Kolkata: The West Bengal State Election Commission on Saturday wrote to the state government seeking a change in the schedule for the panchayat polls and the bunching of districts in each phase. The state government had issued a notification on Friday proposing three-phase polls. Nine districts are to go to the hustings July 2, and four each July 6 and July 10.
The SEC's latter has sought a regrouping of districts - six in phase one, five in phase two and the remaining six in the final leg.
Following the opposition seeking change of date for the third phase which clashes with the Rathayatra festival, the panel has sought shifting of the polls in the third stage to another day.
Responding to the letter, Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee said the third phase may be advanced by a day to July 9....
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04:15 AM, May 19, 2013
Kolkata: Opposition parties in West Bengal on Friday demanded deployment of central paramilitary forces in an all-party meeting convened by the State Election Commission to ensure proper, free and fair panchayat elections. "We need adequate protection for candidates and the voters though every state of the polls - filing of nomination, campaigning, polling day as also counting. The ground situation is not conducive for that. In various local elections across...
04:47 AM, May 18, 2013
Bangalore: The four-day old Siddaramaiah ministry in Karnataka will be expanded on Saturday with the induction of 29 ministers, an exercise from which the "tainted" would be kept out. Siddaramaiah, who was sworn in as the Chief Minister on May 13 marking return of Congress to power after a seven-year hiatus, however, ruled out induction of any Deputy Chief Minister. Twenty-nine ministers will be sworn in at Raj Bhavan, the...
06:04 PM, May 17, 2013
Washington: A purported new issue of an English-language al Qaeda magazine, linked to the Boston terrorist attacks, has been posted on the web but its contents were hacked. The "Inspire" magazine, produced by al Qaeda's Yemeni affiliate - al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which regularly includes how-to instructions for followers to carry out terrorist attacks in the West - has received significant scrutiny in recent weeks. Investigators believe that...
05:42 PM, May 17, 2013
New Delhi: Some 20 to 25 Ministers are likely to be inducted in the Siddharamiah Ministry in Karnataka on Saturday, Congress sources said on Thursday night. The green signal has been given to the Chief Minister to expand his Ministry and all of them are likely to take oath on Saturday, the sources said. The sources, however, expressed doubt whether any defeated leader will be inducted in the Ministry. KPCC...
11:10 PM, May 16, 2013
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod for the issue of an ordinance to pave the way for an elected body of the apex medical regulator. The term of the Medical Council of India's Board of Governors has ended, rendering the apex medical regulator headless. Sources said the Cabinet gave its approval to the note for the draft ordinance in this regard which is likely to be...
09:40 PM, May 16, 2013
That Rajasthan Royals would join IPL heavyweights Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians as this season's first play-off entrants with two matches still to play is an achievement not entirely expected at the start of IPL 6. Lacking superstar power - their No. 1 player is Australian allrounder Shane Watson - and led by a retired 40-year-old expert technician in Rahul Dravid, the Jaipur-based franchise have defied the odds to...
08:04 AM, May 16, 2013
Mumbai: Mumbai Indians went top of IPL 6 table following a convincing 14-run win over Rajasthan Royals in a dead rubber at the Wankhede Stadium here on Wednesday night. Both teams went into the match with the knowledge that they had already made it to the play-offs, and that took plenty of significance off the match. In pursuit of Mumbai's 166 for 8, the visitors could only go as far...
11:15 PM, May 15, 2013
New Delhi: Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra, part of the sports ministry delegation to Lausanne, Wednesday said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was worried about the governance of Indian sports. Bindra has gone to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne with the ministry officials for getting India back into the Olympic fold. The IOC suspended the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) last December for violating the Olympic charter in its election process. "IOC...
06:18 PM, May 15, 2013
New Delhi: Newly sworn-in Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be in Delhi on Wednesday and he is scheduled to meet UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Siddaramaiah is expected to hold discussions for the expansion of the state Cabinet. Karnataka Congress chief G Parameshwara will also accompany the state Chief Minister. A decision on Cabinet ministers is expected in the next two days. It's no secret that intense lobbying is on in...
