The Election Commission's model code of conduct notwithstanding, liquor flowed freely on the eve of assembly polls in Punjab on Sunday, as campaign managers of different political parties sought to lure voters.  This was especially the case in and around the industrial city of Ludhiana, where more than a million migrant workers abound in Sherpur, Samrala Chowk, Mullanpur and Dhaka colony, among other areas.  Residents in the city said liquor was brought...

The Central Information Commission (CIC) in New Delhi has asked the Rajasthan High Court to revisit a number of provisions framed by it pertaining to the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The commission passed the order in response to an appeal by a Mumbai-based RTI activist, Sunil Ahya. Ahya sought to know the reasons why the Rajasthan HC framed certain rules under the Rajasthan Right to Information (High Court and Subordinate...

The tribals in the Maoist-affected districts, including Mirzapur, Chandauli and Sonbhadra of East Uttar Pradesh, seem to have been born with a burden -- poverty. With almost all the major political parties promising special packages for various regions of the state to garner votes, the situation for those living below poverty line in the region is as desperate as was a couple of decades back. Take for example Katwaru, a member...

-DNA   Baba Ramdev was not there. Nor was it the Ramlila Maidan of Delhi. But lathis were used - on the dalits of Sanand, who had experienced a similar fate when they were lathi-charged post midnight earlier this week, and the corpse which was placed in the police station to agitate against the ineffective cops, was seized. The body was of Atul Rathod, a resident of Rethal village of Sanand Taluka. The...

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on Friday signalled its intent to deregulate the sugar industry, a move that could potentially stoke a political backlash, especially at a time when states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand—all sugarcane-growing regions—are in the middle of an election campaign. The opposition claimed that not only was it anti-farmer, it also violated the electoral code of conduct prevalent in five states, while sugar stocks of...