With the Food Security Bill coming up for consideration in the Lok Sabha tomorrow, Congress has issued a whip to its members in the House to be present and vote in favour of the legislation.

A discussion on the Bill in the Lok Sabha began today but was scuttled by disruptions over Telangana issue caused by TDP members storming the Well.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who playea a key role formulating and taking the Bill to Parliament, is likely to be the first speaker from the Congress in the debate in Lok Sabha on the subject.

US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden said in an interview released today he chose to divulge details of a vast US surveillance effort to journalists who reported "fearlessly" on controversial subjects. 

Supporters of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi protested outside several ministries today in further defiance of a government ultimatum to dismantle their sprawling Cairo protest camps. 

Hardline Jamaat-e-Islami activists today exploded crude bombs and clashed with police, leaving at least 40 people injured, during nationwide protests against a court verdict banning it from contesting elections. 

Indian-American Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley today announced that she would run for the post again. 

Security has been beefed up in and around important places across the city in the run up to Independence Day, while additional armed forces have been posted at public places where footfalls are generally high, police said today. 

CBI is studying the CAG report of on AgustaWestland helicopter deal tabled in Parliament today and might file new cases if it detects any aspect of criminality in it.        

 

Agency sources said although the mandate of the Comptroller and Auditor General and CBI are completely different the probe agency is looking into the report to assess if any new information has been added which would require a probe by it.        

In its report tabled in Parliament today, the CAG questioned the decision of the then IAF chief to hold the trials of the two contenders for the deal abroad.   The CAG also noted that the benchmark cost of Rs 4,871.5 crore for the 12 VVIP choppers was "unreasonably high" as compared to the Rs 3,966 crore quoted by AgustaWestland.        

 

"Several instances have been observed where the Defence Ministry deviated from the 2006 Defence Procurement Procedure and the tender for the deal issued in September 2006," the report stated.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Shiv Sena are once again raking up their hate rhetoric against North Indians, even pushing them out of the state.

This time in Kolhapur, a day after a 14-month-old child was allegedly raped by a labourer from Jharkhand at a construction site, workers from both MNS and Shiv Sena went on a rampage and mercilessly beat up shopkeepers and labourers from North India.
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India groups of the United Kingdom's two main political parties -- the Conservative Party and the Labour Party --  have invited  Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to visit the country.

The Labour Friends of India chairman, Barry Gardiner, sent a letter to Modi last week, inviting him to the House of Commons to speak on The Future of Modern India.

The invitation is a culmination of several years of engagement between senior representatives of the Labour Party and Narendra Modi, Gardiner was quoted by media, as saying.

Lok Sabha will go for a four-day break from August 15 but will function on August 24 to make up for it. While the House observes a holiday on the Independence Day, it would also have a holiday on August 16 and August 21. This was announced in the House by P C Chacko who was in the Chair.

Hearings in the Dec. 16 gang rape and robbery cases were today adjourned after the accused failed to appear at separate courts here due to the non-availability of policemen ahead of Independence Day.

Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna, who is holding the trial in the gang rape case, fixed the matter for hearing tomorrow after being informed by police that the accused could not be brought to the Saket court complex as there were not enough security personnel to escort them from Tihar jail.

Ahead of Independence Day celebrations, cops and other paramilitary personnel were deployed in and around the national capital, the court was informed.

A similar reason prevented proceedings from going on in the robbery case in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Daya Prakash at the Patiala House complex.

In the gang-rape trial, the court was recording the statements of prosecution witnesses who are countering the claims of the accused Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta that they were not in the bus in which the victim was allegedly gang-raped by six persons.

The duo say they were at a DDA park to participate in a music function organised by a church at the time when the crime took place.

However, a DDA official, who will be cross-examined tomorrow, and two members of the church, have contended that neither the civic agency nor the church had organised any function in the park on Dec. 16 night.

The cheering can be heard from far away; the commentary, too. It's in Punjabi. The sun beats down on the stadium. But this isn't Amritsar; it's Dartford, an industrial town in Kent, southeast England.

Sunday, the local soccer stadium was taken over for the 2013 International Kabaddi Cup, a tournament involving England, India, Pakistan, Canada and the U.S. The Golden Temple, an all-Sikh team from Punjab, was also taking part. Read

FYI: In the first week 4 working days: on average Lok Sabha adjourned 3 times a day, Rajya Sabha 5 times a day.

The BJP took on the government today over allegations that it is not allowing Parliament to function with repeated disruptions. The government needs Parliament's seal of approval on the Food Security Ordinance, which will lapse if it is not passed in this Monsoon Session.

"We want the House to run. We want to cooperate." said Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj in an angry exchange with Kamal Nath, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs. "Please mend your ways. Don't be abrasive. You lack politeness. More than what you say, how you say matters," she said in the Lok Sabha.

