THE BHAGWAT DISMISSAL
Congress demands JPC inquiry
After hour-long submissions marked by noisy scenes, with the entire opposition taking the government to task for keeping the Lok Sabha in the dark, the speaker said he would take a decision on admitting the motion after consulting the floor leaders of all parties.
THE JAYALALITHA CORRUPTION CASES
SC to hear Jaya's case on Thursday
The Supreme Court has fixed March 11 for the final hearing of a writ petition challenging the Centre's notification transferring 46 corruption cases against the AIADMK chief and others from special courts to sessions courts.
Judge Sambandam refuses to stay Jaya's trial
He dismissed a petition by J Elavarasi, a co-accused, seeking a stay on the trial since Jayalalitha has moved the Madras high court for transfer of the case to a sessions court, saying it had been filed to protract the proceedings and was an exercise in mudslinging.
OTHER REPORTS
Advani rules out referendum in Kashmir
The home minister said most of the terrorists captured in the state now are foreign mercenaries, indicating that Pakistan is no longer able to recruit Kashmiris for its proxy war.
Bombay police hits back at the underworld
In a new offensive, 14 men believed to be members of different big-time gangs and wanted in connection with cases of murder and extortion have been arrested.
Russia pays for being soft on India
Moscow's unwillingness to succumb to persistent pressure from the US to curtail its arms deals with India and change its stand on Iraq and Kosovo has led to a toughening of the IMF position on releasing fresh credits to Russia.
Army launches 'synergised operations' in Assam
An official release said the army and the Assam Rifles have launched a massive combing operation in their areas to curb extremism, under the supervision of the commander, 21st sector, Brigadier B K Ponwar.
Anna Hazare to throw light on Rane's deals
The social reformer has promised to expose certain discrepancies committed by the Maharashtra CM when he was heading the irrigation department.
NHRC launches rights cells in state police HQs
The Human Rights Commission hopes the cells will constitute an effective in-house system to deal with the rising number of custodial violence cases in the country.
BJP opposes trade fair ground in Goa
The proposal to set up an exhibition ground in Panjim on the lines of Delhi's Pragati Maidan has run into rough weather with the BJP demanding that it be taken up after an elected government takes charge.
Parisienne gives Kathakali new life
When frequent strikes cut into her classes at Kerala's famous Kalamandalam, Brigitte Revelli became furious. It was then that those emotions, which made her leave Paris for good to enter the world of dance, began to take shape in clay...
US spells out its China policy
"We try to work with China to prevent the development of dangerous occurrences around the world," including on the India-Pakistan front on nuclear non-proliferation, said state department spokesman James Rubin.
LTTE promises not to re-lay mines in Jaffna
The separatists have promised not to disturb the mine action project of the United Nations Development Programme in Jaffna. They have also given an undertaking not to re-lay mines in the peninsula once all mines are cleared.
THE REDIFF COLUMNIST
State of no return
'Mumbai is what it is not because a vast number of Indians have made it their home, but because it has been successively let down by a string of administrations. Four years of Sena-BJP have made Maharashtra easily rank among the most venal states in the Indian Union,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
THE REDIFF INTERVIEW
'The people are far less tolerant of our infighting'
'Hegde is a tremendously popular man. But we have won many bye-elections without him, and I don't see why facing an assembly election will be any different,' says Karnataka Deputy CM K Siddaramaiah.
THE WEATHER
Hot days return to North India
Heat wave conditions prevailed for the second day in parts of Orissa, Bihar, the plains of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
March 9
THE BIHAR GOVERNMENT'S DISMISSAL
Vajpayee heeds Cabinet advice, cancels Article 356 in Bihar
"From day one we had insisted that we need the Congress's support to pass the Bihar resolution in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress initially agreed, but changed track. Therefore, it is not we but the Congress which has lost credibility," BJP vice-president J P Mathur told Rediff On The NeT.
BJP to shift blame on Congress for Rabri's return
The PM went ahead with his meeting with Sonia Gandhi despite knowing that she would not budge from her opposition to central rule in Bihar so as to make it starkly clear that it was because of the Congress that Rabri Devi is staging a comeback.
No disrespect to RS, says government
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kumaramangalam was responding to criticism of the government for deciding Bihar's fate in the Cabinet instead of facing the Rajya Sabha.
Central rule lasted just 25 days
Though it was the seventh time President's rule was imposed in Bihar, it was the first time the assembly was kept in suspended animation.
OTHER REPORTS
IAF crash highlights dangers at Delhi airport
"Why can't the government just buy the ILS?" snapped Air Marshal (retd) Keeler. "The government has enough money to test nuclear bombs, but it cannot buy an ILS that would have saved the lives of so many brilliant officers!"
AN-32's 'black box' recovered
A court of inquiry headed by Air Commodore R V Kumar has begun investigating why the transport aircraft crashed into a water reservoir as it was coming in to land at Delhi.
Kerala airport officials keep mum on near miss
Aircraft belonging to the national carriers of Sri Lanka and Indonesia had a near miss last month, allegedly due to the incompetence of the officials.
Soldier runs amok, kills 2 in Kashmir
The soldier sprayed bullets around, killing a captain and a soldier at Village Enilu in Doda district, after he was denied leave.
Army soldier killed in Baramulla
The soldier, Virender Singh, was killed in an encounter with militants at Akwankanur in Tangmarg. The militants escaped.
Judge excuses himself from Uphaar hearing
Additional Sessions Judge S C Mittal said he was unable to hear the case as his daughter had worked on an architectural project with Sushil Ansal, owner of the cinema, some years ago.
Jaundice claims 13 in Lucknow
Even drinking water samples taken from taps at the residences of the chief minister and the mayor were found to be lacking in chlorine.
Dacoits strike terror in Chambal once again
Nine gangs active in the region find the common border of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan suitable for their activities as they can easily dodge the police by escaping to another state after committing a crime.
CBI to probe RJD leader's killing
Brij Bihari Prasad was shot dead while in judicial custody at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Patna.
Lady biographer gets Basu into trouble
The Opposition in West Bengal has risen against Dr Surabhi Banerjee's appointment as pro-vice-chancellor of Calcutta University. But the chief minister is standing firm: "Her only drawback is that she is my biographer."
Jamaat calls for army rule in Pakistan
The fundamentalist organisation accused Prime Minister Sharief of plundering the national wealth and being part of Clinton's conspiracy to implement a new world order in collaboration with Indian PM Vajpayee.
Sharief to visit US in June
The announcement came from the Pakistani premier's brother and West Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharief.
THE REDIFF COLUMNISTS
Action stations
'The easy ride that the Vajpayee government has enjoyed over the last several months as Sonia Gandhi has been busy with reviving the Congress is over. No longer can Vajpayee ignore Nagpur and pursue his own agenda,' says Vir Sanghvi.
Of cartoonists and kings
'I like cartoonists. I consider them the subversive conscience of society, and I admire them for their seemingly effortless ability to drive home a complicated point with a few deft brush-strokes. In particular, I like political cartoonists. They can be devastating; they are past masters at deflating large egos,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
Andhra Pradesh: Naxalites blow up police station
Tamil Nadu: Four houses burnt in community clash
Tripura: 4 killed, 50 hurt in terrorist attack
THE WEATHER
Heat wave spreads across North India
Heat wave conditions prevailed in Orissa, the Bihar plateau, the plains of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.
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