It is not mandatory for ministers to attend office “at a fixed time”, the Cabinet Secretariat has told a right to information (RTI) activist. Dev Ashish Bhattacharya had in an RTI application asked whether it was “compulsory for each minister to attend his office?”.

Finally the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) patriarch can heave a sigh of relief. In an act that could excite him, Union minister for chemicals and fertilisers M.K. Alagiri landed at the Delhi airport to receive deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu and his sibling M.K. Stalin, who arrived in the capital to participate in the National Development Council (NDC) meeting. This is the first time that Mr Alagiri has gone out of his way to give an impression that all is well between the two brothers.

The government has decided to bring contentious bills like the Women’s Reservation Bill, civil liability for nuclear damage bill in the Monsoon Session of Parliament after realising that a divided Opposition will make noises but may not influence its legislative agenda. The session will begin on Monday next week.

Maintaining that problems related to Centre-state relations could be solved if governors are appointed in consultation with chief ministers, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani on Friday criticised the UPA government for not taking states into confidence in the process.

Angry over the CBI summoning a Gujarat minister who happens to be chief minister Narendra Modi’s close aide, Ms Swaraj lashed out at the government for “unashamedly misusing” the CBI for political purposes. When asked why her party refused to attend the lunch, she said, “The atmosphere had become so vitiated that

BJP chief Nitin Gadkari on Friday brought back tainted saffron leader, Mr Bangaru Laxman, in an active role in the organisation. Former BJP chief Mr Laxman was forced to resign from the party after he was caught accepting bribe on camera. A corruption case against him is still pending in the court. The expulsion was later revoked, but Mr

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.

After filing the chargesheet against Gujarat minister of state for home Amit Shah and 14 others in connection with the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, the CBI is now preparing to question two more top leaders of BJP, including a former minister in the Vasundhara Raje government of Rajasthan, in connection with the case. The agency is expected to issue summons to both leaders in this regard.

The cash strapped MCD wants to make it mandatory for the citizens to show property tax receipt when they apply for issuance of various licences. Meanwhile, the talks between municipal contractors and the MCD leaders over pending payment remained inconclusive and the contractors have decided to continue with their strike. On the other hand, the opposition Congress has demanded a white paper on the alleged financial mismanagement in the MCD.

Senior lawyer H.S. Phoolka, who has been appearing for the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, on Friday said that he is likely to file a defamation suit against former Delhi high court judge R.S. Sodhi for allegedly accusing him of professional misconduct.