The Vishwaguru who addressed the maximum rallies and boasted of being blessed with divine energy, who promised guarantees in his own name, turned out finally not invincible, points out Jyoti Punwani.
By naming a sworn swayamsevak for vice president, the Modi-Shah duo have sent out a clear and positive message to Nagpur, where the RSS headquarters is located, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The principal opposition party though appeared content securing 99 of the 543 seats in the 2024 national elections as against its all-time low of 44 in 2014 and then 52 in 2019.
India's opposition parties have sharply criticized the Union Budget, calling it inadequate to address the country's economic woes and accusing the BJP-led government of using it to woo voters in Bihar and Delhi ahead of upcoming elections. Leaders from the Congress, TMC, DMK, SP, and CPI(M) voiced their disapproval, highlighting concerns over inflation, unemployment, and the lack of substantial measures to support the agricultural sector and the poor. They also criticized the tax cuts for the middle class as insufficient and coming too late after years of high taxes and rising prices.
The BJP has dropped C T Ravi, a leader from Karnataka, Dilip Saikia, a Lok Sabha MP from Assam, as its general secretaries, and Vinod Sonkar, Harish Dwivedi, both Lok Sabha MPs from Uttar Pradesh, and Sunil Deodhar as secretaries.
The parties which gave chief ministers and sent scores of MPs to Parliament, drew a blank this time.
Andhra Pradesh may witness a spell of President's rule in the wake of the resignation of Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy.
Congress leader and former union minister Captain Satish Sharma died in Goa on Wednesday after a brief illness. He was 73.
V Vijayasai Reddy, a prominent leader of the YSRCP, has resigned from the Rajya Sabha and announced his retirement from politics, citing personal reasons. The YSRCP, while stating that it does not approve of his decision, respects his choice. Reddy has been a key figure in the party's efforts to secure YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's position as Chief Minister, facing numerous challenges and criticisms. However, he has stated he will pursue a future in agriculture. His resignation has sparked reactions from various political leaders, with some expressing concern and others highlighting the political implications.
'Each state is unique, but when it comes to finance, the fundamentals cannot be different.'
While the BJP and the Congress have always supported the bill, opposition by other parties and demands from some for quota for backward classes within the women's quota have been key sticking points.
Cross-voting by Left and Congress MLAs on Friday helped Trinamool Congress gain an extra seat in West Bengal while a similar action by Congress MLAs in Andhra Pradesh saw the Telangana Rashtra Samithi making its debut in Rajya Sabha as high drama marked the polls to the upper House in the two states.
Parliament may witness another stormy day in both Houses.
BJP and RSS leaders are once again pushing to remove the words 'secular' and 'socialist' from the Constitution's Preamble, showing a deeper effort to change India's identity from a diverse, multi-religious republic to a Hindu-first nation, even though they don't have the numbers in Parliament to officially change the Constitution, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
According to the officials of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, one of their sanitary workers was badly injured due to the storm and calamitic conditions in the state.
With a significant number of Opposition leaders present at the swearing-in ceremony of the Congress government in Karnataka, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday said Opposition unity requires much more than optics of this nature and stressed the need for meeting of minds, a common agenda and sacrificing partisan interests.
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Elections will be held on June 10 to fill 57 Rajya Sabha seats from 15 states falling vacant due to the retirement of members on different dates between June and August, the Election Commission said on Thursday.
President Pranab Mukherjee has given his nod to the Telangana Bill, which is likely to be tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
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."
Hours before the ceremony, Saini visited the Valmiki Bhawan and offered prayers at a gurdwara and the Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula.
The two leaders also discussed the special category status promised to the southern state.
The issue of National Register of Citizens in Assam is likely to rock both houses of Parliament on Wednesday too.
The govt and the opposition appeared set for a showdown in Parliament's monsoon session.
Hours after, however, firing from the Pakistani side was reported in Akhnoor sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Drones were also seen in the Pir Panjal area.
Rumblings within Congress over its decision to form Telangana grew on Friday with its seven MPs, a state minister and seven MLAs from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions quitting amid indications that some more are likely to follow suit.
A voter turnout of over 40 per cent was recorded till 1 pm on Monday in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in 96 constituencies spread over 10 states and Union Territories amid incidents of violence in Andhra Pradesh and reports of poll boycott in some villages of Uttar Pradesh.
About 40 per cent of sitting MPs have criminal cases registered against them out of which 25 per cent have declared serious criminal cases under charges of murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and crimes against women, according to poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
In view of the Andhra CM's resignation from the post and the Congress, party president Sonia Gandhi has requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to grant special category status to the Seema-Andhra for five years. Renu Mittal reports
Will Parliament function on tenth day of second leg of budget session.
If the Congress is contesting fewer seats than ever before, the BJP is set to contest its highest-ever number of Lok Sabha seats.
Assembly elections in Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh may not be held along with the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Catch all the debates and discussions from the Houses.
Among the cities that have fully implemented their projects are Agra, Varanasi, Madurai, Coimbatore, Udaipur, Pune, Surat, and Vadodara
Pro and anti-Telangana supporters on Wednesday clashed with each other during a protest outside the Andhra Bhawan in New Delhi in support of their demands.
Members from parties, including National Democratic Alliance partner Telugu Desam Party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Trinamool Congress, continued their protests on various issues.
Biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha will be held on March 26 to fill the seats of 55 members from 17 states who will be retiring in April 2020, the Election Commission of India stated on Tuesday.
What would Parliament be without these nine ladies?
The TDP members in the Upper House refused to leave the chamber even after the House was adjourned for the day.
The bill to create Telangana is likely to be introduced in Parliament on Tuesday.
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