New Delhi - A sharp slowdown in the Indian economy was evident Friday when official data showed growth at 5.3 per cent in the October-to-December quarter, the slowest quarterly growth in almost six years.

The figure was a substantial decrease from the 8.9-per-cent expansion recorded in the same period the previous year as the global economic crisis cut demand and exports.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and environmentalists of the state have decided to force the state government to take a suo motu action to enforce environmental laws. They have also decided to adopt measures like filing petitions in courts in case the government fails to act.

It was after a report published in DNA that the NGOs and environmentalists decided to make sure that the government departments, especially the local self governance (LSG) department, follow environment protection laws. In the report, DNA had revealed how the LSG department has been flouting the environment protection laws in implementing its projects, while private builders were found complying with the laws.

Parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal on Thursday called the Opposition's bluff in accusing the ruling party of shying away from debates in the Assembly.

"We never refused to debate on any public matter except for the vote-on-account, which was never debated even during the previous government's term," Dhariwal told reporters at a press conference on the Assembly premises.

The minister asserted that the Opposition was specifically invited to debate on the Rajasthan Nagar Palika Laws (Amendment) Bill-2009, but the BJP enacted the 'silence drama' before the House as it feared being exposed for the lapses introduced in the Municipalities Bill introduced by the Vasundhara Raje government.

Leh, Feb 27: The new year celebrations of the Tibetan exiles are muted and subdued this year as they mourn for the loss of lives of those killed in Lhasa by the Chinese.

The Tibetans living in Leh region of Jammu and Kashmir have joined their compatriots across the world in boycotting Losar celebration.

A calm and quiet prevails in the region as the people go about their day to day activities in a normal manner, sans the enthusiasm which usually marks the heralding of Losar every year.

The screening committee of Rajasthan Congress Pradesh Election Committee (PEC) led by PCC president CP Joshi would deliberate on the issue of allotment of tickets to the candidates for general elections in Rajasthan on February 28.

AICC general secretary and state in charge Mukul Wasnik, chief minister Ashok Gehlot, state screening committee president Satyavrat Chaturvedi and other members would also take part in the deliberation.

Senior leaders of the Congress mentioned that the names of shortlisted candidates will be sent to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi after scrutiny at various levels.

Congress spokesperson Satyendra Raghav said the candidates for 25 parliamentary seats were being scrutinised at different levels.

In an angry outburst against the Ashok Gehlot government, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje called its functioning as "autocratic" which has choked democratic values to such a suffocating extreme that it warrants intervention of the president of India, since the governor of Rajasthan, SK Singh did not inspire confidence with his bevy of "unconstitutional remarks".