DoPT opposes move to allow complete freedom to CBI

The first meeting of the Group of Ministers on making the Central Bureau of Investigation an autonomous body was held on Thursday. The investigating body's autonomy plan ran into trouble as the Department of Personnel and Training resisted the move to initiate a probe on senior bureaucrats without prior permissions.

Kerala: Chandy-Chennithala rift a cause of worry for Congress

Thiruvananthapuram: As the Congress led-UDF government completes three years in Kerala, there are more reasons to worry than cheer. The simmering rivalry between Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and state Congress President Ramesh Chennithala has now become an open conflict.

An interview given to the New Indian Express has now openly pitted Chennithala against Chandy. A key bone of contention has been Chandy's failure to induct Chennithala into the Cabinet.

'Wages under MGNREGA per day have almost doubled'

New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office on Friday tweeted that growth must be inclusive and must benefit the poor, especially in rural areas. It further tweeted that wages given under MGNREGA per day have almost doubled since the launch of the scheme.

"Every fifth rural household in India benefits from Mahatma Gandhi NREGA scheme," another tweet said.

Congress President is soft, I am not: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: With Assembly election just months away, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday asked party leaders in Delhi to work unitedly to ensure a fourth successive victory for the party in the polls and sent out a clear message that indiscipline will not be tolerated by him. At around five-hour long interaction with separate groups of Congress workers at DPCC office in Central Delhi, Rahul underlined the need for better coordination between the party and the government while asking MLAs, MPs and senior leaders to start preparations for the polls slated for November.

"The Congress President (Sonia Gandhi) is soft. But I am not soft. I will not tolerate indiscipline. We must work unitedly," Rahul was quoted as saying by two MLAs. The Congress Vice President held separate meetings of MPs, MLAs, district and block presidents of each of the seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi. He held a separate meeting with party councillors from all three municipal corporations besides having another meeting with MLAs, MPs and Pradesh Congress Committee delegates.

WB: Left Front asks Mamata to come clean on graft allegations

Kolkata: The Left Front on Thursday asked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to respond to allegations by a senior West Bengal IPS officer about "corrupt practices" when she was the railway minister.

"Serious allegations of corruption have been levelled by a senior and respected IPS officer from the state. We don't to want question her (Banerjee) integrity. But to keep that image intact the chief minister must come out with an explanation within 48 hours," Marxist leader Surjya Kanta Mishra told mediapersons in Kolkata.

Partial revocation of AFSPA in J&K strategically difficult: BJP

Jammu: Contesting Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's proposal for partial revocation of AFSPA, the state unit of BJP on Thursday said it would be strategically difficult to nab a militant if the act is in force in one district and not in adjoining areas.

Speaking to reporters in Jammu on Thursday night, state BJP chief spokesperson Jitendra Singh also said that any decision regarding AFSPA had to be primarily based on security inputs and was not the Chief Minister's sole prerogative.

Lokayukta indictment: BJP demands criminal action against Sheila

New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday demanded initiation of criminal proceedings against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for allegedly misusing public funds on an advertisement campaign to get political mileage ahead of last Assembly polls.

"We demand registering a criminal case against the Delhi CM for misusing the hard-earned money of tax payers in her election campaign in 2008. We demand immediate action based on the recommendations of the Lokayukta in this matter," Former Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta told reporters in a press conference in New Delhi.

FIR lodged against MLA for 'beating up' policeman

Ranchi: A policeman has accused Independent MLA Chamra Linda of assaulting him at the Jharkhand Assembly while he was on duty. On the basis of the complaint by the constable Umanath Saha, police filed an FIR with the Jagannathpur police station in Ranchi on Thursday.

According to the FIR, Linda on Wednesday night allegedly got infuriated and "beat up" the policeman on duty near the gates when the latter asked the legislator to register his name in the entry book before driving inside the premises at around 10 pm.

DoPT opposes autonomy of CBI at GoM meet

New Delhi: The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Thursday opposed scrapping of the provision which requires the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to seek government's permission for probing bureaucrats in corruption cases. The DoPT raised the issue during a power-point presentation at the maiden meeting of the Group of Minister headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram which discussed the issue of giving greater autonomy and more financial powers to the agency, official sources said.

The GoM was set up in the wake of strong observations by the Supreme Court on the functioning of the CBI which was described as a "caged parrot". The apex court had also suggested to the government to consider ways to make the CBI independent and free from any interference of the political executive.

Gujarat: Modi inaugurates country's first yoga university

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday regretted that successive governments at the Centre neglected the importance of yoga, which is gaining prominence in the world. "Yoga was intentionally neglected by Britishers while they were ruling the country as they feared that through yoga India will become powerful in the world," Modi said inaugurating the Lakulish Yoga University.

"But even after Independence, we didn't come out of the slave mentality and continue to ignore the importance of yoga. And sometimes by equating yoga with communalism, we inflicted a great damage on us," Modi said. Lakulish Yoga University, established by Life Mission Trust of Gujarat, is claimed to be the first ever such private sector self-financed institution in the country.