The CBI for the first time on Tuesday questioned corporate lobbyist Niira Radia in connection with its probe into the 2G spectrum scam involving former telecom minister A. Raja. Mr Raja will appear before the agency on Friday. Mr Raja, who is camping in Chennai, will leave for Delhi on Thursday.

The railways is keeping its fingers crossed and hoping that the Gujjar agitation that has disrupted rail traffic in the Gangapur city-Bharatpur section since Monday will end soon. After all, it has already had to cancel and divert some trains since Monday owing to the stir. A similar agitation by the Gujjars stretching over several days when they had blocked railway tracks had caused it a loss of around `40 crores.

Growing consumer concern over spiralling onion prices prompted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to step in on Tuesday and ask the concerned ministries to take the steps necessary for reining in their prices. He has also directed that onion prices be monitored on a daily basis.

A day after the Trinamul Congress said it was prepared to go it alone in the West Bengal Assembly elections, ally Congress on Tuesday claimed that Ms Mamata Banerjee’s party cannot defeat the Left Front alone.

The government may soon force some of the top members of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) organising committee (OC), including its chairman Suresh Kalmadi and secretary-general Lalit Bhanot, to step down from the posts they are holding.

The 83rd Congress plenary held here on Sunday and Monday could be different in many ways. While the party’s call for halla bol against the BJP and the Sangh Parivar could project the latter as a natural party of Hindus, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s offer to appear before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has confused Congressmen and the Opposition as well.

An “unscheduled” visit of MNS chief Raj Thackeray at BJP’s Mumbai unit office on Monday has caused tension between the BJP and its “old” NDA alliance partner Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena, it was learnt, was so miffed with the incident that it told the BJP that it will boycott the BJP-led NDA’s protest rally on corruption issue on December 22. However, the BJP on Tuesday claimed the issue has been sorted out and Shiv Sena will attend the protest rally. MNS and Shiv Sena are considered bitter rivals.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a relief package of `400 crores to the rain-hit farmers of Andhra Pradesh from the National Calamity Fund as an adhoc advance after 28 Congress MPs from Andhra Pradesh called on him and requested him for a package on Tuesday. The Prime Minister has also promised more support once he receives the report of the survey teams of both the Centre and the state.

The Delhi government on Tuesday decided to launch raids against hoarders to check the runaway onion prices. The government also asked officials to place direct purchase order from Nashik through Nafed, though the chief minister Sheila Dikshit stated that the government could decide to sell onion if the situation demands so.
The Delhi government is hopeful that with the arrival of 60 truck loads of onion from Nashik in the next two days, the prices would come down.

After hearing the arguments from both the counsel of the defence as well as the prosecution, a division bench of the Delhi high court comprising Justices B.D. Ahmed and Manmohan Singh on Tuesday reserved the judgment.