Delhi: Will not support Congress and BJP, says Prakash Karat
The Left bloc of political parties will support the Aam Aadmi Party in Saturday's Delhi assembly polls, Communist Party of India (Marxist) chairman Prakhash Karat announced on Wednesday. He said that the Left would contest 15 seats and would ask its supporters to vote for the AAP the rest of Delhi's 70 constituencies. Karat said that the decision had been taken "after seeing the all-out offensive" by "rabid communal forces" to capture power in Delhi.
Gujarat: Court drops charges against ex-DGP in encounter case
A special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday dropped charges against former state Director-General of Police PC Pande in the alleged fake encounter killing of Tulsiram Prajapati. Prajapati, an eyewitness to the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauser Bi, was killed by Gujarat police in December 2006. Special Judge MB Gosavi explained that the charges were dropped for "want of sanction" from the state government. Pande had been booked for allegedly protecting the accused men in the case. Pande's lawyer said that since he had been "discharging his official duty", sanction from the state government was required in order to prosecute him.
Maharashtra: State might be first to ban chewing tobacco in public
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that he was "keenly exploring" the possibility of banning the chewing of tobacco in public, much like the law that makes smoking and spitting in public in the state a punishable offence. According to oncologists, tobacco consumption accounts for 40% of cancer cases, killing every third user prematurely.
Bihar: JD(U) leaders meet amid possible Manjhi ouster
Top Janata Dal (United) leaders meet at former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's home in Patna on Wednesday amid rumours that Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi will be ousted. While leaders including Sharad Yadav and Kumar met party members who had contested last year's Lok Sabha elections, Manjhi skipped the meet. However, he had a private meeting with Yadav a little later. Party functionaries loyal to Nitish Kumar have been calling for Manjhi to be removed before the commencement of the state's budget session on February 20.
Haryana: Chief Minister gets 17,000 complaints
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Wednesday that over 17,000 complaints had been received at the special chief minister's "window" set up to address public grievances. Khattar said that a call centre would be established to monitor complaints, and that calls would be made to complainants to check whether their problems had been resolved.
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The Left bloc of political parties will support the Aam Aadmi Party in Saturday's Delhi assembly polls, Communist Party of India (Marxist) chairman Prakhash Karat announced on Wednesday. He said that the Left would contest 15 seats and would ask its supporters to vote for the AAP the rest of Delhi's 70 constituencies. Karat said that the decision had been taken "after seeing the all-out offensive" by "rabid communal forces" to capture power in Delhi.
Gujarat: Court drops charges against ex-DGP in encounter case
A special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday dropped charges against former state Director-General of Police PC Pande in the alleged fake encounter killing of Tulsiram Prajapati. Prajapati, an eyewitness to the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauser Bi, was killed by Gujarat police in December 2006. Special Judge MB Gosavi explained that the charges were dropped for "want of sanction" from the state government. Pande had been booked for allegedly protecting the accused men in the case. Pande's lawyer said that since he had been "discharging his official duty", sanction from the state government was required in order to prosecute him.
Maharashtra: State might be first to ban chewing tobacco in public
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that he was "keenly exploring" the possibility of banning the chewing of tobacco in public, much like the law that makes smoking and spitting in public in the state a punishable offence. According to oncologists, tobacco consumption accounts for 40% of cancer cases, killing every third user prematurely.
Bihar: JD(U) leaders meet amid possible Manjhi ouster
Top Janata Dal (United) leaders meet at former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's home in Patna on Wednesday amid rumours that Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi will be ousted. While leaders including Sharad Yadav and Kumar met party members who had contested last year's Lok Sabha elections, Manjhi skipped the meet. However, he had a private meeting with Yadav a little later. Party functionaries loyal to Nitish Kumar have been calling for Manjhi to be removed before the commencement of the state's budget session on February 20.
Haryana: Chief Minister gets 17,000 complaints
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Wednesday that over 17,000 complaints had been received at the special chief minister's "window" set up to address public grievances. Khattar said that a call centre would be established to monitor complaints, and that calls would be made to complainants to check whether their problems had been resolved.
