Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi has written a strong letter to President Pratibha Patil complaining against Union Law and Justice Minister Salman Khursheed for challenging the Commission on the “nine per cent sub-quota for minorities issue” even after being censured by it. Mr. Quraishi sought her “immediate and decisive” intervention to ensure that the Election Commission (EC) discharged its functions and duties in accordance with the Constitution and law in Uttar...

-The Hindu   The Maharashtra Election Commission has sought the Press Council of India's assistance to check the menace of paid news in the upcoming zilla parishad and corporation polls in the State. “We have created committees at various places under the corporation chairman and district collector to look into complaints of paid news. We have also written to the Press Council and asked them to appoint a representative on each of these...

The Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council has recommended a Rs 4,250 crore programme to provide shelters and other amenities to homeless in Class 1 cities in the country. The council has suggested the National Programme for Shelters and Other Services for Urban Homeless to set up 6,800 permanent shelters for around 3 lakh homeless - 15% of the estimated population of people living in the open across urban India. The council, moving...

—PTI With Law Minister Salman Khursheed raking up a controversy over “administrative control” of the Election Commission, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured the poll body that the government was committed to upholding its functional autonomy guaranteed under the Constitution. Mr. Khursheed said in a TV interview that the Law Ministry had control over the Election Commission, prompting Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi to write to the Prime Minister on December 29,...

A social activist has found a ration card on the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) premises that was issued in the names of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul and daughter Priyanka, bearing their Delhi address. The family's annual income was shown as Rs 30,000. The ration card was issued by the Thane rationing office. The ration card was issued despite Sonia Gandhi's address being mentioned as Delhi's 10 Janpath, indicating...