JPC Chairman PC Chacko, whose removal has been sought by some panel members, said he would have considered resigning if the demand had come to him directly instead of Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar being approached for his ouster. Chacko was speaking to Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate. Here is the full transcript of the interview: Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to Devil's Advocate and in an interview with embattled...
09:16 PM, Apr 28, 2013
Hyderabad: Some Congress MPs from Telangana region, who have been in the forefront of the campaign for separate statehood, would undertake sit-in on the premises of Parliament house on Monday. Congress Lok Sabha member from Karimnagar Ponnam Prabhakar said MPs from Telangana would observe the sit-in at Gandhi statue in Parliament to highlight their demand. Telangana Congress MPs have been vocal in raising the separate statehood demand, sometimes causing discomfiture...
08:25 PM, Apr 28, 2013
New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has criticised the government for undue delays in allotment of coal mines through auction route amid dry-fuel crunch faced by the country. "The Committee cannot but deplore these prolonged consultations delaying the allocation through bidding system and strongly recommend the government to complete the process of consultation without any further delay to ensure early allocation of identified coal blocks through competitive bidding process to boost...
01:20 PM, Apr 28, 2013
New Delhi: JPC Chairman PC Chacko, whose removal has been sought by some panel members, says he would have considered resigning if the demand had come to him directly instead of Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar being approached for his ouster. "If they had come and told me 'you resign', then I would have thought of that. But they did not demand. They met the Speaker seeking my removal. I...
10:47 AM, Apr 28, 2013
Ladakh: As China remains inside the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control, CNN-IBN tracked down the brave scouts who stood face to face with the Chinese platoon in the 1962 war. Many from Leh fought the Chinese in the 1962 war and many were taken prisoners of war (PAWs). Till today, Indian Army sees great value in recruiting and training locals to be soldiers and officers. In fact,...
09:26 AM, Apr 28, 2013
New Delhi: Pressure seems to be growing on the UPA government from within its own constituents. With the first week of the reconvened session of Parliament almost being a washout, the National Congress Party (NCP) has thrown a sharp hint. It says that any failure to pass the Finance Bill in Parliament this session can bring the UPA government down. The NCP leaders will hold a two-day meet in Mumbai...
09:13 AM, Apr 27, 2013
New Delhi: The government on Friday told a Parliamentary Committee that Chinese troops have pitched tents 19 kms deep inside the Indian territory in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir and that efforts are underway to ensure that the status quo is maintained. Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and some other senior officials informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence that India has deployed forces to "keep a close watch...
05:59 PM, Apr 26, 2013
The Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G scam and Congress MP, PC Chacko, has hit out at the Opposition for asking the Speaker to sack him. Speaking to Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate, he charged them with playing a political game by going to the Speaker with their demand rather than asking him for his resignation. Following is an excerpt from the interview: Karan Thapar: 15 members of...
03:50 PM, Apr 26, 2013
New Delhi: The Congress core group met a short while back to discuss the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) affidavit on coal block allocation scam report with its allies and backed Law Minister Ashwani Kumar. Kumar told the core group his job was to look at the legal points in the draft and that he had done nothing wrong. Allies said the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be the next...
02:25 PM, Apr 26, 2013
As the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G scam stays divided with opposition members asking for PC Chacko's resignation, former telecom minister A Raja insists he should be allowed to depose. ...
09:43 AM, Apr 26, 2013
New Delhi: BJP members of a Parliamentary Committee have demanded that officials of the Defence Ministry and the Army be called before it. They are seeking explanation on the issue of Chinese incursion, to get a clear picture of the situation and on how the government is handling it. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Prakash Javadekar, members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, have written to Chairman Raj Babbar, seeking...
04:00 PM, Apr 25, 2013
New Delhi: The Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting on the 2G scam that was scheduled for Thursday has been postponed. JPC Chairperson PC Chacko said that the next date of the meeting will be finalised after consulting other members. The meeting is likely to take place next week, Chacko said. This came after the Lok Sabha was adjourned following a request from MPs to mourn the death of Trinamool Lok Sabha...
11:58 AM, Apr 25, 2013
New Delhi: The BJP on Tuesday sharpened its attack on the UPA government demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the 2G spectrum scam and coalgate. Even as the Opposition appeared divided over seeking PM's resignation, for the Congress these are worrying times. The passage of crucial bills in the Budget Session including the Finance Bill are at stake if the deadlock persists. The NDA is upping the...
09:40 PM, Apr 23, 2013
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has trashed the draft JPC report on the 2G spectrum case and will most likely present its own report on the probe panel's findings, sources said on Tuesday. The sources said that the main opposition party will seek rejection of the draft report. The JPC is expected to meet on Thursday to consider the draft report. Speaking to reporters, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha...
06:46 PM, Apr 23, 2013
Congress leader Manish Tewari said that the BJP should check its own record on coal and 2G during its rule from 1999 to 2004. ...
12:56 PM, Apr 23, 2013
The BJP parliamentary party has decided that its MPs will continue to press for the PM's and the Law Minister's ouster for allegedly vetting the CBI investigations into coal block allocations. ...
12:40 PM, Apr 23, 2013
New Delhi: 2:05 pm: The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day as BJP MPs continued to shout 'PM must quit' slogans. 1:00 pm: UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has ruled out Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over the coal scam or the 2G scam. Meanwhile, the Opposition is divided over the demand for PM's resignation. BJP ally JD(U) is not pushing for the PM's resignation and wants to wait for...
11:30 AM, Apr 23, 2013
New Delhi: A Parliamentary standing committee on coal and steel, which will submit its report on Tuesday, contains a few explosive conclusions. There could be trouble both for the UPA and NDA as the report says all the coal blocks distributed between 1993 and 2008 were unauthorised and not done in a transparent manner. Meanwhile, the report observes that no bidding process was held for coal allocations. Though it is...
08:16 AM, Apr 23, 2013
New Delhi: The 5-year-old Delhi rape survivor's condition is stable, doctors said, and she is still on a semi-solid diet. Meanwhile, the second accused, Pradeep, was brought to Delhi from Bihar on Monday and is likely to be produced in court on Tuesday. The other accused is in custody till May 4. Protests are also likely to continue on the streets and in Parliament after Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar...
07:54 AM, Apr 23, 2013
As Budget Session resumed on Monday, the UPA government once again came under attack by the Opposition. While former telecom minister A Raja accused the PMO of being in the know of 2G decisions, the growing instances of rape in the capital also pushed the Centre on the backfoot. The coal revelations could not have also come at a worse time for the government. ...
11:56 PM, Apr 22, 2013
