Cong issues three-line whip for MPs to be present in Parliament
New Delhi: The Congress party issued a three-line whip to its MPs to be present in Parliament from Monday to Friday. “All Members of Congress Party in the Lok Sabha are requested to kindly remain present in the House from 11:00 A.M. onwards till the adjournment of the House on 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 February, 2019 without fail and support the party stand,” a note from the party read. MPs have been asked to be present during the Budget session to attend discussions on the interim Budget that was presented recently. The Budget Session of Parliament, which commenced on January 31, will continue till February 13, spread across 10 sittings. It will be the last session of the Lok Sabha before the General elections which are due before May. (ANI)
CBI gets sanction to prosecute Chidambaram in INX case
New Delhi: The law ministry granted sanction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prosecute former finance minister P Chidambaram in connection with the INX media case, according to law ministry sources. On January 25, the investigative agency told the Delhi High Court that it wanted to carry out custodial interrogation of Chidambaram in the case, in which the court had reserved its judgment. “We are opposing the anticipatory bail of P Chidambaram and want to take him on the police remand for interrogation. We want to exercise our statutory right to investigate the case,” Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta told the court while appearing on behalf of the CBI. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing the role of Chidambaram in the INX media money laundering case for giving a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to the group in 2007. (ANI)
Visually impaired voters to get Braille slips in Lok Sabha polls
New Delhi: Visually impaired and blind voters will be provided with braille voter slips in the Lok Sabha elections due this summer. Braille is a script with raised dots that can be read with the fingers by people who are blind or who have low vision. It is a tactile reading and writing system used by blind and visually impaired people who cannot access print material. As part of its strategy framework for ‘accessible elections’, the commission has told all chief electoral officers to issue accessible photo voter slips with braille to voters who are visually impaired or blind. The braille enabled slips were used in the recently held assembly elections also. Electronic voting machines already have the braille feature. The ballot paper pasted on the machine with name and symbol of candidates is braille enabled. The Election Commission also plans to provide braille election photo identity cards to visually challenged voters across the country. (PTI)
CBI books two of its officials in YEIDA land scam
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against two of its officials and two officials of the Uttar Pradesh government in connection with the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority land scam. The CBI booked V S Rathore, Inspector, Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) at Ghaziabad and Sunil Dutt, ASI, CBI Academy Ghaziabad. Also, a case has been registered against Ranveer Singh, Tehsildar in Uttar Pradesh and some unknown official of Uttar Pradesh for “indulging in corrupt practices to help the accused in Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) land scam case”. Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority land scam case in under the process of transfer to CBI by the Uttar Pradesh government. (ANI)
KCR reviews renovation of Yadadri Temple
Yadadri Bhuvanagiri (Telangana): Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Sunday took a chopper ride to review the ongoing renovation work at the famous Yadadri temple. The Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) government is overseeing the rebuilding of the Yadadri Temple, the abode of Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy. As many as seven gopurams will be built in the premises of the temple and most of the work has already been completed with remaining work reaching its final phase. (ANI)