The peasants’ organisations of the four Left parties in West Bengal have called the Mamata Banerjee government “insensitive” to the plight of farmers and have decided to mobilise them to launch a campaign. The state government is already under fire from the farmers’ community for failing to procure paddy at the minimum support price (MSP) and provide jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS). The CPM’s peasants’...

-PTI   In a shocking incident, three persons allegedly chopped off both hands and legs of a 27-year-olddalit youth at Pagari Bangla village under Malawar police station limits in MP's Rajgarh district, apparently over a petty issue, police said on Sunday. The victim, identified as Jagdish, has been referred to Bhopal for treatment and was in a serious condition, they said. The incident took place on Saturday when the accused, identified as...

-PTI  A Dalit man’s hands and legs were chopped off by three persons in Rajgarh district because he had complained to police that they were tapping electricity from a power meter in his field. The victim, identified as Jagdish, was taken to Bhopal for treatment yesterday and was in a serious condition, the police said. Yesterday morning, at Pagari Bangla village in Rajgarh, Arjun Thakur, Shiva Gurjar and Madan attacked Jagdish with an...

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...

-PTI   The CPI(M) today asked the Manmohan Singh government whether it had a "dual policy" on FDI in the retail sector.  "In Parliament the Centre said it would not move forward in FDI till a consensus evolved through discussions. In Davos Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma told a Walmart representative that it had only pressed the pause button. Has the Centre a double policy on FDI in retail?" CPI(M) Politburo member Brinda...