India rejects Sharif’s remarks
Pakistan's Army chief General Raheel Sharif has described the Kashmir issue as the "unfinished business of Partition" between Islamabad and New Delhi. Sharif said on Sunday that Pakistan and India needed to resolve the Kashmir issue "according to the aspirations of Kashmiris" for peace to prevail in the region. However, former Indian Army Chief and Union Minister VK Singh dismissed Sharif’s remarks, saying that the Pakistani General was “shouting needlessly”. Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh also rejected the Pakistani General’s remarks and said that India’s “only issue with Pakistan” was to “get back” the parts of Jammu and Kashmir under the latter’s “illegal occupation”.
A Raja the ‘main conspirator’ in 2G scam: CBI
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday said that former Union Telecom Minister A Raja was the “main conspirator” in the 2G spectrum scam. Raja had deliberately favoured the allocation of radio wave licences to the accused firms in the scam, the CBI told a special court. Special Public Prosecutor Anand Grover said that Raja had “strategically planned” to “give an unfair advantage” to the firms by changing the cut-off date for receiving applications and unilaterally deciding the eligibility criteria. Raja has denied all the charges against him.
SP to contest Bihar poll on its own
The Samajwadi Party said on Monday that it would contest the upcoming Bihar assembly elections on its own. Bihar SP President Ramchandra Singh Yadav said that party decided to contest all 243 assembly seats by itself after its parliamentary board ended its alliance with the Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress. Yadav criticised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for including the Congress in the alliance despite having had the support of Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav. The Samajwadi Party walked out of the alliance last week, saying that it had been humiliated by being allotted only five seats to contest.
CWC to discuss extending Sonia’s tenure
The Congress party’s central Working Committee is expected to discuss extending the tenure of party President Sonia Gandhi during a meeting on Tuesday. News reports said that the party would consider granting Gandhi a technical extension because party vice president Rahul Gandhi was not yet ready to take over as president. During the meeting, the party is also expected to finalise the plans for a rally to celebrate the decision of the Narendra Modi-led government to revert to the 2013 version of the Land Acquisition Bill.
AAP MPs heard to criticise party in audio clip
Two MPs from the Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab unit allegedly criticised the party’s high command in an audio clip that was distributed on social media networks on Sunday. In the clip, Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann allegedly expressed displeasure with the AAP leadership on several matters, including refusing to allow elected representatives to choose their own teams. Mann did not comment on the audio clip, while Gandhi said that the conversation between the two MPs was a personal one. The Patiala MP alleged that their discussion had been recorded by intelligence agencies who were “tapping conversations” between representatives of opposition parties.
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Pakistan's Army chief General Raheel Sharif has described the Kashmir issue as the "unfinished business of Partition" between Islamabad and New Delhi. Sharif said on Sunday that Pakistan and India needed to resolve the Kashmir issue "according to the aspirations of Kashmiris" for peace to prevail in the region. However, former Indian Army Chief and Union Minister VK Singh dismissed Sharif’s remarks, saying that the Pakistani General was “shouting needlessly”. Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh also rejected the Pakistani General’s remarks and said that India’s “only issue with Pakistan” was to “get back” the parts of Jammu and Kashmir under the latter’s “illegal occupation”.
A Raja the ‘main conspirator’ in 2G scam: CBI
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday said that former Union Telecom Minister A Raja was the “main conspirator” in the 2G spectrum scam. Raja had deliberately favoured the allocation of radio wave licences to the accused firms in the scam, the CBI told a special court. Special Public Prosecutor Anand Grover said that Raja had “strategically planned” to “give an unfair advantage” to the firms by changing the cut-off date for receiving applications and unilaterally deciding the eligibility criteria. Raja has denied all the charges against him.
SP to contest Bihar poll on its own
The Samajwadi Party said on Monday that it would contest the upcoming Bihar assembly elections on its own. Bihar SP President Ramchandra Singh Yadav said that party decided to contest all 243 assembly seats by itself after its parliamentary board ended its alliance with the Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress. Yadav criticised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for including the Congress in the alliance despite having had the support of Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav. The Samajwadi Party walked out of the alliance last week, saying that it had been humiliated by being allotted only five seats to contest.
CWC to discuss extending Sonia’s tenure
The Congress party’s central Working Committee is expected to discuss extending the tenure of party President Sonia Gandhi during a meeting on Tuesday. News reports said that the party would consider granting Gandhi a technical extension because party vice president Rahul Gandhi was not yet ready to take over as president. During the meeting, the party is also expected to finalise the plans for a rally to celebrate the decision of the Narendra Modi-led government to revert to the 2013 version of the Land Acquisition Bill.
AAP MPs heard to criticise party in audio clip
Two MPs from the Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab unit allegedly criticised the party’s high command in an audio clip that was distributed on social media networks on Sunday. In the clip, Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann allegedly expressed displeasure with the AAP leadership on several matters, including refusing to allow elected representatives to choose their own teams. Mann did not comment on the audio clip, while Gandhi said that the conversation between the two MPs was a personal one. The Patiala MP alleged that their discussion had been recorded by intelligence agencies who were “tapping conversations” between representatives of opposition parties.