The Opposition party also attacked Azad, saying "Mr. GNA himself gives new evidence of his DNA mutation by saying 'those opposing Article 370 abrogation ignorant of the situation on the ground'."
The bill seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies.
A 39-member parliamentary panel has been constituted to examine the two bills proposing simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The panel, chaired by BJP leader Bhratruhari Mahtab, will include prominent members from various political parties, including the BJP, Congress, SP, TMC, and DMK. The panel is expected to submit its report to the Lok Sabha by the first day of the last week of the next session. The government has decided to increase the committee's strength to include more political parties, highlighting the significance of this proposal to reform the election process in India.
Throwing its weight behind actor-cum-MLA M Mukesh, the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist in Kerala on Saturday said that he need not resign from his post as legislator merely because a rape case has been registered against him.
Lodhi, who represented the Bada Malhera assembly seat in Chhatarpur district, joined the BJP at the ruling party's state headquarters in the presence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The Congress maintained that the state government had not ordered any such inquiry and it could be an internal matter of the CID. A top CID official has also said that no formal inquiry was ordered into the incident.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the Aam Aadmi Party is committed to the opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and will not break away from it.
'The Kerala BJP leadership is doing the job of clerical staff. What the boss orders, they just follow them.'
Former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna passed away at his residence in Bengaluru early Tuesday morning, his family said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday termed Food Security Bill a "historic legislation" and asked party leaders to publicise its importance to masses as they gear up for elections scheduled early next year.
However, in 950 booths, voting will end at 4 pm, though people standing in the queue at that time will be able to exercise their franchise.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reviewed the security situation in Manipur for the second consecutive day, directing officials to focus on restoring peace and order in the state. The situation has been volatile following protests and violence after the recovery of bodies of women and children. Shah also ordered the deployment of 5,000 paramilitary troops to assist the state government in handling the situation.
The priority now is to work out a comprehensive plan for government formation.
The three seats fell vacant following the resignations of Baburao Chinchansur, R Shankar and Laxman Savadi to contest the assembly elections.
The opposition on Sunday asked the Centre to allow discussions in the Parliament on the United States prosecutors' bribery charges against the Adani Group even as Union minister Kiren Rijiju made it clear that the matters to be taken up in the two Houses will be decided by their authorised committees with the consent of the respective Chair.
The Congress on Monday promised that a government led by it will conduct a nationwide caste census and implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies at the earliest, including adequate representation for women belonging to the OBC community.
Jannayak Janta Party, which had emerged as the kingmaker last assembly polls, was decimated this time round, while the Indian National Lok Dal also failed to create much impact, with prominent leaders of both outfits Dushyant Chautala and Abhay Singh Chautala losing their seats.
US senators have alleged that TikTok, owned by the Chinese Communist Party, has interfered in elections of various countries, including India, and called for extending the deadline for a ban on the platform in the US. They applauded India's ban on the social media platform, citing concerns about Chinese propaganda and data harvesting. Lawmakers, including Democrats and Republicans, introduced legislation to delay the ban by 270 days, arguing it would allow for a more thorough review of the implications and potential alternatives to a ban. They also criticized the rushed nature of the ban and its potential impact on free speech and the livelihoods of American users.
In the 2017 state assembly polls, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party by winning 17 seats.
The Assam assembly will discontinue with the two-hour break provided on Fridays to facilitate Muslim legislators to offer 'namaaz', Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The rule will be implemented from the next session, an assembly official said.
He also said that it had been decided to give the houses to the MLAs at a certain price and not free of cost.
Manjhi's son Santosh Suman, who is a minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet, made the statement a day after reports emerged that a seat-sharing formula has been arrived at in the National Democratic Alliance, and the HAM was likely to get only one of the state's 40 constituencies.
A first information report (FIR) was registered in Mumbai on Friday against Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Arvind Sawant for referring to Shaina N C, an assembly elections candidate of the rival Shiv Sena, as 'imported maal'.
Hours after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party put out its first list of 67 candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls, sitting MLA Lakshman Dass Napa quit the party while former minister Karan Dev Kamboj stepped down as state unit's OBC Morcha chief after being denied tickets.
Voters, it is said, get the government they deserve. We will soon see what voters in Maharashtra choose. Till then, a sense of helplessness and scepticism hangs in the air, notes Ramesh Menon.
While Joon was a Congress rebel, Kadyan fought as an Independent after the BJP denied him ticket.
'Trump has signaled that he has changed his stance on the H1B visa from his first term.'
A day after the Congress accused Uddhav Thackeray of unilaterally announcing his party's candidates for the upcoming Maharashtra legislative council polls, the two parties finalised a deal on Wednesday under which the Shiv Sena (UBT) will contest three out of four seats, while the grand old party will fight one.
Defying predictions of his political eclipse, Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar has not only consolidated his position in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti, but also fortified his place in Maharashtra politics by becoming deputy chief minister for the sixth time.
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP is just two short of the Sena's tally in the Upper House of the state legislature.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday declared the candidature of Sunetra Pawar, wife of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, from Baramati Lok Sabha seat, pitting her against sister-in-law and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule from the home turf of Pawars.
For the first time since the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur last year, a number of MLAs of Meitei, Kuki and Naga communities are set to hold a joint meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday under the supervision of the home ministry, officials said.
The Congress on Monday suffered a setback losing two out of three seats it had contested in the biennial elections to Maharashtra Legislative Council, which it fought in alliance with the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.
The motive behind the killing was yet to be ascertained and various angles were being investigated, including the alleged link to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, according to police.
The Association of Democratic Reforms said Goa has set a unique record, which is "unparalleled" in the history of Indian democracy.
The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, was passed unanimously as besides the BJP MLAs, members of the Opposition Congress as well as the Aam Aadmi Party extended their support to it.
Sudhakar Badgujar, the leader in question, denied the allegations while speaking at a news conference in Nashik.
Opposition MPs in the parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill are scheduled to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday to protest its chairperson Jagdambika Pal's alleged 'unilateral' decisions and attempts to 'bulldoze' proceedings, indicating that they may disassociate themselves from the panel.
Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party president Ajit Pawar on Saturday won from his traditional Baramati assembly constituency by defeating his nephew and NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar candidate Yugendra Pawar by more than one lakh votes.
Bhujbal stridently opposed Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange's demand for Maratha quota from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) share.