She was speaking after a spat between the minister and her party colleague, Murli Manohar Joshi. -- NDTV

BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi's complaint that Parliamentary Affairs Minister was threatening the opposition generated heat in the Lok Sabha today but the prompt withdrawal by Kamal Nath of his remarks paved the way for running the House. As the House reassembled at 2.30 pm after a brief adjournment, Joshi hit out at Nath, saying "he should behave".

Joshi was referring to Nath's remarks while speaking to opposition leaders soon after the House was adjourned at 2 pm. "He (Nath) is threatening... the House will not run. This is not the way to function," the BJP leader said amid strong support from opposition benches.

The Parliamentary Affairs Minister said he was raising the issue of repeated adjournments and he was obviously angry. "I was requesting all the members. I had requested him. ...I thought that the House will run after 2 pm.

Out of anger, I said this House does not belong to me, this House belongs to you also," Nath said as he tried to pacify agitated BJP MPs.

When some BJP members were still agitated, he said, "Don't tell me how to behave. I respect my elders. I said this is the responsibility of all. I respect Joshiji. He is my senior. He is hurt, I withdraw whatever I have said out of anger."

Bihar government invokes the National Security Act (NSA) in Nawada town in Bihar. Markets and educational institutions in Bihar's Nawada town remained closed today following clashes between two communities in the last four days that claimed two lives and left over half-a-dozen injured, officials said.
He said the government has invoked the National Security Act (NSA) for preventive detention and swift action against troublemakers.

Curfew was imposed in the town where police resorted to firing Monday following a violent clash between two communities. "Assembly of five or more people at any particular place and display of firearms have been banned," said Nawada Superintendent of Police M.S. Dhillon.

Dhillon said 15 people have been detained in connection with the violence. Communal tension erupted Friday when an altercation took place between a group of kanwarias (Hindu pilgrims) and another community at a roadside eatery in Nawada. More

India reacts to Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's overtures of peace. MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin holds a hurried presser and says that India welcomes Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's offer of freiendship. But the incidents at the Line of Control have consequences for both countries.
"India is resolved to friendly relations with Pakistan, but Pakistan must act on terror. For a peaceful dialogue with Pakistan we need peace, what happened at the LoC was not conducive to peace or friendly talks. Upholding the sancitity of the LoC is a must. India is committed to resolving all issues with Pakistan, but Pakistan must not allow its territory to be used for violence against India."

There is no clarity yet whether the talks between PM Dr Manmohan Singh and his counterpart Nawaz Sharif will take place as scheduled next month at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Just in: Three cops killed in gunbattle with Naxals in Chhattisgarh. Details awaited. 

Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif appeals to India for talks. Sharif says India and Pakistan must become good friends and sit together with an open heart. "We have a lot of affection for India. We need to resolve all issues in friendly manner. After 65 years of Independence, both countries must better ties to ensure prosperity for both."

There was heavy exchange of fire on the border as Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire yet again this morning -- the eighth in the last four days -- targeting Indian Border posts in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Double trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi to get Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the highest sporting award for Indian athletes.  Virat Kohli and PV Sindhu will be given the Arjuna Award. Virat Kohli recently captained India  to a 5-0 One-day international series victory in Zimbabwe while PV Sindhu won a historic bronze medal at the recently-concluded world badminton championships.

Advertisers in eastern India have refused to run an anti-rape campaign on their billboards for fear of reprisals from local government, global activism group Avaaz said on Monday. Read the report on Reuters.

Pakistan-based militants are preparing to take on India across the subcontinent once Western troops leave Afghanistan next year, several sources say, raising the risk of a dramatic spike in tensions between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan. Read

The average wholesale price of onion has more than doubled since the beginning of this month and the vegetable is now selling at up to Rs 80 per kg in the city due to shortages blamed on excess monsoon rains destroying crops. Insiders in the trade say prices are not likely to reverse till around September-end . Prices are likely to stabilize this week but another surge is expected in the coming week. More

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said on Tuesday that the government had failed to follow defence procurement policy rules in awarding a 560 million euros (Rs 4,000 crore) luxury helicopter deal to AgustaWestland, a division of Italy's Finmeccanica.

"Several instances have been observed where the ministry had deviated from the provisions of the DPP (Defence procurement policy) 2006 and RFP (request for proposals) issued in September 2006," the Comptroller and Auditor General said in the report presented to Parliament.

Both Italy and India are investigating the deal. -- Reuters

When John Grisham heard Guantnamo prisoners were requesting his books, he wanted to learn more. What he found out about Nabil Hadjarab -- detained for 11 years -- horrified him. Read

Unless the attack at the LoC had the sanction of the Nawaz Sharif government, and most would agree that it did not, there is no rationale for calling off the dialogue. Read

Rao Inderjit Singh set to leave Cong but wants to be expelled so he can retain his seat, tweets Rajdeep Sardesai.

