Political Leaders

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday mourned the death of its former member Yoginder K Alagh and R C Singh with MPs standing in silence in their places as a mark of respect. When the House met for the day, Deputy Chairman Harivansh informed that Alagh passed away on December 6 at the age of 83 years. Alagh, who taught economics during his lifetime, served as a member of the erstwhile Planning Commission and was vice chancellor of JNU. He represented the state of Gujarat in the Upper House from November 1996 to April 2000. "In the passing away of Alagh the country has lost an eminent economist and an able Parliamentarian," he said. An agriculturalist and social worker Singh, who was an MP of Rajya Sabha from June 2008 to April 2012, died on December 10 at the age of 78 years. "In the passing away of Singh, the country has lost a veteran trade unionist and an able parliamentarian," he said. MPs stood in their places in silence as a mark of respect to the memory of the departed.

The Delhi High Court will hear on Friday a public interest litigation (PIL) matter objecting to the appointment of persons holding important positions in political parties as public servants at various government posts. The petition, filed by lawyer Sonali Tiwary, says the "principle of political neutrality of public servants" prohibits them from taking part in political activities but there is "non-conformance to the above principle", which is not only causing huge losses to the public exchequer, but also propagating the beliefs of the political parties. The PIL is listed for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad. Citing the example of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra, who is the chairman of the India Tourism Department Corporation, and BJP Parliamentary Board member Iqbal Singh Lalpura, who is the chairperson of the National Minorities Commission, the petitioner has contended that those occupying "such ..

Senior Congress leader and former general secretary of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, Satheesan Pacheni died at a private hospital in the district on Thursday, party sources said. He was 54. Pacheni was battling for his life for the past one week after he had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on October 16. Though he unsuccessfully contested elections five times to the state Assembly and once to the Lok Sabha, the aggressive fight he had showcased against CPI(M) stalwart and former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan in Malampuzha in 2001 made him popular in mainstream politics. He managed to shrink the winning margin of Achuthanandan in the Left bastion to just 4703 votes during the election. The Congress leader again tried his luck against the Left leader in 2006 Assembly polls but could not succeed. Beginning his political career as a volunteer of the Kerala Students' Union (KSU), the student outfit of the Congress, Satheesan Pacheni later became its general secretary and t

Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav's death might not have any direct political impact on the party, but its President Akhilesh Yadav will now have to work without his "shield and shadow." Besides, the party is sure to miss Mulayam Singh's emotional bonding with every camp and also his expert guidance in crucial times, according to political observers and party insiders. Akhilesh Yadav, his son, became the party president in 2017 after a feud with uncle Shivpal Yadav. Even though he is already at the helm of affairs and has his team in place, Mulayam Singh has left behind him a void which will be hard to fill, they believe. According to political observer JP Shukla, Mulayam had stopped running the everyday affairs of the party long back, but his blessings were sought before every major decision by the party chief. "Mulayam had founded the party but he had not interfered in the party's functioning for the past several years. His name was a shield for Akhilesh in whatever ...

While the leaders have come out and claimed that the elections in the party is a friendly contest and not a battle between the rivals, reports suggest that Kharge is a favourite candidate

Sonali Phogat, who was in Goa at the time of her death, was taken to St Anthony Hospital in North Goa's Anjuna

A political leader from Lalitpur bit off the nose of a poor 16-year-old boy in a fit of rage, said sources

The language of reservation, relative deprivation and frustration is a big attention catcher. Hardik Patel combined this with innovative campaign tactics

His CV as KVIC chairman on the website describes him as having a 'suave and refined persona' and being a 'multifaceted personality'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will visit Kerala on May 15 to participate in the annual function of the Twenty20 political Party.

Only a quarter of Indians say that men generally make better political leaders than women.

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Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for Wednesday

Denial of a mistake is a terribly diminishing action. The fact that many leaders rarely admit to their mistakes is no excuse for not doing so

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Book review of Money and Power: The World Leaders Who Changed Economics

Lalu was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Ranchi, officials said on Saturday

The activist cited scientific reports that have established that unchecked warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) for the planet will be catastrophic.

Condoling his demise, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced a three-day state mourning

Indians with higher education more willing to have leaders of different caste/religion