New Delhi, Apr 4 : The Election Commission on Saturday issued a notice to senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh for violating the Model Code of Conduct.

Singh has been accused of distributing money in Gajaria village of Barmer constituency in Rajasthan.

Singh's son Manvendra Singh is fighting the Lok Sabha election from Barmer.

Barmer District Magistrate Ravi Jain had sent a detailed report and a video recording of the incident to the Election Commission.

New Delhi, Apr 4 : Former cricket skipper and Congress candidate for the Moradabad parliamentary constituency, Mohammad Azharuddin, has termed Bharatiya Janata Party leader Varun Gandhi's anti-Muslim speech disturbing, saying it would send out a wrong message to youth.

"It is quite disturbing for a person of his calibre, who has come from an affluent family, to say something like that. He has sent a very wrong message to youth," Azharuddin told reporters here.

New Delhi, Apr 4 : The Department of Telecom (DoT) has directed all mobile phone service users to disconnect the usage of unbranded Chinese mobiles that do not have IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers and pose a serious security risk to the country.

The mobile phone companies have undertaken to acquire the necessary equipment to track these phones by April 15 and discontinue their services thereafter - a process that is expected to take another 15 days, that is, by April 30.

New Delhi, Apr 4 : Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh on Saturday expressed regret on the detention of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi under the National Security Act.

Talking to reporters about the recent controversy on Varun Gandhi''s anti-Muslim remarks in an election rally in Pilibhit and the slapping of NSA against him by the Mayawati-led Uttar Pradesh government, he said, " It is unfortunate."

New Delhi - Rahul Gandhi, heir of India's powerful Gandhi dynasty, filed his candidacy Saturday for the country's general elections that begin mid-April, officials said.

Gandhi, 38-year-old son of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi who heads the ruling Congress Party, filed his nomination papers for the Amethi parliamentary constituency in northern Uttar Pradesh state.

Rahul drove to the Sultanpur district headquarters 80 kilometres east of state capital Lucknow in a cavalcade of cars amid cheering and showering of rose petals by Congress party activists.

With their eyes on the forthcoming 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the political parties intend leaving no stone unturned to play up their individual strategies to hook the voters!

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which released its election manifesto on the occasion of Ram Navmi on Friday, pledged to work for the purpose of bringing in 'Ram Rajya' in the country. Unveiling the party manifesto, which included the Ram Temple issue, the BJP prime ministerial candidate, L. K. Advani, said: "Ram Rajya is possible."