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Pawan Bansal sacked: Is it too little, too late?

Pawan Kumar Bansal on Friday evening resigned as Railway Minister following allegations of corrupt practices by his close relatives and aides. Sources say that Bansal was forced to resign after Congress President Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and asked him to force the Railway Minister to put in his papers. ...

Zaka Ashraf defends manner of his election as PCB chief

Karachi: Stung by the criticism over the manner in which he has become the first elected chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board, Zaka Ashraf on Friday insisted that the process adopted by the PCB was according to recommendations of the International Cricket Council. Ashraf has come in for sharp criticism from former heads of the Board and former players over the manner he was elected as PCB chief on Wednesday under...  

Action against Pawan Bansal too little too late: Venkaiah Naidu

Pawan Kumar Bansal on Friday resigned as Railway Minister. ...

Ashwani Kumar cannot be saved: Kiran Bedi

Pawan Kumar Bansal resigned as Railway Minister on Friday. ...

BJP calls for CBI probe into firms owned by Bansal's relatives

Chandigarh: Stepping up the heat on Pawan Kumar Bansal who resigned as Railway Minister on Friday following his nephew's arrest in a graft case, BJP on Friday called for a CBI probe into three firms floated by his relatives which had allegedly profited under "shelter" provided by him. "The turnover of these firms, with family members of (Bansal) as their directors and share-holders, increased many times in the past five...  

Pawan Bansal case a very shameful incident: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, who is facing allegations of being involved in the cash for posts scam in the Indian Railways, resigned on Friday. Reacting to the development, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the resignation came too late and said Law Minister Ashwani Kumar should also resign. ...

Coal scam: CBI shortlists 500 phone calls for scrutiny

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has identified for closer scrutiny 500 phone calls from out of the 1,000 intercepted calls mainly among the four arrested accused in the alleged Rs 10 crore Railway bribery scandal. As the scandal led to the resignation of Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, CBI sources said on Friday that over 1,000 phone calls were intercepted during the two-month long surveillance on arrested...  

Bansal resigns, will Ashwani follow the suit?

New Delhi: Pawan Kumar Bansal on Friday evening resigned as Railway Minister following allegations of corrupt practices by his close relatives and aides. Sources say that Bansal resigned after Congress President Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and asked him to force the Railway Minister to put in his papers. The question now being raised is whether Ashwani will be sacked too. The big questions - Can the PM...  

Pawan Bansal reaches office after 2 days, begins clearing files

New Delhi: Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, who is facing allegations of being involved in the cash for jobs scam in the Indian Railways, visited Rail Bhawan on Friday. Bansal has not been attending office for the last two days. He reportedly went to Rail Bhawan on Friday to clear his files. The net is closing in on the Railway Minister following allegations that his family members were involved in...  

Railway bribery scandal: Why didn't CBI act earlier?

CBI sources say the Railway bribery case is turning out to be a multi-crore scam with roots deeper than what meets the eye. The question is what action did the agency take when it was aware of a similar recruitment scam reported by CNN-IBN in 2010. ...

Demand to sack Ashwani, Bansal grows but Congress remains silent

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday remained non-committal on the continuance of its two ministers Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Kumar Bansal. The two have been under fire over allegations of misuse of power. On Thursday, while Bansal chose to skip the Cabinet meet at the PM's residence, Ashwani attended it. Sources said that the PM was still not keen on Ashwani's exit as that would expose him to opposition attack....  

Railway bribery scandal: CBI to question Pawan Bansal soon

New Delhi: Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal is likely to be quizzed soon by the CBI in connection with the alleged Rs 10 crore bribery scandal involving his nephew V Singla and Railway Board member Mahesh Kumar, both of whom reportedly met at his residence. The agency on Thursday grilled the minister's personal secretary Rahul Bhandari, a 1997 batch Punjab cadre IAS officer, who is believed to be privy to...  

Pawan Bansal must step down: Railwaymen's federation

Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's nephew has been arrested on charges of receiving bribes from a railway official for promotion. ...

Ashwani's portfolio may be changed, Bansal likely to resign: Sources

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is still not keen on Law Minister Ashwani Kumar's exit, sources said on Thursday. The sources said that the PM's main worry was that he would be in the line of fire if Ashwani resigned. At the Cabinet meet at the PM's residence, the solution offered was changing the portfolio of Ashwani Kumar. Meanwhile, sources added that Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal is unlikely...  

Pawan Bansal skips Cabinet meet at PM's residence

New Delhi: Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal skipped a Cabinet meet at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence on Thursday even as Law Minister Ashwani Kumar attended it. Both Bansal and Ashwani are under fire over the Railway Board bribery case and the coal scam probe respectively. Sources had earlier said that the Congress wanted the PM to decide on Ashwani's fate. Sources said the PM was seriously considering the possibility...  

Railway bribery: CBI seeks clarifications from Bansal's secy

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday sought clarifications from Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's personal secretary Rahul Bhandari in the Railway bribery case. The investigative agency sought clarification on the basis of some phone conversations tapped by the CBI. Sources said that this cannot be technically called 'questioning' yet but just clarifications. The CBI may seek more details from Bhandari at a later stage. The CBI...  

Latif to move court against Ashraf's election as PCB chief

Karachi: Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has said that he would challenge the manner in which Zaka Ashraf was elected Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman under the new Constitution by filing a petition in the High Court. "After my first petition, the PCB introduced a few amendments to its constitution. However, it is not as democratic as it should be. There are loopholes [in the new constitution] which I want...  

Railway bribery scandal: Pawan Bansal's office under CBI scanner

New Delhi: Preliminary investigations into the probe of the Railway bribery scandal are leading to the office of the Railway Minister, but the probe agency would wait till it gets a concrete evidence in this regard, CBI sources said on Wednesday. The sources clarified that direct evidence of involvement of Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has not surfaced so far, but at least four officials posted in his office would...  

Sonia wants Ashwani, Bansal to quit: Sources

New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi has conveyed to some party leaders that she wants Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, who are facing allegations of corruption, to quit if the party's image is affected. Sonia told some Congress leaders that as the party had won Karnataka Assembly elections on the plank of providing a corruption-free government, so those facing serious allegations should resign. She told...  

Railway Minister denies any relation with Ajay Garg

New Delhi: In response to a report in a section of media, Railway Minister PK Bansal on Tuesday clarified that Ajay Garg, an alleged middleman in the Rs 10 crore bribery case, has no connection with him. "He is not even a relative, much less a nephew. There is no question of any relations with him," Bansal said. Garg was today arrested after he surrendered before a Delhi court, which...