Thomas has not resigned from his post. "It is incorrect. Thomas has not resigned."Citing the provisions in the CVC Act, Mathews said he can be removed only by the President or alternatively he can resign.
Congress leader Veerappa Moily will meet the party's pro-Telangana members of Parliament and legislative assembly at 9 pm on Thursday. Moily's meeting comes in the wake of Andhra Pradesh Endowments Minister Jupallu Krishna Rao's decision of sending his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. But pro-Telangana activist are upset about the fact that Rao didn't send his resignation to the governor, as per protocol.
Law Minister Veerappa Moily said the Gujarat court's judgement in the Godhra case does not justify the riots that followed the train burning incident.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi's absence was felt during the Anna Hazare agitation as she has always given us a way out, Union Minister Veerappa Moily said on Thursday.
After blaming "vested interests" for his shifting from the Law Ministry, new Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said he is "very happy" with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi for entrusting him with the new job.
Government on Thursday ruled out sending two drafts of Lokpal bill to the Union Cabinet in the wake of strong differences with the civil society which it accused of 'obstructing' the fight against corruption.
Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily on Sunday said that the Central government has no stand regarding the effort of settlement between the rival parties to Ayodhya dispute.
On the eve of an all-party meeting on Telangana, Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrashekhar Rao on Monday said the Centre should follow its announcement on creation of a separate state with a resolution in Parliament but set no deadline for it.
Corruption is all-pervasive in Indian society and it's a surprise that the Union law minster does not see it that way, writes Mahesh Vijapurkar.
As MPs moved to impeach Karnataka Chief Justice P D Dinakaran facing land grab allegations, Moily told the Rajya Sabha the proposed Judges Standard and Accountability Bill is likely to be introduced during the current winter session of Parliament, which is scheduled to end on December 21.
The expert group was tasked to suggest a methodology for pricing of diesel and cooking fuel.
The appointment of a new chief information commissioner has been deferred as the scheduled meeting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Leader of Opposition L K Advani has been postponed. Official sources said the meeting of the three-member committee comprising the Prime Minister, Advani and Law Minister Veerappa Moily has been postponed without citing any reasons and no new date has been given.
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