Lok Sabha polls: Sonia Gandhi to contest from Raebareli, Rahul from Amethi

The first list, finalised at a meeting of the party’s central election committee chaired by Rahul Gandhi, names 11 candidates from Uttar Pradesh and four from Gujarat

The Congress Thursday released its first list of 15 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, fielding UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli and party president Rahul Gandhi from Amethi.

The first list, finalised at a meeting of the party’s central election committee chaired by Rahul Gandhi, names 11 candidates from Uttar Pradesh and four from Gujarat. Former Union ministers Salman Khurshid, Jitin Prasad and R P N Singh have been fielded from their traditional seats of Farrukhabad, Dhaurahra and Kushi Nagar respectively.

Former UP Congress chief Nirmal Khatri will contest from Faizabad, while Bharatsinh Solanki, the party’s ex-chief of the Gujarat unit, has been fielded from the state’s Anand constituency.

1984 anti-Sikh riot case: Congress leader Sajjan Kumar to surrender today

On December 22, the Congress leader filed an appeal in the Apex Court, after the High Court dismissed Kumar’s plea seeking more time to surrender

BS: Congress leader Sajjan Kumar has to surrender before Karkardooma Court or Tihar jail authorities here on Monday. In view of this, HS Phoolka, one of the petitioners in 1984 anti-Sikh riot case, has appealed to the victims of the riot to not go to the court on Monday.

In a statement, Phoolka said: “It is apprehended that Sajjan Kumar might try to create disturbances around the court tomorrow, to use as an excuse not to surrender and ask for an extension. I request 1984 Sikh genocide victims not to go to the court tomorrow. He has not got any relief from the Supreme Court. So, he has to surrender.” Speaking to ANI, Phoolka said: “He simply has to go to the court tomorrow and surrender. If he does not do that, then on January 1 the police will have to take him in custody and send him to Tihar Jail. This is a very big victory for the entire nation, as a mass murderer is going to be punished after years.”

On December 22, the Congress leader filed an appeal in the Apex Court, after the High Court dismissed Kumar’s plea seeking more time to surrender. The court, while awarding him a life sentence, had directed him to surrender by December 31 and also levied a fine of Rs 5 lakh on him. In his plea, he had sought 30 additional days to surrender, on account of settling family affairs with regard to property and inheritance…

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2019 elections: BJP may lose 70% seats in Hindi heartland, Congress to gain

The bulk of seats that the BJP may lose is likely to be picked up by the Congress, dramatically altering its leveraging ability

Elections: There is unanimity that the keen contest resulting in a photo finish in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan has thrown open the race for 2019. It makes sense therefore, to examine electoral statistics from the past and visualise emerging trends. Needless to say that in addition to the two states, Chhattisgarh – in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost too – is part of the Hindi heartland of north India. It is one of the two regions that propelled Narendra Modi to power in 2014. When we talk about the Hindi heartland, it refers to ten states – Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Although not really a separate region, the two other states in northern India – Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir – have to be treated separately while discussing politics in a general framework. But within the context of the BJP’s performance in 2014, these can also be clubbed with the heartland region for calculations in the run up to Elections 2019.

hese dozen states and the lone UT account for a total of 245 Lok Saha seats, of which the BJP won 196 in 2014. In addition, if you add the seats won by its allies in Bihar and UP, the total is a difficult to repeat 211. Essentially, in this block of states – which elects almost 45% of Lok Sabha members – the BJP’s opponents won just 34 seats at the height of the “Narendra Modi wave”.

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GST launch mock drill today: Know how Team Jaitley is preparing for July 1

GST war room is an important element in the government's launch effort

With three more days to go before India's biggest tax reform in decades is implemented, the Narendra Modi-led government is all geared up to ensure that nothing goes amiss on July 1. For this, a mega rehearsal has been planned today in the Central Hall of Parliament. The rehearsal, scheduled to be held at 10 PM, may be supervised by either Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, his deputies Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and S S Ahluwalia, or Secretary Rajiv Yadav, official sources told Firstpost.|economy news

Officers from various departments including those from the finance ministry will be part of the rehearsal event, they said.

The GST Feedback and Action Room set up by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is keeping a close watch to ensure all processes are in place for a smooth rollout.

"A special war room has been created to address doubts arising over GST, beforehand," a senior government official told The Economics Times.

It will operate from eight in the morning to 10 in the evening, providing a single window for the resolution of any GST-related issue.

economy policy| GST war room

The war room is an important element in the government's launch effort. It is backed by many government officials. Every ministry and department has created GST cells dedicated to the sectors they deal with.

Custom departments: porters and traders will start filing bills of entry and shipping in the new format aligned with the GST framework starting today.

CBEC has directed field formations to answer any query industry and small businesses may have. Centre has asked officials to respond to those who walk into their offices seeking clarification.

Field officials have been directed to assist taxpayers and businesses with regard to aspects of GST. 

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Trinamool to boycott midnight GST function, Congress and others might too

The June 30 midnight event is a function and therefore not mandatory for members to attend

Several Opposition parties are likely to boycott the June 30 midnight function in Parliament to mark the rolling out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said that her party Members of Parliament will not attend the event in protest.

While the government has invited former prime minister Manmohan Singh to share the dais with President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress party is also mulling a boycott.

The June 30 midnight event is a function and not a session of parliament, and therefore not mandatory for members to attend.|economy policy 

Banerjee today said her party was deeply concerned about GST implementation. "After demonetisation, this unnecessary disastrous hurry is another epic blunder of the Centre," she said.

The West Bengal CM said her party supports GST but it required more preparation. She said the entire business community, especially the small and medium ones, are scared and confused.

"Essential commodities such as medicines are not available in many places and prices of various commodities are rising for lack of clarity and mismanagement," Banerjee said, cautioning of chaos in the wake of hurried implementation of GST.

Banerjee said her parliamentary party will stay away from the function, but advised the government to take six months more for proper implementation of GST related rules and regulations.| economy news

Meanwhile, voices are growing within the Congress favouring a boycott. There are concerns, including from the former prime minister, that the event is designed to demean first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's "tryst with destiny" speech at the midnight session of Parliament on the eve of the Indian Independence on 15 August,1947.

A final decision is likely to be taken in the evening by the Congress.