Why Didi is afraid of Dada

Why Didi is afraid of Dada

NEW DELHI, April 11: It appears no Congress minister dares to talk with West Bengal’s Communist leaders in the formidable presence of Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee. But Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is an exception.

Popularly called “Pranab da”, he even shared a car with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee - archrival of Mamata Banerjee - after a meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence over price rise.

Mukherjee is not believed to be too happy about Banerjee meddling in the Central Government’s handling of problems in the Left-ruled State.

But Banerjee, often addressed as “Didi”, had to be silent on Pranab da’s open bonhomie with the Marxists because she fears he may lose his temper, which he often does. She also believes that he has the ability to broker a political alliance with the Communists in the State where she is making an all-out effort to end three decades of leftist rule, they say.

IRDA asks life insurers to defy SEBI ban

IRDA asks life insurers to defy SEBI ban

Chennai, April 11: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has asked 14 life insurers to defy the ban imposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on selling unit linked insurance policies (ULIP). The IRDA, contending that the ban would bring the life insurance sector to a standstill, on Saturday night directed the 14 insurance companies mentioned in Friday’s SEBI order to “continue to carry out insurance business as usual, including offering, marketing and servicing ULIPs in accordance with the Insurance Act, 1938, Rules, Regulations and Guidelines issued by it.”

Meanwhile, the life insurers — Aegon Religare, Aviva, Bajaj Allianz, Bharti AXA, Birla Sun, HDFC Standard, ICICI Prudential, ING Vyasa, Kotak Mahindra, Max New York, Metlife India, Reliance Life Insurance, SBI Life Insurance and TATA AIG — are expected to approach the court Monday to get a stay on the operation of SEBI’s ban order.