Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa’s silence on the Ramdev issue, especially on the police action at the Ramlila Grounds in New Delhi, is being seen as a subtle signal to the Congress that the AIADMK is ready to do business with the Manmohan Singh government.

Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani on Wednesday said he feels “awkward” attending functions where he feels his longtime associate and former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee should have been present.

Defence minister A.K. Antony said on Wednesday that all those holding key positions in India in various fields including politicians are “still not ready” for the transition in the “transparency revolution” that the country is currently experiencing. He said this was the reason why there were “problems in this transition period”, but added that this
too is a phase of Indian democracy.

In less than 24 hours, the initial excitement has given way to apprehension and discontent has started simmering in the UP BJP over the “superimposition” of Ms Uma Bharti in Uttar Pradesh.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Wednesday threatened to issue a call to arms, saying he would raise a force of 11,000 people trained to hit back if the government tried to disrupt their anti-corruption campaign. The Durga Vahini and Bajrang Dal, two hardline outfits of the Sangh Parivar, have come out in support of Ramdev’s call, seen by his critics as an example of the militant face of Hindutva.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is considering releasing Indian national Sarabjit Singh in response to appeals from various quarters, including his Mr Singh’s family, official sources said.

Social activist Anna Hazare gestures during his day-long fast at Rajghat in New Delhi on Wednesday to protest against the police crackdown on Baba Ramdev and his supporters. PHOTO: Biplab Banerjee

The family of a former sarpanch who was brutally done to death on Tuesday morning has charged Haryana’s transport minister Om Prakash Jain and chief parliamentary secretary Zile Ram Sharma of ordering the killing.

A case has been registered against the woman who alleged molestation by the drivers of the chief minister, for allegedly fracturing the hand of her neighbour. Her mother and brothers were also with her. On June 1, a woman had alleged that the drivers of the CM, Jagdish Kumar Vashishth and Rajesh Kumar, had molested the woman and

As the acquisition of land for development purposes has embroiled in major political controversies in different states, the Supreme Court has stressed that the government should give preference to the policy of “land-for-land” to ensure that no farmers, especially the tribals, were rendered landless.