—PTI Differences in the Congress over allowing FDI in retail surfaced on Sunday with Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ramesh Chennithala writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opposing the move and asking the party government in the State not to implement it. Party equations The Congress in Kerala has been opposing FDI in retail fearing that the Opposition Left will capitalise on it by weaning away small and marginal retail shop owners from...

Indian courts have consistently upheld and championed the fundamental right to free speech and expression enshrined in the Constitution. This includes the right to put forward different and contrary views, right or wrong. A recent instance saw the Supreme Court of India striking down Uttar Pradesh's ban on the film Aarakshan. This article by A.P. Shah, retired Chief Justice of the Madras and Delhi High Courts, sets out key issues...

-The Times of India   In what could spell major trouble for TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, the AP High Court on Monday directed the CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and state police to independently probe the allegations that he and his associates amassed wealth by plundering public assets. The court was responding to a petition filed last month by the late CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy's widow and YSR Congress MLA, Vijayamma. All...

-IANS There were only 12 days of work per household in West Bengal under the rural jobs scheme MGNREGA as against the national average of 28 days, say NGOs who blame organisational inefficiency and faulty implementation for the situation in the state. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) assures 100 days of work for one member of every rural household in a year. But West Bengal's performance has...

-IANS   With harsh wintry conditions sapping the juice out of Himachal Pradesh's fruit production this season, potatoes in the picturesque Lahaul Valley have been among the few crops that have seen an increase in production. "This year Lahaul's seed potato varieties have a bumper crop after two consecutive crop failures. The weather remained congenial throughout the season," Amar Chand Dogra, managing director of the Lahaul Seed Potato Growers Cooperative Marketing Ltd, told...