India

New Delhi, Jun 23: Reaching out to his new counterpart in Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today congratulated Raja Pervez Ashraf and expressed confidence that the two countries will continue to make progress on bilateral issues and build good neighbourly relations during his tenure. "I would like to extend to you my heartiest congratulations on your appointment as Prime Minister of the

New Delhi, Jun 23: CPI(M) today expelled young leader Prasenjit Bose, who resigned from the party attacking the leadership for supporting Pranab Mukherjee's Presidential bid, saying he had sought to "malign" its political line. Bose, the convenor of party's research unit and a familiar face in TV debates, quit the party yesterday and through an open letter, attacked the party for committing a

New Delhi, June 23: Vice President Hamid Ansari -- who was a strong contender for the UPA’s presidential candidate, as West Bengal chief minister Mamata Bannerjee revealed after she met Congress President Sonia Gandhi – may be offered a second term in his current job. A few days ago, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh, responding to a question in a TV interview on the possibility of a

Kolkata, June 23: The Calcutta High Court on Friday held the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, “unconstitutional and void.” The Act was the brainchild of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The Division Bench comprising Justices Pinaki Chandra Ghosh and Mrinal Kanti Chaudhury observed that the Act was unconstitutional and void since “sections of compensation in the

Belgaum (Karnakata), June 23: A day after TOI reported that President Pratibha Patil had commuted the death sentences of 35 convicts to life in prison, it came to light on Friday that one of the beneficiaries of her mercy died almost five years ago. Bandu Tidke's sentence for the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl came from the President's office on June 2. It has raised doubts about whether

New Delhi, June 22: Amid reports of delays in online applications of passports and the growing logjam, the external affairs ministry Friday announced that passport offices in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Amritisar will be open Saturday and Sunday. The ministry also defended what it called the citizen-centric online application system and said it has successfully

New Delhi, June 22: Pinning hopes on "conscience vote" and his tribal identity, P A Sangma today virtually dared UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee for a debate ahead of presidential polls, saying democracy needs debate. Maintaining that in a democracy people have the right to choose and there should be a debate at a time when the economy is sinking and scams are unimaginable, Sangma said, "Who is

New Delhi, June 22: Ahead of demitting office, President Pratibha Patil has scored a new record. She has commuted the death sentence of as many as 35 convicts to life — among them are those convicted of mass murder, kidnapping, rape and killing of children. On June 2, Patil gave her pardon to four more — Bandu Baburao Tidke from Karnataka, Buntu from Uttar Pradesh and Lalchand alias Laliya Dhoom

Kolkata, June 22: With Mamata Banerjee still keeping her cards close to her chest when other parties have announced their stand on the presidential poll, Congress president Sonia Gandhi doesn't want to lose an important ally even if it means "stooping" before her for the moment. Sonia, instead, is looking beyond the presidential poll to keep the UPA family united when all other blocks, including

New Delhi, June 22: The TOI campaign on the passport logjam has made the government put reforms on the fast track. In an unprecedented move, the ministry of external affairs on Thursday announced a 'Passport Mela' this weekend at many PSKs countrywide - the kendras will remain open on Saturday and Sunday and people can just walk in, without an appointment. This practice will continue till the