CPI parts ways with INDIA bloc in Jharkhand
RANCHI, March 10:The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Sunday parted ways with the opposition bloc INDIA, announcing that it will contest in eight of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections.The CPI has no representation from Jharkhand.“We have decided to contest the Lok Sabha polls on our own,” CPI state secretary Mahendra Pathak said.“The BJP has announced its candidates, but the Congress and the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ have not yet held any talks on seat-sharing. So, we have decided to go solo,” he said.The decision was taken at the party’s state executive committee meeting here, he said.The CPI will field its candidates in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Koderma, Chatra, Palamu, Giridih, Dumka and Jamshedpur Lok Sabha constituencies.Names of the candidates will be announced after March 16, Pathak said.(PTI)
Khanwilkar administered oath as Lokpal chairperson
NEW DELHI, March 10: Former Supreme Court judge Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar was administered the oath of office as the Lokpal chairperson on Sunday, nearly two years after the post fell vacant.Justice (retired) Khanwilkar, 66, served as a judge of the apex court from May 13, 2016 to July 29, 2022.President Murmu administered the oath of office of chairperson, Lokpal to Khanwilkar at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Sunday evening, according to an official statement.Justice (retired) Khanwilkar was appointed as the Lokpal chairperson in the last week of February. Chairperson of the Law Commission of India and former Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Ritu Raj Awasthi, former Chief Justice of Himachal HC Lingappa Narayana Swamy and former Chief Justice of Allahabad HCSanjay Yadav were appointed as judicial members in the Lokpal. The Lokpal was functioning without its regular chief since Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose completed his term on May 27, 2022 (PTI)