At a press conference in Pakhal village in Faridabad, Ramesh said, "This whole Covid drama over the last two days has been orchestrated to defame and derail the Bharat Jodo Yatra from coming to Delhi. That's the only objective."
Gearing up for the upcoming state assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Partyon Wednesday named its organisational spearheads for the elections, putting Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Bhupender Yadav in charge for the contest in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur respectively.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will brief parliamentary leaders of various political parties on August 26 on the developments in war-torn Afghanistan.
This will be the second all-party meeting called by the government to discuss the COVID-19 situation since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The BJP and Congress have already launched spirited campaigns for the elections.
The cross-country foot march stayed in the news almost right through, mostly for the barbs between the BJP and the Congress and occasionally for other reasons, including infighting in the opposition party.
Peace prevailed in Karnataka's Hubbali town on Monday, a day after a mob went on the rampage over a social media post that saw a police station and a Hanuman temple coming under attack, even as the police arrested 89 persons in connection with the incident.
"There are clearly two sides. On one side, there is an organisation of patriots in the form of BJP and on the other side, tukde-tukde gang have come together under the leadership of the Congress. It is for the people of Karnataka to decide now whether they are with the patriots or those who support people who want to divide this country," he added.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday said it was the most productive session since 1952.
Singh noted that opposition members tore rule book, threw papers at the desk of the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, who was in the Chair, and climbed the officials' table -- something, he added, he had never witnessed before.
After his statement, opposition leaders will speak and if required Singh may give a clarification, the sources said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the Covid crisis is not a political but a humanitarian issue and asserted that the government has ensured no one goes hungry during the pandemic.
The demand was made by the Nationalist Congress Party, the Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
The government is ready for a debate in Parliament on price rise once Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recovers from Covid-19, the Bharatiya Janata Party asserted on Wednesday and targeted Rahul Gandhi, saying he may be "unproductive politically" but should not hurt the legislature's productivity.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had won 30 of the total 50 seats in the region in the 2018 assembly polls, followed by Congress 17, Janata Dal-Secular 2, and others (KPJP-Shankar) 1.
14 bills were passed by the Lower House while 15 bills were passed by Rajya Sabha.
The defeat of Dhami who led the BJP's campaign against the Congress in the state throws up a big question before the saffron party on the issue of choosing the next chief minister.
While many exit polls have given either the Bharatiya Janata Party or Congress a majority in Uttarakhand, several of them have predicted a close fight between the two major players or a hung assembly -- a scenario in which the role of winning independents and candidates of regional outfits like the Aam Aadmi Party, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal will become significant in government formation.
Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi slammed Congress leader Shashi Tharoor for suggesting that Republic day celebrations should be cancelled. The minister termed Tharoor's remark "utterly irresponsible".
Sniping at the BJP senior leadership has reached a new high in Karnataka. For the moment, there is a truce, but the party knows the damage it could do ahead of the polls.
'I am extremely excited to be at the ISRO Centre in Bengaluru to witness the extraordinary moment in the history of India's space programme,' Modi tweeted earlier in the day.
Speaker Om Birla continued with the Question Hour with health minister Harsh Vardhan responding to supplementary questions on COVID-19 vaccination.
The government's briefing is expected to focus on its evacuation mission from Afghanistan as well as its assessment of the situation in the war-torn country in the wake of the Taliban seizing control of almost all key Afghan towns and cities, including Kabul.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed the leaders on the latest situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban captured power there last week.
Rajya Sabha is likely to adjourn sine die after taking up five bills on Wednesday, the sources said on Tuesday. The Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla said, will meet at 6 pm on Wednesday instead of the usual 3 pm.
The Indian Railways has decided to not cancel any more passenger trains to accommodate more freight traffic for coal transport. It will also gradually restore the ones it cancelled recently. The national transporter is of the view that coal supply is now reaching normative levels and does not need any more special measures. "Early data suggests that coal supply has stepped up since the passenger trains were cancelled.
Karnataka BJP MLA Arvind Bellad has said the body of Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagouda, who was killed in shelling in Ukraine on March 1, would occupy space that could be utilised to evacuate 10 to 12 stranded people from the war-torn country.
Parliament was adjourned for the day on Wednesday due to uproar by the Opposition members over Lakhimpur Kheri killings in Lok Sabha and the suspension of 12 members in Rajya Sabha.
The current power crisis is mainly on account of sharp decline in electricity generation from different fuel sources and not due to non-availability of domestic coal, a top official said on Sunday. The above statement assumes significance in the wake of reports of many states, including Maharashtra, facing power outages due to shortage of coal. In an interview to PTI, Coal Secretary A K Jain attributed the low coal stocks at power plants to several factors such as heightened power demand due to the boom in the economy post COVID-19, early arrival of summer, rise in the price of gas and imported coal and sharp fall in electricity generation by coastal thermal power plants.
In the new Parliament House, with a soft launch this Winter Session, paper is expected to disappear. For the guidance of ministers, secretaries can scribble notes on linked pads even from their offices to respond to queries from members.
Modi said that he wanted a vast and qualitative discussion on financial issues in both the houses.
Coal shortage crisis at thermal power projects does not seem to abate very soon as the number of non-pit head plants with less than four days of dry fuel stock (supercritical stock) has increased to 70 this Sunday compared to 64 a week ago on October 3, as per government data. According to the latest coal stock data of the 135 plants with over 165 GW of installed generation capacity monitored by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), as many 70 plants are categorised as supercritical stock or having less than four days of fuel on October 10, 2021, compared to 64 a week ago on October 3, 2021. The data also showed that the number of non-pit head plants having less than seven days of fuel (critical stock) has also increased to 26 on Sunday from 25 such projects a week ago on October 3, 2021.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday assured at the all-party meeting that the government is ready to discuss all issues.
The Union ministry of coal, while acknowledging that domestic coal stock is not enough to meet the power demand, asked state governments and the power generating companies (gencos) to import coal before monsoon season sets in. The ministry has warned the gencos if they do not import coal for 10 per cent blending in their fuel demand by the end of this month, blending benchmark would be increased to 15 per cent. The order pertains to all - central, state and independent power producers (IPPs)/privately owned units.
The prime minister during his party's parliamentary meeting, said that the bill will be written in golden letters for people who are persecuted on the basis of religion
The winter session of Parliament normally starts from last week of November or first week of December.
After an all-party meeting in New Delhi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi also said that some of these 32 bills have already been discussed by standing committees of Parliament.
Dhankar wins vice presidential election by bagging more than 500 votes.
Lok Sabha on Thursday passed two bills before the proceedings were adjourned for the day amid continuous protests by opposition members over the Pegasus spying row and farmers' issue.
The Opposition intensified its noisy protests in Lok Sabha on Wednesday over Pegasus snooping, farm laws and other issues with some unruly members even hurling papers and torn placards in the House, but the government went ahead with its legislative agenda and three bills were passed amid the din.
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