Quicktakes

Sonia from Medak

HYDERABAD: Congress president Sonia Gandhi is understood to have expressed her willingness to contest from Medak Lok Sabha constituency in Andhra Pradesh in the forthcoming elections. Both the Pradesh Congress Committee and the Pradesh Election Committee have urged Gandhi to fight the elections from Medak, once represented by former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Change to Kolkata

CALCUTTA: The West Bengal Government has decided to send the proposal of changing the name of the metropolis from Calcutta to Kolkata8217; to the Union Home Ministry for final clearance. The decision, taken in a Cabinet meeting today, howeverdecided to wait for on changing the name of West Bengal to Bangla8217;, as it would require the seal of approval from the Parliament, besides the Home Ministry.

Sharma cleared

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today gave a clean chit to former Petroleum minister Satish Sharma in the case of allotment of petrol pumps and LPG dealerships from his discretionary quota by reversing its 1996 order imposing a fine of Rs 50 lakh and ordering a CBI probe.

Bihar flood

PATNA: The overall flood situation in Bihar today remained unchanged, with major rivers like Kosi, Burhi Gandak, Kamala Balan and Bagmati mounting pressure on their embankments, following torrential rains in their catchment areas in Upper Nepal.