The Budget session of the Uttar Pradesh assembly got off to a tempestuous start on Thursday with opposition Bahujan Samaj Party creating pandemonium during the governor's address to the joint sitting of both Houses, forcing him to cut short his speech.
The Congress has informally decided to field party MPs Sudharshan Nachiappan or Shantaram Naik for the post of Deputy Chairman Rajya Sabha if P J Kurien offers to quit over allegations of being involved in a 1996 rape case in Kerala, informed sources told Rediff.com.
In yet another reversal of previous Mayawati government's decision, the Uttar Pradesh government has changed the colour of state traffic police's uniform from blue to khaki.
Ahead of the Monsoon session, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mawayati on Thursday directed her party members of Parliament and legislative assembly to do their "full homework" on issues of land acquisition, corruption and price rise which are expected to dominate Parliament and assembly proceedings.
Advances to firms for deals that never go through are the best way to convert this into legal cash.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati spent a staggering Rs 86 crore of government funds to renovate her sprawling Mall Avenue bungalow in Lucknow when she was chief minister of Uttar Pradesh with some windows costing Rs 15 lakh each.
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati renewed demand for a Special Protection Group cover speaks volumes of her obsession for security, for which she already has more than 200 personnel to guard her round the clock. Sharat Pradhan reports.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati's plea challenging a Central Bureau of Investigation probe against her in an alleged disproportionate assets case. A bench headed by P Sathasivam reserved its order after a two-hour-long hearing during which the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister attacked the CBI for "fixing" the disproportionate assets case against her, a charge refuted by the agency.
The ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh on Monday said all scams reported during tenure of the previous Bahujan Samaj Party government are being probed and if former chief minister Mayawati is found guilty, legal action would be initiated against her.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Monday demanded that the Centre bring a Constitutional amendment bill during the current session of the Parliament to provide for reservation to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe government employees in promotions.
Terming the Mayawati government as "most insensitive and barbaric", Union Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal on Friday said the Bahujan Samaj Party regime has surpassed the previous Mulayam Singh Yadav government on this count.
Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, Union ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Rajeev Shukla, and Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi and actor Jaya Bachchan were among the 50 new members who took oath in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has drawn much flak for not attending the funeral of the Indian soldier who was killed by the Pakistan army along the Line of Control, despite the fact that the soldier belonged to the state.
After last month's devastating debacle at the state assembly elections, Bhartiya Janata Party had now got down to rebuilding the party in Uttar Pradesh, where the party failed to even maintain its five year old tally of 52 , which plummeted to 48.
Describing the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as a divisive leader, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Saturday expressed fear that the country may witness riots if he wins power at the Centre.
Mayawati's failure to contest the election as also her not organising large election rallies, as she once did, have led political pundits to conclude, rightly or wrongly, that she is 'out of the race', Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesri point out.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati is upset with Congress over its "attitude" on the bill for promotions in government jobs for SCs and STs but will continue support to it for rest of its term.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Sunday accused the Congress of fuelling farmers' protests on the issue of land acquisition and said her political opponents were hatching a conspiracy to weaken her party.
Apparently taken aback by Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati successfully pushing the quota in promotion bill, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav sought to counter it in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday by making a strong pitch for reservation in government jobs for Muslims.
Even as Mukul Roy took the oath of office as railway minister in the presence of a sombre-looking Prime Minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, whose body language showed the discomfort of the Congress with its ally Trinamool Congress which has given them a run around, the United Progressive Alliance managers were sighing with relief on Tuesday, says Neerja Chowdhury.
The NCTC imbroglio is symptomatic of a whole host of issues that will come up in the future, which impinge on the federal structure of our polity, writes Bharat Bhushan
A day after her criticism of Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Thursday changed tune to say that she had 'respect' and 'full faith' in the chair and expressed hope that he will find ways for passage of the bill for quota in promotion.
People had also started gathering at Mukhtar Ansari's residence in Ghazipur and there was a large deployment of security personnel around the house.
Reacting sharply to Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's sweeping allegations about 'rape' and 'mass murder' of farmers in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Monday termed it as a 'bunch of lies.'
Former Uttar Pradesh minister Babu Singh Kushwaha has alleged that he was "tortured" in the Central Bureau of Investigation custody during interrogations. "The CBI tortured us during interrogations for ten days," said the sacked Bahujan Samaj Party minister, while he along with another accused, former BSP MLA Ram Pratap Jaiswal, were being taken to Dasna prison on Tuesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday said it gave notice for a debate and voting in Parliament against the Centre's FDI move to expose arch-rivals Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, which were against foreign investment in retail sector.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Ghaziabad on Tuesday remanded former Uttar Pradesh minister Babu Singh Kushwaha and former Bahujan Samaj Party Member of Legislative Assembly Ram Pratap Jaiswal in judicial custody for 14 days in the multi-crore National Rural Health Mission scam.
The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party saved Dr Manmohan Singh's chair today; will they tug it away from under him tomorrow, asks T V R Shenoy.
Smarting under poll debacle, the Bahujan Samaj Party on Sunday expressed fears about return of 'goondaraj' in Uttar Pradesh and said it would not contest the upcoming local body polls, apprehending that the ruling Samajwadi Party might target its candidates.
Expressing disappointment with the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party's decision to abstain from voting on the issue of Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail in the Lok Sabha, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, on Thursday said that the Congress-led UPA is a lame-duck government dependent on costly support.
The Babri mosque issue on Thursday rocked the Lok Sabha with some members demanding action on the report of Liberhan Commission which probed its demolition 20 years ago.
Blaming Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for the violence over land acquisition in Noida and adjoining areas, Samajwadi Party on Monday alleged that the Bahujan Samaj Party government had ignored farmers' interests while taking over their land.
Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress jockey for power in Uttarakhand as the rival parties claimed on Thursday they will form the next government intensifying efforts to woo independents and Bahujan Samaj Party legislators to their side to muster the required majority
The Bahujan Samaj Party on Monday indicated that it will support the government in Parliament on the issue of Foreign Direct Investment, saying the fact that the Centre has not thrust the policy on states and the aim of keeping communal forces at bay will determine its stand.
Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which had struck pre-poll alliance with its traditional partner Shiv Sena, on Monday dumped the latter during the mayoral elections.
Bhartiya Janata Party will not support either Bahujan Samaj Party or Samajwadi Party, says veteran BJP leader Lalji Tandon in an interview to Faisal Kidwai.
With exit polls predicting a hung assembly in Uttar Pradesh, giving a lead to the Samajwadi Party and suggesting that the Bahujan Samaj Party could be voted out of power, the Mayawati cabinet passed a resolution recommending the dissolution of the 403-member assembly in Lucknow late on Sunday.
The Election Commission on Saturday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to uncover statues of Chief Minister Mayawati and of elephants, the Bahujan Samaj Party's poll symbol, in the state. "The EC secretary has written a letter to the UP chief secretary stating that the statues draped following its January 7 order should be uncovered forthwith," said UP Chief Electoral Officer Umesh Sinha.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday arrested former Uttar Pradesh family welfare minister Babu Singh Kushwaha and Bahujan Samaj Party Member of Legislative Assembly Ram Prasad Jaiswal. Incidentally, the agency arrested the two leaders, who have been under its scanner for their role in the Rs 8,000 crore National Rural Health Mission scam, minutes after the seventh and last phase of state elections came to an end.
Eleven members of Parliament, including one each from Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, on Thursday demanded rejection of the draft Public Accounts Committee report on the 2G scam, which has indicted former Telecom minister A Raja and made critical observations about Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance minister P Chidambaram.
