Political updates: Odisha becomes 16th state to ratify GST
In other news, Mamata Banerjee vows to make Singur cultivable again
New Delhi: Mint brings to you your daily dose of political news reported by newsrooms across the country.
GST hits key milestone after Odisha ratification
India moved a step closer to the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) after 16 states ratified the enabling Constitutional amendment. The action will now shift to the drafting of the key legislation and its early passage, with the Central government considering starting the winter session a couple of weeks earlier in November. Read more
Mamata Banerjee vows to make Singur cultivable again
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday promised to turn the clock back 10 years to make the entire 997-acre plot taken from farmers of Singur cultivable again, a day after the Supreme Court quashed the 2006 land acquisition to build a small car factory there. Read more
Defamation case: I stand by what I said on RSS, Rahul Gandhi tells SC
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday told the Supreme Court that he was ready to face trial over his statement that members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were involved in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, in response to which a defamation complaint has been filed against him. Read More
Subhash Velingkar’s sacking triggers revolt, plunges RSS Goa unit into crisis
RSS, an organization that takes pride in discipline, plunged into a crisis in Goa on Wednesday with its local office-bearers threatening to resign en masse after the sacking of its local unit chief. The Konkan unit of RSS fired Subhash Velingkar, who also heads a Sangh outfit focusing on promoting local languages, after he said he will form a political party to fight the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Read More
Arvind Kejriwal justifies sacking of Sandeep Kumar
Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday justified the sacking of minister for social welfare Sandeep Kumar after the surfacing of a sex tape in which he allegedly appeared.
In a video message to his supporters and party workers, Kejriwal said Kumar had betrayed the faith of AAP supporters. Read more
Will take action on A.P. Shah panel report within a month, says Dharmendra Pradhan
In an interview a day after the A.P. Shah committee’s report on the dispute between state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) was made public, Union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan talked about swift action on the panel’s findings.
While ONGC declined to comment on the matter, RIL said it would respond after examining the report. Read More
How to make sense of Pinarayi Vijayan’s 100 days?
When a pollster checked to find Kerala’s most favoured chief ministerial candidate ahead of the state assembly election in May, Pinarayi Vijayan ended up as the least preferred of the three major candidates in the fray. An Economic Times report called him “Kerala’s least-loved politician".
Love him or hate him, but there is little doubt that in just 100 days, the son of a toddy tapper-turned-Communist leader has made his mark in the state’s administrative sphere. Read More
Jayalalithaa announces extension of maternity leave to nine months
Women government employees in Tamil Nadu will get nine months of maternity leave, up from the current six months. Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa made the announcement in this regard in the Tamil Nadu assembly, fulfilling an election promise made by her All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Read More
Law on anvil to make bandh rowdies pay for damage
Going beyond the usual anti-bandh rhetoric, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday decided to enact a law that will penalize violent bandh-enforcers for their crimes, making them compensate for the damage they cause. Read more
New political alignments in Maharashtra to consolidate Marathas
Attempts to consolidate the Marathas in the state to highlight the unrest among the community is leading to new political realignments with other backward communities (OBCs) and Dalits coming together in Maharashtra. Almost 45 days after the Kopardi rape incident in which a 14-year-old was brutally killed, the Maratha community has taken to the streets in Osmanabad, Aurangabad and Jalna districts. Read More
BJP says matters will settle with RSS soon
Even as the RSS saga continues to play out in the state with the state unit of the Sangh deciding to work against the BJP, senior BJP members on Thursday maintained that there was no threat to the party and are of the opinion that matters will settle down within a week. Wednesday saw senior leaders of the RSS resigning from their respective posts en masse in protest against the removal of the outfit’s Goa unit chief Subhash Velingkar, a revolt hitherto unprecedented in the Sangh’s 91-year history. Read more
HC to hear Naidu plea in ACB case today
The Hyderabad high court will on Friday hear arguments on the request made by Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to quash the order passed by the principal special judge for Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases ordering ACB of Telangana to thoroughly investigate the fresh complaint filed by YSR Congress MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy. Read more
AAI, Gujarat and centre ink deal to develop airports
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on Thursday between the state government, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the Union civil aviation ministry for development of 11 airports of Gujarat for intra-state air services. The airports will be developed by the state and the Central governments, while private airlines will be promoted to provide air services. Read more
Viswanath Pilla from Hyderabad, Abhiram Ghadyalpatil from Mumbai, Dharani Thangavelu from Chennai and Soumonty Kanungo from Kolkata also contributed to the wrap.
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