09:59 AM, May 15, 2013
New Delhi: The wait has been long. And finally the fans of popular sitcom 'How I Met Your Mother' will get to see the girl who marries the main protagonist - Ted Mosby. The identity of the mother was revealed by CBS channel on its Facebook page recently with a still from the episode featuring actress Cristin Milioti who will play future bride to Josh Radnor's character. The picture was...
01:00 PM, May 14, 2013
Islamabad: Nawaz Sharif's PML-N has emerged the single largest party in Pakistan's landmark general elections by bagging 122 of the 272 parliamentary seats that went to the polls on May 11, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday. The PML-N's two closest rivals the Pakistan People's Party and Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf lagged far behind with 31 and 26 seats, respectively. Earlier, trends emerging from the counting of votes had shown...
12:36 PM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: REpower Systems SE, part of wind turbine maker Suzlon group, has bagged an order worth 90 million euros (over Rs 639 crore) for four wind power projects in Germany. A contract has been received from B rgerwindpark im Kirchspiel Medelby GmbH & Co KG for supplying 27 wind turbines to four projects worth 90 million euros, Suzlon said in a statement on Tuesday. The turbines are scheduled to...
12:08 PM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth, who was due to complete his two-year term in June, got one-year extension. Seth, a 1974 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has assumed the charge of Cabinet Secretary on June 14, 2011. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved the extension of tenure of Seth, the country's top bureaucrat, by one year beyond June 13, 2013, a press...
09:12 AM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: The only Indian to win an individual gold medal in Olympics, shooter Abhinav Bindra, has been recommended for the Bharat Ratna - the country's highest civilian honour - by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). On August 11, 2008, the 30-year-old reserved marksman from Zirakpur, Punjab scripted history when he shot an incredible 700.5 to clinch the yellow metal in the Beijing Olympic Games. "We have recommended...
06:27 PM, May 13, 2013
After pulling his team out of the abyss, Rajasthan Royals' batsman Shane Watson produced a gem of an innings to allow Rajasthan maintain their winning streak at home. The Aussie allrounder's 34-ball 70 took the game away from Chennai Super Kings, especially after Rajasthan managed 23 runs off the 11th over bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin. Watson said it was one of those innings where everything you dream of, comes out...
12:50 PM, May 13, 2013
Jaipur: Shane Watson once again stamped his authority with 70 off 34 balls to propel Rajasthan Royals to an impressive five-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings that took them to number two in the IPL 6 points table. The victory helped Rajasthan touch the magical figure of 20 points after 14 matches. Chennai's openers - Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay - were subdued in their approach as the pitch was...
11:11 PM, May 12, 2013
New Delhi: Days after two Union Ministers were sacked, there were reports of a feud between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. But the Congress on Sunday downplayed that and said that there is no rift. The party has rubbished all reports that the Prime Minister has been isolated. Senior Congress leader Janardhan Dwivedi on Sunday reiterated that the resignations of Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ashwani Kumar...
02:31 PM, May 12, 2013
New Delhi: Attorney General GE Vahanvati, who was under scanner for trying to influence CBI's coal scam status report, will continue in his position. Government sources on Saturday confirm there will be no action against the top law officer. Meanwhile, sacked Law Minister Ashwani Kumar on Saturday came out in his defence saying he resigned only to avoid any unnecessary controversy claiming that his conscience still remains clear. He also...
06:47 PM, May 11, 2013
Bangalore: With Karnataka Chief Minister-designate Siddaramaiah all set to install his Cabinet next week, lobbying for ministerial berths has intensified. Siddaramaiah is slated to be sworn in alone by Governor HR Bhardwaj at 11.50 am on Monday at a ceremony at Sri Kanteerava Stadium. Unlike previous occasions when such functions were held in Glass House of Raj Bhavan which restricted participation due to security and space constraints, the venue this...
06:10 PM, May 11, 2013
