Category: NATIONAL NEWS

Delhi’s air quality was on the brink of turning severe again with unfavourable meteorological conditions like low wind speed preventing dispersion of pollutants on Thursday, authorities said.The Central Pollution Control Board data showed the overall air quality index (AQI) at the ‘very poor’ level of 395, while the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) showed an AQI of 372, which too falls in the ‘very poor’ category. According to CPCB data, 17 areas recorded severe pollution, while 15 areas witnessed ‘very poor’ air quality. In NCR, Ghaziabad…

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The much-awaited expansion and reshuffle of the six month-old H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition Cabinet in Karnataka would be carried out here Saturday evening.Two ministers — Ramesh Jarkiholi (Municipal Administration) and R Shankar (Forest and Environment) — are likely to be dropped, official sources said.New ministers would be sworn in at 5.20 pm by Governor Vajubhai Vala at Raj Bhavan, the sources said. According to a statement issued by the office of Congress Legislature Party Leader Siddaramaiah, Satish Jarkiholi, M B Patil, C S Shivalli, M T B Nagaraj, E Tukaram,…

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Ten central agencies have been authorised by the Centre to intercept information from any computer, a move that set off a political storm Friday with the opposition accusing the government of trying to create a “surveillance state” But the Centre said the rules for intercepting and monitoring computer data were framed in 2009 when the Congress-led UPA was in power and its new order only notified the designated authority which can carry out such action The opposition parties led by the Congress slammed the order as unconstitutional, undemocratic and an…

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Addressing India’s distressed farmers directly from outside Parliament, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said he will not let Prime Minister Narendra Modi sleep until all farm loans have been waived.In a stinging attack on what he described as crony capitalism, Gandhi said the government has turned a blind eye to the loans given to 15 top industrialists of the country, including Reliance Group chairperson Anil Ambani, but made no effort to alleviate the woes of the farmers in the last four and half years.”We promised to waive loans in 10…

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Senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar’s conviction and sentence to life for “remainder of his natural life” by the Delhi High Court on Monday is the third successful prosecution within a month relating to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases.  The judgement holding Kumar guilty in a case arising out of one of the worst genocides in the country comes 19 days after the High Court on November 28 upheld the conviction of 70 out of the 89 people who were awarded five-year jail term by a trial court in another case…

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Senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel was Sunday named the new chief minister of Chhattisgarh, ending the suspense after days of intense deliberations with top party leadership headed by president Rahul Gandhi. Congress central observer Mallikarjun Kharge made the announcement after the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting here. .Baghel will take oath as the the chief minister at 5 pm on Monday, Kharge told media persons in the state capital.No other minister will be taking oath on that day, he said.The 57-year-old OBC leader, who steered the party to a stupendous…

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Buoyed by the Supreme Court dismissing all petitions asking for a probe into the Rafale deal, BJP president Amit Shah Friday said the order is a slap on Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s politics of lies and asked him to apologise to the country and its soldiers for putting national security at risk. There is no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the procurement of 36 Rafale jets from France, the court said on Friday. It is not the job of the court to deal with the comparative details of…

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Amid hectic lobbying in the Congress for the top posts in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, party president Rahul Gandhi Thursday held deliberations with central observers and MLAs at his residence and said the names of the chief ministers would be declared soon.Gandhi met the party’s observers — K C Venugopal for Rajasthan and A K Antony for Madhya Pradesh early morning along with the state unit in-charges and later met the contenders.”Yes, you will see a chief minister soon…,” he said when asked about when the decision will be…

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As many as 13 of 19 ministers in the outgoing Vasundhara Raje government have lost the Assembly elections in Rajasthan as results and trends brought electoral reverses for the ruling BJP.However, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and her five cabinet colleagues have won their respective constituencies.Raje (Jhalrapatan), Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria (Udaipur), Education Minister Vasundev Devnani (Ajmer North), Women and Child Development Minister Anita Bhadel (Ajmer South), Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore (Churu) and Higher Education Minister Kiran Maheshwari (Rajsamand) have retained their respective seats.The chief minister won the Jhalrapatan…

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel as a “thorough professional with impeccable integrity” in a tweet today, minutes after the top central bank official resigned with immediate effect. His government was embroiled in a bitter conflict with the RBI over autonomy issues until recently, a factor that many believe led to Mr Patel’s decision. “Dr Urjit Patel is a thorough professional with impeccable integrity. He has been in the Reserve Bank of India for about 6 years as Deputy Governor and Governor. He…

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