-PTI THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Trading activities came to a virtual halt across Kerala on Wednesday as shop owners downed shutters to protest against the policies of the Central and state governments, including the decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail. Early reports from different centres said the response to the shut-down call given by traders' unions like Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Samiti (KVVES) has been total, especially in urban areas. Majority of hoteliers also joined the...

-PTI Pawar resigned after reports alleged his involvement in Rs 20,000 crore irrigation scam Maharashtra Governor K Sankarnarayanan today accepted the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who quit following reports about his alleged involvement in a Rs 20,000 crore irrigation scam. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan met the Governor this morning and handed over Pawar's resignation. "The Governor has accepted Ajit Pawar's resignation as recommended by the Chief Minister," a Raj...

-The Telegraph The Manmohan Singh government has decided to aggressively highlight the Supreme Court’s opinion on allocation of natural resources to debunk the CAG’s coal report that presumed losses of Rs 1.86 lakh crore. Although the government had given a restrained formal response yesterday, senior ministers P. Chidambaram, Salman Khurshid and Kapil Sibal were fielded again today. The ministers carefully avoided attacking the CAG directly but the essence of their argument was that...

-The Hindustan Times BJP president Nitin Gadkari on Thursday sent a legal notice to India Against Corruption (IAC) activist  Anjali Damania, for alleging he had tried to cover up the irrigation scam in Maharashtra when she approached him. Gadkari has demanded an apology from her. The IAC, however, defended Daminia with Arvind Kejriwal posing four questions to Gadkari over his alleged proximity to NCP chief and union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar. In his...

-The Times of India The government on Thursday seized upon Supreme Court's ruling that auctions are not mandatory for allocating natural resources as a validation of its stand against the comptroller and auditor general's (CAG) findings in the 2G spectrum and Coalgate cases. Talking to media after the verdict, telecom minister Kapil Sibal and law minister Salman Khurshid welcomed the judgment, suggesting it had vindicated the government's position. Sibal said all constitutional authorities...