The much-awaited National Food Security Bill, which the ruling Congress calls a “game changer”, was passed by voice vote in the Lok Sabha on Monday. It will ensure legal food entitlement to 50 per cent of the urban and 75 per cent of the rural population across the country at reasonably cheaper prices.

In the backdrop of the controversy surrounding the untraceable files related to its ongoing probe into the “Coalgate” scam, the CBI is all set to file a status report in the Supreme Court on Tuesday on the progress it has made in investigations into the scam so far.

With the BJP calling the Food Security Bill a “vote security bill”, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav took a leaf out of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s book by suggesting it be kept in abeyance till all state chief ministers could be consulted.

Asserting that the Congress’ aim was to completely eradicate “hunger and malnutrition”, party chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday urged all parties to forget their differences and support the Food Security Bill to send out a “big message” on India’s capabilities.

The parliamentary standing committee on law and justice has recommended statutory backup to the Model Code of Conduct and sought to take away some powers vested in the Election Commission like derecognising a political party.

Recent measures taken by the Reserve Bank failed to prop up the rupee as the month-end dollar demand from oil importers and corporates led to a two per cent fall in the Indian currency’s value against the dollar.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Monday ordered the release of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Ashok Singhal and Pravin Togadia and former BJP MP Ram Vilas Vedanti, who were arrested on Sunday while attempting to participate in the VHP’s banned “Chaurasi Kosi Parikrama Yatra” in Ayodhya.

A 30-year-old businessman was found brutally murdered in his bakery in Sultanpuri area of Outer Delhi on Monday morning.

A 46-year-old businessman was shot at by two unidentified bike-borne assailants who fled after robbing his bag several lakh rupees in Govindpuri area of southeast Delhi at around 5 pm.

The last Assembly session is likely to start on a stormy note from Tuesday. With the issues of skyrocketing prices of onion, power tariff hike, water crisis and price rise in basic commodities, the Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to corner the government. Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra chaired a meeting of BJP legislative party on Monday to discuss the party’s strategy to corner the city government during the Assembly session.