Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley was on Sunday detained as he arrived at the airport here on his way to communal violence-hit Kishtwar, which was made out of bounds for political leaders by the Jammu and Kashmir government.
This marks the entry of the 8th member from the Gowda family into politics.
Ahead of the Mumbai meeting, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said that a few more political parties were likely to join the opposition INDIA during its upcoming meeting.
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.
Rediff.com gives you a look at newbies in the Council of Ministers
A delegation of 21 Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc MPs will pay a two-day visit to Manipur beginning Saturday to assess the ground situation first-hand and then make recommendations to the government and Parliament for a solution to the problems in the violence-hit state.
Its passage in the Lok Sabha is all but certain due to the massive majority the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies have, and the Union government is confident of its passage in the Rajya Sabha as well with the support of several non-aligned regional parties which have often joined the treasury benches in the past.
JD-U leaders contend that R C P Singh may have misled the BJP leadership into believing that Nitish Kumar was ready for a smaller share in power at the Centre.
Parliamentarians led by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Saturday paid homage to martyrs on the 13th anniversary of the attack on Parliament.
'They want to win 45 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra in the 2024 general elections and joining hands with Ajit Pawar is in that direction.'
'The Centre has brought an ordinance on triple talaq. Its duration is of six months. If it is made into a law, then we will challenge this in the Supreme Court.'
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the BJP is looking to fill the Opposition slot and not aspire to occupy pole position.
Such a course would require a Constitutional Amendment, requiring a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament. Even assuming that the INDIA combine comes to power at the Centre next year, a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha could way off the mark for them, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Congress on Saturday attacked the Centre over a New York Times report which claimed that the Indian government bought the Pegasus spy tool in 2017 as part of a deal with Israel, alleging that the government indulged in illegal snooping using the spyware which amounts to 'treason.'
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sumitra Mahajan will be appointed Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha on Friday. Other key parliamentary posts like that of Leader of Opposition, deputy Speaker, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and head of the all-important standing committee on finance will be keenly contested.
The government is bracing up for a tough week in Parliament from Monday, with opposition parties giving a number of notices in both Houses seeking a debate on 'intolerance' in society and action against some ministers for their alleged provocative remarks.
Both Houses were adjourned multiple times as Opposition members kept on shouting slogans against the PM.
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy also said he went to the Rajya Sabha daily and it was not his fault if the the House did not run.
The extended Winter session of Parliament got off a stormy start on Wednesday with uproar over the Telangana and caste-reservation issue stalling proceedings.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to include only those who perform well as parliamentarians.
The Parliament on Tuesday unanimously passed the bill to restore the power of states and union territories to prepare and maintain their own list of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs).
Noisy protests disrupted the both houses of the Parliament on the first day of the second part of the budget session
In an indication of the growing clout of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the Bharatiya Janata Party, senior party leaders, including L K Advani and Arun Jaitley, have decided to attend his three-day fast starting this Saturday for peace, unity and harmony in the state.
Deriving from Narendra Modi's continuing charisma, the proposed scheme, if and when implemented, can cut both ways. That is to say, if Modi can win, he can lose. Or, someone else in his place, later on, could lose as much as he could win in his time, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The All Assam Students Union on Wednesday launched statewide protests against Assam Congress' decision to field a candidate from outside the state, Sanjay Singh in Rajya Sabha election in Assam bowing to the dictate of party high command.
As many as 51 MPs and MLAs have declared cases of crime against women.
A suitable non-Congress candidate from a regional party could help influence even some of the NDA allies like the Shiv Sena and the Janata Dal-United to vote for a consensus Opposition candidate, reports Archis Mohan.
If Kerala wants to sustain its room for independent thinking and talk back to Delhi when needed, it should put its finances in order. Or - if one takes the North East example - Kerala's political posturing may end up commensurate with its financial dependence on others, suggests Shyam G Menon.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Gulam Nabi Azad approached leader of the house Arun Jaitley, saying that he is accompanying Sonia Gandhi to Varanasi on Tuesday.
The Opposition has questioned the stringent provisions like criminalisation of a civil wrong in the triple talaq bill.
The parties that have submitted the notice include the Congress, All India Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, National Conference, Dravida Munnetra Kazagham and the Aam Aadmi Party.
For the BJP, Telangana is a sunrise state in the South, while Karnataka is a southern success despite the ups and downs.
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Accusing the Centre of "misusing" intelligence agencies and armed forces for political dividend, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said former army chief General V K Singh was being falsely accused of allegedly attempting to destabilise the Jammu and Kashmir government.
Trinmool Congress MP Srinjoy Bose quit his party as well as his Rajya Sabha seat on Thursday.
'Why should Khargeji work against the Gandhis for the sake of proving his independence?'
Shankersinh Vaghela claimed Patel's victory in the Rajya Sabha polls came through a 'well thought-out conspiracy'.
An interim report on the action has also been sent by the field investigation wing of the income tax department to the Central Board of Direct Taxes in Delhi, the administrative body for the department.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the government is ready for a discussion on the issue of alleged financial irregularities in the banking sector and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will reply to the debate.
Ramesh alleged that the PM "forced" Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to read a "most wishy-washy" statement in Parliament earlier this week
Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party's nationalism is "fake" and "they are not patriots".
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