Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government is committed to ensuring that the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' aimed at expanding women's participation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies becomes a law, as he urged MPs of both Houses of Parliament to pass the bill unanimously.
The prime minister will be in the state for four days.
"Indian sports persons had done well in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games and now we are ready to enter the Olympics," the Indian prime minister said.
The Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha will meet again on Tuesday afternoon in the new Parliament building, with Speaker of the Lower House Om Birla urging the members to abstain from 'organised disruptions' and 'carrying placards' in the new chamber.
He said since the prime minister does not have the parliamentary majority to bring in a law to construct the Ram Temple at Ayodhya, he should resign and seek a fresh mandate.
The prime minister had a puja at his residence followed by breakfast with his deputy Advani and his family.
Ruling out any future alliance with the National Democratic Alliance, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Friday said his party was part of the dispensation when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was at the helm, but not now.
Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece Karuna Shukla on Thursday joined the Congress and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, saying his promise of serving the country is nothing but "plain dishonesty".
What the INDIA alliance needs is neither a counter to Modi's tall personality and undiminished charisma nor a counter-narrative to his Hindutva agenda, now centred on the Ayodhya temple consecration on January 22, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Bhartiya Janata Party may have forgotten its one time stalwart and ailing former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. But the 2014 Lok Sabha election has prompted party president Rajnath Singh to profusely remember the tallest BJP leader, whose five-term long stint as MP from Lucknow obviously comes in handy for Singh to make the capital of Uttar Pradesh his new political turf.
At a time when the BJP's stars are at the top on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls, the Puri-Joshimath Sankaracharyas may have kick-started a row whose efforts might be to divide Hindus, not in the name of castes, but on what passes for greater belief, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Every Indian who is concerned about the unity, integrity and the map of India should be worried about this growing divide.'
Mole issue: PIL against Vajpayee, Jaswant
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani has said he had some political differences with his long time colleague and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpyee especially on the Ayodha movement and the removal of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi after the Godhra riots.
Vajpayee's statement comes as a setback to Bharti, who had himself incurred the wrath of the entire second generation\nleadership in the party earlier.
In a bid to evolve a political consensus before the bilateral talks, the United Progressive Alliance government has begun discussions with opposition leaders as part of which Natwar Singh had met Leader of Opposition L K Advani on Thursday.
Both leaders should take note of their age and remove themselves from active command of the party, RSS chief K S Sudarshan said.
The new BJP dispensation under party president Nitin Gadkari is likely to continue with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as chairman of NDA and adopt an "accommodative approach" towards out-going senior office-bearers at the Centre and in states by giving them other responsibilities.
'Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bengal can be the game changers of 2024.'
His son Unmesh Joshi also said his father continues to remain unconscious.
Asking people to vote out the Congress, he said, "Punjab will see a change and when our alliance comes to power, we will bring a check to the rising prices."
Is it about how to end the wrestlers' stand-off?
'Vijaya Raje Scindia had assured the prime minister that nothing would happen to the Babri Masjid'
Replying to a letter from former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on June 15, Singh emphasised there was no room for ambiguity regarding India's position on Jammu and Kashmir in its discussions with Pakistan or actions.
The controversy over a derogatory statement, made against former prime minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee by a Congress member during the debate over the Liberhan Commission's report in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, is not likely to die down soon with the party threatening to stall Parliament till he apologises for his remarks. "I am today both sad and angry," said deputy Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he respected veteran BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a senior politician and did not know whether the Liberhan Commission has done the right thing or not by naming him in its report on the Babri demolition.
On Wednesday, the prime minister had declared that Advani would lead the BJP in the next general election.
'You need to have enough funds to maintain the primacy of public transport and it should not suffer because of lack of funds.'
Health and Family Welfare Minister Sushma Swaraj termed reports about AIIMS refusing to admit the commando as 'unfounded'.
"At one time, Vajpayee was talking about 'aar paar ki ladayi' (fight to the finish)...at another point he said talks with Pakistan would not be possible till cross-border terrorism was stopped," Gandhi said.
A B Vajpayee and L K Advani head a list of 68 leaders of the Sangh Parivaar and bureaucrats held culpable by the Liberhan Commission for leading the country to the "brink of communal discord" over the Ayodhya issue. In a scathing indictment, the Commission said these leaders cannot be given the benefit of the doubt and exonerated of culpability.
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences following fever and chest congestion, on Thursday showed signs of improvement, doctors said. "He doesn't have fever and his lower respiratory track infection is much better. His condition is stable," AIIMS Medical Superintendent Dr D K Sharma said. The 84-year-old BJP leader was admitted to AIIMS on Tuesday night following complaints of fever and respiratory infection.
The over half-an-hour meeting between the opposition parties and the government, however, remained inconclusive.
The Musharraf episode in the recent history of the subcontinent has convinced many realists in India that the hope of establishing peace with Pakistan is like accepting a dinner invitation from cannibals and expecting to live to tell the tale, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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