Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia on Saturday exhorted people to have faith in the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism as the lack of “culture of dispute settlement” among them was proving to be a major cause of rising pendency with the courts.

Two fibre-glass motor boats acquired by the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) five years ago for rescue of passengers in any emergency at Lakshadweep’s Agatti airport — in case of any aircraft plunge into the sea — are lying unused at the Agatti seashore.

Criticising the Centre’s move to set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) to consider amendments to the law to deal with honour killings, the CPI(M) said that the defence of honour killings by some of those in power is “abhorrent”. The party demanded that a draft of a comprehensive law to deal with such crimes should be tabled in the monsoon session of Parliament.

Activists and food experts want the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council to address the larger issue of hunger in the country than providing subsidised ration to the poor while drafting the proposed National Food Security Act.

Minister for road transport & highways Kamal Nath reinforced the government point of view by stating that the financial liability for the Bhopal gas tragedy must be placed on Dow Chemicals.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati’s name game is likely to be scuppered by the Union home ministry, at least where Metro stations coming up in her state, Uttar Pradesh are concerned.

Following intelligence inputs that Pakistan-based militant outfits may try to disturb the Amarnath yatra in J&K, the Centre has now sounded a high alert on Saturday for security agencies asking them to remain vigilant during the two-month-long period that it is on.

Mr Sharad Pawar’s plan to form a Secular Democratic Front is a clear rebuff to the Congress which wanted the NCP’s merger in it.
Congress leaders have been questioning the longevity of Mr Pawar’s NCP which he floated about a decade ago, in private conversations or sometimes publicly. But the NCP and Mr Pawar have been ruling it out time and again.

The Congress has decided to hold a meeting of party workers in Kolkata in September this year in a bid to show off its strength to ally Trinamul Congress and rival Left Front. This exercise is being viewed as part of a big electoral battle to be fought in the coming months.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister K. Rosaiah on Saturday said Congress MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy can dream and aspire for the chief minister’s post and that there is a method to it. “Jagan is a young boy with a future. He needs proper advice. He can dream, aspire and try for the CM’s post but there is a method to get it,” Mr Rosaiah said in an interview to a TV news channel.