-The Telegraph Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will not know Pushpa Tudu. Neither will state election commissioner Mira Pande. Such an assertion can be made because Pushpa Tudu does not want her real name to be published - a wish that tells the human story behind the stand-off between the Bengal government and the state election commission. Early last week, Pushpa Tudu (name changed), a probable CPM gram panchayat candidate, was addressing a small...

-The Hindu Business Line Kolkata: The West Bengal State Election Commission on Monday moved the High Court seeking a stay on the notification issued by the State Government regarding panchayat polls (rural polls). The petition was filed before Justice Biswanath Samaddar. The matter is expected to come up for hearing tomorrow. The Panchayat Department of the State Government had last month (in March) issued a notification to conduct panchayat polls in two phases...

-The Business Standard Demands CBI inquiry into Rs 2.4 crore road construction scam Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has scolded the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh over an alleged Rs 2.4 crore fund embezzlement under the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in the state. He has asked for an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The issue pertains to construction of five roads in Sultanpur district,...

-The Hindu Election Commission team coming on April 8 to review poll preparedness Bangalore: Now you can find crucial details about a candidate contesting the Assembly Elections - his criminal record and assets/liabilities - in one consolidated format. Information on both these aspects will be part of a single document and will be up on the Election Commission website within 24 hours of it being filed. Hitherto, these details were in scattered in...

-The Indian Express Yavatmal: Works worth Rs 36 crore were completed in less than four months, supposedly a manual effort under the central employment scheme MNREGS, according to the Maharashtra's forest department. An inquiry ordered by the district collector has found it was made possible by a collusion between forest officials and contractors, who allegedly used machines. Works worth Rs 32 crore were done in only nine of 56 gram panchayats in...