The Congress top brass late Thursday night assured its agitating legislators of Andhra Pradesh that "no whip" will be issued to vote in favour of a separate statehood resolution, if and when it comes in the Assembly.
Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal on Saturday took a swipe at Sonia Gandhi, saying she "ignored" the groundswell of support against division of Andhra Pradesh by not listening to the party leaders on the issue.
'It is not just about numbers. Sometimes coalitions and alliances have symbolic value.'
Polling for 16 Rajya Sabha seats in four states will be held on Friday amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading by rival parties which have corralled their MLAs in hotels and scenic resorts, prompting the Election Commission to appoint special observers and order videography of the entire exercise.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, an influential political party in Andhra Pradesh, pulled the rug from under the feet of the ruling Congress government on Monday after terming it "communal, a stooge of Sangh Parivar and anti-people".
Going back on its call for an indefinite shut down in Darjeeling in view of the Eid festival, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on Thursday announced a four-day bandh from Saturday to demand a separate Gorkhaland.
While the United Progressive Alliance government is preparing to ignore the protests from anti-Telangana members of Parliament and push through the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill in Parliament on Tuesday, the Congress' grim internal assessment is that the move may not pay the requisite electoral dividends which it had originally hoped for, says Anita Katyal
The government on Tuesday introduced a constitutional amendment bill reserving 33 per cent seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, reviving a proposal pending for years and blending history, politics and societal imperatives on the first day in the new Parliament building.
The Opposition hit out at the government over the absence of Rajya Sabha Chairman, Lok Sabha Speaker and ministers from the traditional event marking the birth anniversary of those whose portraits adorn Parliament's Central Hall.
The government on Thursday said it will go ahead with its decision to create Telangana despite protests in the Seemandhra region, but remained non-committal on imposition of the President's rule in Andhra Pradesh.
The polling started at 7 am and would continue till 5 pm.
Andhra Pradesh, which has lately been a hotbed of activity following the decision on Telangana will continue to see more drama in the days to come. Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy appears to have made his peace with the decision to bifurcate the state, but is weighing his options heavily in order to launch a new party. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
The MLAs -- 10 from the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, 2 from Congress, one each from Bharatiya Janata Party, Telugu Desam Party and Praja Rajyam -- met Speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy in Hyderabad and submitted their resignation. The legislators said they resigned in order to mount pressure on the Centre to take immediate steps for formation of a separate state.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Sunday night appealed to ruling Congress Members of Parliament from Telangana not to undertake their proposed fast on Monday for withdrawal of police cases against students, but the Parliamentarians rejected the request. "If the government withdraws the police cases against students by evening, it is fine. Otherwise, Telangana Congress MPs would go on fast from Monday. It is a Gandhian fast," said K Keshav Rao.
The 77-year-old was recently diagnosed with pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital, where he died at 1.28 am, a Congress leader said.
The Union Cabinet, which recently cleared the note on the formation of Telangana and paved the way for the creation of the new state, will do its best to ensure that the process is completed by December 9, when the chief minister of the state is likely to be sworn in.
'Favourable treatment to selected areas has been a pattern throughout the state.'
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said he aspired to become the CM of the state and also took a jibe at his 83-year-old uncle asking when will the Maratha strongman retire from active politics, as he appeared to be ahead in the numbers game for control of the Nationalist Congress Party after its vertical split.
Flaying the 'pomp and show' associated with the 'coronation' of N Chandrababu Naidu, Jaganmohan Reddy, chief of YSR Congress party, on Saturday said he does not want to be part of the extravagant swearing-in ceremony when Andhra Pradesh is in deep crisis.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy sought to put up a brave face as he conducted a post-mortem on Friday of the results of the legislative council election from the Assembly quota.
Braving attacks by pro-Telangana elements, nearly one lakh employees from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions congregated in Hyderabad on Saturday for a rally, which gave the call to keep the state united.
A case has been registered against Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi for threatening to kill controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen.
The controversial Communal Violence Bill and the bill for creation of Telangana will be tabled in the next session of Parliament, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Thursday.
Hari Shankar Brahma, who took over as the 19th Chief Election Commissioner on Friday, said his priority and "mission objective" is to ensure free and fair conduct of Delhi assembly polls.
He served as Union minister of information and broadcasting in the IK Gujral government and was allotted different portfolios in the Manmohan Singh government.
While Rahul loyalists were keen that he be given the post, a leader known to be close to him said, "If he does not become the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, then he should quit politics."
Addressing a press conference in Hyderabad on Friday Rosaiah said that he will abide by the decisions and directions of high command on the issue of Telangana but so far he had not received any instruction on when to move a resolution in the state assembly.
The number of Congress MPs to resign to protest against the Centre's decision to carve out a separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh has gone up to three, while 90 MLAs from Congress, Telugu Desam Party and Praja Rajyam have also resigned. Two TDP MPs have also submitted their resignation.
As the old Parliament building hosted a session one last time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday bid a poignant farewell recalling the country's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru's iconic 'tryst with destiny' speech for continuing to inspire everyone and another predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 'governments may come and go' remark.
Outcome of Assembly polls in five states will set the tone for the winter session of Parliament beginning on Thursday though the government has listed a heavy legislative agenda and opposition is demanding extension of the 12-day sitting.
All 41 candidates from Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Telangana were elected unopposed on Friday after the biennial elections to 57 Rajya Sabha seats were announced recently.
The poll holding exercise has witnessed a whopping jump by 80 times to Rs 846 crore since 1952 when it was mere Rs 10 crore.
Although the Congress leadership and UPA has given its nod for Telangana, the road to the separate state is surely going to be a complicated one, reports Anita Katyal.
In January, Nitish Kumar assured the Rajputs that he has been making efforts to release Anand Mohan from jail.
Reaching a consensus might also get tougher, as already seen with issues like inclusion of natural gas in GST and imposition of a sugar cess, both central proposals being resisted.
Here's a list of the full first-time ministers in the second term of the Narendra Modi government.
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