Bhopal Mar 31 PTI Senior Congress leader Ajay Singh on Thursday said police personnel from a non-BJP ruled state should be allowed to probe the case where a religious storyteller allegedly raped a minor girl with assistance from his aides in a government circuit house in Madhya Pradeshs Rewa districtThe former Leader of Opposition sought to know how a room where the alleged crime took place was booked in the name of a habitual offender in the government circuit house in RewaThe main accused Mahant Sitaram Das alias Sitaram Tripathi a religious storyteller was arrested from neighbouring Singrauli districts Waidhan town on Wednesday two days after the incidentThe police had earlier arrested another accused in whose name the circuit house room was booked while some others wanted in the case including a car driver were abscondingTerming the incident as shameful Singh said because of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhans tough stand the main accused was arrested but who will explain viral videos on social media suggesting close relationship between the mahant officials and also some BJP leaders Though chief minister has ordered a probe to find out how the circuit house room where the crime took place was allotted to the mahant there is doubt on impartiality of the inquiry because of Tripathis close relations with some BJP leaders and officials Singh said in a statementHe said if the Chouhan government is really serious about getting the matter impartially investigated then it should handover the probe to police or judicial officials from a non-BJP ruled stateThe religious storyteller checked into the room along with the girl age not disclosed on March 28 The room was booked in the name of an alleged habitual offender Additional Superintendent of Police Shivkumar Verma saidTripathis associates bolted the room from outside Inside the room the mahant forced the victim to consume liquor and then allegedly threatened and raped her the official saidBased on her complaint the police on Tuesday registered a case against the mahant and his associates under relevant Indian Penal Code sections including 376 D gang rape and 506 criminal intimidation and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences POCSO Act PTI MAS RSY RSY

Kolkata Mar 29 PTI West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to her non-BJP counterparts and other opposition leaders urging them to come together and unitedly fight the saffron partyBanerjee who has written a letter as the Trinamool Congress chairperson called for a meeting to discuss strategies to take on the BJP and commit to the cause of a unified and principled opposition that will make way for the government that the country deservesShe called on all progressive forces to join hands to fight the oppressive BJP regime I am writing to you to express deep concern over direct attacks on this countrys institutional democracy by the ruling BJP the letter dated March 27 saidIt was shared with the media on Tuesday morningI urge everyone to come together for a meeting to deliberate on way forward at a place as per everyones convenience and suitabilityLet us commit to the cause of a unified and principled opposition that will make way for the government that our country deserves she added PTI PNT ACD ACD

Panaji Mar 28 PTI Goa BJP chief Sadanand Shet Tanavade on Monday said a decision on three state cabinet berths currently vacant will be taken within a month or two He was speaking to reporters minutes after Pramod Sawant took as the Goas chief minister and eight other BJP MLAs were sworn in as cabinet ministers at a function near here The induction of three more ministers in the state cabinet would be done within a month or twoTanavade said but refused to reveal whether those berths will be filled by non-BJP legislators Besides chief minister the Goa cabinet can have 11 more ministers In the elections to the 40-member state Assembly held last month the BJP won 20 seats one short of a simple majority in the House Three independent MLAs and two legislators of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MGP have extended support to the BJP A group of BJP MLAs had recently opposed the induction of MGP into the state cabinet They had said the BJP did not require the support of the Deepak Dhavalikar-led political outfit Last week BJP MLA Govind Gaude had said the MGP legislators should not be inducted into the cabinet as they had contested the Assembly polls against the BJP in alliance with the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress TMC PTI RPS GK GK

New Delhi Jan 26 PTI As many as nine non-BJP ruled states have opposed the Centres proposal that gives it an overriding power while deciding on central deputation of IAS officers whereas eight others have given their consent officials said on WednesdayA reminder will soon be sent to the states and Union Territories which have not yet responded to the proposal on making changes in the relevant service rules they saidOdisha West Bengal Maharashtra Kerala Tamil Nadu Telangana Chhattisgarh Jharkhand and Rajasthan have raised their voice against the amendments the officials saidOn the other hand Arunachal Pradesh Manipur Tripura Madhya Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Gujarat Haryana and Himachal Pradesh have given their consent they added Karnataka and Meghalaya had opposed the proposal initially sent to them last month but are expected to send a revised proposal the officials said adding that Bihar had also opposed the move earlier While the nine states opposed the suggested changes saying they were against the federal structural of the country the Centre has defended its proposal asserting that the states are not sparing sufficient number of IAS officers for deputation which is affecting its functioning the officials saidSources in the Department of Personnel and Training DoPT said a trend of decreasing representation of IAS officers up to the joint secretary-level at the Centre has been noticed as most of the states are not meeting their Central Deputation Reserve CDR obligations and the number of officers sponsored by them to serve at the Centre are much lesserOfficers of the Indian Administrative Service IAS are allocated a cadre which is a statestates or states and Union territoriesEvery cadre is allowed a CDR to ensure that officers have the opportunity to work on central deputation which adds to their experienceAccording to DoPT sources the number of IAS officers on CDR has gone down from 309 in 2011 to 223 as on dateThe DoPT has recently proposed changes in the IAS Cadre Rules 1954 that will take away the power of states to override the Centres request for seeking officers on central deputationOdisha in its opposition said once the move comes into force it will affect the administration of states and have an impact on the implementation of various development projectsDescribing the proposed amendments as draconian and intended to promote unilateralism Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bury the proposalWest Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee first to air her voice against the move has urged Modi to withdraw the proposal as it would create a fear psychosis among officers and impact their performanceTamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has also asked the prime minister to drop the move that strikes at the very root of the nations federal polity and states autonomyRajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has said the proposed changes will violate the constitutional jurisdiction prescribed for the central and state governments and reduce the spirit of working fearlessly and faithfully by the officersChhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has said the proposed amendments are against the spirit of federalism and if implemented may lead to collapse of administrative system of statesInformation and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra an IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre had on Friday said working with both the Centre and state governments broadens the perspective of the officersCiting shortage the DoPT has been writing to the states seeking more officers on central deputationIt had in June last year asked all state governments to nominate more officers for central deputation at the level of deputy secretary director and joint secretaryAccording to the DoPT proposal sent to chief secretaries of all state governments on January 12 in specific situations where services of cadre officers are required by the central government in public interest the central government may seek the services of such officers for posting under the central governmentand the state government concerned shall give effect to the decision of the central government within the specified timeIt further states that wherever the state government concerned does not give effect to the decision of the central government within the specified time the officers shall stand relieved from cadre from the date as may be specified by the central governmentExisting rules allowed mutual consultation for the officers central deputationThe DoPT had written to chief secretaries of all state governments on December 20 2021 after which reminders were sent on December 27 2021 and January 6 and January 12The January 12 letter to states specifically mentions the Centres power to override the states disagreement on sending the officers on deputation PTI AKV ZMN

