India has refused a suggestion by Barack Obama's security teams that a 5-km "no-fly zone" be imposed in central Delhi the Republic Day parade on January 26 at which the US President will be the chief guest, The Times of India reported. Acceding to the request would have involved cancelling the traditional fly past show by the Indian Air Force.
Jaitley says censors who quit are 'rebels without a cause'
As ten of the 23 members of the Central Board of Film Certification resigned on Saturday, three days after the board’s head Leela Samson had quit, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley refuted their charges of governmental interference. In a blog post, he said at no point had he or minister of state Rajyavardhan Rathore “communicated with any member of the Censor Board or desired that any bureaucrat do the same”.
Rahul wants internal party elections
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has voiced his support for the party to return to its long-abandoned practice of holding elections to the Congress Working Committee, The Hindustan Times reported. This could bring many new members to the party’s top decision-making body. This is Gandhi’s latest attempt to restore internal party democracy.
Delhi BJP sees hectic lobbying for tickets
With three weeks to go for the Delhi assembly elections, there is intense lobbying among members of the Bharatiya Janata Party to get tickets, NDTV reported. It added that some senior leaders are irked by the sudden induction into the party of former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, who is being unofficially spoken of as a potential chief minister.
Government targets NGOs campaigning against coal projects
The four environmental organisations whose foreign funding has been halted by the government have all campaigned against the use of coal or have raised concerns about individual coal mining or coal-based power projects, The Indian Express reported. Last month, the Home Ministry, directed the Reserve Bank of India to stop foreign funds coming into accounts of Avaaz, Bank Information Centre, 350.org and the Sierra Club.