Chandigarh: Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine on Tuesday claimed a "clean sweep" in the zila parishad and block samiti elections. An Akali Dal spokesman said that the combine was winning a clear majority in six of the total 22 zila parishads and 43 out of 146 block samitis.
"The alliance is leading in most of the seats as per the results and trends available till this evening," said Akali Dal spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema. Cheema said that the combine has secured clear majority in Amritsar, Bathinda, Kapurthala, Faridkot, Mohali and Patiala zila parishads.
Counting was still in progress in many of the zila parishad and block samiti seats.
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05:24 AM, May 22, 2013
Hyderabad: The ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh plans to organise a convention of party leaders from the block level to gear up the party machinery for local body polls. The meeting would also discuss ways to spead numerous welfare schemes being implemented by the Centre and state governments, state Congress president Botsa Satyanarayana told reporters in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, several state ministers, AICC leader...
01:24 AM, May 22, 2013
Mumbai: Section of traders in Maharashtra on Monday night agreed to call off their prolonged agitation protest against the Local Body Tax (LBT) after a meeting with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan here. Chavan held lengthy discussions with traders, which ended late on Monday evening, after which some of the participants at the meeting announced that the traders would be calling off the stir. "Traders in Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Navi Mumbai...
10:10 AM, May 21, 2013
Mumbai: After more than three weeks, Mumbai traders on Monday called off their strike against Local Boy Tax (LBT). The strike was called off after a meeting took place between Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and protesters. All shops will be opened on Tuesday. Traders, wholesalers and manufacturers launched an indefinite strike against the Maharashtra government's LBT which replaces octroi. Chavan held lengthy discussions with traders, which ended late on Monday...
11:13 PM, May 20, 2013
New Delhi: Under fire ever since IPL spot-fixing scandal broke out, Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) is now facing tough questions about brand IPL and its credibility and sanctity in the world of cricket. CNN-IBN's Karan Thapar interviews BCCI's President N Srinivasan. Here's the transcript of the full interview: Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to Devil's Advocate and a special interview with the president of the BCCI...
11:59 PM, May 18, 2013
New Delhi: Senior CBI officer Vivek Dutt, who headed the Coalgate scam probe team, and three others were on Saturday sent to three days in the agency's custody by a Delhi court for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 15 lakh from a businessman to favour him in a land dispute case. Superintendent Dutt, CBI inspector Rajesh Chandra Karnatak, alleged middleman Rajesh Pachisia and businessman Dinesh Chand Gupta were produced...
06:25 PM, May 18, 2013
Mumbai: Mumbai Police is likely to arrest one of the two accused named by 19-year-old engineering student Nitin Padalkar in his suicide note. Nitin had alleged that he was driven to suicide by the two boys who ragged him continuously. The inquiry report from his college is expected to be ready on Wednesday. Nitin, a second-year engineering student of a Navi Mumbai college, had jumped to his death in front...
09:09 AM, May 15, 2013
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir State Accountability Commission (SAC) has ordered a regular enquiry into the alleged role of Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand in the illegal appointments in urban local bodies. A Division bench of the Commission, comprising chairman Justice (retd) YP Nargotra and Justice (retd) Hakim Imtiyaz Hussain, on Monday directed for a regular enquiry into the allegations of misuse of official position by Chand in the illegal recruitments...
12:58 PM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: With Lok Sabha elections due next year, newly appointed Law Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said he would strive to achieve objectives in the run up, including making legal procedures help fuel economic growth and appointment of judges through a transparent process. Outlining his "broad objectives", Sibal said, "Legal processes and procedures should not be an impediment to economic growth, but must fuel it." He said simplification and...
02:19 PM, May 13, 2013
Mumbai: Amid ongoing stand-off between traders and state government over proposed imposition of Local Body Tax (LBT), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday asked traders to not hold common people to ransom and open their shops. In a press statement issued in Mumbai, Raj said that LBT, to be imposed in Mumbai and some municipal corporations in the state from October 1, either be scrapped or amended. "Henceforth,...
11:47 PM, May 12, 2013
Mumbai: Perturbed by strident opposition to imposition of Local Body Tax (LBT) in Mumbai and some municipal corporations from October 1, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Sunday asked Congress leaders to "clear misconceptions" pertaining to the levy. "The chief minister asked state Congress leaders, including MPCC chief Manikrao Thakre and Mumbai Congress president Janardhan Chandurkar, to clear misconceptions of traders, merchants and opposition parties about LBT," Chavan was quoted...
11:36 PM, May 12, 2013
Mumbai: Wholesalers in the city would continue to observe bandh against the local body tax (LBT) even as associations representing retailers called off their strike on Saturday. "Despite a section of the retailers calling off the strike, wholesalers' strike against LBT will continue," Federation of Associations of Maharashtra President Mohan Gurnani said in a statement in Mumbai. The Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association, led by Viren Shah, had announced...
11:24 PM, 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: The Bharatiya Janata will continue to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the coal scam controversy. Speaking to Karan Thapar on this week's Devil's Advocate, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley has said the exit of Ashwani Kumar in the matter was not enough and that his party will flag the demand for the Prime Minister's resignation. Following is an excerpt...
03:37 PM, May 11, 2013
Mumbai: Federation of Associations of Maharashtra (FAM) representing 750 trade associations in the state on Thursday said, it would continue with its call for indefinite trade bandh till the LBT (Local Body Tax) is removed, even as the agitation entered 18th day. The decision on indefinite strike was taken at a meeting of traders called by FAM at Azad Maidan on Thursday. Several BJP leaders like Jaywantiben Mehta, Raj Purohit,...
01:06 AM, May 10, 2013
Noted lawer Asma Jahangir also said that Pakistani courts were targeting former President General Pervez Musharraf. ...
09:57 PM, May 09, 2013
The former chairperson of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission was speaking to Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate. ...
08:34 PM, May 09, 2013
Mumbai: Mumbai's bustling markets on Thursday wore an empty, deserted look. Since Monday, over one lakh traders in the city have shut shop to protest against the Local Body Tax (LBT) that the Maharashtra government has introduced to replace octroi. Traders say that the protest has caused a loss of Rs 75,000 crore so far. But they are not backing down yet. With talks with the government failing, they have...
07:37 PM, May 09, 2013
Mumbai: Markets in Mumbai have been shut for days now as traders fight against the controversial Local Body Tax. It has been estimated that the strike has incurred a loss of almost Rs 75,000 crore and it still counting. From grocery stores to restaurants to apparel stores, the bandh was near total. Around 40 traders were detained for holding a rally without permission at Lohar Chawl. But that was no...
08:41 AM, May 09, 2013
