Seeking to cash in on Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal's reported remarks on speeding up decision on his death sentence, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday demanded immediate implementation of the Supreme Court order, upholding his punishment."Afzal's allegation of the United Progressive Alliance government being indecisive is a serious charge. The Congress-led government has been found double faced on the issue," said BJP spokersperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
The government and Baba Ramdev have been unable to come to a negotiated settlement over the Baba's indefinite fast at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan. But the real story is the widening gulf between the Sonia Gandhi-led Congress party and the Dr Manmohan Singh led United Progressive Alliance government which has now come out almost in the open. In an interesting development, Sonia Gandhi called a meeting of senior leaders at her residence at 6.30 pm on Saturday.
United Progressive Alliance candidate Pranab Mukherjee is all set to be elected the 14th President of India on Sunday when the counting of votes will take place.
Another meeting will be called next week at a mutually-convenient date.
With the Left parties' withdrawal of support from the Manmohan Singh led United Progressive Alliance creating a political uncertainty at the Centre, some leaders have started efforts to woo Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhara Rao, to secure his support for the beleaguered coalition."I told him clearly that we will extend support to the UPA only if the government announces the formation of Telangana state," Rao told reporters in Hyderabad.
The two sides have held four rounds of talks in Vienna to finalise the draft pact, which the Congress-led government has to place before the United Progressive Alliance-Left panel to get a political go ahead for the deal, that aims to get India out of nuclear wilderness. "We have held four rounds of talks but do not have a draft yet," a source said.
'At the end of 2011, everyone had forgotten the so-called India Story and double-digit growth. Outside the members of the official economist clique, led by the prime minister's sidekick Montek Singh Ahluwalia, no economist predicts that GDP will grow at nine-plus percent. The last quarter saw growth slip alarmingly. At this rate, instead of Ahluwalia's 9% we will soon be back to the Hindu rate of growth of 3.5%,' notes Virendra Kapoor.
The National Democratic Alliance and the Left is likely to corner the United Progressive Alliance on issues pertaining to price rise and black money on the first day of the winter session, which starts on Tuesday. Sheela Bhatt reports
The Communist Party of India Marxist, the largest among the Left parties, said the increase in FDI cap would lead to the outflow of Indian people's savings to lubricate speculative profits. It maintained that the Left had not allowed the UPA to take this decision for the past four years.
The party's research department team, which Rajya Sabha member M V Rajeev Gowda heads, has sifted through the suggestions received in the last five months, and the manifesto is slated to be released later this month, reports Archis Mohan.
That was the most asked question at the Congress media briefing at the All India Congress Committee headquarters.
Amar Singh said the move would benefit him politically and could create uproar in and outside Parliament.
"All international treaties on major issues should be ratified in Parliament," the CPI(M) said.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal, a key ally in the United Progressive Alliance, on Wednesday strongly opposed the Women's Reservation Bill in its present form. The party did not rule out withdrawing support from the Congress-led coalition at the Centre if its demand for quota within quota, for Dalit and minorities in the legislation, was not conceded. RJD's rigid stand might throw a spanner in the efforts of the UPA to ensure passage of the Bill in the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
The UPA-Left Committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal would meet in New Delhi on Tuesday with the Left parties sticking to their guns and the government saying it would seek the sense of Parliament on the matter. The Government has said it would seek 'sense of the House' on the stalled deal before it goes to the US Congress for ratification.
Andhra Pradesh now faces the specter of President's Rule due to the political instability prevalent in the state with the resignations of a large number of legislators over the Telangana issue, questions are also being asked whether the happenings in Andhra Pradesh cast their shadow on the Manmohan Singh led-United Progressive Alliance government in New Delhi.
Lalu said that the BJP at the Centre is trying to destabilise the grand alliance government in Bihar. M I Khan reports from Patna.
Party sources said apart from the Railway and General Budget, the government wanted to initiate some key legislation during the session to send a political message to voters. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has also planned to hold a meeting of the secretaries of different ministries to know each ministry's priority agenda. "We have to set the government's agenda accordingly," Bansal said.
Economic reforms in India are being hampered by interventions from business pressure groups and politicians, including Left parties who support the ruling United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre, Tata group chairman Ratan Tata said.
But stresses it will not compromise basic principles
Caught in an inflation mess, the Central government was hoping for a rescue act from the rain gods this monsoon. But, it seems, the rain gods may not bail out the United Progressive Alliance government from the inflation conundrum.
Details of the coordination panel, including its role, is likely to be announced in the evening.
Singling out a person for the defeat in 2014 would not be right, Pilot said.
Hinting that the ruling Biju Janata Dal might be a part of the proposed Third Front in the 2014 general elections, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday 1dubbed the Congress "corrupt" and the Bharatiya Janata Party "communal".
Sonia Gandhi is confident about a third term for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.
Ruptures in the opposition unity emerged barely a week after 17 parties joined hands to put up a joint candidate against the ruling National Democratic Alliance nominee for the July 17 presidential election.
The four Left parties may no longer be allies of the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance, but their concerns on the pension Bill will still be addressed by the government.
Those joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers for the first time include three former chief ministers -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and H D Kumaraswamy (Karnataka).
"The first big mistake was the imposition of Emergency, the second one was their stand on the Shahbano case and the third error was the affidavit which negated the existence of Lord Ram. The govt has committed a blasphemous act" said L K Advani.
"I have already stated all the facts in writing. I will cooperate with every inquiry or agencies which the government chooses. I stand by that commitment," he said.
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Tuesday expressed confidence that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance would once again form the government at the Centre and refuted claims that the country had been swept up in a Modi wave.
Attacking the government on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh said it has exhibited "total incapacity".
Fearing what lies ahead if the Congress led United Progressive Alliance loses power, it is believed that 19 governors appointed by it are considering putting in their papers. Karnataka's Hansraj Bhardwaj has already submitted his papers and is awaiting clearance from the party high command, reports a correspondent.
The key architect of the Land Acquisition Act has made notes on his opposition to the amendments suggested by the government
Refuting the opposition's claim that Manipur 'is burning', a senior government functionary said on Thursday that no killing has happened in the state since July 18 and asserted that peace and normalcy will be restored soon through ongoing talks with the two warring communities -- Meiteis and Kukis.
The 54-page document tabled in Parliament detailed how the Modi-government pull the economy from being counted among the most fragile-five in the world to being the fasted growing and the most attractive investment destination.
Gandhi, then a newly appointed Congress chief, had staked claim to form the government at the Centre after the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had lost the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 1999.
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