Bowing to Maoists' demands, for securing the release of a Biju Janata Dal MLA and an Italian from the captivity of ultra-Left activists' captivity, Odisha government on Wednesday said it would facilitate the release of 27 persons, including 8 Naxals, from jails.
After a day's break, talks resumed between the Odisha government and Maoist negotiators for release of the Italian captive while the state Assembly unanimously appealed to the kidnappers of Biju Janata Dal member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka to free him.
Abductors of Biju Janata Dal legislator Jhina Hikaka on Tuesday fixed April 5 as the deadline for fulfillment of their demands and rejected the Odisha government's invitation for talks, a day after a similar threat was issued by another Maoist group holding an Italian hostage
Asking the Orissa government to order an expeditious probe into the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others in Kandhamal district, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Sunday expressed outrage over the incident.Advani said, "The fact that he was assassinated on the auspicious day of Janmashtami while celebrating the festival, reveals an ominous motive behind the incident, suspected to have been committed by Maoists."
The Odisha government on Wednesday hoped Maoists would soon name their negotiators for talks for release of Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina Hikaka, a day after it invited them for parleys, even as intervention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was sought by mediators in the Italian captive's case.
Odisha government, grappling with the hostage crisis, on Tuesday said some demands made by Maoists like halt to combing operations, have been conceded as prospects of the release of the lone Italian national seemed to have brightened.
The Odisha government is examining the demands made by abductors of ruling Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina Hikakaka, which includes release of jailed ultras, amid indication that talks with Maoist mediators for release of the second Italian will soon yield positive results.
After day-long talks with Odisha government representatives for release of the second Italian hostage, Maoist mediators on Monday said they expect a positive outcome on Tuesday even as abductors of a ruling Biju Janata Dal MLA demanded an immediate halt to combing operations and release of jailed ultras.
Though two days have passed since the Maoists abducted ruling Biju Janata Dal member of Legislative Jhina Hikaka, the Odisha government is yet to receive any information on the whereabouts of the young tribal legislator.
Maoists on Saturday abducted a Member of Legislative Assembly from the Biju Janata Dal while he was returning home from Koraput district, leading to suspension of negotiations between the authorities and ultras for the release of two Italian nationals taken hostage by the rebels ten days ago.
Murmu's vote share is now likely to go past 61 per cent, while it was earlier estimated to be around 50 per cent at the time of her nomination.
Ruling Biju Janata Dal memver of Legislative Assembly Subarna Nayak was arrested on Monday for allegedly slapping and misbehaving with a woman homeguard.
The BJD not only supported the BJP in Parliament on different issues over the last few years but also helped Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw get elected to Rajya Sabha in 2019 and 2024.
India's Parliament is set to begin its Budget session on Friday, with opposition parties poised to demand a discussion on the alleged mismanagement of the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, where 30 pilgrims died in a stampede. The opposition also accused the government of politicising parliamentary committees and pushing its agenda through its majority. The session will start with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both houses of Parliament. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Saturday for the eighth consecutive time.
Over 400 incumbent Lok Sabha members including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Lal Krishna Advani and Rajnath Singh have not yet declared their assets and liability details, according to an RTI reply.
The Odisha assembly has a strength of 147 MLAs while there are 21 Lok Sabha MP seats in the state.
'We can't exist in isolation but how can we forget the human aspect? This is not done.' says BJP MP Dharmendra Pradhan.
39-year-old Majhi, a prominent tribal leader, who represented Umerkote assembly constituency, had gone to Gona village to distribute land pattas when the incident took place, Director General of Police Manmohan Praharaj said.
The Congress-led government was caught napping over the Left Front's opposition to the India-United States nuclear agreement, feels B J Panda, a member of the Rajya Sabha.
'It is not as if Hindus are not being touched at all, and only Muslims are.'
Biju Janata Dal supremo and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday termed as "baseless rumours" reports that his party would support the United Progressive Alliance government following the Trinamool Congress's pullout. He also made it clear that there was no question of the BJD abstaining if the UPA government seeks a trust vote in Parliament.
India is not evolving towards a bipolar polity, but towards a complex multipolar system, in which regional and caste-based parties are indispensable to government formation at the Centre. The Left may shrink in size but will have a place of its own, which cannot be ignored.
Communist Party of India leader A B Bardhan said on Thursday that Third Front leaders are in touch with Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who severed ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party, to rope his party Biju Janata Dal into the coalition.
The Left on Sunday came out in support of the Naveen Patnaik government, which was reduced to a minority following snapping of ties with ally Bharatiya Janata Party, and even hinted at forging an alliance with the Biju Janata Dal for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Orissa.
First to back P A Sangma, a tribal and minority leader for the Presidential contest, the ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha on Thursday hoped for a miracle in his favour as polling for the top post ended at the state assembly.
Barely three days after the killing of a former Naib Sarpanch in Malkangiri district, armed Maoists killed the son of a ruling Biju Janata Dal leader and block chairman in Bolangir district early on Wednesday, police said.
Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday signed on the nomination paper as a proposer for the candidature of former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma in the coming Presidential election.
A day after a chaotic meeting of the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, its Chairperson Murli Manohar Joshi along with National Democratic Alliance, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Biju Janata Dal and Left members are exploring the possibility of submitting the draft report on 2G scam to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar before its term expires on Ffriday.
The villagers who support the Posco project had also invited Ramesh to visit the proposed plant site to assess the truth behind their rivals' claim about the Rs 52,000 crore (Rs 520 billion) mega steel plant.
A meeting of Nationalist Congress Party office bearers will be held in New Delhi on Thursday to discuss the coming Presidential poll as the party leader P A Sangma faces possible disciplinary action for remaining in the race going against the party directive.
Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik on Monday reiterated his party's support to former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma even as former president A P J Abdul Kalam expressed his unwillingness to contest the presidential poll.
In an interview to CNN-IBN, Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal Chief Naveen Patnaik reiterated his stand that the Third Front would be an alternative to the BJP and the Congress in 2014.
Preparations for Copenhagen is on full swing. Minister Jairam Ramesh met 5 MPs to discuss India's approach.
Sparking speculation of cracks within the ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha, two groups t held separate meetings on Tuesday night at the houses of party member of Parliament Pyari Mohan Mohapatra and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is on a London visit.
Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma, who is being backed by the Biju Janata Dal and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for the President's post, on Tuesday sought to reach out to political parties, saying he hoped they will respond "to the call of conscience of the tribal people of the nation."
Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik on Monday stepped up the campaign for former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma's candidature for presidency describing him as a distinguished tribal leader.
Four days after release of Jhina Hikaka from Maoist captivity, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday questioned why the MLA, belonging to his party the Biju Janata Dal, should resign and said he was looking forward to meeting him.
Three days after being freed by Maoists, Odisha Member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka on Sunday said the ultras are likely to release a fresh audio message which could clear the air over his possible resignation as a legislator.
There was a half hour firefight between the Maoists and the police on Friday night at a jungle under Sorada police station area bordering Kandhamal district, before the ultras fled, a senior police official who took part in the operation told PTI.
The Centre is understood to have decided to invoke Article 355 of the Constitution to warn Orissa and Karnataka to rein in violence, following attacks on churches and prayer halls in the two states.According to official sources on Thursday night, a formal communication in this regard will be sent on Friday to the governments of the two states ruled by the Opposition. A Biju Janata Dal - Bharatiya Janata Party coalition is ruling Orissa while the BJP is in power in Karnataka.
