Telangana gets cabinet nod

Telangana gets cabinet nod
NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES

Withdrawal of the controversial Ordinance providing protection to convicted lawmakers by the Union Cabinet, as also the Bill in Parliament is the lead story in today's papers. "Netas no more a protected Species", headlines the Times of India. The paper adds - the UPA government is likely to support the setting up of fast-track courts in the Supreme Court, to try legislators charged with heinous crimes in a time bound manner.

In a related story, Mail Today reports that the decision to withdraw the ordinance will place several tainted leaders 'out in the cold', forcing major players like the Congress and the BJP to change the way they choose coalition partners, and thereby, changing the political landscape across all the states.

The Economic Times writes that Finance Minister P Chidambaram sees the Indian Economy doing better in the second half of the fiscal year, with higher exports and credit expansion to some sectors - buoyed by core sector grow the higher that 5% and closer to 5.5%.

The National Investigation agency is believed to have new leads in the Bodhgaya serial blasts probe, following the interrogation of Indian Mujahidin co- founder Yasin Bhatkal, and suspects that another IM operative Tahseen Akhtar could be behind the July 7 attacks on the Bodhgaya World Heritage Site.

"Onions too expensive even for VIP prisoner Lalu" - writes Hindustan Times. Lalu Prasad Yadav is getting a taste of life of the aam aadmi - no onions with his meals, as the bulb - to which he is very partial, is just too expensive to be on the jail menu.

And finally, Mail Today writes that the 2015 - ICC Cricket World Cup may be 500 days away, but Sachin Tendulkar already rates India as the 'favourites' to retain the crown they won in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. And if they do indeed win, the Indian team will become the third team, after the West Indies and Australia to win back-to-back titles.