Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) former president Bangaru Laxman Monday resigned from the party’s national executive, following a Delhi court last week sentencing him to four years of rigorous imprisonment for accepting a bribe of Rs.1 lakh.
“Bangaru Laxman has submitted his resignation to party president Nitin Gadkari… his resignation from the national executive has been accepted,” BJP’s national media convenor Shrikant Sharma told reporters here.
Iran’s national grid Monday received 940 megawatts of electricity from the country’s Bushehr nuclear power plant.
The supply comes after several tests conducted at Bushehr plant, the head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Fereidoon Abbasi said, Xinhua reported.
The 1,000-megawatt Bushehr plant was built with help from Russia. The project was postponed several times due to technical and financial problems.
Israel Monday began building a wall along its border with Lebanon. The wall will separate the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila from Israel’s settlement of Metula, Xinhua reported.
The Israeli military announced the project in January, saying the wall, which is expected to take several weeks to build, will protect the recently constructed apartment blocks in Metula from sniper fire coming from the Lebanese border town of Kfar Kila.
A special court has again granted bail to Vijay Sai Reddy, an aide of YSR Congress party leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, in the latter’s illegal assets case.
The second additional CBI court Monday granted conditional bail to Vijay Sai Reddy, directing him not to leave Hyderabad and to cooperate with the investigating agency.
Justice Nagamurthi Sarma also dismissed the CBI plea to suspend the bail verdict for three days.
Following the court order, Vijay Sai Reddy was released from Chanchalguda Central Jail.
New hopes of a cure for baldness have been sparked after Japanese researchers claimed to have successfully grown hair on hairless mice, The Independent reported Monday.
Scientists from the Tsuji Lab Research Institute for Science and Technology at the Tokyo University of Science successfully implanted follicles created from stem cells onto the hairless rodents.
The creatures eventually grew hair, which continued regenerating in normal growth cycles after old hairs fell out.
A 26-year-old woman set herself on fire after an argument with a man who was harassing her with obscene phone calls, police said Monday.
Rajwati, a resident of Bawana, suffered 90 percent burn injuries and was admitted to Lok Nayak hospital.
According to police, the son of her former landlord Shakti was troubling her with obscene phone calls despite her objections.
Rajwati went to Shakti’s mother Sunday and complained about him. A heated argument took place between Rajwati and Shakti and his mother.
Kolkata Knight Riders defeated defending champions Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here Monday.
Knight Riders chased down the target of 140 with two balls to spare after skipper Gautam Gambhir top scored with 63.
Chennai Super Kings were restricted to 139 for five in 20 overs by Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here Monday.
Suresh Raina was the top scorer with 44 while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained unbeaten on 34. For Knight Riders, Jacques Kallis picked up two for 21.
BJP With Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee emerging as probable Congress choices for the presidential polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday ruled out supporting either of them and said the party was open to supporting a candidate chosen by non-Congress parties.
Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj spelt out broad parameters of the party’s approach to the presidential polls even as Congress said that discussions on the choice of candidate were at “nascent” stage.
The release of abducted Sukma collector Alex Paul Menon in the next 48 hours seemed likely with the Maoist interlocutors and the Chhattisgarh government-appointed mediators agreeing Monday night to form a high-powered panel to deal with the Maoists’ demands.
Maoist interlocutors, Hyderabad-based professor G. Hargopal and Delhi-based former IAS officer B.D. Sharma and government mediators Nirmala Buch and S.K. Mishra agreed to a draft Monday night, paving the way for the release of Menon.
At least 68 people died and over 150 were still missing after a ferry, with over 250 people on board, capsized in heavy storm in Brahmaputra river in Assam’s Dhubri district Monday evening, officials said.
Sources in the district administration confirmed that 68 bodies have been fished out till 9.30 p.m. The Border Security Force (BSF) and National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) could rescue about 35 people from the river till that time.
Some of the passengers of the ill-fated ferry also reached the river bank by swimming and with the help of local people, the sources informed.
Demanding that the State government initiate action against those responsible for pending files in the Secretariat, former minister and senior Congress leader Dr P Shanker Rao has alleged that some three lakh files, including thousands of files of the Chief Minister, were reportedly pending in the Secretariat.
A 25-year-old estate worker was today gored to death by a Kumki (tamed elephant), when he attempted to save his colleague from its attack at Kolikamudi Settlement area coming under Anamalai Tiger Reserve in the district, forest department sources said. Vadivelu noticed the elephant coming near his colleague and tried to prevent it from advancing.However, the elephant attacked him and gored him to death, sources said.
Underscoring government’s commitment to eliminate Left-wing extremism, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh today announced a development project covering three districts across two states, reflecting a “humane” approach to the fight against the menace.
