If the story earlier was that the number of Maoist-affected districts was increasing, that no longer seems to be true On the third anniversary of the attack on Mumbai, today, the success to celebrate on the internal security front may be far removed from Mumbai, and located in the jungles of the tribal heartland of eastern India. The killing on Thursday of Kishenji, ranked third in the hierarchy of the Maoists,...

-The Hindustan Times   After losing the first week of the winter session in Parliament to disruption, the government is bracing for more opposition salvo next week as the Left parties and the BJP are mulling adjournment motions on Monday against the Union Cabinet's decision to allow 51% FDI in multi-brand retail. On Friday, the two Houses could only condemn the attack on agriculture minister Sharad Pawar. Trinamool Congress, key ally of...

-PTI   Strongly protesting the decision to open up the retail sector to FDI, Left parties on Friday termed the move as “unprecedented” and said the government should have discussed it first in Parliament before taking the decision. “It is unprecedented. When Parliament is in session, a major decision was taken outside Parliament. It has never happened,” CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters outside Parliament House. “We will not discuss the FDI issue in...

-The Telegraph   The Trinamul Congress will oppose foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail and pension funds as well as changes in rules that will allow foreign airlines to invest in Indian carriers. Mamata Banerjee has instructed her sole member of the cabinet — railway minister Dinesh Trivedi — to oppose the retail proposal at tomorrow’s cabinet meeting, the minister confirmed today. The Trinamul roadblock is being seen as an attempt to reaffirm its...

-The Times of India   After debating the issue for over a decade, the government on Thursday threw open the multi-brand retail segment to foreign chains such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour and others in a move to attract overseas investment and dispel doubts about the coalition's ability to push through big-bang reforms.  After nearly two hours of discussion on Thursday evening, the Union Cabinet decided to allow foreign retailers to hold 51% stake in...