Amid the raging Israel-Hamas war, a group of opposition leaders, including MP Danish Ali and former parliamentarians Mani Shankar Aiyar and K C Tyagi, visited the Palestine Embassy in New Delhi on Monday to express solidarity with Palestinians.
In an interview with CNN-IBN Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, the West Bengal Chief Minister questioned the stability of the Centre saying Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati may bail out the government for now, but people won't bail them out in future.
Addressing a function after laying the foundation stone of the Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Sciences in Lucknow, Shah said Bharatiya Janata Party governments work for the development of the poorest people.
Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Krishna Kumar Singh, who had joined the Samajwadi Party, was on Monday disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh assembly by the Speaker, the fourth party MLA to face action under the anti-defection law.
Uproar over a member's alleged harassment by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's security personnel in Parliament precincts forced the adjournment of the Lok Sabha for nearly two hours on Wednesday. Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party members rushed into the Well as soon the House reassembled at noon after an earlier adjournment, demanding action against the Special Protection Group personnel responsible for the incident, in which BSP MP Rama Shankar Rajbhar was manhandled.
The Bahujan Samaj Party on Tuesday said it is yet to decide on fielding candidate against Samajwadi Party nominee Dimple Yadav in Kannauj.
Projecting a united face on the eve of vice presidential poll, all constituents of United Progressive Alliance and those supporting it from outside including arch rivals Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati attended a lunch hosted by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi gave a candid and controversial interview to Shahid Siddiqui, editor of the Urdu weekly Nai Duniya, where he spoke about the Gujarat riots. For doing the interview Siddiqui was suspended from the Samajwadi Party, which he has joined recently after quitting the Bahujan Samaj Party.
As soon as Speaker Meira Kumar concluded her reference on International Women's Day, SP members began raising slogans demanding dismissal of the Uttar Pradesh government, complaining that it was showing "dictatorial tendencies".
A united opposition is all set to corner the government in Parliament today on the banning of old notes.
The Bharatiya Janata Party garnered five seats, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam got three, the Samajwadi Party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam got two apiece and the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Shiv Sena got one each respectively as all 30 made it to the Upper House after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations drew to close on Thursday evening.
The Samajwadi Party on Thursday claimed that its state unit president Akhilesh Yadav and several other leaders have been put under "house arrest" and party workers tortured to prevent them from leading a one-day agitation against the Bahujan Samaj Party government. "The state government is functioning in an autocratic manner. It is not even allowing me to reach the party office," Akhilesh said. The SP had announced a village-level protest.
The Opposition on slammed the Rail Budget for increasing the burden on the common man, with BJP terming it as "pedestrian" and "discriminatory" while Left said it does not give any hope on railways' future.
With the Rajya Sabha taking up the controversial quota in promotion bill after a high drama, the Congress on Thursday complimented its floor managers for finding a way out of the tussle between the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party on the measure.
Whether it is the Samajwadi Party or the Bahujan Samaj Party, both will need the Congress's helping hand," said a Cabinet minister.
Top leaders of Opposition parties will brainstorm at a meeting in Patna on Friday to chalk out a roadmap for the formation of an anti-Bharatiya Janata Party front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, with sources saying that they would look to avoid the prickly leadership question and emphasise on common ground.
Did you miss out on the debates in Lok Sabha on FDI in retail? Read the debate texts here
The Congress on Thursday virtually ruled out any grand alliance in poll bound Uttar Pradesh including with Samajwadi Party insisting that Rahul Gandhi wanted to set things right in the state which is in bad shape for past 27 years in non-Congress rule.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's first innings in the state assembly began on a stormy note in Lucknow on Monday, when on the very opening day of the budget session, Bahujan Samaj Party created so much ruckus that forced UP Governor B L Joshi to abandon his joint address to the state legislature.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday sought to re-unite the opposition by apologising on behalf of the seven Members of Parliament suspended for unruly behaviour and demanding that the government express regret for using marshals during the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill. Opposition parties and those supporting the United Progressive Alliance government from outside like Rashtriya Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party were united against it.
Accusing the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party of raising the minority sub-quota issue mid-way during the Uttar Pradesh polls for their political gains, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Wednesday said this helped in large-scale transfer of Muslim votes to Samajwadi Party.
Well before the counting of votes commenced at 8 am on March 6, Mayawati moved out of 4 Kalidas Marg, the UP chief minister's official residence, which she had converted into an inaccessible and impregnable fortress.
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.
Rising from the shock and dismay of the devastating defeat at the March state assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati is trying to put her party back into gear."We must show the Samajwadi Party its place in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, in which we must retain our last tally of 20 seats at all costs," Mayawati told a gathering of her party leaders in Lucknow last week.
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.
A video of the incident which occurred at around 6:25 AM shows a cow darting towards the road when it was hit by the vehicle carrying Ahmed. The cow fell near the road divider. After the incident, the vehicle stopped for a while before resuming the onward journey.
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.
Around 56 per cent of the 1.75-strong electorate on Wednesday exercised its franchise for 56 seats in the third phase of the Uttar Pradseh assembly polls in which Mayawati's ruling Bahujan Samaj Party is facing a strong challenge from the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party.
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 Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday arrested five people, including a man who they claimed to be the personal secretary of former minister Swami Prasad Maurya, for allegedly duping unemployed youth on the pretext of giving them government jobs.
The AIMIM chief questioned whether the public will have any faith in the Constitution and law and order of the country after this incident.
Parliament was on Wednesday adjourned till noon after ruckus over demand by Bahujan Samaj Party for dismissal of Karnataka government following allegations of illegal mining in the state and Rashtriya Janata Dal claims of a deal between the government and main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.
Amidst threat by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to bring no-confidence motion against the UPA government in the winter session of Parliament, Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Monday said that the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party would continue to support it.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Sunday fired a salvo at the Akhilesh Yadav government saying law and order had failed completely in Uttar Pradesh reducing it to "crime pradesh", charge rubbished by the chief minister.
"We have got more votes, but we will respect the mandate. We haven't got the required seats to form the government. We will not stake claim to form the government and I am submitting my resignation soon to the governor," Chouhan told reporters.
A basic outline and roadmap for Opposition unity are likely to be deliberated upon with the contentious issue of seat sharing and leadership questions to be avoided for now.
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.
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.
Finance minister P Chidambaram assured a select gathering in New Delhi on Tuesday that Union Budget of 2013 will be presented on schedule. He expressed hope, that like it happened in 2004, it will not be passed without debating.
The race for the next state assembly in Uttar Pradesh may be largely four cornered. But it is increasingly evident that the electoral battle slated for February in the country's most populous state is bound to largely remain Mayawati vs. the rest, reports Sharat Pradhan.