Parliament has been adjourned till 2 pm after ruckus over the Robert Vadra land deal. 'Congress ka haath, damaad ke saath' (hand of Congress is with the son-in-law) chanted BJP members, seeking to draw the attention on the Vadra issue in the Lok Sabha.

This was met with counter slogans 'Congress ka haath, janata ke saath, garib ke saath' (hand of Congress is with the people and the poor) by ruling party members.

Taking an obvious dig at Vadra, Yashwant Sinha (BJP) said,
"Though there are several business schools which teach models
of making money, there is one highly connected person who did
not go to any such school but has given a model where no investment is made but windfall gains of thousands of crores are made."Yashwant Sinha, senior BJP leader, told the Lok Sabha,

Outside Parliment, Sinha said that the Finance Minister should take business tips from Vadra. Sinha used to be a finance minister in the NDA government.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari brushed aside the BJP's demand for a discussion on the Robert Vadra land deal issue, saying, Vadra was an individual and therefore cannot be discussed in Parliament. "The BJP is playing cheap politics," says Tewari.

Campaign by Gurkhas for separate political and administrative unit leads to total shutdown in Darjeeling hills. Read

Technical accomplishments aside, the true significance of the reactor on board India's first Indian nuclear submarine achieving criticality is strategic. INS Arihant marks the first step towards completing the third component of the triad of air, mobile land-based and sea-based deterrent forces envisaged in India's nuclear doctrine. Read

Proceedings in the Rajya Sabha were stalled on Tuesday after the opposition, led by the BJP, objected to Chairman Mohammad Hamid Ansari's angry description of their behavior and responses to issues as bordering on anarchy.

The BJP, led by Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Yashwant Sinha, called on the chair to withdraw the remark, as they considered the language used by Ansari as unparliamentary.

Deputy Chairman P.J.Kurien said that he would consult with Chairman Ansari and get back to the members with a response.

Ansari's outburst came after the BJP sought a discussion on the land deals involving Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra.

An exasperated Ansari requested the opposition members to take up the issue during Question Hour, which the latter refused.

Amid the din that followed, Ansari angrily said: "Does this house wish to become a federation of anarchists? Every rule and etiquette in the book is being flouted," before adjourning the proceedings in the house.

Congress has issued a gag order on the Robert Vadra land deal ussue. Only designated people are allowed to speak. The issue disrupted proceedings in the Rajya Sabha today, with chairperson Hamid Ansari saying that anarchists were holding reign in the house.

Yesterday, Congress MP from Gurgaon Rao Inderjit Singh was staring at expulsion from the party after he fanned allegations of the involvement of Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi, in an alleged mega land scam that threatens to embarrass the Congress leadership. 

Every spark in Jammu and Kashmir must necessarily light a fire. Read

A day after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the Supreme Court, Gujarat IPS officer P P Pandey, an accused in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, today surrendered before a CBI court.

A 1982-batch IPS officer, Pandey today appeared before the CBI court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) H S Khutwad and surrendered before the court.

This is what happened in the Lok Sabha today.

The opposition led by the BJP, created an uproar on the sixth day of the second half of the monsoon session of Parliament over a demand to know why the Omar Abdullah-led government in Jammu and Kashmir had not taken prompt action to end the communally-motivated violence in the state's Kishtwar District.

BJP MP Yogi Adityanath, repeatedly asked the chair in the Lok Sabha and the government as to why the Omar Government has been silent and inactive in controlling the violence in Kishtwar.

Suspended IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal is likely to reply to the chargesheet filed against her by the UP government. The 28-year-old Sub-Divisional Magistrate was suspended on July 27 ostensibly for ordering the demolition of the wall of an under-construction mosque in a village in Noida without following the due process.

The UP government had on August 4 served a chargesheet on the officer, asking her to submit an explanation for her conduct.

Coming out in support of Nagpal, Congress president and the Chairperson of National Advisory Council (NAC) Sonia Gandhi had written a letter to the Prime Minister, saying that she should not be "unfairly treated".

The Lok Sabha has been adjourned as well over the Robert Vadra land deal. TMC MP Derek O'Brien ‏tweets: VP Hamid Ansari in Rajya Sabha: This House looks like a federation of anarchists.Every rule is being broken.

Details on the ceasefire violations along the LoC today. There was heavy exchange of fire on the border as Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire yet again this morning -- the eighth in the last four days -- targeting Indian Border posts in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.

