In the chair was Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader of the old school with friends across parties unlike the duo who currently run the BJP.
Maurya resigned as the party's national general secretary on February 13, accusing the leadership of discriminating against him and not defending him over his controversial statements on the Ramcharitmanas and the Ayodhya temple consecration ceremony.
In their dissent notes, the opposition members alleged that the inquiry process is a "farce" and a "proverbial kangaroo court".
The BJP's top leadership will drop its MPs found to be facing anti-incumbency, according to its internal surveys -- a pivotal tactic to ensure the party achieves its target of winning 370 seats.
In a letter to the prime minister, Ali also demanded that he be provided enhanced security in view of an "escalation of threats" against him.
Mayawati said both the BJP and the SP indulged in empty talks to win the votes of Dalits and Brahmins, but neither safeguarded their interests when in power.
The outcome of the polls to the Rajya Sabha is likely to have an impact in the politically crucial state just ahead of the general elections in the country.
'In Western UP, last time a lot of Dalits voted for the BJP.' 'This time, there is a rethink among Dalits about the extent of their support for the BJP.'
The Bahujan Samaj Party will not enter into any alliance for Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand assembly polls, party chief Mayawati said.
'The BJP is racing against its opponents by putting a chain on their legs.'
The party would consider aligning with any party after assessing the post-poll situation, she said.
Ahead of the Madhya Pradesh elections, Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra have arrived in Bhopal as part of the ruling party's programme wherein every legislator will be allotted one assembly seat each that they are supposed to visit to take stock of the ground situation, party leaders said.
Umesh Pal's family thanked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the police.
Out of the candidates announced so far, 65 are below the age of 50 years and 19 are women, he said.
According to district officer Hardoi Mangla Prasad Singh, Khan Mubarak (43) had pneumonia and was undergoing treatment for the past several days.
The ruling BJP-led coalition ended Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's over four-decade dominance in Rampur with its ally Apna Dal-Sonelal winning the Suar assembly by-election by a margin of 8,724 votes.
The Congress and the Left parties have not only extended support to the Samajwadi Party candidate but are also campaigning for him, in accordance with the spirit of the new opposition togetherness ahead of next year's general election.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Sunday declared her nephew Akash Anand as her 'uttaradhikari (heir)', a party office-bearer said.
With this, the ruling BJP has so far declared candidates for 136 seats. Earlier, the BJP had announced 79 candidates, including two lists of 39 each, and another list of one nominee.
A Congress delegation on Monday met the family of the Dalit youth, who was allegedly beaten to death last Thursday by a group of people over an old enmity.
The BJP tops the list with 43 (80 percent) of 54 MLAs each having declared assets valued at more than Rs 1 crore.
Catch all the action from the Upper and Lower House of Parliament.
'They have no incentive to be part of either the NDA or INDIA at this stage, but they may hedge their bets towards the winning coalition in the post-poll setting.'
A total of 517 candidates have withdrawn their candidature till on Monday, even as parties faced "rebel trouble" in several segments.
Many exit polls have kept the incumbent Bharatiya Janata party ahead of the Congress in what was a straight contest between two main parties. Assembly polls were held in the state in a single phase on November 17.
Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Monday in 49 constituencies in six states and two Union territories in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, with Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir recording its highest-ever voting percentage.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fight again from Varanasi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as it named 34 Union ministers in the first list of 195 candidates.
'It's dull because this time the election is spread over such a long period.'
'...It is important for you to take a stand.' 'It is a sin to remain silent when the basic structure of the Constitution is being attacked.'
'The Speaker should have asked Ramesh Bidhuri to withdraw his words and apologise.'
Dubey had on Saturday written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla urging him to also probe the "unsavoury" conduct and remarks of Ali.
It would be better if the Supreme Court takes cognisance of this 'extremely serious and worrisome' incident, which is being discussed across the country, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
With a significant number of Opposition leaders present at the swearing-in ceremony of the Congress government in Karnataka, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday said Opposition unity requires much more than optics of this nature and stressed the need for meeting of minds, a common agenda and sacrificing partisan interests.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey said on Saturday the Lok Sabha Speaker should also probe the 'unsavoury' conduct and remarks of Danish Ali, who was recently at the receiving end of ruling party member Ramesh Bidhuri's derogatory words in the House.
In separate letters to the speaker, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Supriya Sule of the NCP, DMK leader Kanimozhi and TMC's Aparupa Poddar said what had happened with Ali is unfortunate and that action should be taken against Bidhuri.
The ethics committee of the Lok Sabha has asked Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra to appear before it on October 31 in relation to the allegations levelled against her by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey, who told the panel on Thursday that it was an "open and shut" case and she should be disqualified.
'The Constitution of India defeated the BJP.'
'The job of banning movies should be left to the censor board. There are many artistes among our members'
She expressed confidence that a three-way alliance is very much possible in West Bengal between her Trinamool Congress, Congress and the Left.
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