Unfazed Oppn Insists On Debate With Voting

In view of Speaker’s ruling, the Opposition changes tactics and pushes for debate on price rise under Rule 184 which also entails voting

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Punjab Hikes VAT On Petrol, Withdraws It In No Time

Barely an hour after it decided to hike value-added tax on petrol “up to 35 per cent” today, the Punjab government made an abrupt volte face and announced that the decision was being deferred. “The Cabinet gave approval to amend Section 8 of Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005, for levying VAT on petrol up to 35 per cent in view of the recommendation of the committee comprising Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Local Government & Industries Minister Manoranjan Kalia,” an official release said after a meeting of the state Cabinet here, presided over by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. But shortly afterwards, the state government issued an “amended and updated version of Cabinet press note after dropping” the concerned para on levying up to 35 per cent VAT on petrol.

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Kachru Ragging Case: Four Accused Surrender In Court

All the four medical students accused of ragging to death, first year student Aman Kachru last year surrendered in a local Himachal Pradesh court here today. The Himachal Pradesh High Court had yesterday cancelled the bail given to Ajay Verma, Naveen Verma, Abhinav Verma and Mukul Sharma by a trial court and directed them to surrender before the trial court here. “All the four accused have surrendered in fast-track court of Purinder Vaidya,” District Deputy Attorney R K Kaushal told reporters. He said the trial court had listed the matter for next hearing August 2. The High Court, which initiated suo motu proceedings after the bail, had said: “The order passed by the trial court granting bail to the accused is against law... accordingly quashed and set aside.”

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Food Inflation Down To Single Digit At 9.67 PC

Food inflation fell to single digit at 9.67 per cent for the first time this year at a time when the government is facing a concerted Opposition attack on rising food and fuel prices. Inflation fell by 2.80 percentage points for the week ended July 17 from 12.47 per cent in the previous week, as prices of vegetables, especially potatoes and onions,declined. On a yearly basis, potatoes became cheaper by over 46 per cent and onions by over 10 per cent. Overall vegetable prices fell 14.77 per cent, according to data released by the government today. However, prices of pulses, milk and fruits rose by 21.23 per cent, 19.03 per cent and 12.14 per cent respectively.

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Cameron Rules Out Return Of Kohinoor To India

British Prime Minister says that if such demands were agreed to, it will lead to empty rooms in museums

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BlackBerry Has Agreed To Address India’s Security Concerns, Says Home Ministry

Fond Hope: Canadian service provider & security agencies will be on the ‘same page’

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NIA To Probe Samjhauta Express Blast Case

With no breakthrough in the over three-year-old Samjhauta Express blast case, the government has today decided to handover its probe to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), to unravel the conspiracy. “The Samjhauta blast case has been handed over to the NIA,” Special Secretary in the Home Ministry Utthan Kumar Bansal said, on the sidelines of a function here. Sixty-eight people were killed when bombs were set off in two coaches of cross-country Samjhauta Express, running between Delhi and Lahore, around midnight on February 18, 2007 at Diwana near Panipat, 80 km north of Delhi. The case was being handled by Haryana Police which had failed to make any headway, after its probe led to a tailor at Indore who had prepared the cover for the suitcase in which the bombs were planted.

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Sohrabuddin Case: CBI Summons Geetha Johri, P C Pandey

Senior IPS officer Geetha Johri and former Gujarat DGP P C Pandey have been summoned by the CBI for questioning in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, amid allegations some police officers tried to influence investigations. The summons were issued to the two officers even as the CBI grilled former Gujarat Minister of State for Home Amit Shah inside the Sabarmati Central Jail for the second straight day today in connection with the case. Sources said Shah, who is a key accused in the sensational case, was not cooperating in investigation despite an assurance of this effect given by his lawyers before the court. Johri, who was the investigating officer and headed the probe while she was with state CID in the fake encounter involving Sohrabuddin Sheikh and killing of his wife Kausar Bi in 2005, was directed today to appear before the agency by August 10. Johri is currently posted as Rajkot Police Commissioner.

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