"There was firing by Pakistani Rangers on Narianpur  Border Out Post (BoP) in Ramgarh forward area in Samba district around 0730 hours", a BSF officer said. The firing came from Ashraf post of Pakistan. BSF troops guarding the border line retaliated effectively, resulting in exchanges, he said.

There was no loss of life or injury to any one in the firing from Pakistan, the officer said, adding that in view of the firing, troops have been put on alert.

Congress MP from Gurgaon Rao Inderjit Singh was staring at expulsion from the party after he fanned allegations of the involvement of Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi, in an alleged mega land scam that threatens to embarrass the Congress leadership. Read

Seven minutes and the Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till noon following ruckus by BJP MPs over the Robert Vadra land deal.

Lok Sabha still functioning.

In a major setback for Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the plea of the Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo seeking transfer of trial court judge hearing a fodder scam case against him in Jharkhand.

Reacting to the top court's judgment, Lalu's senior counsel Ram Jethmalani said: The "Supreme Court is supreme".

Appearing for Lalu Prasad, senior counsel Ram Jethmalani had told the court that he was not seeking a trial from the beginning but their only apprehension was that the judgment had already been written and trial court judge seeking written submissions was a farce.  More

In possibly his last Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will balance his quest for peace with Pakistan with the political necessity of warning an imprudent neighbour that unbridled aggression will be firmly repulsed. Read

Is a 50-day-old boy from a village in Tamil Nadu a 21st century victim of a phenomenon widely accepted in the 1800s but since dismissed by experts?

Adding to the medical mystery that doctors confront with Rahul, whose parents claim has suddenly "caught fire" at least four times since he was born, results of preliminary tests released on Monday showed no abnormality -- or any reason for the child to suffer from recurring bouts of spontaneous combustion. Read

Indian Express reports: The BJP has decided to attack Congress president Sonia Gandhi directly over the alleged irregularities in land deals involving her son-in-law Robert Vadra, junking its earlier inhibitions about specifically targeting the Gandhi family over corruption.

All senior BJP leaders, including BJP parliamentary party chief L K Advani, party president Rajnath Singh and leaders of opposition in both Houses are on board with the decision, the report says.

Read the full story here

Delhi is on high alert ahead of Independence Day. The Intelligence Bureau had warned of probable attacks.   

A weeks after killing five Indian soldiers along the Line of Control and attacking Indian posts, Pakistan has summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner and accused Indian troops of violating the ceasefire. Pakistan will also be seeking a United States probe into the LoC incidents. The UN secretary general is heading to Pakistan to attend Independence Day celebrations on August 14, reports CNN-IBN. 

NDTV reports: The Indian rupee weakened to 61.62 today despite the government announcing several measures yesterdayvto curtail a record current account deficit.

Finance Minister Chidambaram sought to soothe nerves about India's external finances by promising to contain the current account deficit at 3.8 per cent of gross domestic product this fiscal year.

Read the full story here

Pakistan has continued to violate ceasefire at the LoC yet again this morning. The firing at the Ramgarh sector at the Narayanpur Border Security Force stopped after 15 minutes. This is the eight attack in four days, reports CNN-IBN.   

Amid a spike in tensions over clashes along the Line of Control, Pakistan said it has no immediate plans to give Most Favoured Nation-status to India as there is a need to normalise bilateral relations.   

Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, a close aide of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said the government was not considering any proposal to grant MFN-status to India.   

"Giving MFN-status immediately is not under consideration," Dar told Geo News channel last night.

Over 100 persons have been arrested in this city and 11 in Kishtwar in connection with incidents of violence in the past few days, Jammu and Kashmir government said today.

"One hundred and eleven persons have been arrested in Jammu in connection with violent incidents and protests during past few days," Principal Secretary (Home), Suresh Kumar told reporters in Jammu tonight.

He said these arrests have been made to maintain law and order. "11 persons have been arrested in Kishtwar district for their involvement in communal clashes during past two days," Kumar said.

He said a list has been made and culprits identified and the arrests would continue in Kishtwar.

Demanding governor's rule in Jammu and Kashmir, the state unit of Vishva Hindu Parishad today extended bandh call for another 24 hours from tomorrow.

"We have decided to extend the bandh call for another 24 hours and appeal all business community and transporters to support the bandh call," VHP General Secretary Dr Sham Gupta told reporters in Jammu tonight.

He asked for Governor's rule in the state, as judicial inquiry, announced by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to inquire into the clashes in Kishtwar district, which left three persons dead and many others injured, is not sufficient.

Nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile test-fired

JK: Pak violates ceasefire again, at Poonch and Samba

I know my limitations, but don't exploit situation: Omar

Fresh clashes in Kishtwar; 2 cops among 4 injured

Has the BJP decided to go soft on Robert Vadra?