The Congress is planning to call a meeting of Opposition parties in May. It is possible to keep all possibilities open in case Karnataka yields a hung House, leading to a recalibrated Opposition.
There are over 1.36 lakh employees, including employees and pensioners under the new pension scheme.
I watched from my balcony and found that during the next eight hours up to 5.30 pm, not one prospective voter was seen to go to the Congress table, notes Rashme Sehgal. The rush was all around the BJP table.
'There are many options before opposition parties and this nation has a wealth of leadership.'
The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs will meet on February 4 to decide the Budget session schedule. Venkaiah Naidu says the government is willing to advance the session if the Opposition agrees.
The Centre has decided not to give a go-ahead to the Par-Tapi-Narmada river link project following strong protests against it by tribals, Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party president C R Paatil said on Tuesday.
RLD sources said that the party chief was "taken aback" by the SP's delay in announcing his name as the candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections.
Gowda explained that G T Devegowda intended to say that the JD-S would not oppose every move of BJP just for the heck of it.
'He is exposing the failings of the BJP, which is rankling the party.'
Moreover, there have also been speculations that while entering into an alliance in August last year, a "deal" was struck whereby Nitish Kumar would give up his chair for his deputy who in turn would back him for the top job in national politics.
The Congress has, however, countered this saying someone who is not an MP of Rajya Sabha cannot be called to the House and there cannot be any discussion/reflection on or about an MP of Lok Sabha.
'The government or the ruling party has indicated indirectly that you are not supposed to publish anything critical of the government or the senior functionaries of the government.'
In a pre-budget meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the experts suggested timely implementation of the BJP's election manifesto promises to fix higher support prices. They also favoured a Kissan TV channel, an efficient procurement policy, priority for farm mechanisation and the linking of rivers.
Vote bank politics cannot be above protecting the sanctity of girls and women, he said virtually launching the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha election at Chaibasa, about 150 km from in Chaibasa.
Tharoor argued that the proposed bill represents a "grave chapter in the history of the Indian republic, seeking to ratify an ordinance that in many ways is an assault on our democratic heritage and the spirit of federalism."
The Budget session of Parliament was the least productive since the year 2000.
Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah were involved in attempts to topple the JD-S-Congress government in Karnataka.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram has announced setting up of a new women's bank.
Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar speaks to Prasanna Zore/Rediff.com.
The government has announced a crop insurance policy.
Two years after the Centre's flagship village electrification scheme Saubhagya concluded with the government claiming 99.9 per cent success, several states have added close to 1.1 million rural households that remain to be connected to the electricity grid. This new list includes earlier unwilling households that have now agreed to have a metered connection and also those built or discovered in the states' surveys since 2019. Assam and Uttar Pradesh are the states that have the majority of such new additions.
He was a leader who enjoyed acceptance from all sections of the BJP and beyond.
The upcoming Budget Session of Parliament is set to be stormy with BJP on Monday announcing that it would raise issues like the VVIP chopper deal and Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's remarks on saffron terror.
Modi said whenever Congress came back, all development works came to a standstill.
Developers have demanded lower borrowing cost for the housing sector as well as reduced taxes to promote affordable housing.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu alleged that it was the Centre which ensured the disruption by provoking All India Anna Dravida MUnnetra Kazhagam over the Cauvery issue.
Oppn members went into the area of treasury benches carrying a black banner, which demanded Shah's resignation, as Speaker Om Birla continued with proceedings of the House.
"This budget is most directionless budget presented by the Union railway minister Lalu Prasad...it's nothing but jugglery of words," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaj Hussain said. "Railway minister should also present an outcome and performance budget after each railway budget so that people could know which of promises made during his rail budgets were actually implemented," party general secretary Ananth Kumar said.
"This is a golden opportunity for us to lift the lives of the poor, the deprived. This is the time for doing more development and reforms," he said.
Ugly scenes were witnessed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday when Bharatiya Janata Party and Trinamool Congress members came to the verge of a clash over the Railway Budget whose withdrawl was demanded by members from West Bengal.
Do you think this move will help the BJP win the ensuing elections? Tell us.\n\n
Siddaramaiah announces free LGP gas, universal health scheme in budget
'I do not want to get into the number game. This time, the BJP will get unprecedented seats and vote percentage in Gujarat.'
Shah said that the people of the country will decide about the principal opposition party to BJP in the 2024 polls and they have not given this label to any party.
It also pledged to give interest free crop loan of up to Rs 3 lakh to farmers.
'Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called us for a meeting in March 2016 and we submitted the same charter of demands that we are submitting now.' 'He gave us wishy-washy assurances.' 'We thought he was the new chief minister and we believed him, but later we found out that nothing is moving on the ground.' 'This time we want a written assurance and a concrete timetable for implementation.' 'We will not leave Mumbai, come what may.'
The captains of Indian industry described Narendra Modi government's maiden budget as one with "the right intent and in the right direction".
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