New Delhi Jan 26 PTI As many as nine non-BJP ruled states including Odisha West Bengal Kerala Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand have so far joined the clamour against the Centres proposal giving itself an overriding power while deciding on central deputation of IAS officers saying they were against the federal structural of the country officials said on WednesdayThe central government on the other hand has defended the proposal saying that the states are not sparing sufficient number of IAS officers for deputation which is affecting the functioning of the administration at the CentreSources in the Department of Personnel and Training DoPT said a trend of decreasing representation of IAS officers up to the Joint Secretary-level at the Centre has been noticed as most of the states are not meeting their Central Deputation Reserve CDR obligations and the number of officers sponsored by them to serve at the Centre are much lesserOfficers of the Indian Administrative Service IAS are allocated a cadre which is a statestates or states and Union territoriesEvery cadre is allowed a CDR to ensure that officers have the opportunity to work on central deputation which adds to their experienceThe DoPT has recently proposed changes in the IAS Cadre Rules 1954 that will take away the power of states to override the Centres request for seeking officers on central deputationOdisha the latest to join the list of the opposing states said the move once come into force will affect the administration of states and have an impact on the implementation of various development projectsMaharashtra Kerala Tamil Nadu West Bengal Telangana Chhattisgarh Jharkhand and Rajasthan have also raised their voices against the amendmentsDescribing the proposed amendments as draconian and intended to promote unilateralism Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bury the proposalsWest Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee first to air her voice against the move has urged Modi to withdraw the proposal as it would create a fear psychosis among officers and impact their performanceTamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has also asked the prime minister to drop the move that strikes at the very root of the nations federal polity and states autonomyRajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has said the proposed changes will violate the constitutional jurisdiction prescribed for the central and state governments and reduce the spirit of working fearlessly and faithfully by the officersChhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in his opposition said the proposed amendments are against the spirit of federalism and if implemented may lead to collapse of administrative system of statesInformation and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra an IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre had on Friday said working with both the Centre and state governments broadens the perspective of the officersCiting shortage the DoPT has been writing to the states seeking officers on central deputationIt had in June last year asked all state governments to nominate more officers for central deputation at the level of deputy secretary director and joint secretaryOfficers of the level of deputy secretarydirector and above are usually appointed in central government ministriesdepartments that is on central deputation under the Central Staffing Scheme CSSAccording to DoPT sources the number of IAS officers on CDR has gone down from 309 in 2011 to 223 as on dateThe non-availability of sufficient number of officers at the Centre is affecting the functioning of the central government since the Centre needs the services of these officers to obtain fresh inputs in policy formulation and programme implementation the sources saidFurther the movement of officers from state to Centre and vice versa is mutually beneficial to both as it enables the professional growth of officers besides contributing towards better coordination with the states for effective programme implementation they saidThe sources further said the reason quoted by most of the state cadres for not sponsoring the number of officers as per prescribed CDR is the shortage of officers in the cadreConsidering the same and the fact that shortage of officers in the cadres if any has to be shared mutually between the Centre and the states they saidAccording to DoPTs proposal sent to chief secretaries of all state governments on January 12 in specific situations where services of cadre officers are required by the central government in public interest the central government may seek the services of such officers for posting under the central governmentand the state government concerned shall give effect to the decision of the central government within the specified timeIt further states that wherever the state government concerned does not give effect to the decision of the central government within the specified time the officers shall stand relieved from cadre from the date as may be specified by the central governmentExisting rules allowed mutual consultation for the officers central deputationThe DoPT had written to chief secretaries of all state governments on December 20 2021 after which reminders were sent on December 27 2021 and January 6 and January 12The January 12 letter to states specifically mentions the Centres power to override the states disagreement on sending the officers on deputationPTI AKV SRY

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], December 1 (ANI): Amid reports from government sources that the BJP-ruled states are ahead in COVID-19 vaccination coverage, Chhattisgarh Congress Chief Mohan Markam on Tuesday said that it is the Centre's responsibility to provide vaccines and alleged that the non-BJP states weren't provided with enough stock.

New Delhi [India], August 20 (ANI): Noting that the monsoon session was marked by determined unity of opposition parties, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday said that the ultimate goal is defeating the BJP-led government in 2024 Lok Sabha elections and called for systematic planning and working with the single-minded objective for the purpose.