New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday turned down West Bengal Chief Mininster Mamata Banerjee's demand for central forces during the panchayat elections in the state. Sources reveal that the Home Ministry turned down the demand saying it was the state government's responsibility to provide security for such polls.
However, the West Bengal State Election commission and the Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee are yet to confirm the development. The matter is expected to be decided by a court, which will take a decision during a hearing on Wednesday.
"We do not provide Central forces to any state. These are local bodies' polls," said an official in the Home Ministry. West Bengal government had demanded 300 companies (around 30,000 personnel) of paramilitary forces from the Centre for the panchayat polls.
On Monday, Mamata had rejected the State Election Commission's demand for 1.49 lakh security personnel for the first phase of panchayat polls scheduled for next month, saying the state did not have requisite forces. State Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra also said a fresh proposal is being sent to the Home Ministry seeking Central Paramilitary forces for the panchayat polls scheduled from July 2. ...
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05:36 PM, Jun 18, 2013
Lucknow: Terming as "unfortunate" Saudi Arabia's decision to reduce Haj pilgrims' quota, Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan on Friday said the Centre should make all out efforts to restore the quota. Khan said the quota reduction would dishearten those who have completed all formalities and are waiting to undertake the pilgrimage. "About 33,111 people in the state have already been chosen on temporary basis for the pilgrimage of which 31,960...
01:12 AM, Jun 15, 2013
AIADMK chief J Jayalaithaa on Wednesday added to the growing Third front clamour and said, "If the present government doesn't release the funds for the cancer institute this year, then I assure that there will be a friendlier government next year that will get the work done." ...
09:00 PM, Jun 12, 2013
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday inaugurated the semi-open prison complex and beauty culture centre in Tihar Jail in Delhi. "The objective behind starting the semi-open prison is to mould the thinking of a prisoner towards positive activity by reposing trust in him so that he may resocialise in society after his release," Dikshit said in Delhi. Convicts with good conduct are sent to semi-open prisons. ...
05:15 AM, Jun 12, 2013
New Delhi: Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Tuesday said there was need for a consensus on setting up a National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) but his ministry did not have plans to move the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on the issue. Shinde said that the government has to think about the opposition to the proposal to set up NCTC from some non-Congress chief ministers. "We will have to...
04:57 AM, Jun 12, 2013
New Karnataka Health Minister UT Khader, taking note of the Citizen Journalist story that highlighted Shailaja's plight, has promised action and offered to bear her medical expenses. ...
09:04 PM, Jun 11, 2013
New Delhi: Hundreds of commuters on Delhi Metro's Jahangirpuri-HUDA City Centre line had a harrowing experience after a train got stuck in a tunnel during rush hour on Tuesday morning for 45 minutes. All the commuters on the train have been safely evacuated, an official said. The Yellow Line metro route will experience some disruptions through the day, sources said. "Metro traffic on the Jahangirpuri-Huda City Centre line was affected...
12:42 PM, Jun 11, 2013
New Delhi: The much talked-about NCTC may be a non-starter but the government has rejected the demand of non-Congress Chief Ministers for a law to set up the anti-terror body. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said his Ministry was not exploring the option of bringing a bill in Parliament for the purpose. "No, we have no such proposal," Shinde told reporters when asked about the possibility of bringing a law...
08:00 PM, Jun 09, 2013
Chennai: Ruling AIADMK on Saturday accused the UPA government of having "step-motherly attitude" towards Tamil Nadu and acting in ways affecting federalism. The party Executive which met under its presidium chairman E Madhusudhanan and in the presence of the AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa "condemned" the Centre for acting in ways affecting the federalism. It adopted a resolution saying the Centre's steps such as not consulting states on forming the National Counter...
01:15 AM, Jun 09, 2013
A day after Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the government over the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has said he is not aware of national affairs. He also said Modi must not criticise and should co-operate in fighting terror. ...
11:53 AM, Jun 06, 2013
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi once again attacked the Centre over internal security and slammed the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), saying the big brother attitude of the government is not good. ...
11:46 PM, Jun 05, 2013
New Delhi: The government on Wednesday hit back at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi after he alleged that the UPA was doing nothing for national security with Union Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal accusing Modi of promoting terrorism. "Modi's administration has the ability to generate fake encounters. He must be knowing a lot about terror. The next time we wish to enact a law on terror, we must call Mr Modi,...
02:32 PM, Jun 05, 2013
New Delhi: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi once again attacked the Centre over internal security and slammed the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), saying the big brother attitude of the government is not good. "You are attacking the federal structure just by the idea of NCTC. The big brother attitude is not good," Modi said addressing the media after the internal security meet in the national capital. "The multi-agency centre...
01:51 PM, Jun 05, 2013
New Delhi: 10:45 am: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said several laws have been enacted to tackle crimes against women. "There is a need to put in place institutional mechanisms such as sensitisation of policemen," the Prime Minister said at the internal security meet. 10:44 am: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says Centre and state governments must work together to combat Naxalism. He says the government has instituted measures in 34 Naxal-hit...
10:27 AM, Jun 05, 2013
New Delhi: More and more states are opposing the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) formation even after the Centre has watered it down. Sources say Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are likely to oppose the move at the internal security meet of Chief Ministers on Wednesday. Sources say Nitish Kumar is likely to say that the draft of NCTC still suffers from serious...
10:05 AM, Jun 05, 2013
New Delhi: Ten days after the deadly Naxal attack in Chhatisgarh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called an internal security meeting of the Chief Ministers of all states. Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Madhya Predesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah are the non-Congress CMs who will be attending the meet on Wednesday. Some...
08:35 AM, Jun 05, 2013
London: An Indian visa centre will be set up at Leicester after a 20-year campaign by its citizens seeking the establishment of the facility in the city which has a significant Indian-origin population. The announcement was made by Deputy High Commissioner of India Dr Virender Paul on Thursday. The Indian government currently runs visa centres in Birmingham and London, as well as Edinburgh and Cardiff. Leicester has a total population...
01:50 PM, Jun 01, 2013
New Delhi: Veteran women's rights activist and pioneer of feminist studies in India Vina Mazumdar died in Delhi on Thursday morning. Mazumdar had been ailing with a lung disorder. She was 87 and is survived by four children - three daughters and a son. A strong votary of increased women's representation in Parliament and legislature, Mazumdar was the secretary of the Committee on the Status of Women in India that...
02:48 PM, May 30, 2013
As you drive on the flyover to the sprawling Electronic City from Bangalore, you can't miss the shiny, glass buildings on the Infosys campus. One is a pyramid, another looks like the bow of a ship and yet another has a big hole right in the middle. What lies inside this building, which goes by the number 44, holds a key to the future of the 32-year-old software company. Inside,...
11:59 AM, May 30, 2013
Kochi: Performing arts in the county seldom gets its due. But when a noted actor and a successful businessman get together, even the most neglected gets noticed. This has resulted in the formation of a new cultural centre in Kochi. After wooing Mumbai and Delhi, actor-director Saurabh Shukla's masterpiece "Two to Tango, Three to Jive" had a packed show at the Jose Thomas Performing Art Centre, Kochi's new cultural hub....
12:09 PM, May 29, 2013
