India Politics

By IANS, Nagpur : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Maharashtra unit president Nitin Gadkari has retained his seat from the Nagpur graduates' constituency, being elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council for the fourth time. He defeated his nearest rival Baban Taywade by a margin of 23,925 votes. Taywde was supported by the state's ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine. Gadkari, who was a former public works minister in Maharashtra, won the election on the basis of his first preference votes at the end of seventh round of the counting that concluded Thursday night.

New Delhi : The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on Wednesday said that the Election Commission was ready to hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and state...

New Delhi : Amid widespread criticism of the lynching of a Muslim man after rumours that he ate beef, Minister of State for Minority...

By IANS, New Delhi : The Samajwadi Party Saturday accused the Congress of insulting its leaders and warned the latter against creating further tension between the parties, which are ruling allies at the centre. Party general secretary Amar Singh told reporters here that Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and Satyavrat Chaturvedi were violating the basic principles of a political alliance and had misbehaved with Samajwadi Party leaders, including president Mulayam Singh Yadav and himself.

Dehradun : BJP Uttarakhand legislator Ganesh Joshi, accused of hitting and severely injuring a police horse which necessitated the amputation of one of its...

TwoCircles.net News Desk पटना : माननीय सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने दो दिनों पूर्व पटियाला हाउस कोर्ट के अंदर छात्रों, शिक्षकों और पत्रकारों की भाजपाई वकीलों के...

By Ranjana Kumari, IANS, In an inclusive democracy, political power is perhaps the strongest tool to eradicate all forms of inequality. The passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha has brought forward some interesting scenarios for the Indian polity. This struggle for political rights by women's groups has been the longest in the history of independent India as the proposed constitution amendment bill had been deferred several times by successive governments since 1996.

Patna : Senior Janata Dal-United legislator Vijay Kumar Choudhary was unanimously elected the speaker of the Bihar assembly on Wednesday. Choudhary, a former minister, is...

New Delhi: BJP leader Arun Jaitley Thursday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of having the "routine strategy" to gather their cadre and "create...

By IANS, Jaipur : Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani were among the six contestants who filed their nomination papers for the biennial Rajya Sabha election and by-poll slated for June 17 in Rajasthan. Sharma, the other Congress candidates - Ashaq Ali Tak and Narendra Budhaniya - and the Bharatiya Janata Party's Jethmalani and V.P. Singh filed their nomination papers at the state assembly election office, an official spokesman said. Monday was the last date for filing nominations.

By IANS Patna : The Bihar government has withdrawn the security cover of opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad. The withdrawal of the security cover forced the central minister to drive in a private vehicle to the official residence of his wife Rabri Devi, Leader of Opposition in the assembly, when he arrived here Friday night. Official sources said the security was withdrawn after Inspector General (Security) R.K. Singh issued an order.

By IANS, New Delhi : Delhi Police Wednesday filed a charge sheet in a court here against six people, including former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, in the cash-for-vote scandal.

By IANS,

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Wednesday accused the union government of discrimination in power allocation to the state from the central pool....

By TCN Staff Reporter,

By IANS New Delhi : The Supreme Court Friday refused to hear urgently a plea for disbanding the breakaway Shiv Sena party formed by Raj Thackeray. Refusing an urgent hearing of the plea by advocate Arvind Shukla, a bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices R.V. Raveendran and J.M. Panchal said they would hear the matter Feb 22. The bench said: "How can we prevent political parties from doing anything?"

By IANS, Jaipur : First the polling booth, then the altar. The priority was crystal clear for Ramesh Kumar, who came riding on a horse to vote in a village in Rajasthan's Udaipur constituency before moving on to get married. "I have come straight here from my house and will go for my wedding from here. I only want to tell people how important it is to vote," Ramesh Kumar told TV reporters in his village Bindoli near the lake town of Udaipur.

By IANS, Bhubaneswar : Former chief minister Biju Patnaik continues to dominate the election campaign in Orissa even 12 years after his death with two groups of politicians claiming to be true inheritors of his legacy. Like in the general elections of 2000 and 2004, party manifesto, posters and other campaign materials that the BJD has released in the recent few days have images of Biju Patnaik. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who hopes to retain power for third term, released the manifesto Friday and said realisation of his father's dream will be the guiding spirit of the BJD.

New Delhi : The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Monday reiterated its demand for a legislation in parliament for building the Ram temple in...

