PTI
New Delhi, June 17 In perhaps the last reshuffle and expansion of the Union Council of Ministers, Mallikarjun Kharge was today made the Railways Minister as eight more were inducted with veterans Sis Ram Ola and Oscar Fernandes making a comeback. After yesterday's reshuffle in the party, senior woman leader from election-bound Rajasthan Girija Vyas and K S Rao from Andhra Pradesh were brought in as Cabinet Ministers in today's exercise which was an all-Congress affair. Three new faces - Santosh Chowdhury, J D Seelam and E N S Nachiappan were made Ministers of State along with veteran Maharas...

Newspoint Bureau
Srinagar: Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today said the elevation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has "strengthened" the Congress while dealing a set back to BJP as its allies were running away. "Modi's coming (to prominence) has become a danger not for us but for BJP. Congress has become stronger while BJP has disintegrated and its allies have run away," Azad told reporters on the sidelines of a function here. Welcoming the decision of Janata Dal (United) to snap its 17-year-old ties with BJP-led NDA over the elevation of Modi as the saffron party's poll campaign chief, Aza...

Newspoint Bureau
Srinagar, June 17 Chief Minister Omar AbdullahMonday visited Kheer Bhawani Tulamulla and interacted with various groups of Kashmiri Pandits who have arrived here to participate in Mela Kheer Bhawani and pay obeisance at the Temple of Ragnia Mata. Angry Pandits raised anti chief minister slogans as Omar Abdullah made his entry in the Kherbhawani Mandir. The situation compelled IG Kashmir to stay even after the chief minister left the spot only to persuade Pandits. The chief minister reached Kherbhawani Mandir where a large number of Pandits had gathered for yearly Kherbhawani Mela. As they ...

PTI
New Delhi, June 17 Heavy monsoon rains today wreaked havoc in the hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and flooded parts of Haryana where the water level in the Yamuna rose alarmingly, leaving 22 people dead and l000 stranded. The toll in the rain fury is expected to climb with 50 people missing in Uttarakhand where authorities suspended the chardham yatra to Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. The annual Kailash Mansarovar 'yatra' was also suspended in view of heavy rains in Uttarakhand. The tribal Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh was the worst hit with nine perso...

Newspoint Bureau
Srinagar, June 17 In was an embarrassing moment for the Kashmir University as students and some faculty members of its Law Department did not stand when the national anthem was played today on the arrival of Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir. As soon as the Chief Justice and some other dignitaries entered the convocation hall of the university here, the national anthem was played. The dignitaries, the High Court judges and other judicial staff stood up in respect of the national anthem. However, the students and some staff members of the varsity remained seated. Ironically, the studen...

Newspoint Bureau
Jammu Tawi, June 17 As a part of the party's country-wide "Jail Bharo Andolan" programme demanding resignation of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh being head of the Congress-led UPA government in order to get rid of mis-governance and rampant corruption, hundreds of party activists of J&K BJP under the leadership of State President Jugal Kishore Sharma courted arrests on Monday after staging a dharna for three hours at Pt. Prem Nath Dogra Chowk. Prominent senior leaders who accompanied Jugal Kishore Sharma in courting arrests included Ashok Khajuria, Shamsher Singh Manhas, Sukhnandan Kumar ...

Newspoint Bureau
Jammu Tawi, June 17 No compromise was made to end the stand off with China in the Ladakh sector, Army's General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, K T Parnaik said today. "Ultimately, the whole issue was resolved with Chinese reverting to the pre-April 15 situation. In doing so, no compromise was made. We didn't give in to any of their unusual demands. No structures were destroyed," Parnaik told reporters here. He said the Army had deliberately chosen not to make any public comments on the stand off when it was going on as the government had taken up the responsibility to do s...

Newspoint Bureau
New Delhi, June 17 Moving further towards greater transparency in governance, the government has extended the facility of e-filing of RTI applications to President and Vice President's secretariat, and Foreign Ministry among others. Citizens will also be able to seek information online from ministries of Food Processing Industries, Health & Family Welfare, Home Affairs, Information & Broadcasting and Road Transport & Highways by exercising their Right to Information. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which acts as nodal ministry for implementation of Right to Information Act...

Newspoint Bureau
Jammu Tawi: Army troops today smashed a militant hideout in Poonch district and recovered some arms including three AK-47 rifles, a defence spokesman said. "Rashtriya Rifles troops recovered three AK-47 rifles and a part of AK-47 rifle from a hideout in Sabjian area," he said. ...

Newspoint Bureau
Srinagar: Prof. Saif-ud-Din Soz, President, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee and Member of Parliament, met Gonvernor N N Vohra at Raj Bhavan here this afternoon. During their meeting, the Governor and Prof. Soz discussed several important matters relating to the governance, growth and development of the State. ...

Newspoint Bureau
Srinagar: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment headed by Hemanand Biswas Monday reviewed the status of implementation of various schemes for welfare, social justice and empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalized sections at a high level meeting with Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khanday here. An overview of various welfare programs being implemented in the state was presented by the concerned departmental heads. ...