-PTI Lucknow: With 55 districts in Uttar Pradesh hit by untimely rains and hailstorm, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has declared a calamity and has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking Rs 1,000 crores to immediately provide relief to farmers. The chief minister reviewed the prevailing situation yesterday and had said that a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh from the chief minister's fund will be provided to farmers who faced an...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ruled that an MLA or MP who enters into a business contract with the government stands automatically disqualified, upholding the disqualification of BJP legislator Bajrang Bahadur Singh who won the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections from Pharenda constituency. The apex court rejected Singh's argument that the disqualification would arise only if a contractor having a subsisting contract contests an election, not when a legislator...

-The Telegraph Lucknow: The Akhilesh Yadav government today suspended three revenue officers after some rain-hit farmers were handed compensation cheques of Rs 75 and Rs 100, and ordered a probe into how such a pittance was paid. News channels showed the farmers in Faizabad and Badaun districts of Uttar Pradesh waving cheques of Rs 100, Rs 75 and even Rs 69. These farmers had lost their crops in last month's unseasonal rain...

-The Hindu Business Line   Farmers across Uttar Pradesh and Punjab lament weather woes and lack of social security Consumers may be bracing themselves for rising prices of vegetables and fruits, but the unseasonal heavy showers and hailstorms through the first half of March have already dealt a significant blow to farmers across much of the northern, central and western belts. Agriculture Ministry estimates earlier this week showed that Rabi crops in about 181...

-NDTV Lucknow: Some of India's biggest politicians contested and won the Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh. But eight months later, they have not spent anything from their Local Area Development Fund (MPLAD). On the list of high-profile MPs from Uttar Pradesh who have spent not a rupee yet from their constituency funds are Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi,...