Trinamool in Goa like mushroom in monsoon: Cong

Panaji: The Congress on Monday compared the newly-emerged Trinamool Congress in Goa to a mushroom growing in the monsoon, saying the party had just come up at the height of the electoral season and would not have much impact. "The Trinamool Congress (TC) is in a nascent stage... It is like a mushroom which springs up only in the rainy season," Congress state working president Francisco Sardinha told reporters here.

The Trinamool which opened its offices here in Goa last month, has appointed former chief minister Dr Wilfred de Souza as its chief. De Souza is known to have a following amongst the Catholic population of north Goa, which has been considered a secure votebank of the Congress.

Priyanka commits faux pas, retracts quickly

Rae Bareli: Priyanka Gandhi on Monday committed a faux pas naming Madhya Pradesh, ruled by arch rival BJP, as one of the fast developing states, a 'slip of the tongue' she corrected immediately.

Blaming the BSP government in Uttar Pradesh for lack of development, she said while the state has not progressed for last 22 years.

Only Cong can ensure development in UP: Rahul

Pratapgarh: Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged hooliganism and casteism reared their ugly heads and development took a back seat during the successive non-Congress regimes in the state in the past 22 years.

Only the Congress could ensure development in the state and for this people's mindset needed to be changed, he told a public meeting here.

Khurshid Law Minister or 'lawless' minister: BJP

Chandauli: Lashing out at Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid for his spat with the EC over the issue of quota for minorities, BJP President Nitin Gadkari on Monday termed him as a "lawless" minister.

"He (Khurshid) is not the Law minister but lawless minister," Gadkari told an addressing an election meeting here.

PM should sack Khurshid: BJP

New Delhi: Questioning the PMO's 'silence' on the controversy involving Law Minister Salman Kurshid, the BJP on Monday said the Prime Minister should sack the minister without delay as he is still unrepentant.

"Practically, even after a week Salman Kurshid is unrepentant and is actually defiant. This is an example of votebank politics, communal politics, corrupt politics that denigrates all constitutional authority," BJP spokesperson

Guj riots: Court order on SIT report on Feb 15

Ahmedabad: An Ahmedabad court will pass its order on the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report on the Gulbarg Society massacre during the 2002 Gujarat riots on February 15. The SIT on Monday opposed giving its report on the massacre to Teesta Setalvad-led Citizens for Justice and Peace and senior lawyer Mukul Sinha, saying that they had "no locus in the case".

The SIT opposed not only the duo in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate MS Bhat in Ahmedabad, which is hearing the closure report on the Gulbarg Society massacre, but also said that Zakia Jafri, widow of slain Congress MP Ehsaan Jafri, could not be given the report as she was not a complainant.

Congress is protecting Khurshid: Javadekar

BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said on Monday that the Congress was protecting its Law Minister, Salman Khurshid by not taking any action against him. "If the Law Minister does not respect the law, who will? No action has been taken against the minister despite the EC's complaint," he said.

BMC polls: Mumbai's waterfronts back in focus

Mumbai: As political parties battle it out to capture the control of Mumbai's civic administration, the city's neglected waterfronts are back on priority, being poised for a makeover. But the question is whether plans to transform the island's coast's will ever become a reality.

The world's biggest cities including New York, London, Sydney and Tokyo are often defined by their popular waterfronts. Mumbai's 60-km long coastline on the other hand has long been neglected. It is barren on the west and squalid on the east. A plan drawn up by a prominent city architect was meant to provide the city with much-needed open spaces. But the plan never made it off the drawing board.

Khurshid free to express his views: Priyanka

New Delhi: In what could be a potential embarrassment for the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi said on Monday that Salman Khurshid was "free" to express his opinions and so was the Election Commission. Referring to the ongoing row between the Union Law Minister and the Election Commission over a Muslim sub-quota remark that he made during a rally in the state, Priyanka said that people were free to express their feelings in a democratic country.

"During election time, these things happen. People are free to express their feelings in a democratic country. The EC is also free to give its opinion on it," she said while campaigning for the Congress in Uttar Pradesh.

K'taka MLAs seek more time to reply to showcause

Bangalore: Three former Karnataka Ministers on Monday sought a week's extension to file reply to the showcause notices issued by Speaker KG Bopaiah on the porn-watching episode in the Legislative Assembly.

The three, Lakshman S Savadi, CC Patil and J Krishna Palemar sent a letter to the Legislative Assembly Secretariat in this regard.