By IANS, Patna : Bihar conducts the third and penultimate phase of Lok Sabha elections Thursday with the prestige battle getting increasingly intense for Janata Dal-United (JD-U) Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, pitted against the combined might of Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan. Eleven of the state's 40 seats go to the polls with an electorate of 15 million eligible to choose their MPs from among 203 candidates, including 12 women. Of the Thursday seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting six and the JD-U five. They are allies.

By IANS,

By IANS, Manjeri (Kerala): A senior Congress leader in Kerala, Rajmohan Unnithan was given bail Monday, a day after he was held allegedly for immoral trafficking. The leader, however, insists he was trapped with a woman by ruling party activists and their allies. Unnithan and the woman, who is said to be a Seva Dal worker, were first caught by locals Sunday night at a house here in Malappuram district. The woman hails from Kollam, Unnithan's hometown.

By IANS,

By IANS, Chandigarh: The ruling Congress in Haryana will not contest next month's elections to various municipal agencies across the state on the party's election symbol, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced Wednesday. Hooda claimed that the party's candidates would sweep the May 20 elections to the municipal corporation of Faridabad, 10 municipal councils and 28 municipal committees. The Congress would not officially field candidates in the poll, keeping the earlier tradition of not contesting local bodies' election on the party symbol.

By IANS,

By IANS, Ahmedabad : Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Thursday telephoned his Maharashtra counterpart Vilasrao Deshmukh and offered him any assistance required in wake of the terror strikes in Mumbai late Wednesday night. "In this hour of crisis, the entire state of Gujarat is with Maharashtra," Modi told Deshmukh and said his government and the Gujarat police were ready to offer services of the state Forensic Science Laboratory and extend any other help if required.

By IANS, New Delhi: As part of preparations for the forthcoming assembly polls in Karnataka, the Congress Saturday set up campaign committee and manifesto committees for the state.

New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday denied having made any caste reference in an election advertisement that mocked Aam Aadmi Party...

By IANS, New Delhi : Criticising the Left parties for "blackamailing the government and the prime minister" on the India-US civil nuclear deal, the Congress Thursday said only "communal forces" would gain if they withdraw support to the ruling coalition. "They are blackmailing the government and the prime minister," said Congress spokesperson and senior leader M. Veerappa Moily at a press conference here Thursday. "We never expected the Left to withdraw support. It could only strengthen the communal forces," added Moily.

Delhi : Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said the central government gave no answer to questions he raised about the land ordinance on Monday. "My speech...

Guwahati: Four people were arrested and a cache of explosives was recovered from them in Assam's Cachar district, police said on Tuesday. The explosives include...

By IANS, Ranchi : With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and ally Janata Dal-United (JD-U) striking discordant notes over seat sharing ahead of the Jharkhand assembly polls, a question mark hangs over their alliance. The Bihar leaders of both parties want the alliance to go on, but some of their leaders in Jharkhand think differently. Jharkhand is currently under President's Rule and the five-phase election will be held to the 81-member assembly from Nov 25. Sources in BJP say the number of seats given to the JD-U will matter.

By IANS New Delhi : The Election Commission Friday summoned Gujarat Chief Secretary Manjula Subramaniyam to explain non-compliance of its order over posting of a senior police officer in Ahmedabad. On Nov 15, the poll panel had ordered the transfer of three senior Gujarat police officers - Vadodara police commissioner P.C. Thakur, Joint Commissioner Ahmedabad P.K. Jha and Superintendent of Police S.P. Anand. The Election Commission announced Wednesday that Satish Sharma would replace P.K. Jha.

Bengaluru : Observing that erstwhile Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan was not a freedom fighter, the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday questioned the state government's...

By IANS,

By IANS, Thiruvananthapuram : The Congress in Kerala has levelled corruption charges against the Left Front government over a proposed titanium sponge plant, the contract for which is reportedly being given to Russia-based Rosoboron Exporters. Addressing reporters here Saturday, senior Congress legislator V.D. Sateeshan said the project had been conceived by their government during 2001-06 and it was then a Rs.10 billion project.

By IANS,

By IANS, Thiruvananthapuram : Veteran Congress leader and former Kerala chief minister K. Karunakaran is likely to be made governor of a southern state following talks in New Delhi, party sources said Tuesday. A Congress MP from Kerala told IANS over telephone from the capital that an announcement to this effect is expected in a couple of days.

