WB chit fund: Sudipta Sen denies links with TMC
by IANS
Kolkata: The Saradha chit fund scam's suspected kingpin Sudipta Sen who earlier had reached out to the CBI accusing West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress of complicity in the swindle, has now approached the court opposing probe by the central agency. Sen, now behind bars, has not only filed an affidavit in the Calcutta High Court expressing faith in the state government's investigation as opposed to a Central Bureau of Investigation...  
10:30 PM, May 16, 2013

Punjab: 1 killed, 3 injured as Congress rally attacked Bathinda: Over a dozen armed men opened indiscriminate fire at a Congress-PPP election rally, killing one person and injuring at least three others in Rampura Phull area of the district. Around 15-16 armed men opened fire at the rally in Adampur village here organised ahead of May 19 panchayat polls. Congress activist Jasvir Singh was killed in the attack while Lakhbir Singh alias Lakha Sidhana, a prominent PPP leader and...  
09:59 PM, May 16, 2013

Naxals strong in non-Congress ruled states: Ramesh Dhar (MP): Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said Naxalism is strong only in those states where Congress is not in power. "Naxalism is strong only in those states where Congress is not in power like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha among others," the Union Minister said, addressing a 'Parivartan Rally' in Bordha village of the district. Ramesh said that whenever Congress is weakened in these states, Naxalism...  
08:55 PM, May 16, 2013

Rajasthan: Rahul holds feedback meetings with Cong workers Jaipur: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi met party workers and office bearers here on Thursday while continuing his task of collecting feedback over the party's prospects in the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, party sources said. Rahul arrived in Rajasthan's Bikaner district on Wednesday to hold "feedback meetings" with the party's workers. He left for Jaipur in the evening. Assembly polls are scheduled in Congress-ruled Rajasthan at the year-end....  
07:33 PM, May 16, 2013

Rajasthan polls: 'No ticket for those with criminal records' Jaipur: The ruling Congress has a good chance of retaining power in Rajasthan, but it must avoid giving tickets to people with criminal records in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, party Vice President Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday. "I am (quite) confident that we will win (and retain power) in the state... although ticket distribution is our internal issue but, in my view, candidates with criminal record should...  
06:41 PM, May 16, 2013

Party has no role in CBI's action against Kataria: Congress Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday dismissed BJP's allegations that CBI has chargesheeted Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Gulab Chand Kataria in Sohrabuddin encounter case at the behest of Congress. "Congress has no role in the case and law will take its own course," Gehlot told reporters here. On Kataria's announcement on Thursday that he would resign as MLA if arrested in the case, Gehlot said,...  
05:20 PM, May 16, 2013

Google launches streaming music service 'All Access' ahead of Apple San Francisco: Google launched a music service on Wednesday that allows users to listen to unlimited songs for $9.99 a month, challenging smaller companies like Pandora and Spotify in the market for streaming music. With its new service, announced at its annual developers' conference in San Francisco, Google has adopted the streaming music business model ahead of rival Apple, which pioneered online music purchases with iTunes. Google's "All Access" service...  
02:53 PM, May 16, 2013

Viswanathan Anand beats Teimour Radjabov; joint third now Sor Hidle (Norway): World champion Viswanathan Anand outclassed Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan to jump to joint third spot after the seventh round of Norway chess 2013 super tournament, here. It turned out to be a good day in office for Anand as he won an important game with black pieces adding to the woes of Radjabov whose slide in the world ranking continued. The full point also took Anand to...  
11:43 AM, May 16, 2013

Chit fund scam: Sudipta Sen opposes CBI probe Kolkata: Saradha group chairman Sudipta Sen, who has been accused of cheating lakhs of investors of their money running into thousands of crores, on Wednesday opposed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the complaints against him and his companies in an affidavit filed before the Calcutta High Court. He claimed before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi that the Special Investigation Team...  
10:20 AM, May 16, 2013

Jagan DA case: Will Cong act against the AP Home Minister? Hyderabad: In an embarrassment for the Congress in Andhra Pradesh, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has chargesheeted the state's Home Minister, Sabitha Reddy, in connection with the Jagan Reddy disproportionate assets case. Sabitha has been accused by the FBI of misusing her position. She is the third Cabinet minister accused. The Congress is under fire over the case. Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu said, "The party needs...  
07:23 AM, May 16, 2013

