The government on Wednesday abolished the five per cent import duty on onions, ordered fresh imports and extended the ban on exports for an indefinite period even as retail prices of onions continued to be high — between `70 and `80 per kg. Aware of the repercussions that galloping onion prices can have on the government’s image,

The Congress party on Wednesday attacked the BJP-led NDA for making Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the target of their attack on the 2G spectrum allocation controversy. “They are paper tigers,” it said and asked the BJP how many corrupt leaders it has been shielding. Dubbing the main Opposition the “Bangaru Judeo Party”,

The government on Wednesday offered to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss setting up of a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G scam. The BJP-led Opposition, which had paralysed the Winter Session of Parliament on the issue, continued to remain firm on its demand for a JPC probe.

With incidents of piracy and suspected poaching occurring near India’s Lakshadweep Islands, the government has ordered setting up of two Coast Guard establishments in Lakshadweep. Defence minister A.K. Antony will also be visiting Lakshadweep on Friday.

The Cabinet Committee on Security will take a final decision on the constitution of an interim regional authority for Gorkhas in Darjeeling. BJP leader and Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh on Wednesday said a note detailing various aspects of the interim Darjeeling Regional Authority will be placed in the next meeting of CCS.

India and the US on Wednesday discussed the status of various initiatives announced during the visit of President Barack Obama a month ago, apart from deliberating on the situation in Afghanistan.

The Centre has drawn up a contingency plan to deal with any law and order situation which may arise after the Srikrishna Committee submits its report on the Telangana issue.

The government on Wednesday announced appointment of a “Working Group on Regulatory Framework” under the recently-constituted Civil Aviation Economic Advisory Council (CAEAC) that will examine “the existing system of passenger fare restructuring by all the scheduled domestic airlines and the manner in which the passenger fares are disclosed to the public ...”

The CBI is likely to question former telecom minister A. Raja in a day or two in connection with its probe into the 2G spectrum scam. The agency had questioned corporate lobbyist Niira Radia in connection with its probe into the 2G scam on Tuesday.

The Congress is foreseeing a different political game after the Tamil Nadu and West Bengal Assembly elections expected early next year while in Andhra Pradesh, one of the strongest states the Congress has in the south, the central leadership is giving three months’ time to new chief minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy to see how will he