Congress president Sonia Gandhi Wednesday held consultations with senior party leaders, including A K Antony, as talks for an alliance with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha for the next Lok Sabha polls and formation of a coalition government in Jharkhand reached the final stage.
Seeking justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, leaders of various political parties on Wednesday met President Pranab Mukherjee and sought his intervention in directing the government to order a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team probe into the violence.
Twenty suspended Rajya Sabha members on Wednesday started a 50-hour relay protest inside the Parliament complex, with sources saying the Opposition declined the chairman's offer that they express regret over their members' behaviour in the House to get the suspension revoked.
Altogether 80 out of 81 members of Legislative Assembly in Jharkhand Assembly voted in the presidential elections on Thursday with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party alone among alliance partners backing P A Sangma.
Taking to Twitter, the CM said 'respected father Dishom Guru ji' and mother were diagnosed with the disease on Friday night, and they were undergoing home quarantine.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday recommended imposition of President's Rule in Jharkhand, which is facing political instability after the collapse of the Arjun Munda-led Bharatiya Janata Party-Jharkhand Mukti Morcha coalition government last week. According to television reports, the recommendation in this regard comes on the basis of a report on political situation in Jharkhand prepared by Governor Syed Ahmed and sent to the ministry of home affairs.
Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm after opposition members held protest in Parliament seeking a discussion on the issue.
Jharkhand Governor Syed Ahmed is understood to have recommended President's rule in the state by keeping the Assembly under suspended animation.
Jharkhand's ruling coalition partner Jharkhand Mukti Morcha on Monday decided to withdraw support to the Arjun Munda-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state, pushing it to a minority, in a new twist to the tussle for power between the two allies.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren, son of party chief Shibu Soren, was on Saturday sworn in as the new chief minister of Jharkhand. The tribal leader was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Syed Ahmed at the Birsa Mandap situated in the premises of Raj Bhavan.
The Act deals with automatic disqualification of MPs and state legislators upon being convicted and sentenced for two years or more in a criminal case.
Several Oppn parties linked the mandate to CAA and NRC, saying people have demolished 'arrogance' of the BJP, which attributed its defeat to local issues and 'internal strife' in the state.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday resigned and recommended the dissolution of the 82-member assembly, leaving the situation wide open for the governor to decide the future course of action. Earlier in the day, coalition partner Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, in a letter to Governor Syed Ahmed, formally withdrew its support to the 28-month-old government, pushing it into a minority.
The legislators of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, led by senior leader Shibu Soren, on Tuesday met Governor Syed Ahmad to formally withdraw support to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in the state. Shibu Soren handed the letter of withdrawal of support to the governor after he withdrew support to the BJP-led Arjun Munda government on Monday evening, reducing it to minority, after talks between the two sides fail to reach an agreement.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday downplayed Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren's threat to withdraw support to the Arjun Munda-led coalition government in Jharkhand, saying it is the democratic process that matters and no compromise will be made with the principles and promises.
The Congress and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha on Thursday inched closer to government formation in Jharkhand, with Hemant Soren holding a long meeting with All India Congress Committee general secretary B K Hariprasad, who is in-charge of Jharkhand affairs.
The apex court had earlier restrained the high court from proceedings with the PILs seeking a probe against Soren in the mining lease issue.
Leaders of several opposition parties were stopped by the police at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi as they took out a protest march from Parliament House to hand over a complaint to the Enforcement Directorate on the Adani issue.
'...a more capable State -- one that operates with greater capacity, greater efficiency, and greater clarity of purpose.' 'But I also see a more despotic State -- one that places more constraints on speech, assembly, dissent, and critique.' 'It may run 'better', but on the regime's rules.'
West Bengal CID claimed that two of its teams in New Delhi and Guwahati were restrained on Wednesday morning by the local police in the respective places from carrying out investigations into the cash seizure from three Jharkhand MLAs.
It is thanks to the policy of liberalisation conceived by Manmohan Singh and enforced by P V Narasimha that the Indian economy has now become the world's 5th largest economy by nominal GDP, asserts Dr Sudhir Bisht.
The Central Bureau of Investigation carried out searches at the residences of five Members of Legislative Assembly of Jharkhand after registering a case into the alleged cash-for-vote scam during 2010 Rajya Sabha elections.
A day before United Progressive Alliance Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee's Jharkhand visit, the Congress on Wednesday said chances of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha President Shibu Soren supporting him are positive, though he has chosen to defer the date of announcement of his choice for the July 19 election.
The dispute over imposition of President's Rule and holding a mid-term elections in Jharkhand has now been shifted from Ranchi Raj Bhavan to New Delhi after the state governor Syed Ahmed sent his final report to the Union home ministry following talks with the representatives of all political parties after withdrawal of support to Arjun Munda led NDA government by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
"Only 38 MLAs (in the 82-member House) favour dissolution of the House while others favour formation of government. So allow us some more time as we are holding talks with other parties," sources quoted Soren as having told the governor.
Amid the ongoing political crisis in Jharkhand and efforts from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to form a new coalition government with the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday said that election is the only way to solve the problem in Jharkhand.
Jharkhand's caretaker Chief Minister Arjun Munda on Friday doubted the credential of his former ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's Christmas Day list that pulled down the Bharatiya Janata Party government on January 8 and said it could have been an excuse to create instability.
The Jharkhand unit of Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday night decided to consult its national leadership for the next course of action following the decision of by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to withdraw support to Arjun Munda-led govenment in the state pushing it to a minority.
With the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha announcing its decision to withdraw support to Arjun Munda-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Jharkhand, the prospect of a ninth government in 12 years is looming large over the state created on November 15, 2000.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda on Thursday said he had in writing rejected major ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's claim that there was a purported power sharing deal between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the JMM.
"The governor has returned to Ranchi...so far he has not issued any order," an official source in Raj Bhavan said.
The Congress on Friday inked an agreement with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to form a coalition government in Jharkhand and contest the next Lok Sabha election in alliance with the tribal party. Under the agreement, while the JMM will have its chief minister in the state, the Congress will secure a lion's share of the 14 Lok Sabha seats. While the Congress will contest on 10 seats, the JMM will get four seats.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday conducted raids at the premises of 15 Jharkhand members of Legislative Assembly as part of its investigation into the allegations of horse-trading that led to countermanding of the March 30 Rajya Sabha polls.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Jharkhand faced embarrassment on Thursday when their candidate S S Ahluwalia lost the Rajya Sabha elections, which was held afresh after being countermanded earlier as the Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha bagged the two seats.
A month after the Election Commission countermanded the polls; elections for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand began today even as last minute parleys were on, with ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha wooing its junior ally All Jharkhand Students' Union party to vote for its candidate Sanjeev Kumar.
A delegation of 21 Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc MPs will pay a two-day visit to Manipur beginning Saturday to assess the ground situation first-hand and then make recommendations to the government and Parliament for a solution to the problems in the violence-hit state.
Modi will inaugurate the new Parliament building on May 28 following an invitation by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
After losing the Rajya Sabha election in Jharkhand by three votes, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader SS Ahluwalia hinted that horse-trading led to his defeat.
The money play in Jharkhand in the Rajya Sabha elections appears to be destabilising the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, with its ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha even threatening to pull it down if its candidate loses.
The re-nomination of Ahluwalia, Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand whose term expires on April 2, was never in doubt. The BJP leadership, however, made it clear to him on Monday that alliance partner Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren was unwilling to share the Rajya Sabha seat.