Maharashtra: Activist in coma after Dabholkar-like attack
Prominent Communist Party of India leader and rationalist Govind Pansare slipped into a coma after he and his wife Uma were shot at by unknown men in Western Maharashtra's Kolhapur district on Monday morning. According to eyewitnesses, the two, having taken a walk, were about to step into their house when muffler-wrapped gunmen on a motorbike shot at them repeatedly. While Pansare was shot thrice in his chest and neck, his wife suffered a skull fracture. The two were then rushed to the Aster Aadhar hospital, where three operations were successfully performed on Pansare. A doctor attending to him said that Pansare was responding to treatment, and that his wife was also out of danger. State Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis condemned the attack, saying that the police had been asked to launch a "massive" manhunt for the assailants. According to reports, police in Kolhapur had detained five people in connection with the case.
Bihar: Manjhi, BJP skip all-party meeting
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday skipped the all-party meeting convened by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, while the Bharatiya Janata Party boycotted it. The meeting had been called to look into the demand of the Janata Dal (United) to be recognised as the main Opposition after Manjhi was expelled from the party. While Manjhi did not attend as he was in Delhi, BJP MLAs boycotted the meeting to express their displeasure at such a move before the vote of confidence on February 20. Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly said that the party would take legal action if the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) was recognised as the main Opposition.
Madhya Pradesh: Congress says CM involved in recruitment scam
Addressing a press conference on Monday in the state capital of Bhopal, the Congress alleged that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was involved in the 2013 Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board recruitment scam. Former Chief Minister and Congress leader Digvijay Singh said that Chouhan's name was removed from an excel sheet related to the scam, and that the word 'CM', which occurred 48 times in the document, was altered to various other names and terms such as 'Uma Bharati' and simply 'Minister'. State health and family welfare minister and government spokesperson Narottam Mishra, however, refuted their allegations, calling them "baseless" and "without substance".
Delhi: Government seeks proposals on reducing power bills
The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi Government on Monday directed the Finance and Power departments to prepare proposals for reducing power bills by 50%. The government, which took the decision during its first cabinet meeting after being sworn in, also asked the Delhi Jal Board to prepare a proposal on providing free water of up to 20,000 litres per household every month. Reduced power prices and free water supply were major pre-poll promises made by the AAP to voters. During the meeting, it was also decided that first session of the newly-elected Delhi Assembly would be held on February 23 and 24 in order to swear in new MLAs and electing the Speaker of the House.4
West Bengal: Trinamool Congress wins by-polls in state
The Trinamool Congress on Monday won both the Lok Sabha and assembly by-polls in the state. While the TMC retained the Bongaon Lok Sabha and Krishnaganj assembly seats, the party also managed to marginally increase its victory margins. Terming the victory as a "miracle", TMC chief and state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the party was "intact and strong", and that the results were a rejection of a slanderous campaign by the BJP. Following the victory, the number of TMC MPs in the Lok Sabha remains unchanged at 34.
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Prominent Communist Party of India leader and rationalist Govind Pansare slipped into a coma after he and his wife Uma were shot at by unknown men in Western Maharashtra's Kolhapur district on Monday morning. According to eyewitnesses, the two, having taken a walk, were about to step into their house when muffler-wrapped gunmen on a motorbike shot at them repeatedly. While Pansare was shot thrice in his chest and neck, his wife suffered a skull fracture. The two were then rushed to the Aster Aadhar hospital, where three operations were successfully performed on Pansare. A doctor attending to him said that Pansare was responding to treatment, and that his wife was also out of danger. State Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis condemned the attack, saying that the police had been asked to launch a "massive" manhunt for the assailants. According to reports, police in Kolhapur had detained five people in connection with the case.
Bihar: Manjhi, BJP skip all-party meeting
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday skipped the all-party meeting convened by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, while the Bharatiya Janata Party boycotted it. The meeting had been called to look into the demand of the Janata Dal (United) to be recognised as the main Opposition after Manjhi was expelled from the party. While Manjhi did not attend as he was in Delhi, BJP MLAs boycotted the meeting to express their displeasure at such a move before the vote of confidence on February 20. Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly said that the party would take legal action if the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) was recognised as the main Opposition.
Madhya Pradesh: Congress says CM involved in recruitment scam
Addressing a press conference on Monday in the state capital of Bhopal, the Congress alleged that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was involved in the 2013 Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board recruitment scam. Former Chief Minister and Congress leader Digvijay Singh said that Chouhan's name was removed from an excel sheet related to the scam, and that the word 'CM', which occurred 48 times in the document, was altered to various other names and terms such as 'Uma Bharati' and simply 'Minister'. State health and family welfare minister and government spokesperson Narottam Mishra, however, refuted their allegations, calling them "baseless" and "without substance".
Delhi: Government seeks proposals on reducing power bills
The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi Government on Monday directed the Finance and Power departments to prepare proposals for reducing power bills by 50%. The government, which took the decision during its first cabinet meeting after being sworn in, also asked the Delhi Jal Board to prepare a proposal on providing free water of up to 20,000 litres per household every month. Reduced power prices and free water supply were major pre-poll promises made by the AAP to voters. During the meeting, it was also decided that first session of the newly-elected Delhi Assembly would be held on February 23 and 24 in order to swear in new MLAs and electing the Speaker of the House.4
West Bengal: Trinamool Congress wins by-polls in state
The Trinamool Congress on Monday won both the Lok Sabha and assembly by-polls in the state. While the TMC retained the Bongaon Lok Sabha and Krishnaganj assembly seats, the party also managed to marginally increase its victory margins. Terming the victory as a "miracle", TMC chief and state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the party was "intact and strong", and that the results were a rejection of a slanderous campaign by the BJP. Following the victory, the number of TMC MPs in the Lok Sabha remains unchanged at 34.
