Wednesday, August 9, 2006, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Congress suspends Natwar
New Delhi, August 8
Former External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh’s long association with the Congress is all set to end with the party suspending him from its primary membership for indiscipline.

Natwar stays away from Rajya Sabha
Cong implicating Natwar: Mulayam

Gagged, Opposition boycotts LS
New Delhi, August 8
The UPA government faced an embarrassing situation in the Lok Sabha today when the entire Opposition led by the BJP boycotted proceedings against the Speaker’s refusal to take up privilege motion against the Prime Minister.

Editorial: Politics of paralysis

MPs of the NDA sit at a dharna in front of the Gandhi statue at the Parliament House in New Delhi on Tuesday to protest against the Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr Somnath Chatterjee. Also seen in the picture is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior BJP leader, Mr L.K. Advani. — PTI photo

India: The Tasks Ahead
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
125TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS,
INAUGURAL SESSION

Vajpayee leads campaign against Speaker
New Delhi, August 8
In yet another attack on the constitutional positions, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today gave voice to a long-simmering discontentment against Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee in the BJP-led Opposition alliance.

Rahul lays out Congress roadmap for UP
Kanpur, August 8
Rahul Gandhi laid out the roadmap for the Congress in the state at the Nav Nirman rally, which marked the formal launch of party’s Assembly election campaign in the state.

Nation page: Sonia’s hoarding evokes protest

6 feared drowned as truck falls into canal

Rara Sahib (Ludhiana), August 8 Two persons were dead, four children feared drowned and 19 were injured when a truck carrying 46 devotees fell into the Bathinda Feeder Canal near Gurdwara Karamsar, Rara Sahib, near here this morning.
A grief-stricken Kiranjit Kaur, whose son was feared drowned when a truck plunged into a canal at Rara Sahib, near Ludhiana, on Tuesday. — Photo by Inderjit Verma
Ludhiana page Canal tragedy shatters Moga families Youths show exemplary courage, rescue 40 Gurdwara volunteers, villagers lend helping hand

Badal case hits roadblock again
New Delhi, August 8
The case of former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and some of his Cabinet colleagues in the Supreme Court today hit another roadblock after nearly an hour long hearing, which began after two years of the admission of his appeal, with Mr Justice D.K. Jain disassociating himself from hearing of the matter.

Floods halt ONGC, Reliance production New Delhi, August 8 Floods in Gujarat reduced India’s gas supplies by about half and cut crude output by 20,000 barrels a day, as state-owned ONGC shut wells after its facilities were inundated by up to 10 ft of water. People wade through a flooded road in Surat, about 260 km south of Ahmedabad, on Tuesday. Swirling floodwaters inundated several towns and cities in western and southern India on Tuesday as the military deployed helicopters and boats to help hundreds of thousands of marooned people. — Reuters photo In video (56k) Nation page: Monsoon fury toll 97