The rally being organised by Trinamul Congress chief and Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee deep in the Maoists’ den at Lalgarh, West Bengal, on August 9 has become a major cause of concern for both the UPA government and the Congress.

One of the main reasons Trinamul Congress leader and Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee is holding a rally in Lalgarh, deep in the Maoist belt, is her attempt to make inroads into West Midnapore, which continues to remain a weak zone for the Trinamul. The rally “could signal the Trinamul’s tacit understanding with the Maoists since the area is completely dominated by the insurgents,” sources said.

Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi has become a major “embarrassment” for the Congress which is now finding it difficult to defend its MP from Pune following controversies ranging from poor construction to money transfers abroad. The Congress is now awaiting the return of party president

In another blow to the Bihar administration, the latest Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report released on Friday has found major irregularities in delivering food grains of over 3,000 quintals, meant for the flood-affected in the state.

In another blow to the Bihar administration, the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, released Friday, has found major irregularities in delivering over 3,000 quintals of foodgrain meant for flood-affected people in the state.

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, which found discrepancies of over Rs 11,000 crores by the Bihar government, had stated the expenses incurred were “not in tune with the spirit of formation of contingency funds ... provided (under) the Constitution.”

Trinamul Congress supremo and railway minister Mamata Banerjee is under pressure from her party colleagues not to quit the Union cabinet till the West Bengal Assembly elections in 2011 are over.

Shaken, the BJP and JD(U) began hectic parleys on Friday after the Patna high court ordered a CBI probe into the alleged irregular withdrawal of Rs 11,412.54 crores from the state treasury between 2002-03 and 2007-08 for different welfare and development schemes without making available required bills to the accountant-general of Bihar.

The legal brains of the JD(U) and BJP in Bihar are preparing their defence after the Patna high court ordered a CBI probe into the alleged irregular withdrawal of Rs 11,412.54 crores from the state treasury between 2002-03 and 2007-08 for different welfare and development schemes without submitting the required bills to the accountant-general of Bihar.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who has been a symbol of the return of good governance to Bihar, has begun embracing politicians facing criminal cases with only three months to go for the Bihar Assembly polls.