Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav made a new beginning in UP politics on Tuesday when he reached out to a group known by its profession, rather than caste.

Alleging “loot” of natural resources and corruption in implementation of central schemes in Uttarakhand, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday asked people in the hill state to recognise the “fraud” being played with them and oust the Bharatiya Janata Party government from the state.

A day after he was stripped of two ministerial portfolios, Congress minister Manoj Chakraborty lashed out against West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, terming her decision as dictatorial.

Pointing out that the neo-liberal policies as pursued by the Congress-led UPA 2 government is the root cause of the ongoing financial crisis plaguing the country, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat on Tuesday said that what was needed was a complete reversal of it.

The four-day session of the CPI(M) politburo and central committee meeting began in Kolkata on Tuesday. Significantly, this is the last party apex body meet before the 20th party Congress slated to be held in Kerala to finalise the contour line of the party’s political resolution and ideological document. “Details of the ensuing party Congress will form the main agenda in the central committee meeting,” CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said.

Rampant poaching by villagers, who continue to live inside wildlife sanctuaries and the forested areas surrounding the tiger reserves, is threatening wildlife at an alarming level in Madhya Pradesh.

The law and order situation of the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh continue to deteriorate with security agencies detecting the presence of Naga National Council in the state in addition to the growing tension of factional clashes between heavily-armed rebels of NSCN (I-M) and NSCN (Khaplang).

The BJP may have washed it away but now another political party has picked up the tag line — “party with a difference”.

The news is bound to bring cheer in the Congress camp, particularly in Uttar Pradesh.
Ms Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has finally indicated that she is open to the idea of campaigning for the Congress but only if her brother Rahul Gandhi wants her to do so.

Five police officers in Bihar’s southern Nawada district were on Monday booked for murder after an alleged custodial death of a man whose body was found abandoned four days after he was picked up by the police. The FIRs were lodged after chief minister Nitish Kumar ordered a probe.