As soon as the House met for the day, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, without specifying the subjects, said she has disallowed all notices of adjournment of question hour.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday extended an olive branch to rebel Member of Parliament Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, who is facing mounting criticism due to the anti-party campaign by his TV channel.Kiran Reddy, who is in New Delhi for discussions with the high command on the constitution of his cabinet, said it was for the party high command to decide on whether to take any disciplinary action against Jagan.
Azharuddin, who had been banned from cricket in 2000 for his alleged involvement in the match-fixing scandal that had rocked the game internationally, had met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, Moily and Pradesh Congress Committee chief Srinivas last month and expressed his desire to join the party
With Congress forming a panel headed by Rahul Gandhi for the next Lok Sabha poll preparation, Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday said the general election could be advanced as the ruling party would want to "cut their losses" in major states where it is in power.
While the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh grapples to keep its flock together following the resignation of 29 members of legislative assembly in support of beleaguered YSR Congress president and member of Parliament YS Jaganmohan Reddy, the latter's next move would totally depend on the Telegu Desam Party.
While Rahul loyalists were keen that he be given the post, a leader known to be close to him said, "If he does not become the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, then he should quit politics."
"Very shortly we will come out with a concrete plan," Rao told reporters after meeting the Trinamool Congress president.
A crucial meeting of the Congress Core Group on Friday will discuss the Telangana issue with "both options open" as a decision "cannot be postponed anymore", said senior party leader Digvijay Singh.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari, who is not contesting Lok Sabha polls as he is ailing, has been made acting in-charge of the AICC Communication department along with party spokesman Randeep Surjewala.
The fissures in the Congress over the Telangana issue came to the fore in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday when Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, along with some other party Members of Parliament, joined a Telugu Desam Party protest against the decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh. Jaganmohan, son of late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, even stormed the well of the House, joining the TDP members. The TDP members were carrying placards saying 'We want united Andhra Pradesh'.
Protesting against naming of Hyderabad domestic airport, the Congress party on Thursday disrupted the pre-lunch sitting of Rajya Sabha contending that Rajiv Gandhi's name has been removed, leading to three adjournments.
Notwithstanding advice that he might turn into a 'non-entity', the TRS president has conveyed to the Congress leadership that he must be made the chief minister of Telangana if the Congress is looking for a merger between the two parties.
Former MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, who staged a show of strength in New Delhi on Tuesday, virtually dared the Congress to take action against its MLAs and MPs who are with him saying the Kiran Kumar Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh will fall if they withdraw support to it.
In a sharp defiance of Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Congress MPs and legislators from the two hill districts of Assam -- Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao -- have taken an initiative to launch a forum to demand a separate state comprising two hill districts.
Congress' Rapolu Ananda Bhaskar could be an odd man out in Parliament when he enters its portals soon. A post-graduate in psychology, Bhaskar could well be ranked as the poorest Member of Parliament not just in Andhra Pradesh but in the country as well when elected.
In a major exercise ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Congress on Thursday night constituted screening committees for all states and union territories for early selection of candidates.
The Andhra Pradesh Assembly was on Friday adjourned for 15 minutes amid debate over whether or not to continue proceedings in the wake of the en masse resignations of legislators, protesting the Centre's decision to carve out separate Telangana.
"We have not even showed 10 per cent of the strength of farmers of India. And the prime minister suddenly understood that he cannot push the farmers of this country," he said.
The government is banking on help from regional parties and rejigged numbers in the Rajya Sabha.
According to sources, senior Congress leader Jaipal Reddy is a heading a major campaign to oust Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, as a section of the party feels that the chief minister is single-handedly thwarting the formation of Telangana.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other senior party leaders, including All India Congress Committee general secretary Avinash Pande and spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, also moved to Jaisalmer along with the MLAs in five chartered flights.
Accusing Congress of pursuing vote-bank politics, Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the turmoil over the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh was a perfect example of how the ruling party sowed "seeds of poison".
Congress leadership would take a call on who would be its deputy chief minister on Tuesday.
Congress on Monday appeared to claim credit for effective handling of cyclone 'Phailin', saying all steps are being taken under its rule to make the country "disaster-resilient" which was evident from the Indian Meteorological Department's accurate prediction and "record" evacuation of over one million people in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Narendra Modi on Sunday hit back at Sonia Gandhi over her 'zeher ki kheti' barb saying it is the Congress which spews poison and reaps the harvest out of it with its divisive politics.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has called a meeting of chief ministers of party-ruled states to chalk out the party's strategy in the run-up to the general election. The leaders would focus on setting up of Lokayuktas in a time-bound manner in states and curbing food inflation.
Under constant attack for remaining incommunicado during crucial periods, both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi are now making a special effort to come out of their cocoons and articulate their views on key issues, says Anita Katyal.
Gandhi said the BJP, in power in Madhya Pradesh since 2003, is only working for a few rich people.
Proceedings in Parliament were paralysed for the third day running over a number of issues, including Telangana and death of 40 children in Muzaffarnagar relief camps, preventing the notices for a no-confidence motion from being taken up on Wednesday.
The Congress and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are talking about secularism only to cover up their failures in governance and corruption, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader M Venkaiah Naidu alleged in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Many in the Congress feel that holding meetings at the block, district and state levels would reveal the real reasons for the Congress's defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports
Proceedings in Rajya Sabha were repeatedly disrupted on Wednesday due to uproar over demand for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's resignation and missing coal files, on which the Bharatiya Janata Party targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
In her letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi three days ago, Kidwai said she was relinquishing charge as party general secretary and Mahila Congress chief as he felt that Rahul Gandhi should be given the necessary space to bring in younger leaders of his choice
Could the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP become the rallying point of new energies that are getting unleashed all over urban India, in quest for a different kind of politics, to such an extent that he can rein in Narendra Modi? It all depends on how it pans out its politics in the coming weeks, says Neerja Chowdhury.
In a television interview, Union minister Jairam Ramesh claimed that a state of UP's size was ungovernable
Demonetisation hit informal sector hard and caused job losses which was not addressed by the budget, Moily said.
"Will anybody want a servant that who is on vacation when needed at home? And nobody knows where he is," he continued.
Parliament on Wednesday saw a washout as the Opposition aggressively pressed for ouster of Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, rejecting the government's offer for a debate.
