The legislative amendment was passed on Thursday by voice vote as part of an en bloc (all together as a single unit) amendment during floor consideration of the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA).
The 12-hour Assam bandh called by the All Assam Minority Students' Union (AAMSU) on Tuesday turned violent with government officials and mediapersons attacked leading to imposition of indefinite curfew in some areas.
Blinken made these remarks at a joint news conference with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Indian counterparts -- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh -- after the conclusion of the 2+2 Ministerial on Monday.
Despite Speaker Meira Kumar admitting an adjournment motion by the Bharatiya Janata Party on the issue, members including those of BJP, Shiv Sena, Bodoland People's Front and All India United Democratic Front trooped into the Well condemning the violence.
'Modigate is snowballing into a huge thing with the electorate. The BJP is in for huge punishment by the electorate.'
Though the legislator of Rupohihat, Nurul Huda, stopped the drive in Sitalmari area of Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary for a while claiming it was illegal, the exercise resumed later, a senior official said.
Even as the Centre directed Bodoland Territorial Council Chief Executive Member Hagrama Mohilary and the president of the All India United Democratic Front Badruddin Ajmal Qasmi to "restrain their supporters and restore peace with immediate effect," the Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Secretary in charge of the North East Shambhu Singh is personally camping in the riot affected Kokrajhar district.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday hinted at the involvement of a third force behind the raging ethnic violence in Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council (BTC) areas of Kokrajhar and Chirang.
As the Narendra Modi government nears completing a year in office, the Congress on Wednesday stepped up its offensive against the prime minister accusing him of weakening democracy by running a "one-man show" while scoring maximum on "arrogance" and minimum on governance.
The Communist Party of India will "interact" with the constituents of United National Progressive Alliance and other parties as part of efforts to forge a credible alternative to Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party on the basis of common programmes and policies.
Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Sunday exuded confidence that its national president, who was sworn in as Bihar CM for a record ninth time after forming a new government with the Bharatiya Janata Party, will win Monday's trust vote.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com does a deep dive into four elections when Narendra Modi resorted to anti-Muslim fervour and points out that Hindu-Muslim politics does not necessarily mean victory for the BJP.
"NDA is a beautiful rainbow of regional aspirations... So nation's development through the development of states... At a time when we are working for a developed India, NDA is taking the lead in showing the spirit of sabka prayas," he said.
Canada's envoy to the United Nations, Robert Rae, during his address to world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday raised the issue of 'foreign interference' adding that the rules of state-to-state relations, cannot be bent for 'political expediency'.
Sharmila said it was her father's dream to see Rahul Gandhi as prime minister and she would be happy to contribute to it.
'Himanta Biswa Sarma has put a lot of effort in demonising Muslims this time.'
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, the Centre's key counsel in defending the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, said on Monday the Supreme Court verdict upholding the government's August 5, 2019, decision will go down in history as the one that corrected a "Himalayan constitutional blunder" of gigantic proportions.
Experts say Canada's allegations regarding the Indian government's involvement in the fatal shooting of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada 'could be most significant test of strength of US-India partnership since early 2000s'.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala are voting in single-phase for 234 and 140 assembly constituencies respectively.
JD-U chief whip Shravan Kumar said those defying the whip "will lose their membership" even as he maintained that it was a "routine exercise that takes place ahead of every assembly session".
Ajmal in an interview to a media house on Friday had commented on women and Hindu men as well as Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, purportedly as a rejoinder to his remarks on 'love jihad'.
'After a month of working on the new machine, I realised that the black glass on the VVPAT lets the programmer manipulate not just the electronic system, but the paper vote too.' 'And it will not be detected even during the mock poll or the actual voting because of the black glass.'
African American singer and actress Mary Millben, known for her moving rendition of Om Jai Jagadish Hare and Jana Gana Mana, will perform at a diaspora event to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra D Modi in Washington, DC on June 23.
The shocking molestation incident -- when a girl was abused and assaulted on the streets of Guwahati in full public view -- rocked the Monsoon Session of the Assam Assembly.
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), a banner political party formed by several minority organisations in Assam, led by perfume mogul Badaruddin Ajmal, has extended support to the UPA's candidate for the Presidential election.
The resolution condemns additional Chinese provocations, including China's use of military force to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control, construction of villages in contested areas, publication of maps with Mandarin-language names for cities and features in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, and expansion of Beijing's territorial claims in Bhutan.
The Congress has gained the maximum number of 15 seats from the Asom Gana Parishad followed by seven seats from the Bharatiya Janata Party, four from All India United Democratic Front, five from Independents and one from the Communist Party of India.
The winter session of the Assam assembly started on a stormy note on Monday over the issue of availability of illegal weapons in the communally sensitive Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council areas that was rocked by a spell of riots involving Bodo tribe and Muslim communities during July this year that left over 100 dead and rendered about 4 lakh homeless.
'We will be happy if Nitishji becomes convenor of INDIA.'
Parliamentarians and legislators across the country voted on Monday to elect India's 15th president, choosing between opposition pick Yashwant Sinha and National Democratic Alliance nominee Droupadi Murmu who is favoured to win the battle to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
'They were as late as June 2023 and they did not follow it up with concrete measures immediately in terms of a secretariat or common minimum programme, working group or seat sharing etc.' 'They continued to have periodic meetings after a gap of weeks where they had tasty dinner and coffee, but beside that they did nothing else.'
The senior Congress leader opined that the situation in Assam can now be divided into two phases -- pre-CAA and post-CAA, and it was necessary to unite all anti-CAA forces in order to protect the ethos of the Assam Accord.
India on Thursday condemned Omar's visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
'Lawyers don't know if a particular judge would like being addressed as 'Sir', and thus the colonial terms are 'safe' to use.'
The BJP's outreach to Paswan, son of late stalwart Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan, underscores its push to bring him back into the NDA's fold after he walked out of the alliance in Bihar in the 2020 state assembly polls to campaign against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was then the BJP's biggest ally.
'The Americans want to have a good relationship with India. They see it as a counterweight to China. And also American businesses are all trying to get out of China and go to India and Vietnam as well, but India largely.'
The number of Indians over 15 either working or looking for work is lower as a percentage than in the United States, China, Bangladesh or Pakistan, points out Aakar Patel.
Chopra, who is now settled in Los Angeles, was invited by the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum to interview the Vice President for a fireside chat.
In this interview with rediff.com, member-secretary of the Rajinder Sachar Committee on the status of Muslims, Abusaleh Shariff explains the trend, its reasons and ways to reverse it.
In the heart of lower Assam -- Nalbari, Baksa and Barpeta districts -- the battle of ballot is basically confined to the regional Asom Gana Parishad and the ruling Congress majority of the total 14 constituencies, while the All India United Democratic Front and the Bodo People's Front are emerging front runners in rest of the constituencies.
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