India

New Delhi, Feb 6: The drama over the formation of Telangana scaled new heights on Wednesday with Andhra Pradesh chief minister Kiran Reddy staging a sit-in protest in the Capital while a harried government weighed the option of a voice vote to pass the contentious legislation. The CM doing an Arvind Kejriwal at Jantar Mantar seemed even more bizarre as Reddy was opposing his own Congress party's

New Delhi, Feb 5: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi today stepped in to try to defuse the controversy over party leader Janardan Dwivedi's suggestion for ending caste-based quota, declaring that reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs must continue. As the SP and BSP--both outside supporters of UPA government and JD(U)--slammed Dwivedi's remark as "anti-social justice", Gandhi went in a damage control code

New Delhi, Feb 5: Pro and anti-Telangana supporters today clashed with each other during a protest outside the Andhra Bhawan here in support of their demands. Supporters from both sides held separate protests outside the Bhawan and raised slogans in support of their demands. A clash soon broke out between the two sides but police quickly intervened to stop it. Andhra Pradesh has remained sharply

Mumbai, Feb 5: In 2001, when Kerala-based astrologer Unnikrishna Panicker predicted that J Jayalalithaa would become Tamil Nadu chief minister, many found it hard to believe. Though Jayalalithaa could not contest as she was debarred due to criminal cases pending against her, the AIADMK won the assembly election and she was made the chief minister as a non-elected member of the assembly. Panicker's

New Delhi, Feb 4: Terming the attack on the 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh "most condemnable", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said "every possible effort" would be made to punish the guilty. "The attack on Nido Taniam, the student from Arunachal Pradesh, is most condemnable. While the actual cause of Nido Tania's death will be known only after the autopsy report is received, the

New Delhi, Feb 4: The Centre today directed all states to take "urgent suitable action" in implementing the Supreme Court's guidelines for safeguarding the interest of the death row convicts. In a communication, the Home Ministry said the court had examined several individual death row cases and commuted capital punishment of the petitioners to life imprisonment. "You are requested to take urgent

New Delhi, Feb 4: At a time when quota is the buzz word in politics, senior Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi has called for an end to reservation on caste lines and urged Rahul Gandhi to introduce quota for financially weaker sections bringing all communities under its ambit. Dwivedi's pitch to end caste-based reservation, that could raise many eyebrows, comes at a time when the Congress is

New Delhi/Hyderabad, Feb 4: With the central government determined to table Telangana bill in parliament, top leaders from Andhra Pradesh have made a beeline to the national capital for lobbying for and against separate Telangana state. Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy Tuesday left for Delhi to mobilize support for his demand that the bill defeated in both the houses of state legislature should

Lucknow, Feb 3: Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Monday reiterated that no government would be possible at the Centre without the support of his party. He said the SP would play the kingmaker after the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. Addressing a "Desh Bachao, Desh Banao" rally in Gonda, 100 km from here, the SP leader also referred to the alliance in Tamil

New Delhi, Feb 3: Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi today asked Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to order a judicial probe into the death of a student from Arunachal Pradesh allegedly after assault by a group of people here. According to Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs Ninong Ering, Rahul asked the Home Minister to order the probe into the death of Nido Tania and provide justice to