Lawmakers accuse Obama administration of abusing free speech rights Washington: US lawmakers accused the Obama administration on Wednesday of trampling on free speech rights and evading questions about the Justice Department's secret seizure of Associated Press telephone records. US Attorney General Eric Holder, testifying before a House of Representatives panel, provided limited responses on the issue, noting he had been recused from the probe into a government leak that led to the records seizure. Lawmakers on the House Judiciary...  
03:48 AM, May 16, 2013

Verification of electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh from today Hyderabad: Door-to-door verification of electoral rolls to rectify duplication of voters and any errors will be undertaken by booth-level officers (BLOs) in Andhra Pradesh from Thursday. The campaign to be carried out by 66,270 BLOs would go on till June 15 and new eligible voters would be enrolled during the drive, state Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal said in Hyderabad. The BLOs would also collect the mobile numbers and e-mail...  
02:26 AM, May 16, 2013

Summoning Raja before JPC 'unconstitutional': Chacko Thrissur: JPC Chairman PC Chacko has said it will be "unconstitutional" to summon former Telecom Minister A Raja, prime accused in the 2G spectrum case, before the Joint Parliamentary Committee to take evidence, as it would be an "infringement" of Article 20 of the Constitution. "Article 20 (iii) of the Constitution clearly states no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself," Chacko said....  
01:26 AM, May 16, 2013

Delhi Assembly polls: Sheila Dikshit meets Sonia Gandhi New Delhi: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi and is believed to have apprised her about the party's preparation for the upcoming Assembly polls. The meeting lasted for around 35 minutes. Dikshit is poised to seek an unprecedented fourth term as Delhi's Chief Minister when assembly polls are held in November. She has already asked partymen to start preparations for the election. There has...  
10:24 PM, May 15, 2013

Coalgate: BJP demands PM's resignation for fair probe Mumbai: Demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, BJP today said an independent probe in the coal allocation scam was not possible till he occupies the top post. Party Vice-President Balbir Punj told reporters here that the CBI which had acted swiftly in the Rail scam, involving Pawan Bansal, has chosen not to show enough activism in the coalgate investigation. "Some action has been taken against bribe givers, but...  
08:59 PM, May 15, 2013

BJP red-faced over CBI chargesheet against Gulab Chand Kataria New Delhi: Rajasthan BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria may have been chargesheeted by the CBI in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. But, as the BJP alleged, is Gujarat CM Narendra Modi the real target of the CBI? The CBI's move to chargesheet Kataria brought out the entire BJP brass against the CBI on Wednesday, with BJP president Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and even Kataria-baiter Vasundhara Raje putting up a strong...  
08:13 PM, May 15, 2013

Arunachal missing from Maharashtra Board textbooks Mumbai: For lakhs of 10th class students in Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh is not a part of the country, as the north-eastern state is reportedly "missing" from the map in their geography textbooks. Taking a serious note of the lapse, the state government today sought clarification from the chairman of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, asking him to explain the factors contributing to the goof-up. "I...  
07:32 PM, May 15, 2013

Cabinet will have people with 'clean image': Siddaramaiah New Delhi: With BJP's debacle in Karnataka following corruption charges clearly on his mind, new Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said he will have people with clean image in his Cabinet to be formed in a couple of days. 64-year-old Siddaramaiah, who took over as the Chief Minister on May 13, reached Delhi on Wednesday afternoon and will hold consultation with central leadership on the composition of his Cabinet. "Right...  
06:40 PM, May 15, 2013

Will endeavour to work for Assam's development, says PM Guwahati: Claiming that Assam was like home to him, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said he would endeavour to work for the development of the state that he has been representing in the Rajya Sabha since 1991. Briefly addressing the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in the Assembly premises here, Singh said Assam was like home to him and expressed his gratitude to the MLAs here for giving him...  
05:29 PM, May 15, 2013

Sasheh Aagha never felt helpless during the MMS scandal
by IANS
Mumbai: Pakistani actress Sasheh Aagha, making her Bollywood debut with 'Aurangzeb', was involved in an MMS scandal, but says it was not a difficult phase. In 2011 an MMS showing Sasheh with Bollywood actor Ruslaan Mumtaz went viral, but the actress says her name got falsely implicated. "It was not difficult at all. I felt that these things happen, people gossip all the time," Sasheh told IANS. Daughter of 'Nikaah'...  
04:53 PM, May 15, 2013