Manmohan denies profiting from PM’s office
Prime Mininster Narendra Modi discussed India's economic and foreign policy with his predecessor Manmohan Singh at a surprise meeting on Wednesday. Congress officials said that Modi had invited Singh for the conversation, adding that the two also discussed classified details about certain foreign policy issues. The meeting came hours after Manmohan at an address to the National Students Union of India in Delhi denied allegations that he had financially profited from the Prime Minister’s office. Singh also criticised the Central government's economic policy, saying that it had manufactured and modified statistical data to show that the economy was faring well.
Heatwave kills over 1,400
Over 1,400 people died by Wednesday in the heatwave that has spread across parts of the country. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana accounted for 1,360 deaths, while 43 people died in Odisha and seven in Gujarat reported 43. The heat wave was expected to continue for the next two days in Telangana and three days in Andhra Pradesh, said YK Reddy, the Director of the Meteorological Centre in Hyderabad. He added that the Telangana government had issued alerts to doctors asking them to be ready to provide medical assistance to affected people. Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh experienced high temperatures as well, with Agra touching the 46-degree Celsius mark.
Centre appeals anti-corruption order
The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court order allowing the Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch to investigate Central government employees. A notification issued by the ministry last week had barred the Branch from registering cases against central officials, including those from the Delhi Police. The notification had been issued after a row over bureaucratic appointments between the state's Arvind Kejriwal-led goverment and state Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung intensified.
Government denies pressure on Swedish newspaper
The Central government on Wednesday denied that it had asked a Swedish newspaper to retract certain parts of an interview with President Pranab Mukherjee relating to the Bofors affair. Mukherjee’s told the paper that that the Bofors issue could not be labeled a scandal. The External Affairs Ministry said the newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, had violated its promise to steer clear of the Bofors episode. After the interview was published, the newspaper claimed that the Indian ambassador to Sweden had sought a retraction on the grounds that it could affect the President’s state visit. The external affairs ministry clarified that the President’s May 31 visit to Stockholm would go ahead as planned.
Unconstitutional authority exercised power in UPA: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday suggested that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had been an “extraconstitutional” authority during the United Progressive Alliance regime. Indicating that the UPA chairperson had exercised real power over the Prime Minister’s Office during the tenure of Manmohan Singh, he claimed that in the current regime executive power was only exercised through constitutional means. The remarks were Modi’s response to Gandhi’s recent comments that the National Democratic Alliance government was displaying “obstinate arrogance” and being run by one person.
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Prime Mininster Narendra Modi discussed India's economic and foreign policy with his predecessor Manmohan Singh at a surprise meeting on Wednesday. Congress officials said that Modi had invited Singh for the conversation, adding that the two also discussed classified details about certain foreign policy issues. The meeting came hours after Manmohan at an address to the National Students Union of India in Delhi denied allegations that he had financially profited from the Prime Minister’s office. Singh also criticised the Central government's economic policy, saying that it had manufactured and modified statistical data to show that the economy was faring well.
Heatwave kills over 1,400
Over 1,400 people died by Wednesday in the heatwave that has spread across parts of the country. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana accounted for 1,360 deaths, while 43 people died in Odisha and seven in Gujarat reported 43. The heat wave was expected to continue for the next two days in Telangana and three days in Andhra Pradesh, said YK Reddy, the Director of the Meteorological Centre in Hyderabad. He added that the Telangana government had issued alerts to doctors asking them to be ready to provide medical assistance to affected people. Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh experienced high temperatures as well, with Agra touching the 46-degree Celsius mark.
Centre appeals anti-corruption order
The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court order allowing the Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch to investigate Central government employees. A notification issued by the ministry last week had barred the Branch from registering cases against central officials, including those from the Delhi Police. The notification had been issued after a row over bureaucratic appointments between the state's Arvind Kejriwal-led goverment and state Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung intensified.
Government denies pressure on Swedish newspaper
The Central government on Wednesday denied that it had asked a Swedish newspaper to retract certain parts of an interview with President Pranab Mukherjee relating to the Bofors affair. Mukherjee’s told the paper that that the Bofors issue could not be labeled a scandal. The External Affairs Ministry said the newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, had violated its promise to steer clear of the Bofors episode. After the interview was published, the newspaper claimed that the Indian ambassador to Sweden had sought a retraction on the grounds that it could affect the President’s state visit. The external affairs ministry clarified that the President’s May 31 visit to Stockholm would go ahead as planned.
Unconstitutional authority exercised power in UPA: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday suggested that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had been an “extraconstitutional” authority during the United Progressive Alliance regime. Indicating that the UPA chairperson had exercised real power over the Prime Minister’s Office during the tenure of Manmohan Singh, he claimed that in the current regime executive power was only exercised through constitutional means. The remarks were Modi’s response to Gandhi’s recent comments that the National Democratic Alliance government was displaying “obstinate arrogance” and being run by one person.
