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."

New Delhi/Amritsar, Apr 4 : Sikhs have stepped up protests against the clean chit given by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to former Union Minister Jagdish Tytler in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

"The clean chit given to Tytler has left the entire Sikh community infuriated," said Kuldeep Singh, a protester.

Sikhs want the government to take action against Tytler, who the report said, may have instigated rioters after then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was killed by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984.

New Delhi, Apr 4 : The filing of nominations for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls will close this evening.

In this phase, 141 parliamentary constituencies in 13 States will go to polls on April 23.

The last day for withdrawal of candidature is April 8.

In Orissa, as many as 11 Lok Sabha seats and 77 Assembly constituencies are going for the elections on April 23. On Friday, 21 candidates filed their papers for the Lok Sabha while 211 candidates filed for the Assembly constituencies.

New Delhi, Apr. 4 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh arrived here in wee hours of Saturday after attending "satisfactory" G-20 summit in London.

Dr. Singh also held bilateral talks with US President Barack Obama and G-20 host and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the sidelines of the summit.

Dr. Singh expressed satisfaction after discussing terrorism, economy and bilateral issues with Obama and Brown.