Cutting across party lines, members in Lok Sabha highlighted the cases of atrocities being committed on Dalits in various parts of the country and demanded steps to prevent them.
The party also demanded the formation of a commission of inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge on the clashes between Dalit groups and supporters of right-wing Hindu organisations during the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in Pune that left a man dead on January 1.
This appears to be a common refrain in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri Lok Sabha constituency where farmers want better prices for their produce and respite from the stray cattle menace and others want political leaders to talk about job creation instead of issues like the Ram temple and Article 370.
Bedlam erupted in the House for a few minutes and continued till all BJP members staged a walkout in protest.
Soren, addressing a rally in Bhognadih on the occasion of 'Hul Diwas', also claimed that the saffron party has turned 'jittery' after his release from jail and its leaders are 'conspiring' against him again.
Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a poisonous snake, drawing strong rebuke from the Bharatiya Janata Party which said 'hate is coming out' with such comments and sought an apology from the veteran leader.
The special session is set to commence on a stormy note on account of Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha's stout refusal to resign despite the new ruling dispensation's motion of no-confidence against him.
The BJP campaign highlighted Yogi's persona as a tough-as-nails leader and an incorruptible man with no nest to feather; Modi's charisma which was turned on full blast in the penultimate phases; Amit Shah's ground work; a well-oiled party organisation, and the RSS's back-up.
'Besides Ayodhya, the BJP lost in nine other constituencies with a Ramayana imprint; it tasted success only in Thrissur.' 'In Rameswaram, K Navaskani of the Indian Union Muslim League won with a 44% voteshare in a 84% Hindu constituency.' 'In the 21 seats in the Ayodhya and Varanasi regions, both crucial to the Hindutva project, the BJP won just 7.' 'It won just 3 out of 12 seats around Modi's constituency,' points out Krishna Prasad.
BJP sources suggest that the upcoming elections will likely revolve around the renewed enthusiasm for the temple unless another theme with religious and nationalist undertones emerges.
'The Dalits have always asserted themselves, but there has never been any gain for Dalits.' 'But now the most significant thing that has emerged, and which has got all the political parties in denial mode, is the assertion of smaller OBCs along with the Dalits.' 'I accept that the Dalits by themselves are not in a position to make a Mumbai bandh successful.' 'It was only because of the participation of the smaller OBCs that the bandh has become a success.'
Sniping at the BJP senior leadership has reached a new high in Karnataka. For the moment, there is a truce, but the party knows the damage it could do ahead of the polls.
Reddy assured her that an investigation would be conducted again into the University of Hyderabad student's suicide in 2016 and that justice would be done, an official release said.
'In Parliament, he was the one person who stood for democracy and secularism even when the principal Opposition party was not very forthright in taking on the BJP and RSS.'
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister is scheduled to attend a meeting of PDA "Picchda (backward classes), Dalit and Alpsankhyak (minorities)" at the party office in Lucknow and has no plans to go anywhere till now
Wednesday's Vikravandi by-election has become a referendum on the Stalin government, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Akhilesh Yadav replaced his nephew Tej Pratap Yadav and decided to contest the Kannauj seat himself.
Accusing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati of not taking any steps for the betterment of Dalits, Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday sought to know details of the measures taken by her for the welfare of downtrodden communities in the state.
SP leader Akhilesh Yadav has successfully poached a number of OBC leaders from the ruling party, including Swami Prasad Maurya, in his efforts to broaden his party's social base beyond the traditional Muslim and Yadav votebank to take it on this time round.
The parties which gave chief ministers and sent scores of MPs to Parliament, drew a blank this time.
'Police officers have to meet Dalits and other communities, find out about issues that could lead to law and order problems.'
They try to hide behind the smokescreen that these are works of fiction inspired by real events. So, you can pick and choose from facts and fictionalise to push the right triggers with your audience or appease the powers that be, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The BJP leadership knows it can't boast of governance in the state as the Bommai government has little to show. So, the game plan is to project Modi, who will reiterate how important it is for a state to have the same party ruling in power at the Centre, observes Ramesh Menon.
A senior SP leader requesting anonymity said that the party chief had called a meeting to brief the MLAs about the voting process of the Rajya Sabha elections.
Having reclaimed power in Uttar Pradesh after 15 years, the Bharatiya Janata Party will now turn its focus to the states where it has been traditionally weak but which are critical to determine its fortune in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as its national executive meet begins in Odisha on Saturday.
On Friday, former ministers Swami Prasad Maurya and Dharam Singh Saini, five BJP MLAs and one from the Apna Dal-Sonelal had crossed over to the Samajwadi Party.
This is Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya's maiden Lok Sabha election, but political experts and voters feel he can easily win Porbandar seat in his home state Gujarat, despite the electorate facing some key issues like unemployment.
In the morning, he offered prayers at the Dashashwamedh Ghat and the Kaal Bhairav temple in Varanasi.
'Gau rakshak groups are beating Dalits and circulating videos on social media because they know that no one will touch them.'
Akhilesh Yadav said those who are looking for "profit" in the situation will leave.
Mevani, after his meeting with the Gandhi scion, said he would ask his community members to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the Gujarat polls.
BJP chief Amit Shah had a meal with a Dalit family in PM Modi's Lok Sabha constituency.
Of these 14, all but three won the election on Thursday.
Political watchers are keen to see if the party will now opt for a more seasoned face from its ranks for the vice presidential candidate.
Former Congress MLA from Barnala, Kewal Dhillon, and former Shiormani Akali Dal MLAs Sarup Chand Singla and Mohinder Kaur Josh also joined the BJP.
As Election 2024 hurtles towards result day in a medley of mangalsutra, mujra, mutton, machli and other barbs, these may sound like character names from Hindi comics of yore. Instead, these are the mocking, sometimes vicious monikers given by political rivals to each other.
This will pave the way for emergence of 24,000 new panchayat-level leaders in Telangana, he said.
The brutal incident came to light after a video of the assault went viral. In the video, a group of men is seen thrashing two persons with rubber belts. They later torture one of the victims by pouring petrol on his private parts with a piece of cloth wrapped on a screwdriver.
After Rahul Gandhi gave 'permission' to another MP to speak while he was speaking, the Speaker said, "Who are you to give this permission? You can't give permission, that's my right."
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.
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