Maybe, the need for secrecy may have tied the government's hand from sharing details in Parliament. Still, it should consider the need of sharing the utmost within any consultative committee, so that relative secrecy is still maintained. But such a course should involve the prime minister or home minister, as it is much more serious than is being made out to be, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
First-time Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Rahul Narvekar on Friday filed his nomination as the party candidate for the post of Maharashtra assembly speaker, election for which, if required, will be held on July 3.
According to sources, among some of the parties that will be part of the opposition all-party delegation are Congress, CPI-M, CPI, RJD, NCP, TMC and DMK and Rahul Gandhi is likely to accompany them.
The NCP, AIADMK and a number of political parties have welcomed the joint proposal on agriculture presented to the WTO by a coalition of developing countries including India, China and 10 members of the Cairns group as a positive development.
The Congress is seeking to form an alliance at the Centre, with Sonia Gandhi at the helm, to challenge the NDA in the next general election.
Amid nationwide protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said there are no detention centres in the state and Muslim citizens need not worry under his regime.
The Sena's remarks come in the wake of Mamata Banerjee's recent visit to Mumbai, in which she made a cryptic statement that 'there is no UPA now'.
Elections to the nine council seats which fell vacant on April 24 were postponed in view of the coronavirus outbreak, but last week the Election Commission set May 21 as the poll date.
In the Upper House of Parliament, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu did not allow adjournment notices moved by opposition members on the issue of price rise, prompting members of the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Left parties, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Shiv Sena to create an uproar.
After his meeting with Rahul Gandhi, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said there can be no opposition front without the Congress, in a clear message to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her 'no United Progressive Alliance' taunt, even as another ally Nationalist Congress Party asserted it will make every effort to form a broad-based alliance that will also include the Congress.
The BJP objected to the name claiming that Tipu Sultan had persecuted Hindus and hence his name was unacceptable for a public facility.
'We had 110 Adivasis who were languishing in jail for nearly five years because it was claimed they were responsible for some blasts.' 'When the time to give the proof came, they had no proof to show.' 'Then the people are let free, totally exonerated, but their lives are totally shattered.' 'Not only their lives, but the lives of their families.'
Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said the unity of opposition parties will take shape on its own, sidestepping questions of her taking on the leadership role.
'Opportunism is the base of their alliance. The three parties have become united with the only motto to keep the BJP out of power'
Anwar's move came a day after media reports quoted Pawar having told a Marathi news channel that he did not think people had doubts over the prime minister's intentions in the Rafale fighter plane deal.
Shah reviewed the party's preparations and strategy for the Lok Sabha election due next year.
The Shiv Sena on Monday said it was not surprising to see the Bharatiya Janata Party winning the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker's election as the Sena was broken and 'someone from the party' was pitted against it.
Despite Sharad Pawar's categorical stand, the Maharashtra government has done nothing to ease the suffering of the Bhima Koregaon 16, who have been denied their basic rights to health and to communication with their families while in jail.
The Prime Minister's Office tweeted a picture of their meeting but shared no details about their talks.
A total of 833 candidates from 61 political parties, including Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel of the Bharatiya Janata Party, are contesting the polls in these assembly segments spread across Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar and other districts.
In its party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Sena said, "The Congress has opposed the proposal of renaming Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar. It has made the BJP happy. But the Congress's opposition to the proposal is not new and therefore, linking it to the MVA government is foolishness."
The Sena said Uddhav's comparison with Indira Gandhi was a matter of pride.
The Maratha community should get reservation, but it should be done without disturbing the existing quota of other communities, the senior Nationalist Congress Party leader said.
The Opposition alleged that without any provocation from the Opposition, "outsiders who were not part of Parliament security were brought in to manhandle the Opposition leaders and members, including women Parliamentarians who were only protesting against the Government's conduct, highhandedness and muzzling of the voice".
Despite the fact that the number of Manipuri women voters at more than 10.57 lakh, outnumber males (9.90 lakh) and are known to take the lead when it comes to civil society movements, women find it difficult to rise in electoral politics against the tradition of male dominance.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana took note of the submissions of senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, appearing for the NCP leader, and asked him to provide documents to the bench.
While the BJP and ally Shiv Sena are yet to announce the seat-sharing pact for the polls, scheduled on October 21, the Amit Shah-led party believes it will be back to power with a thumping majority.
Over 100 workers of the MSRTC had staged the protest outside 'Silver Oak', Pawar's bungalow on Pedder Road in south Mumbai on Friday afternoon, catching the police unawares.
'After he had exposed the Narcotics Bureau's wrongdoings, he threatened to expose the Enforcement Directorate as well.' 'So they are trying to rake up an old legal deal, distorting information and using the PMLA which did not even exist at that time.'
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, state unit NCP chief Jayant Patil, and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut separately met NCP supremo Sharad Pawar in Delhi on Sunday evening in view of former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh's allegations of corruption against state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.
Suggesting an alliance with ruling Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress in Maharashtra, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Imtiaz Jaleel has said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) can become a 'comfortable car' from the three-wheeled autorickshaw which can prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party from coming to power.
It is clear to any observer that the BJP risks its demolition drive boomeranging on itself. Except for one unpredictable factor in the works -- Rahul Gandhi himself, observes Shyam G Menon.
He is the fourth leader of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, which is ruling in alliance with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra, to face the heat from the central agency.
In a joint letter to the prime minister, the opposition leaders, including some chief ministers, have also demanded providing foodgrains to the needy, and giving Rs 6,000 per month to the unemployed.
Dismissing claims that he is remote-controlling the MVA regime, Pawar said it is fully controlled by Thackeray and the latter's team.
The two leaders also discussed the special category status promised to the southern state.
Aditi Phadnis predicts frequent stand-offs between the Centre and states in the future.
Voting will be held on Thursday in bypolls to seven assembly seats in six states -- a contest symbolic of the fierce turf war between the Bharatiya Janata Party and regional parties.
A meeting of opposition leaders from many anti-Bharatiya Janata Party parties, most of them regional forces, hosted by the veteran leader and Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday is being seen by political pundits as a beginning of an exercise by them to join forces to put up a more cohesive challenge to the saffron party.
The recent migration of marquee investments from Maharashtra to Gujarat seems to have rekindled the Marathi manoos sentiment.
