However, Jaitley's son-in-law had earlier issued a statement stating that his law firm had returned the retainership the moment they came to know that the company was involved in a scam.
In a day of frantic developments, Digvijaya Singh entered the fray for the Congress president's election as Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot opted out of the race and the suspense over his continuation at the helm in the state deepened with the party saying it would be decided in a day or two.
The BJP had on Monday demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on moral grounds after his government said in a reply to a question in the state A assembly that it taps phones in the interest of public safety and order.
Gajendra Singh, who committed suicide at an Aam Aadmi Party rally in Delhi, was cremated at his native village on Thursday in the district, with a large number of people including politicians converging.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra hit back at the Congress a day after it cited some audio clips to accuse some saffron party leaders, including Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, of conspiring to topple the Ashok Gehlot government in the state.
The mortal remains of former Union Minister Arun Nehru, who died in News Delhi on Thursday night, were consigned to flames on Friday in the presence of his relatives, including family of his cousin Rajiv Gandhi, and a host of leaders.
This time Modi has no emotive message to take to the stump. Muscular nationalism doesn't work against the backdrop of China's successive inroads into Indian territory. Rising prices is a sore point that cuts across class and caste barriers; unprecedented levels of unemployment has the youth in a ferment. This has reduced the BJP campaign to a laundry list of recycled grievances and thinly veiled communal appeals, neither of which are working as well as they have in the past, argues Prem Panicker.
Rajendra Gudha, Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali, Lakhan Meena, (Bahujan Samaj Party turned Congress MLAs), Girraj Singh Malinga and Khiladi Lal Bairwa met Gehlot, the sources said.
More than 19 per cent of 13.70 lakh registered companies in the country closed operations till the end of last year, with largest shutdowns happening in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Delhi.
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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday had approved the proposal to amend the Sebi Act and other relevant regulations that would give greater powers to the regulator in its efforts to tackle all kinds of money-collection schemes, as also to effectively crackdown on defaulters in the stock markets.
Gandhi said it was his responsibility to tell the truth and it is for the people to listen or not to listen.
All India Congress Committee General Secretary Gurudas Kamat on Saturday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the alleged money deals worth crores of rupees between Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, her MP son Dushyant Singh and the tainted former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi.
The government will present findings of the probe panel that looked into Walmart's lobbying activities to enter the Indian market, along with action taken report, before Parliament in the monsoon session.
The Congress party continues to be racked by arbitrary decision-making and the absence of accountability.
A team of the CBI's special crime unit in Delhi is in Jaipur to record statements in connection with the death of Rajgarh Station House Officer (SHO) Vishnudutt Vishnoi, whose body was found hanging from the ceiling of his official residence.
"BJP leaders are playing the game at the behest of central leaders. MLAs were offered money... Rs 10 crore in advance and Rs 15 crore after the government is toppled," the chief minister alleged and added that the BJP wants to convert the state's politics into a goat market, 'bakra mandi'.
Former Indian cricket team captain Mohammad Azharuddin, who is contenting the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Rajasthan's Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, was on Sunday accompanied by his wife and former Bollywood actress Sangeeta Bijlani.
After following Congress president Rahul Gandhi and the party's official Twitter handle, he began following senior leaders P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Ahmed Patel, Ashok Gehlot, Ajay Maken, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot and CP Joshi from this month.
The BJP may be ready and waiting to pounce on another key state of the Hindi heartland, but it is the Congress's holy trinity that issued them an invitation to the beheading, notes Sunil Sethi.
In an interview to PTI, Mishra, who on Wednesday agreed with the state Cabinet's proposal to call an assembly session from August 14, said he has always directed the state government to follow constitutional provisions in sending its request for convening a session.
The Congress has alleged that Shekhawat wants to destabilise chief minister Ashok Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan.
Congress has alleged a scam of Rs 45,000 crore in the allocation of mines in Rajasthan and demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje along with a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe into the matter.
In switching over, Nitish has sent out a message that if he could not now become the NDA's PM, then he would need to stay on as CM at the very least, which a third term for Modi would not let him have, N Sathiya Moorthy points out.
Mukesh Agnihotri, the leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly, was administered the oath as the deputy chief minister.
'Putra-moh Congress ko nasht kar raha hai (Sonia Gandhi's love for Rahul Gandhi is destroying the Congress).'
The Congress' central election authority on Thursday issued a notification for the All India Congress Committee president polls, setting the ball rolling for electing the successor to the longest-serving party chief Sonia Gandhi.
The grand old party faces the onerous task of rebuilding its moribund organisation, which is struggling to overcome a leadership crisis and regain credibility with the voters.
'Play safe and persist with an ailing Sonia Gandhi as interim chief and wait for an opportune moment to foist the crown prince yet again,' predicts Virendra Kapoor.
The Congress needs to reorganise itself at the grassroots, infuse younger blood, and have more boots on the ground. Just offering freebies is not the answer anymore. Leadership matters, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Slogans of 'Rahul ji, we are with you' and 'Please do not resign' rang through the air.
Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria kicked up a storm when he hurled an abusive word at former prime minister Manmohan Singh while comparing him to his successor Narendra Modi.
Gandhi had decided not to celebrate her birthday because of rape incidents and assaults on women in the country.
Political temperatures were soaring in several states that could see close contests, with parties trying to keep their flock together and trading accusations of poaching of MLAs.
'We have to work for our victories.' 'We have to offer a better alternative governance model.' 'Not just criticise the current government.' 'You have to build bridges, learn from what has gone wrong and create a party for all people.'
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was at the centre of a fresh controversy over reports suggesting that she had recommended former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi for a Padma award in 2007.
The decision was taken in a BJP legislature party meeting held here on Thursday. After the meeting, Kataria told reporters that the motion of no confidence will be moved in the assembly session beginning Friday. He said the proposal was being finalised.
The devotees from Rajasthan and neighbouring states had been waiting at the temple premises in several queues to seek darshan on the occasion of 'Gyaras', an auspicious day as per Hindu calendar.
In a letter to Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra, senior Congress leaders and former law ministers Ashwani Kumar, Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid said the Governor's office, as envisaged under the country's constitutional scheme, is above and beyond the constraints and compulsions of partisan politics, 'so that its holder can act freely and fairly to uphold the Constitution'.
Sachin Tendulkar, who led India Legends to title victory in the inaugural edition of the Road Safety World Series, will not be taking part in its second season.
