New Delhi: The BJP has alleged that the CBI coalgate report was tampered with on the directions of the Principal Secretary in the PMO Pulok Chatterjee. Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley made this allegation while speaking to Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate. Below is an excerpt of the interview: Karan Thapar: Do you believe that Mr Shatrughan Singh attended the CBI meeting of his own volition...
08:06 AM, May 12, 2013
Chakdah: Seeking to turn the tables on the Marxists for demanding CBI probe in the chit fund scam, Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy on Saturday night alleged that most of the chit funds came up during the Left front regime. "If the investigations start now, many CPI(M) leaders may come under net. The CPI(M) is demanding CBI inquiry to actually delay the probe process," the former union minister alleged at...
12:40 AM, May 12, 2013
Leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley made this allegation while speaking to Karan Thapar on this week's Devil's Advocate. ...
11:58 PM, May 11, 2013
Mumbai: In a good news for people of Mumbai, retailers called off their strike against the Local Body Tax on late Saturday and said they were ready to talk to the government. The announcement came even as the city struggled with shortage of supplies due to the three-week long strike. Supporting the agitation by Maharashtra traders against the newly introduced Local Body Tax which replaces octroi, Indian Merchants' Chamber had...
11:26 PM, May 11, 2013
New Delhi: With the sacking of Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Bansal as Law Minister and Railways Minister, the heat is now on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The new Law Minister will have to shield the PM even as there's a widening divide between him and his party. Ashwani's exit has left the PM vulnerable, and even lonely. Within hours of the former law minister's resignation, BJP targeted the PM, raising...
09:48 PM, May 11, 2013
Udhagamandalam: Karnataka Janata Paksha president BS Yeddyurappa on Saturday described the Congress win in May 5 Assembly polls as good for the state, but said it remained to be seen how the party was going to govern. "Yes. Congress win is good for Karnataka. This is a honeymoon period for that party and it has to be seen how they (the leaders) are going to govern in future," Yeddyurappa told...
08:28 PM, May 11, 2013
Udhagamandalam: Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) president BS Yeddyurappa on Saturday described the Congress win in May 5 assembly polls as good for the state, but said it remained to be seen how the party was going to govern. "Yes. Congress win is good for Karnataka. This is a honeymoon period for that party and it has to be seen how they (the leaders) are going to govern in future," Yeddyurappa...
08:10 PM, May 11, 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
CPM leader Nilotpal Basu said both Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ashwani Kumar should have been sacked earlier. ...
06:14 PM, May 11, 2013
Kolkata: Sudipta Sen's alleged aide Debjani Mukherjee, who was arrested in connection with the West Bengal chit fund scam, distanced herself from the Saradha Group chairman through a letter that was made public by her lawyers. Debjani in her letter, alleged that Sudipta masterminded the racket while she was merely a salaried employee who was manipulated. She also blamed the media for misrepresenting her relationship with Sudipta. Mamata government has...
05:22 PM, May 11, 2013
Congress Spokesperson Bhakta Charan Das admits there was a difference of opinion between the Prime Minister and the party over the sacking of Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Kumar Bansal and that the initiative was taken by Congress President Sonia Gandhi. He spoke to CNN-IBN's Rupashree Nanda. ...
02:30 PM, May 11, 2013
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party is continuing its attack on the government even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sacked Ashwani Kumar as Law Minister and Pawan Kumar Bansal as the Railways Minister. BJP President Rajnath Singh said the Prime Minister must also resign. "I appeal to the PM to introspect as to what should be done to strengthen the faith of the people in the government machinery. If the...
02:16 PM, May 11, 2013
New Delhi: A mini Cabinet reshuffle is in the offing, according to sources, after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sacked Pawan Kumar Bansal as the Railway Minister and Ashwani Kumar as the Law Minister. Telecom MinisterKapil Sibal has got additional charge of Law Ministry while CP Joshi has once again got the Railways Ministry. A meeting of senior Congress leaders has been called by Congress President Sonia Gandhi to discuss the...
01:37 PM, May 11, 2013
New Delhi: 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. "I tendered my resignation to put an end to unnecessary controversy in a matter pending before the Supreme Court. My conscience remains clear and I believe I will remain vindicated," Ashwani Kumar said. He also said that his resignation was...
12:49 PM, May 11, 2013
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday congratulated Siddaramaiah on his election as Chief Minister of Karnataka. The Prime Minister also wished him "well for the future". Siddaramaiah was on Friday elected as the leader of the Congress Legislative Party in the state. "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh talked to Siddaramaiah to congratulate him on his election as the Chief Minister of Karnataka and to wish him well for the...
12:41 PM, May 11, 2013
New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was forced to sack Ashwani Kumar as Law Minister and Pawan Kumar Bansal as Railway Minister, the Congress party has given full credit to party President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi for taking action against the tainted ministers. "Congress President and Rahul Gandhi never tolerate corruption and that is why they took the resignation of the two ministers," Congress...
12:06 PM, May 11, 2013
Bangalore: Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj late on Friday appointed Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah as the state's chief minister. The 64-year-old leader is expected to be sworn in on Monday. "The governor is pleased to appoint Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister of Karnataka," the Raj Bhavan office said in a communique. After meeting Bhardwaj, Siddaramaiah said the governor had invited him to take oath of office soon. "I will...
09:16 AM, May 11, 2013
New Delhi: The fire from 'cash for promotion' scam finally engulfing the Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. Bansal was sacked on Friday evening after a meeting of the Prime Minister with the Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Bansal, later drove to the PM's residence to submit his resignation. Bansal's fate was perhaps sealed last Friday when his nephew Vijay Singla was arrested for taking a bribe of Rs 90 lakh from...
08:09 AM, May 11, 2013
New Delhi: After days of sustained pressure, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was finally forced to act against his ministers charged with corruption and interference. Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal were both forced to quit on Friday. Both of them called on the Prime Minister on Friday evening and submitted their resignations. While Ashwani Kumar was sacked for interfering in CBI's coalgate probe report, Pawan Bansal...
07:55 AM, May 11, 2013
Bangalore: Over 200 members of the newly elected 225-member Karnataka assembly are 'crorepatis' (multi-millionaires), said an election watchdog after analyzing their declared assets. Of 218 assets studied by the Karnataka Election Watch (KEW) showed that 203 of them, that is 93 per cent, are "crorepatis", up from 63 per cent who were 'crorepatis' in the outgoing assembly, the NGO said in a release on Friday. The Congress, which won 121...
05:55 AM, May 11, 2013