By IANS,

By IANS, New Delhi : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani Wednesday assured the government employees to meet their legitimate demands if voted to power, and appealed to them to vote for the party candidates. "Government employees are the backbone of our administrative system. The BJP believes that their legitimate demands must be met. I appeal to all government and PSU (public sector unit) employees in Delhi and elsewhere to vote for the candidates fielded by the BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)," Advani said in a statement.

अवनीश कुमार हमारे राज्यतंत्र और समाज के भीतर जो कुछ गहरे सड़गल चुका है, जो भयंकर अन्यायपूर्ण और उत्पीड़क है, उसका बेहतरीन आलोचनात्मक विश्लेषण और...

By IANS,

New Delhi : An apex court vacation bench judge recused himself on Monday from hearing BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's plea challenging a non-bailable warrant...

Patna: At least 60 children fell ill on Tuesday after having their mid-day meal at a government school in Bihar's Bhojpur district, officials said. The...

New Delhi : A meeting may take place between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel during his halt in Germany on...

New Delhi : President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday paid tribute to Jawaharlal Nehru on his 50th death anniversary. President Mukherjee and...

By IANS, Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday asked for a police probe into the death of Indian Justice Party (IJP) candidate Bahadur Sonkar in Jaunpur, whose relatives claim he was murdered. The police have termed it a suicide. Sonkar's body was found hanging from a tree in Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur town Monday morning. He was contesting against the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Dhananjay Singh, a mafia don turned politician. Sonkar's relatives have blamed the BSP for the death.

By IANS Hyderabad : Dozens of supporters of former Andhra Pradesh minister K. Vidyadhar Rao Tuesday resigned from the opposition Telugu Desam Party to protest his expulsion from the party. Four former legislators were among 50 people who resigned from party posts in his native West Godavari district to protest his expulsion. They held a meeting to express solidarity with their leader and said they would follow him if he decides to join any other political party.

By IANS, Lucknow : A Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator in Uttar Pradesh has been booked for allegedly being involved in supplying and manufacturing illicit liquor in the state, police said Monday. Vijay Mishra, who represents the Gyanpur assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi district, about 250 km from here, was booked Sunday night. The case against Mishra was registered following a joint drive by police and excise officials at a hideout in Bhadohi, during which some people were arrested with illicit liquor, police said.

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday blamed the release of water from barrages for the deterioration of the flood situation in...

By IANS, New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday slammed the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's report card, terming it "propaganda". "I think it is important for a government to be judged by the people, rather than judge itself. What has been released today is propaganda, not reality," Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told reporters here. "The UPA government is a non-performing and incoherent government," he added.

Kolkata : Amid controversy surrounding Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Paul's rape remark that sparked widespread outrage across the country, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata...

Lucknow : The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress on Saturday reacted sharply to the hike in petrol and diesel prices and slammed the...

Varanasi : Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Saturday stormed Varanasi to campaign against BJP's Lok Sabha candidate Narendra Modi, holding a roadshow and addressing...

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter, Guwahati: Senior All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) leader and MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed accused party president Badruddin Ajmal of arrogance and using the minority vote bank of the party for own personal benefits after being suspended from the party on Tuesday.

By IANS,

By IANS, Hyderabad : Election authorities rejected the nomination of opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) candidate from one assembly constituency as he was convicted in a criminal case. Nomination of Ramesh Rathod from Khanapur assembly constituency in Adilabad district was rejected by the Election Commission officials during scrutiny Tuesday. By-elections to four Lok Sabha and 18 assembly constituencies are scheduled to be held May 28.

By IANS,

By IANS, New Delhi : Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) presidents Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu and party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad Saturday condoled the demise of former vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, saying he was an inspiring leader. Jaitley said that Shekhawat was a social reformer who worked for ending the practise of sati in the country. "He believed in clean conduct and kept personal relations above politics," he said.

Jammu/Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday celebrated the Republic Day on Tuesday, with Governor N.N. Vohra saying the state will benefit the most from...

By IANS, Jammu: On the day when the nation paid homage to the victims of Mumbai's 26/11 terror attack on its first anniversary Thursday, most of the top Jammu and Kashmir leadership kept itself off the issue. Jammu and Kashmir, which has been battling terrorism for the past 20 years that has left more than 50,000 people dead, did not find its top leadership - neither from the main ruling party National Conference nor the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party - paying tributes to the victims.