Raja Shree Mohanty, son of former Odisha Law Minister Raghunath Mohanty, was arrested on Sunday, three days after his wife slapped a dowry torture case against his family members, a senior police official said.
Odisha's Law and Urban Development Minister Raghunath Mohanty resigned on Friday on "moral grounds" after his daughter-in-law filed a dowry case against him and his family members.
In the midst of talks about possible coming together of some regional satraps, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik on Friday shared dais at a function in Chennai, lavishly praising each other on their administrative capabilities.
Teenaged Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa, who stunned Magnus Carlsen in the eighth round of the Airthings Masters online rapid chess tournament, was delighted, yet modest in his moment of triumph, saying he just wanted to enjoy playing against the world No. 1.
Lakra, who will soon join a private airline as a co-pilot, has achieved this feat after years of hard work.
The debate over Presidential candidate picked up further momentum with Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad pitching for Vice President Hamid Ansari while other parties kept the cards close to their chest.
Odisha on Monday got its first fast-track court here to deal exclusively with cases of sexual offences against women.
Senior Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler, Niranjan Patnaik and several others were on Saturday booked by the police in connection with a clash between party supporters and policemen during a rally that left over 260 people injured in Bhubaneswar.
Condemning violence at a Congress rally in Bhubaneswar, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday said the people of Odisha were shocked over the incident, in which a policewoman sustained injuries after being assaulted and allegedly molested by the mob. "People are shocked over the incident that took place in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. Odisha is known for its peaceful atmosphere," Patnaik said.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday became president of the ruling Biju Janata Dal for the fifth consecutive time unopposed.
On an important governance measure, there is a Nitish Kumar effect, a Naveen Patnaik effect, but no Modi effect.
Erstwhile Team Anna will gherao the residences of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BJP chief Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on Sunday on the coal block allocation issue even as prominent member Kiran Bedi voiced her disagreement over targeting the main opposition party.
The decision of some key regional parties like the Biju Janata Dal, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and the Aam Aadmi Party to skip a key opposition meet called by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the presidential poll has cheered the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party as it believes that their absence has only highlighted the faultlines and one-upmanship among its rivals.
After the controversy surrounding the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa have trained their guns on the central government again by opposing a proposed amendment to the Railway Protection Force. They have joined Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to instruct the railway ministry not to proceed with the move.
The ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha on Sunday announced that it would abstain from voting in the vice-presidential election scheduled to be held on August 7.
The company said it has no plans to shift the $12 billion steel project from Orissa.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has questioned the granting of hefty funds to certain states by Pranab Mukherjee, the United Progressive Alliance's Presidential candidate, and sought to know if this was meant to influence the ruling parties including Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal - United and the Trinamool Congress.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday extended support to yoga guru Ramdev's campaign against black money, but said the movement should be pursued in Gandhian style.
Cutting short his United Kingdom visit after reports of revolt in the party in his absence, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday held a series of meetings with Biju Janata Dal leaders, some of whom claimed there was an attempt to topple the government during a meeting at party MP Pyari Mohan Mohapatra's house in Bhubaneswar.
Shortly after reaching the national capital, Naveen Patnaik held deliberations with party MPs Baijayant Panda and Pinaki Mishra and said he would also consult his party members after reaching Bhubaneswar in the evening. "I will certainly see what has to be done," he said
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa on Thursday joined hands with her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik in backing former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma for the President's post. However, the Nationalist Congress Party virtually disowned its party leader, Sangma, to enter the Presidential race.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Tuesday that Member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka, who had been asked to quit by Thursday by Maoists, should not do so. Hikaka had been held captive by Maoists for nearly a month. "Any elected people's representative, including Jhina Hikaka, should not resign under pressure from illegal and unconstitutional forces," Patnaik told reporters.
The Centre will try its best to get a nod from chief ministers to set up the controversial anti-terror hub National Counter Terrorism Centre at Saturday's crucial meeting which is expected to witness fiery scenes.
In a bid to suppress dissidence, Biju Janata Dal supremo and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday suspended Jagneswar from the regional outfit on charge of anti-party activities.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa assumed the centre stage in the national scene on Monday by attacking Centre's policies on internal security during the chief minister's conference in New Delhi.
With the fate of kidnapped Jhina Hikaka still unknown after almost three weeks the Odisha government is exploring back-channel negotiations with the Maoist group, which has imposed tough conditions for the release of the ruling Biju Janata Dal tribal member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka.
Two Italian tourists were abducted in the tribal-dominated Ganjam district of Odisha by Maoists, who demanded an immediate end to anti-Naxal operations and release of some of their jailed colleagues.
Jha will contest against National democratic Alliance's nominee Harivansh of the Janata Dal-United.
The plan for the creation of the ambitious National Counter Terrorism Centre has come under attack from non-Congress chief ministers, including the party's ally Trinamool Congress. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee joined Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in opposing the setting up of the anti-terror body and wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asking him to "review and withdraw" the decision.
Suspended Biju Janata Dal MLA Prabhat Biswal's vote in presidential election was rejected for allegedly showing the ballot paper after voting as polling in the 147-member Odisha assembly was under way today.
'Naveen Patnaik's simplicity makes him look like an innocent fellow. But he is not like that. You can go to Odisha's mining areas and you can understand what is going on under his nose. A colossal loss to the national exchequer has taken place in Odisha,' Union Minister Srikant Jena tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
Describing P A Sangma as a prominent tribal and minority leader, Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday said he would accompany the Presidential aspirant during filing of his nomination in Delhi on Thursday. "Sangma is the BJD's candidate. We first announced his name for the top post in mid-May and later other political parties supported him," Patnaik told reporters shortly before leaving for Delhi.
The NDA's combined parliamentary and state-level committed Presidential votes number around 12,000 fewer than a majority.
Maintaining that former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma is gradually "gathering strength" in the race for Presidential polls, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said there should be a consensus in favour of the tribal leader for the top post.
Former Lok Sabha speaker and Nationalist Congress Party leader P A Sangma met Bharatiya Janata Party veteran Lal Krishna Advani in New Delhi on Friday to seek support for his candidature for the coveted post of President of India.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has cancelled his participation in a seminar at the Sussex University where he was scheduled to deliver a lecture on Monday amid claims by rights groups that he changed his programme fearing demonstrations against him.
Lok Janshakti Party chief Ramvilas Paswan on Sunday said his party would support United Progressive Alliance candidate for Presidency.
A day after his release from Maoist captivity, Biju Janata Dal member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka on Friday did not rule out the possibility of resigning his membership of Odisha assembly and said he had twice written to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the issue.
If there is unity in the Opposition, it is only about regional parties other than the DMK not wanting Rahul Gandhi or any other Congress leader for prime minister, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Biju Janata Dal supremo and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday termed as "baseless rumours" reports that his party would support the United Progressive Alliance government following the Trinamool Congress's pullout. He also made it clear that there was no question of the BJD abstaining if the UPA government seeks a trust vote in Parliament.
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