The new project spread over 2500 sq km will cover three blocks in Latehar district, one block in Garhwa (both in
Jharkhand) and one block in Balrampur district of neighbouring Chhatisgarh,” Ramesh told a news conference here.
Rear Admiral HCS Bisht, AVSM, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, handed over the command of the Eastern Fleet after more than 15 months at the helm, to Rear Admiral Ajit Kumar P, VSM. The change of guard took place at an
impressive ceremony held here today onboard the Flag Ship INS Jalashwa.
According to a Navy Spokesman, commissioned into the Indian Navy on July one, 1981, Rear Admiral Ajit Kumar P, VSM is a specialist in Surface Warfare.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today congratulated Ratan Kumar Sinha for his appointment as the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and wished the latter success in his new position.
Sinha’s appointment as the AEC Chairman is a matter of great pride for the people of Bihar as he is the son of soil,”
Kumar said in a congratulatory message.
Sinha has become the first person from Bihar to hold the post of AEC Chairman, he said.
A native of Bhagalpur district, Sinha held the post of Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre before taking over
RJD, which is extending support to UPA from outside on Monday pitched for Vice President Hamid Ansari as the next President of the country saying “he is the natural claimant to the highest post”.
“He (Ansari) is the natural claimant to the highest post…He should be promoted from Vice President to President,” RJD President Lalu Prasad told PTI.
Prasad said though his party, with only handful of Parliamentarians, does not have a crucial role in the election of President, it would like to see Ansari in the top post.
Congress, which has begun talks with allies to decide on Presidential candidate, Monday said it was for “widest possible consensus” and “maximum consultations” on the issue and disfavoured any speculation about names.
Party spokesperson Manish Tewari at the same time ducked queries on whether Congress finds itself averse to the idea of an “apolitical” President, a demand raised by various parties.
Poets and authors have likened its scent to that of an ethereal, otherworldly experience. Sensual, earthy and almost wildly exotic in an olfactory sense, the humble papaya is one of earth’s finest gifts to mankind. Here are a few reasons why you should include this fruit in your diet:
Low in calories, high on nutrition, it’s an excellent choice for those on a diet.
The peel of the papaya helps in healing skin wounds and injuries.
The fruit has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous properties. People affected with osteoporosis, arthritis and oedema should consume it regularly.
Muslim leaders from the Bharatiya Jananta Party (BJP) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) on Sunday shared a common platform in an attempt to expand their support base among the Muslims in Jaipur. They were speaking in a conference ‘Challenges before the Muslim community’ held at Birla Auditorium. The leaders held UPA-2 in the Centre and Congress in state responsible for poor condition of Muslims in the state.
Nagarkurnool MLA Nagam Janardhan Reddy on Monday praised the Telangana Congress MPs for risking their political career by raising the statehood issue in the Lok Sabha which consequently led to their suspension for four days.
Talking to reporters in the State Secretariat, Nagam said that the Telangana MPs should continue with their protest and they should not bother even if they were expelled from the party. He said the people in the region would recognise the MPs protest would reward them.
Deputy Election Commissioner of India Vinod Zutshi will conduct a meeting on May 5 with the Collectors and Superintendants of Police of 12 districts to review arrangements for the by-elections to be held on June 12.
Talking to reporters at the State Secretariat, Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwarlal said that the Deputy Election Commissioner would review the arrangements and issue instructions for the administration of election-bound districts. Meanwhile, the Election Commission will also conduct an all-party meeting on May 8th or 9th with regard to the by-elections.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday said that the Centre would respond on the demand for separate Telangana state as soon as possible.
Addressing his monthly press conference, Chidambaram appealed to the MPs from Telangana region, including his partymen, to allow the Parliament to function while their demand could be discussed. “We will respond as soon as possible on the Telangana State,” he said in reply to a question about Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj asking the government to list out the steps taken by it on the issue in the House.
BSP supremo Mayawati on Monday demanded that the Centre bring a Constitutional amendment bill during the current session of Parliament to provide for reservation to SC and ST government employees in promotions.
When Rajya Sabha met for the day, Satish Chandra Misra (BSP) stated that his party has given a notice for suspension of Question Hour to raise the issue of Supreme Court judgment overturning reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs in promotion.
He requested Chairman Hamid Ansari to allow his party leader Mayawati to raise the issue, to which he agreed.
Murdered teenager Aarushi’s dentist mother Nupur Talwar was Monday sent to jail by a special CBI court that will resume hearing her bail plea Tuesday. She was lodged at the Dasna Jail, where she will spend the night along with 59 other women prisoners in barrack no. 13.
After hearing her interim bail plea for 20 minutes, special CBI judge S. Lal sentenced her to a day’s judicial custody.