India

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

Mumbai, June 21: A devastating fire in the Maharashtra government secretariat, including offices of the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister, today left three persons dead and 16 injured and destroyed large number of files, raising questions on whether any sabotage was the cause. Fire brigade officials said two bodies were recovered from the sixth floor of the seven-storey 'Mantralaya'

New Delhi, June 21: Reconciling with division within NDA over presidential poll, BJP today announced its support to P A Sangma to pit him against UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee. The party, which failed to persuade allies like Shiv Sena and JD(U) to support Sangma, argued that it was its duty as the main Opposition party not to allow a "walkover" to Congress which did not "consult" it. Announcing

Moradabad/ New Delhi, June 21: At a time when the SP is backing Pranab Mukherjee in the Presidential race, Congress leader Rashid Alvi has sparked off a controversy by dubbing Mulayam Singh Yadav as the "biggest agent" of BJP, attracting instant disapproval from the AICC today. "I don't know if you would like it or not but I have been saying it for the last 10 years that if there is anybody who is

New Delhi, June 21: BJP biggies may have been the first to congratulate Pranab Mukherjee on his then still-rumoured move to Rashtrapati Bhavan, but the Congress decision to nominate him has created enough bitterness in the two camps that it is becoming a free-for-all. The Congress has eagerly latched on to the Nitish Kumar-Narendra Modi tussle to egg on the Bihar CM to come out of the NDA. "We

Gadchiroli (Maha), June 21: 71 elected representatives in this East Maharashtra district have resigned from their posts, apparently due to Naxal threat. Talking to reporters here this evening, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gadchiroli Zilla Parishad (ZP) Sumant Bhange said 71 elected representatives have resigned in the last one month. Of these representatives, one is Zilla Parishad member, four

New Delhi, June 21: Shaken by the rising public anger against messy implementation of the new internet-based passport application system, the ministry of external affairs on Wednesday put in place a number of measures that are expected to make it easier for people to apply for passports. Some of these measures will come into effect immediately and a few more are likely to be announced on Friday

New Delhi, June 20: Making clear its aversion for Narendra Modi, JD(U) today virtually gave an ultimatum to BJP to desist from projecting the Gujarat chief minister as NDA's prime ministerial candidate or be ready to snap the alliance. The warning was given by party general secretary Shivanand Tiwari, who said that NDA cannot come to power with a "fanatic face" and JD(U) will not compromise on