The beleaguered United Progressive Alliance got a boost on Saturday with the Rashtriya Lok Dal, led by Ajit Singh, deciding to join the coalition at the Centre and fight the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in alliance with the Congress. Ajit Singh, whose RLD has five members in the Lok Sabha, met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday evening and expressed his willingness to join UPA. His decision was welcomed by the Congress president.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she had suggested to the Congress that an advisory council comprising prominent personalities from civil society be set up to give a direction to the opposition, but rued that the plan did not materialise.
"When Modiji undertakes a trip abroad, thousands of Indians wait to welcome him and foreign nations are eager to do business with India," he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said Parliament's Monsoon session is like a 'Vijay Utsav' as the Indian armed forces achieved their objectives under Operation Sindoor 100 per cent, and expressed confidence that the MPs will articulate this sentiment in one voice.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday took a swipe at the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam over dynasty politics and alleged corruption, calling them "2G, 3G, 4G" parties and said the time has come in Tamil Nadu to throw away these and give the power to a "son of the soil".
Senior Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi's wife Deepa had on Sunday said that though the Trinamool was part of the United Progressive Alliance government, yet it issued statements against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and government policies. Also, she charged that Mamata put no photos of either Dr Singh or Congress chief Sonia Gandhi when she inaugurated projects in West Bengal.
Mamata's 'there is no United Progressive Alliance (UPA)' remark after a meeting in Mumbai with Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, an ally of Congress in Maharashtra, evoked a strong response from the party, currently being led by interim president Sonia Gandhi.
Countering the government's and Congress' allegations that the National Democratic Alliance has been an irresponsible and disruptive opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said the Manmohan Singh led government is not keen on passing the Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill. The main opposition also picked holes in the UPA report card on its performance in the last four years and said it is making false claims of success.
The Congress on Monday alleged that a Chinese national played a 'dubious role' in the Adani Group's activities and asked the government if it was not concerned that the conglomerate may be involving that person in important defence contracts.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is poised to cross 220 seats, well ahead of the United Progressive Alliance and within striking distance of forming a government in 2014 if elections are held today.
A steady stream of mourners led by Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday paid homage to veteran Congress leader K Karunakaran at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram where his mortal remains are kept.
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Friday said there should be a presentation by the government on what is happening on the India-China border, particularly in Ladakh, where the armies of the two countries are involved in a face-off. Pawar, who is in the national capital to attend a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, said there are other defence-related issues on the table for discussion, but he will make a request that a presentation is made on it.
Analysts believe the split of Telangana has helped the ruling party from a massive beating in the southern state with some of the votes swaying in their favour. Bikash Mohapatra reports.
Sources said the Congress Parliamentary Party authorised Gandhi to pick the party's leader in Lok Sabha.
The United Progressive Alliance coordination committee is scheduled to meet in New Dekhi on Thursday, with the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra to rule the roost.
The Bal Thackeray-led Shiv Sena today took to the streets to protest the fuel price hike and FDI in retail sector by the Centre and asked the Trinamool Congress and the Nationalist Congress party to withdraw support to the United Progressive Alliance government.
Adani Group is exploring legal options after being slapped with a Rs 5,500-crore tax notice, allegedly for overvaluing imported equipment, by the Mumbai wing of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
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.
Political intolerance is at its peak in the country. Therefore, someone is criticising Modi and some other Jaitley and the BJP.
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).
Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, 11 parties on Tuesday got together with a vow to defeat Congress-led United Progressive Alliances and prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party from coming to power by presenting themselves as an alternative to them.
The Central Bureau of Investigation got into an overdrive to complete the 2G scam investigations by February after the Prime Minister's office (PMO) wanted to shrug off the impression that the government is mired in corruption.
A six-member Congress delegation led by former Bengal Minister Manas Ranjan Bhunia met Joshi in New Delhi and submitted a memorandum seeking assurance on the continuation of all rail projects announced for the state.
The Nationalist Congress Party, which pulled out of the United Progressive Alliance government in protest against the way the party was treated by Congress, on Saturday said it will remain an ally of the ruling coalition.
The anti-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam has called for 12-hout Assam bandh on May 26 to protest the visit of the united Progressive Alliance chairman and Congress President Sonia Gandhi to Guwahati on that day.
The party delegation is on a two-day visit to Kashmir to attend a series of meetings on the current situation in the valley.
Most exit polls have predicted a majority for the BJP-led NDA, leaving the UPA far behind.
Shinde, participating in a discussion on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, took a jibe at the opposition coalition Indian National Develomental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) describing it as a 'destructive alliance' and said the next elections will be fought on the issue of scams of the United Progressive Alliance and schemes of the National Democratic Alliance.
The Congress government in Assam hopes to implement the National Food Security Ordinance which has been passed by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government in the Centre, within six months, as desired by the Centre.
With Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party putting pressure for more seats, Congress leaders from Maharashtra, including union ministers and MPs, had an informal interactions in Delhi on Tuesday night.
Notwithstanding exit polls giving a clear mandate to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance the Telangana Rashtra Samithi on Friday said the party still prefers to support a Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.
Stepping up its attack on Congress for pillorying Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi over his "shehzada" (prince) taunt aimed at Rahul Gandhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday hit back with scorn, saying if it would be alright to call the Congress vice-president "badshah" (great king).
A staunch supporter of slain LTTE supremo V Prabhakaran, he also criticised the former prime minister for sending the Indian Peacekeeping Force to Sri Lanka in the 1980s.
The Congress, however, dismissed it saying that the BJP was levelling baseless charges as it sensed imminent defeat in the Bihar assembly elections.
Using recent developments for reaching out to DMK and JD-U ensures needed thrust for the congress and its government. Aditi Phadnis reports
With speculations rife about a Union Cabinet reshuffle, the Congress has discussed the issue with Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam, the largest ally of the United Progressive Alliance after the exit of the Trinamool Congress. Union Minister V Narayansamy called on DMK chief M Karunanidhi in Chennai on Tuesday, but the latter is learnt to have turned down the offer for the induction of his party MPs in the Manmohan Singh-led Cabinet, party sources said.
Today, NRIs are eager to reconnect with India because India is a growth story and it makes good business sense.
A day after the Trinamool Congress, a key ally of the United Progressive Alliance, hinted at going alone in 2014 Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, a Congress MP on Tuesday said it was impossible for the Mamata Banerjee-led party to win all 42 seats without its support in the state.
Brisk polling was seen for the Wayanad Lok Sabha and the Chelakkara assembly seats in Kerala as they witnessed a turnout of 20.54 and 19.08 per cent, respectively, after the first three hours of voting on Wednesday.
