Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said there was a very dangerous trend of the courts “crossing the Lakshman Rekha” and taking upon themselves the functions that belong to the executive, remarks that came a day after the Supreme Court in a verdict said that bureaucrats should not act on verbal orders given by political bosses.
With Narendra Modi arriving here tonight and the BJP taking out yatras in the state to pay respect to the six victims of the serial blasts on October 27, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar alleged today that efforts were being made to disturb harmony.
“Bihar has been a land of harmony … everybody knows that efforts are being made to disturb this,” Kumar told reporters on BJP’s ‘Asathi Kalash Yatra’.
On the 57th Andhra Pradesh Formation Day, MPs opposing bifurcation say they still firmly believe that division of Andhra Pradesh would be avoided.
The elected representatives from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions felt that the day marking the birth of Andhra Pradesh, carved out from the erstwhile Madras Presidency in 1956, was observed with usual spirit by people of Andhra Pradesh.
Congress MP Sai Prathap, representing Rajampet parliamentary constituency, said he visited an ancient temple at Ananthapur to pray for a United Andhra.
Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh admitted that there had been a delay in declaring the party’s list of candidates for the November 25 Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh.
“I have no hesitation in admitting that the release of the list of candidates for the elections has been delayed,” Digvijay told reporters here after his son, Jaiwardhan Singh, filed his nomination papers.
Incidentally, the party had announced some time back that tickets for the Assembly elections would be handed out three months in advance.
Narendra Modi hit back at Union Minister Kapil Sibal for saying that he does not address press conferences to avoid being questioned and said it is the “arrogant” Congress that does not answer media queries.
“You go through the speeches of Congress or UPA leaders in the past two months and you will see they are not talking about what they have done.
President Barack Obama welcomes Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to the White House today, as sectarian violence in the country hits its deadliest peak since April 2008.
The Oval Office talks take place nearly two years after the last American troops left Iraq following an eight-year occupation and as a wave of Al-Qaeda attacks sows terror in the Iraqi Shiite community.
The violence is stirring fears the country may slide into an abyss exacerbated by the brutal war rending Syria next door.
A suspected Indian Mujahideen member arrested for his alleged involvement in September 7, 2012 blast at Delhi High Court which claimed 15 lives, was today remanded in 14-day of judicial custody by a local court.
District Judge I S Mehta sent Uzair Ahmed to Tihar jail till November 14 after the NIA sought his judicial remand saying, the investigation is at an initial stage and the accused is also allegedly involved in serial blasts at Patna on October 27.
Malayalam film actress Shweta Menon has alleged that she was ‘insulted’ by a person at the venue of the President’s Trophy Boat Race here today.
While Menon declined to reveal the name of the person who allegedly insulted her, reports suggested that it was a someone known in the political field.
Talking to television news channels, Menon claimed she had complained to District Collector B Mohanan, present at the venue, about the incident at the event to which she was invited as the Chief Guest.
Prosecutors in the US today said the investigation into the killing of a state prisons director is a reason to keep a Saudi national convicted of sexual abuse behind bars.
Homaidan al-Turki, convicted in 2006 of sexually abusing his housekeeper, is seeking to be released from prison and deported to Saudi Arabia to serve probation.
During a court hearing on his request, prosecutor Ann Tomsic told a judge that if al-Turki is deported, authorities would not be able to bring him back to the US if investigators find a link between him and the shooting death of Tom Clements this year.
US today refused to get involved in peace talks between Taliban and the Pakistani government, saying the decision to negotiate with the terror group was an internal matter of that country.
The Obama administration, however, said its efforts for peace process in Afghanistan would continue as situation was different there.
US First Lady Michelle Obama would lead this year’s Diwali celebrations the White House, which is expected to be attended by lawmakers, senior administration officials and eminent Indian Americans.
“The First Lady will provide remarks at the White House Diwali celebration,” the White House announced today. A media advisory said the festival of lights would be observed on November 5.
The Pakistani Taliban has reportedly denied of “any contact” made by the government for peace talks.
Tehreik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that the government is only making announcements by media, but any meeting or discussion on issues have not yet taken place, Dawn News reports.
The statement came just a day after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said a process of dialogue to initiate peace talks had been started.
Pakistan’s ruling PML-N party today said it was “on the same page” with the opposition and the army on the issue of holding talks with militants.
A day after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said dialogue with the Taliban “has started”, Information Minister Pervez Rashid said consensus will be developed as the talks progress.
“Discussions with the Taliban are in progress. The government is doing its utmost to establish peace in the region which is crucial for the country’s economic prosperity,” he told reporters outside parliament.
UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi today said a proposed Geneva peace conference to end the war in Syria could not be held without the participation of the opposition.
“If the opposition does not participate there will be no Geneva conference,” Brahimi said at a news conference in Damascus before returning to Beirut as part of a regional tour to try to garner support for the US and Russian backed peace initiative.
The US has announced to provide Israel six highly advanced tilt rotor V-22 Ospreys, making it the first American ally to receive such an aircraft.
“I am pleased to announce that we are working with the Israeli government to provide them with six new V-22s. I have directed the Marine Corps to make sure this order is expedited,” US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said in his address to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in New York.
The announcement follows after the US and Israel reached an agreement early this year to open up even more advanced military capabilities to Israel.
Andhra Pradesh State Government Non Gazetted Officers’ Association (APNGOA) President P Ashok Babu said here today that unless Article 371(D) of the Constitution is either amended or scrapped, Andhra Pradesh cannot be bifurcated.
He told reporters here today that convening an all party meet by the Union Home ministry to discuss the issue of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh is merely an eye wash by the union government and the all-party meet may not serve any purpose.
Four policemen were injured in stone pelting by villagers in Kutba area of the district, where they had gone to arrest a person in connection with a case of communal violence there.
The mob was protesting against the arrest of a person in connection with communal violence which erupted in the village early September and also damaged three police vehicles last night, SSP H N Singh told PTI here today.
Eight people, including a woman, were killed and their houses burnt on September 8 in the village as violent clashes erupted in the district.
Communications and Information Technology (IT) Minister Kapil Sibal today lashed out at BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, saying he was desperate to occupy the country’s topmost post.
“He is desperate to become the prime minister. He has announced his candidature so early. But he doesn’t believe in transparency and accountability,” Sibal told media her.
“They talk of transparency and accountability. Look at the kind of Lokayukta in Gujarat,” he added.
Sibal also carried forward the battle over Sardar Patel’s legacy.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinay Katiyar on Friday welcomed the Election Commission’s move to issue a notice to Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi for his speeches in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and said the latter’s comments were extremely shocking.
“The comments that he (Rahul Gandhi) made was shocking. Why are the army officers reporting to him? So, the Election Commission has done a very correct thing by issuing a notice to him, and he cannot be let free for his remarks,” he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party Friday accused the Akhilesh Yadav government of failing to bring normalcy to riot-hit Muzaffarnagar and said government’s wrong policies continued to divide the western parts of Uttar Pradesh on religious lines.
The district administration in Muzaffarnagar was repeating its mistakes in Kawaal village, which triggered communal clashes killing 62 in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in September, party spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said.
Leg-spinner Shahid Afridi and paceman Mohammad Irfan shared six wickets as Pakistan thumped South Africa by 66 runs in the second day-night international in Dubai today.
Afridi took 3-26 and Irfan finished with 3-53 as Pakistan defended a low total of 209 to square the five-match series at 1-1.
South Africa pulled off a sensational one-run win in the first match in Sharjah on Wednesday.
The remaining matches will be played in Abu Dhabi (November 6 and 8) and in Sharjah (November 11).
US President Barack Obama and Iraqi leader Nuri al-Maliki discussed how to “push back” against Al-Qaeda after the resurgent group whipped up the deadliest surge of violence in the country in five years.
Obama welcomed Maliki to the Oval Office yesterday nearly two years after the last soldier left Iraq, but as fears mount that Al-Qaeda will send the country spiralling back into civil war.
Vice President Hamid Ansari left for India today after concluding his 8-day official tour that took him to Peru, Cuba and Britain.
Ansari left for Delhi soon after delivering a lecture on “Citizenship and identity” at the prestigious Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
He arrived here last night from Cuba after concluding the visit to Havana where he called on Cuban revolutionary icon Fidel Castro. The 65-minute meeting underlined the warmth of Indo-Cuban ties.
Ansari also meet Cuban President Raul Castro, the younger brother of 87-year-old Fidel.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation named the gunman who opened fire at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, who lived locally.
It gave no more information immediately about Ciancia, who killed an airport security agent and injured several others yesterday, and who had “strong anti-government views,” according to NBC News.
“The suspect in today’s LAX shooting has been identified as Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, a resident of Los Angeles,” said an FBI statement yesterday.
Young voters are set to play a key role in the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh and realising their potential to influence the final outcome both the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress are aggressively wooing them.
A record 23.60 lakh electors would be eligible to exercise their right to vote for the first time in the Assembly polls scheduled for November 25.