Mallya says he wants to vote in Karnataka polls but can't travel to India

Karnataka polls - Liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, who had represented Karnataka twice in the Rajya Sabha, today said it was his democratic right to vote in the state assembly polls, but lamanted that he cannot travel to India, where he is wanted to face charges of fraud and money laundering.

The 62-year-old former businessman parliamentarian had first represented Karnataka as the member of the Upper House of Parliament between April 10, 2002 and April 9, 2008.

"It is my democratic right to vote in Karnataka, but as you know I am here and cannot travel," he told reporters outside the Westminister Magistrate's Court in connection with a hearing in his ongoing extradition trial, to rule if he can be extradited to India to face charges for financial irregularities involving an amount of around Rs 9,000 crores, as well as money laundering cases.

He was re-elected for the Rajya Sabha from the southern state on July 1, 2010 and resigned on May 5, 2016 before his the expiry of his term on June 30, 2016. He is in the UK since March 2016.

Bodies of Indians killed by ISIS reach Amritsar; Sidhu announces ex-gratia

Bodies of Indians killed by ISIS in Mosul to arrive in India today:

Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday announced ex-gratia of Rs 500,000 for the next kin of the 27 Indians belonging from Punjab, who was killed in Iraq's Mosul.

The mortal remains of 38 Indians, out of 39, killed the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq arrived at the Amritsar International Airport on Monday, officials confirmed.

A special aircraft landed at Amritsar from Baghdad around 2.30 pm, according to the report.

Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh left for Mosul earlier to bring back the bodies of the deceased Indians. Singh informed that the mortal remains of only 38 Indians would be brought back to the country because one case remained pending. MoS Singh also said that the Centre would hand over the coffins of the deceased to their kin, with evidence -- so that their relatives had no doubts.

Tendulkar, Rekha worst in attendance among 12 nominated Rajya Sabha MPs

Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and yesteryear actress Rekha are the worst performers in attendance in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) among the 12 nominated members, according to an analysis by Factly.in, a data journalism portal.

While Tendulkar has attended 23 of the 348 days since his nomination in 2012, Rekha has attended 18. Further, Rekha has not attended more than a single day in any session since her nomination in 2012.

While Rekha attended the least number of days compared to those who were nominated along with her, the expenditure incurred on her is the highest till date: Rs 65 lakh as salary and expenses. Expenditure incurred on Tendulkar is Rs 58.8 lakh, according to Rajya Sabha data.

This translates to an expenditure of Rs 360,000 per day incurred on Rekha and Rs 256,000 per day on Tendulkar.
The difference in the expenditure is only because of the allowances, since all other components are fixed for every member (MP). If a particular MP attended the house more often than others and has travelled more extensively than others, the expenditure incurred on him/her would be high. In Rekha’s case, it is the opposite.

Each MP is entitled to the following:

Salary (Rs 50,000 per month)
Constituency allowance (Rs 45,000 per month)
Office expense allowance (Rs 15,000 per month)
Travel & Daily Allowance (TA/DA) (variable)

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Owing to ill-health, Mithun Chakraborty resigns from Rajya Sabha

Breaking News - Actor-turned politician Mithun Chakraborty who was elected to the Rajya Sabha by Trinamool Congress (TMC), on Monday resigned from the Upper House citing health reasons.

He has submitted his resignation to Rajya Sabha Chairman, sources in TMC said.

Mithun, whose alleged involvement in Saradha scam made news in 2015, had attended the Upper House for three days only.

He has written to the Chairman that because of his health condition he is not been able to fulfil his duty in Rajya Sabha and that is why he is relinquishing his seat, sources added.

Chakraborty was elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 2014.(Read More)