Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani on Wednesday said he feels “awkward” attending functions where he feels his longtime associate and former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee should have been present.

Defence minister A.K. Antony said on Wednesday that all those holding key positions in India in various fields including politicians are “still not ready” for the transition in the “transparency revolution” that the country is currently experiencing. He said this was the reason why there were “problems in this transition period”, but added that this
too is a phase of Indian democracy.

In less than 24 hours, the initial excitement has given way to apprehension and discontent has started simmering in the UP BJP over the “superimposition” of Ms Uma Bharti in Uttar Pradesh.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Wednesday threatened to issue a call to arms, saying he would raise a force of 11,000 people trained to hit back if the government tried to disrupt their anti-corruption campaign. The Durga Vahini and Bajrang Dal, two hardline outfits of the Sangh Parivar, have come out in support of Ramdev’s call, seen by his critics as an example of the militant face of Hindutva.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is considering releasing Indian national Sarabjit Singh in response to appeals from various quarters, including his Mr Singh’s family, official sources said.

There has been a spurt in aircraft landings after “go-around” of the aircraft over the New Delhi IGI airport in the past three months, prompting the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) to advise airlines to order their pilots to keep the speed of the aircraft within the requisite limit as the aircraft approaches the Delhi airport for landing. The advice

Two former chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh — Digvijay Singh and Uma Bharti — have emerged as key players in the impending Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh being the incharge of the Congress and the BJP for the state. The bitter rivals in Madhya Pradesh when in power and outside, would confront each other in the belt of Ganga-Yamuna in the fight for space against Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The Samajwadi Party on Tuesday mounted a blistering attack on the Congress-led UPA government on the issue of black money and corruption.

The Delhi police reiterated that the “provocative” speeches given by religious and political leaders, including Baba Ramdev and Sadhvi Ritambara, was the main reason which has forced it to cancel the permission for the yoga guru’s protest at Ramlila Maidan.

Problem for Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma seems to be far from over as on Tuesday he dropped four ministers and inducted three new faces in his council of ministers in an obvious attempt to quell the dissidence.
It, however, failed to placate dissident camp, said to have been led by veteran Congress leader and former chief