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: 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
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: 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
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
New Delhi: BJP on Friday stepped up its pressure on the government by demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the resignations of Railway Minister and Law Minister, saying the "consequences should follow." "Now, there is no logic in the Prime Minister's continuance. Having decided to drop the Law Minister who was protecting the Prime Minister, then the consequences should follow. The consequence is that the Prime Minister...
11:26 PM, May 10, 2013
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. Bansal has already sent his resignation to the Prime Minister. Mallikarjun Kharge, a senior Congress leader from Karnataka, is...
06:08 PM, May 10, 2013
New Delhi: 1:07 pm: Trouble is growing for Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. A Public Interest Litigation in the Punjab and Haryana High Court has revealed preferential allotment of land to Pawan Bansal's family members. 21.26 acres of land in Zirakpur was allotted to railway bribery scam accused Vijay Singla's father Mithan Lal Singla and others. The land worth crores of rupees was leased for 33 years at a rate...
12:27 PM, May 10, 2013
New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi has told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take a final decision on Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. Sources say Sonia Gandhi feels that the damage must be controlled and spoke to Manmohan Singh on Thursday. The Congress Core Committee will meet on Friday and a decision is likely. This comes even as reports say Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is...
09:34 AM, May 10, 2013
Already in the docks over the CWG, 2G and chopper deals, the UPA has now been hit by two more scams, one in the Railways and one over coal block allocations. The Supreme Court has also come down on the functioning of the government and its bureaucracy. In such a situation with the general elections drawing closer, can the UPA ignore the clamour for Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Bansal's removal?...
06:46 PM, May 09, 2013
New Delhi: Three convicts in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case have been sentenced to life after being found guilty of murder. The convicts who have been given life term are former councillor Balwan Khokkar, Girdhari Lal and Captain Bhagmal. Two other convicts - former MLA Mahender Yadav and Kishan Khokkar have been sentenced to three years imprisonment for their role in the riots. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had...
05:34 PM, May 09, 2013
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday sought death sentence for three of the five convicts in an anti-Sikh riots case as it told a Delhi court that they were engaged in "planned communal riot" and "religious cleansing". Arguing over quantum of sentence to be awarded to the five convicts, CBI demanded death for three of them - Balwan Khokkar, Girdhari Lal and Captain Bhagmal - held...
04:18 PM, May 09, 2013
New Delhi: A day after its landmark victory in Karnataka, the Congress is yet to take a call on who will be the Chief Minister. Several aspirants are already making a pitch for the top post. Frontrunner Siddaramaiah has sought an appointment with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and is expected to meet her in Delhi on Thursday evening. Siddaramiah on Wednesday said, "I'm a frontrunner in the race for the...
11:16 AM, May 09, 2013
Bhopal: BJP's humiliating defeat in the Karnataka assembly polls is the beginning of its decline in election-bound states, Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kantilal Bhuria said in Bhopal on Wednesday. Congratulating Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi for the success in Karnataka, where it regained power after a gap of ten years, Bhuria claimed that the BJP's decline because of its misdeeds was set in motion from...
01:23 AM, May 09, 2013
Ranchi: BJP should learn that the "magic" of Narendra Modi was a failure outside Gujarat after its resounding defeat in Karnataka Assembly polls, Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay said on Wednesday. "The BJP had pitted Narendra Modi against Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka. Now it should learn that Modi is confined to just Gujarat and his magic will not work in any other part of the country," the local Lok Sabha...
12:17 AM, May 09, 2013
Should the BJP now be wary of a similar result in the general elections as and when they happen? Or can the BJP bounce back? Will it welcome Yeddyurappa back into its fold again? Modi has proved to be a non-factor in the Assembly elections. Will he fare any better when it comes to attracting votes in the Lok Sabha elections? Saritha Rai joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on...
05:58 PM, May 08, 2013
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday hailed the party's showing in Karnataka polls, saying the result was a rejection of BJP's ideology and suggested the same would be repeated in the Lok Sabha elections as well. Singh praised the efforts of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, saying he took a "leading role" in the campaigning for the polls held on Sunday. "It is...
03:59 PM, May 08, 2013
New Delhi: Union Labour Minister and senior leader from Karnataka Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday indicated that he was ready to be considered for the Chief Minister's post following the electoral victory in the state. "I don't want the post because of my caste (dalit). I am not interested because of long-standing service to the party. If they think that I am fit for the post, then it is upto them...
02:35 PM, May 08, 2013
Chandigarh: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday will hold confabulations with state party leaders and workers here in his bid to further strengthen the party in Haryana. The closed door meeting of Rahul, to be held in three rounds with Haryana Congress leaders and activists, will last till evening, party sources said here. Rahul will be having a meeting with the party MPs and MLAs from the state, besides...
02:25 PM, May 08, 2013
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...
02:10 PM, May 08, 2013
