On the event of the third anniversary of UPA II Samajwadi party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav told the media that he would not support any former bureaucrat for the post of the President. He said that he wanted a person with a political background to hold the top post
An opinion poll conducted by NDTV news channel has said a majority of those surveyed expressed satisfaction with the performance of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but nearly half felt Rahul Gandhi would make a better premier.
Former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid, on Tuesday, justified India's refusal to play bilateral cricket with Pakistan during the International Cricket Council's Disputes Resolution Committee hearing into a compensation claim against the Board of Control for Cricket in India, a Board official said.
The government will use the Supreme Court order calling the 2005 deal between ISRO's commercial arm Antrix and privately-owned Devas Multimedia a fraud, to counter seizure of its properties, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday as she launched a blistering attack on the Congress for handing over airwaves used by the defence to the private firm for pittance. "It is a fraud of Congress, by Congress (and) for Congress," the minister told reporters as she read out paragraphs from the Supreme Court's January 17 decision allowing winding up of Devas Multimedia because of the fraud.
In a recent public appearance, Mr Chidambaram was quite candid in saying that UPA-II misread the signals from its electoral performance in 2009.
The inflows came higher in March than in February of 2019-20 despite the lockdown for a week, reports Indivjal Dhasmana.
The message for 2024 is that the man on the street is not going to be euphoric if the G-20 crowns Modi as king-emperor for 2023, or if India sends its first man to space just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Even a 'temple consecration' in Ayodhya, or a Uniform Civil Code, or both of them together, may not have enough electoral purchase if fuel and commodity prices are not rolled back, and money-in-the-pocket does not fatten, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu, which boasted of as many as nine ministers in the UPA-II government in 2009, did not get any representation in Modi 2.0 government.
In the backdrop of a furore created by the prime minister's former media advisor Sanjaya Baru's book, Finance Minister P Chidambaram in an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN, said that Dr Manmohan Singh is reticent, withdrawn and shy by nature.
A new Congress leader may make an electoral impact by his very presence. Congress voters who had moved away from the party, after being influenced by the BJP's 'family rule' campaign, can now return with a certain moral satisfaction, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday came down heavily on main opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party for disrupting Parliament proceedings and preventing crucial legislations from being passed. "I cannot hide my deep sense of disappointment over the manner in which Parliamentary proceedings have been disrupted by the principal opposition party," Gandhi said.
Manmohan Singh, the economist credited with playing a key role in ushering in economic reforms in the 1990s, demits office of Prime Minister after 10 years, leaving a mixed legacy of achievements and failures.
Focusing on low GDP growth in recent years, therefore, masks the deeper crisis facing manufacturing and mining.
It's the floundering economy that caused the Congress' grievous loss in the Assembly elections.
United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday dismissed reports of differences with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asserting, "We all stand by him". "There are no differences between the prime minister and me. There is collective leadership," Gandhi told reporters at a function held to celebrate four years of the UPA-II government.
Seeking to dispel the perception of gloom amid scams and controversies, the United Progressive Alliance on Wednesday painted a rosy picture of its government's performance during the last nine years, contending the fruits of economic growth have reached both urban and rural areas.
Chidambaram may announce higher fund allocation for the social sector, with focus on education, food, women and rural masses.
India Inc gave a thumbs up to the UPA-II's last Union Budget before the general elections next year and said Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented a "bold" and "growth-oriented" Budget.
The Times Now-C Voter-India TV poll claims that no single pre-poll formation looks in a position to form the government and will have to work very hard to get the support of key allies.
Terming allegations levelled by India Against Corruption as "baseless and frivolous, the oil ministry in a six-page statement said the Congress-led UPA-I and UPA-II governments under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have been "consistently protecting the national interest".
There is disquiet and discomfort in the citizenry that can be touched and felt. No one is talking, but then, the Indian voter has not talked much -- with the conviction that all that goes up has to come down, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Former chief of army staff, General (retired) V K Singh on Monday called for the dissolution of Parliament, which he described as an edifice of corruption.
Charging the ruling Congress of running away from investigation on every scandal taking place in the country, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid, who is facing allegations of forging signature of officials to benefit the Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, should tender his resignation from the Manmohan Singh-led UPA II government, so that a free and fair investigation is conducted into the matter.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was an "asset" for the Congress, former Minister Buta Singh said.
We present verbatim Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech on the fourth anniversary of UPA II government, ahead of the dinner organised by the government to celebrate its achievements. The government also unveiled a Report Card on the occassion.
As the UPA-II completes four years in office Wednesday, key ally Nationalist Congress Party Tuesday said the government needs a "huge course correction" and ensure that it gains confidence of people in terms of good governance.
It is expected that the finance ministry will be handled for some time by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
We present verbatim the full speech given by Congress president Sonia Gandhi at the release of UPA II's report card in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Breakfast meeting between Timothy Geithner, US treasury secretary, leading industralists due Wednesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday sprung a surprise for the UPA-II and more so for Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who is championing the cause of Foreign Direct Investment, when it released a letter dated December 21, 2002, in which the prime minister had opposed FDI.
Dr Viswapati Trivedi, secretary, Union Ministry of Mines, has been abruptly shunted out without prior intimation.
As United Progressive Alliance completes three years in office, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday claimed the government may fall anytime as coalition partners were unhappy and were not even ready to break bread together.
Given that the public is no longer willing to tolerate lack of transparency, politicians will see they have no alternative but to change, feels Raghuram Rajan, economic advisor to the prime minister. Interestingly, Professor Rajan made this hard-hitting speech at an event to release a book in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's honour.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Sunday said the era of one-party rule was over and the future belongs to coalition governments.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee showed "political immaturity" in moving a no-trust motion against the UPA-II government with just 19 MPs in her fold, Left Front chairman Biman Bose said on Friday.
In an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN Editor in Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Mamta Banerjee about the recent row over former Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi and the strained relationship with the Congress.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said while some of the difficulties on the economic front may be of government's making, most of them are due to international situation.
Stating that both the CPI and RSP would not vote, CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy asserted, "the author of the economic policies was Pranab Mukherjee. The wide chasm created between the rich and poor is the handiwork of Mukherjee as a Finance Minister".
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asked all political parties, including those supporting the United Progressive Alliance government from outside, to build pressure for roll back of hike in price of non-subsidised cooking gas.
Senior Supreme Court advocate Ranjit Kumar, considered an expert on constitutional laws, was appointed as the solicitor general on Saturday. The law ministry issued a notification appointing Kumar, who has defended Gujarat in a number of cases, as the next solicitor general of India.
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