Chit fund scam: Debjani distances herself from Sudipta, says he masterminded the racket 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 gives credit to Sonia for sacking Ashwani, Bansal

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

If PM introspects, he'll realise that he must resign: BJP 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

Sibal gets Law Ministry, CP Joshi gets Railways 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

Is the government distancing itself from Ashwani Kumar? New Delhi: It seems that the government is distancing itself from sacked Law Minister Ashwani Kumar. Sources say that the government had prepared a statement to defend Ashwani Kumar after he resigned, however, it did not release that statement. Sources say the statement said, "Ashwani resigned because of perception and his resignation should not be seen as corruption. He has not been indicted by the Supreme Court in any way."...  
12:59 PM, May 11, 2013

Ashwani says he resigned to avoid 'unnecessary controversy' 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

PM talks to Siddaramaiah, congratulates him on election as CM 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

Sibal may be new Law Minister, CP Joshi likely to get Railways 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

Now Showing: Masand reviews 'Go, Goa Gone', 'Gippi', 'Star Trek: Into Darkness'

Rajeev Masand reviews zom-com 'Go, Goa, Gone', teen film 'Gippi' and Holyywood flick 'Star Trek: Into Darkness' this week. ...
11:56 AM, May 11, 2013

Anand crushes Topalov, moves to joint second Sandnes: World champion Viswanathan Anand crushed his former challenger Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the third round to jump to the joint second spot in the Norway Chess 2013 super tournament, here. Sergey Karjakin of Russia scored his third straight victory at the expense of Wang Hao of China to lead the table with three points. Anand and Levon Aronian follow him, a full point behind. Teimoru Radjabov of Azerbaijan...  
09:52 AM, May 11, 2013

Siddaramaiah appointed Karnataka CM, to take oath on Monday
by IANS
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

Timeline: How Pawan Bansal lost his job 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

PM sacks Ashwani, Bansal to restore credibility; but is it too late? 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

Over 200 Karnataka legislators are multi-millionaires
by IANS
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

Ministers who resigned on corruption charges in UPA II
by IANS
New Delhi: Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Law Minister Ashwani Kumar were not the first from in the United Progressive Alliance-II to have resigned on corruption charges. The others who stepped down on corruption charges are: A Raja - The DMK leader held the portfolio of communication and information technology when an alleged scam in allocation of 2G spectrum took place. A report of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)...  
04:40 AM, May 11, 2013

SBI enters into partnership with Industrial Bank of Korea Mumbai: State Bank of India on Friday said it has entered into a partnership with the Industrial Bank of Korea to help the Korean small businesses doing business here in the country. The agreement will help about 480 Korean small and medium enterprises operating in the country, SBI said in a statement issued in Mumbai. In the absence of a branch of the Korean bank in the country, "this agreement...  
03:45 AM, May 11, 2013

HP: Dhumal criticises cut in special plan assistance Shimla: Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on Friday criticised the state government for cut in special plan assistance in the annual plan for 2013-14. He said the assistance has been reduced from Rs 1,400 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 1,350 crore during 2013-14 which is a cause of concern as it would retard the pace of development. Reacting to the reports regarding cut in special plan assistance,...  
02:15 AM, May 11, 2013

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar hails resignations, calls them late Patna: Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar on Friday night hailed the resignations of Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Union Law Minister Aswani Kumar but said it came too late. "It came too late," Kumar said when asked for reaction on resignations of Rail minister Bansal and Law minister Kumar. Bansal resigned on Friday night following a directive from the Congress leadership as the government's image continued...  
12:27 AM, May 11, 2013

Rajeev Masand says 'Star Trek - Into Darkness' won't bore you if you are willing to suspend disbelief. What do you think? Write your own review and win prizes. 
11:46 PM, May 10, 2013

'Star Trek - Into Darkness' review: The film won't bore you Cast: Chris Pine, Karl Urban, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zoe Saldana Director: JJ Abrams Even if, like me, you weren't a fan of the Star Trek universe, or were mostly unfamiliar with its 40-year-old legacy, you'd have to admit that JJ Abrams' 2009 reboot was a fresh and accessible stand-alone sci-fi adventure. The sequel, 'Star Trek: Into Darkness', directed again by Abrams, is cut from the same cloth. So although there are...  
11:37 PM, May 10, 2013