Bharatiya Janata Party's National Democratic Alliance partners have got five cabinet ministerial berths in the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as against none in the outgoing government, given the party's dependence on allies for a majority in the Lok Sabha.
He also said the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress is just an 'adjustment'.
Shiv Sena, the oldest ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is unhappy over being given only one ministerial berth and that too heavy industries portfolio in the Narendra Modi government and has complained to the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership.
Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday said the Congress had back-stabbed Sharad Pawar and not the other way round, two days after Shiv Sena leader Anant Geete accused the veteran politician of backstabbing Congress and forming the NCP in 1999.
The party also sought to justify its protest in the Lok Sabha.
The recent outbreak of violence in Mumbai had its echo in the Lok Sabha on Monday with Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party members storming the Well, protesting the "total failure" of the Maharashtra government to check it. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Shiv Sena leader Anant Geete condemned the incidents of "fanatic youths" attacking the police and the media and even damaging a martyrs' memorial in Azad Maidan.
Strongly favouring nuclear power, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said there would be no compromise on safety of atomic plants and it would be harmful to close the additional source of energy.
Participating in the resumed debate on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha, Anant Geete (Shiv Sena) said people are more interested in evading tax than paying it for development.
Shiv Sena, an ally of the National Democratic Alliance which voted for the Women's Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha, said on Wednesday, that it will oppose it if marshals were called in and force was used to pass the measure in Lok Sabha.
A delegation of Indian parliamentarians is on a routine visit to the United Nations, the 62nd session of which is underway in New York.
Eight-term member Sumitra Mahajan was on Friday unanimously elected Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha, becoming the second woman presiding officer of the Lower House after her predecessor Meira Kumar.
The alliance won 41 of the 48 seats leaving the Congress-NCP combine with just 5 seats.
India kicked off a new phase of power reforms on Monday with a new law that will encourage competition, cut subsidies and attract private investment in the energy-starved country, officials and analysts said.
The government on Tuesday moved the Electricity Bill 2001 in the Lok Sabha seeking to consolidate the laws relating to generation, transmission, distribution of power besides rationalisation of tariff in the states.
The Power Grid Corporation of India and the State Grid Corporation of China have signed a three-year memorandum of understanding to share experiences in transmission and telecommunications.
Power Minister Anant Geete said on Tuesday that the finance ministry is considering a proposal to restart the Dabhol Power plant, now lying idle for nearly two years.
In a bid to correct the lopsided power tariff structure, the Centre on Tuesday said all the states had agreed to bring down cross-subsidies and rebalance the tariff.
In an era of deregulation and dismantling of the government-dictated pricing system, Power Minister Anant Geete wants the Centre to regulate the otherwise free liquefied natural gas imports, its pricing and the quantity and place of import.
Power Minister Anant Geete said on Friday that the Electricity Bill, aimed at improving the power sector, would be considered in the forthcoming Budget session of Parliament beginning on February 17.
In a significant development, GE and Bechtel, minority share holders in Enron-promoted Dabhol Power Company, have agreed to extend unconditional support for restarting generation of power from the project, lying idle for over 20 months.\n\n\n\n
In a bid to woo rural voters ahead of the elections, the Centre on Wednesday launched a Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) electrification programme for 100,000 villages covering 1 crore (10 million) households over the next two years.
Indicating that it would take some more time to restart the controversial Phase I of Dabhol Power project in Maharashtra, Power Minister Anant Geete said in Lok Sabha.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will soon convene a meeting of chief ministers and energy ministers to speed up power sector reforms in states as part of the efforts to meet the target of 'Electricity for All' by 2012.\n\n\n\n
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the decision to withdraw from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government will be taken after discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he returns from his US trip.
Differences between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party over portfolio allocation blew over on Wednesday with Anant Geete deciding to take charge as heavy industries minister after party chief Uddhav Thackeray held "satisfactory" talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the matter.
Narendra Modi is expected to have a 45-member council of ministers who will take oath along with him on Monday evening. The council of ministers is expected to have 23 Cabinet ministers, 10 ministers of state with independent charge and 11 ministers of state, according to sources.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious projects such as the Clean India campaign and the MP Model Village scheme will be taken up during the high tea for National Democratic Alliance MPs on Sunday evening with a view to seek their support and participation for its success.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hosted a pre-Diwali dinner for the Council of Ministers where he stressed on keeping up the momentum of the cleanliness mission launched by him earlier this month.
With the BJP-Shiv Sena relationship at an impasse ahead of the November 12 trust vote in Maharashtra, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said that the Shiv Sena problem will solve itself.
The already-strained ties between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena further dipped on the eve of the union cabinet reshuffle with the Sena representative unlikely to make an entry at the Centre.
Much before Rashtrapati Bhavan confirmed the new ministers' portfolios, we had said who will get what in Narendra Modi's Union council of ministers!
Republican Party of India chief Ramdas Athawale on Friday claimed that Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray was "very keen" on coalition with the estranged ally Bharatiya Janata Party for formation of a government in Maharashtra.
Challenging the claims of the Comptroller and Auditor General about the shortage of ammunition for the army, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday said that production had increased by 18 per cent since last year.
With the new post, the Thackeray junior, 27, who already heads Yuva Sena, will now be a part of the Sena's core team.
Buoyed by exit poll surveys, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday claimed that it would form governments on its own in Haryana and Maharashtra, and stressed that it would not require support of the Shiv Sena to form government in the latter.
In an indication of a possible post-poll understanding with Shiv Sena, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that BJP could consider joining hands again with its estranged ally if the situation so demanded.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch his dream 'Swachh Bharat' campaign on Thursday.
In the latest medical bulletin issued by AIIMS, the hospital said that he 'continues to respond well to treatment'.
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