There was more to him than he let on, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
I&B Minister Manish Tewari criticised Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj for using "inappropriate language" against Congress President Sonia Gandhi, saying her remarks were "condemnable".
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy on Wednesday condemned Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj'' "act" in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, describing it as ''unfortunate'' and ''not expected''.Swaraj had alleged that Congress President Sonia Gandhi had instructed party members of Parliament to interrupt her speech.
The opposition on Thursday accused the government of failing to check terror strikes in the country, including on Wednesday attack in Srinagar in which five Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed.
Faced with fresh agitation on the issue of Telangana and continued uncertainties over the food security bill, the Congress top brass including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi deliberated on the way ahead.
The Lok Sabha will on Tuesday take up discussion on the issue of Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail under rule 184 that entails voting.
Top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday met the Election Commissioner to lodge their protest against the Centre's announcement of the direct cash transfer scheme ahead of Gujarat elections and demanded its withdrawal. Led by party leader L K Advani and Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, the BJP delegation questioned the timing of the announcement and demanded its withdrawal to ensure free and fair elections in Gujarat.
The Opposition on Wednesday created uproar in the Lok Sabha over the presence of just one cabinet minister during Zero Hour when it was raising matters of public importance.
India and Australia are likely to finalise a safeguards agreement during Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's visit to New Delhi next week. Gillard will arrive in New Delhi on Monday for a three-day visit.
Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday spoke to Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and urged him to evacuate pilgrims stranded in Uttarkashi region of Uttarakhand in the aftermath of flash floods there.
With the stand-off between her party and the Nationalist Congress Party continuing, Congress President Sonia Gandhi was heard asking NCP leader Praful Patel to "do something" to end the crisis.
The new Lokpal Bill was introduced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal in Lok Sabha on Thursday after an hour-long acrimonious debate among members of various political parties.
The Centre will respond as soon as possible on the demand for separate Telangana state, Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Monday.
Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon on Monday as Telangana Rashtra Samithi members raised slogans for Telangana statehood, a demand which was endorsed by Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj who asked the government to list the steps taken by it on the issue.
Within the Hazare group, serious differences have cropped up with Justice N Santosh Hegde and Swami Agnivesh wanting him to withdraw the fast, saying it was now counterproductive. But others like Bedi and Kejriwal, who are seen as hardliners with their own agenda, are said to be resisting the move and not allowing the 73-year-old social activist from Maharashtra to break the fast.
The much-debated Lokpal Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday amid objections from the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies of the National Democratic Alliance over the exclusion of the prime minister from the purview of the proposed legislation.
The opposition in Lok Sabha on Tuesday took the government to task over various scams including allocation of 2G spectrum, Commonwealth Games and Adarsh housing, and said the resignation of Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan was "not enough".
The standoff between the government and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha appears set to end on Thursday when a discussion on an adjournment motion on the issue of black money takes place following an agreement reached between the two sides on Wednesday night.
The WikiLeaks expose on the alleged 'cash-for-votes' scam in 2008 on Friday disrupted Parliament proceedings, as a united Opposition demanded a clarification from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the matter. The cables published by WikiLeaks alleged that the United Progressive Alliance government had bribed MPs to win the 2008 trust vote after the Left parties withdrew support on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Opposition parties on Monday came down heavily on General Budget 2011-12 dismissing the exercise as "very disappointing and directionless" and said it has failed to address the problems of unemployment and price rise affecting the common man.
Opposition on Saturday sought to drive a wedge between the prime minister and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi saying the young leader's remarks on Anna Hazare's fast has "poured cold water" on the statesmanship of Manmohan Singh.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday accused Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj of making thoughtless allegations and "tying herself in knots" by levelling the charge that he had misled the panel which selected P V Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner.
Angered over the arrest of Anna Hazare, Opposition on Wednesday dismissed as a "bundle of lies" Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on the issue, noting that the arrest of the Gandhian has brought people on the streets all over the country.
Proceedings in both Houses of Parliament were disrupted on Monday as opposition Bharatiya Janata Party alleged misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation by the government to meet "narrow political gains".
Dubbing as "paltry" the relief announced recently for Bhopal disaster victims, the opposition on Wednesday demanded a substantial increase in it and asked the government to become a party to a petition filed in a US court to extract compensation from American firm Dow Chemicals.
Giving up its adamant stand, the Bharatiya Janata Party tendered an unconditional apology on Thursday for its member Ananth Kumar's remarks in the Lok Sabha against Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad during the Census 2011 debate.
It was after a long gap that an aggressive and united Congress took the Bharatiya Janata Party head on in both the Houses of Parliament over the WikiLeaks exposure on the cash-for-vote scam as the party fielded its brightest and the best.
Fifty BJP MPs on Tuesday tabled a breach of privilege notice in Lok Sabha against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for announcing outside Parliament his decision to reject setting up of a joint parliamentary committee on the issue of alleged phone tapping.
On the last day of the Budget Session, the National Democratic Alliance today created uproar in the Lok Sabha over the issue of alleged corruption involving Union Minister Virbhadra Singh and Scheduled Caste Commission Chairman Buta Singh and demanded action against them.
The issue united the entire Opposition with Swaraj as also Left leaders like Gurudas Dasgupta, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad addressing an impromptu joint press conference outside Parliament House.
Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Thursday said he would like to contest next Lok Sabha election from Vidisha seat in Madhya Pradesh, currently represented by Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj.
The war of words over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's attack on the opposition spread to the social media with Sushma Swaraj saying he had lost grace while I&B Minister Manish Tewari hitting back claiming that it was the BJP leader who had lost space in her party.
Passage of Telangana bill indicated that this country can take "difficult" decisions, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who was taken ill on Monday, was back in the Lok Sabha on Thursday to attend the debate on Land Acquisition Bill but did not participate in voting the legislation which was being pushed by the National Advisory Council headed by her.
Voicing concern over disruptions in Parliament, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday asked Parliamentarians to do "some introspection" over functioning of the House.
The Lok Sabha witnessed unruly scenes during Question Hour today as Congress and Telugu Desam Party members raised the Telangana issue and DMK members of Parliament protested holding of Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka.
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Telangana issue rocked Parliament on Monday with Lok Sabha Speaker Meria Kumar taking the unprecedented step of suspending nine members -- four of Telugu Desam Party and five Congress -- from Andhra Pradesh for creating "grave disorder".
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said the refusal of former Supreme Court judge K T Thomas to head the Lokpal Search Committee has dealt a "double blow" to the government and exposed the Congress' plan of hurriedly putting in place the anti-corruption ombudsman before it goes out of power.
Putting behind the acrimony witnessed during the session, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj on Friday praised Sonia Gandhi and other Congress leaders for their conduct in the Lok Sabha.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress were at loggerheads on Wednesday over the government's move to appoint a jurist to Lokpal selection panel with the main opposition approaching President Pranab Mukherjee to press its demand for a consensus on such an issue.
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