The Congress and DMK parties in Tamil Nadu are set to begin seat-sharing negotiations in a week for upcoming elections, with leaders from both parties expressing confidence in a smooth and successful alliance.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticises the Congress and its allies for the defeat of the Constitution amendment bill aimed at implementing 33 per cent women's quota in legislative bodies before the 2029 Parliamentary polls.
The Congress party has accused the government of stifling opposition voices in the Lok Sabha, alleging that opposition leaders are not being allowed to express their views while the government side faces no such restrictions.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj will lead a fourteen-member Parliament delegation to Sri Lanka on Monday to study the alleged human rights violation during the operations against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the north eastern province of the island nation.
Besides Mukherjee, who is leader of the Lok Sabha, the committee, headed by Speaker Meira Kumar, will have four other members from the Congress, three from Bharatiya Janata Party each from Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Janata Dal (United), Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist Party of India-Marxist.
Praja Rajyam Party President K Chiranjeevi will campaign on Thursday for the Congress party in the by-election to Bangarupalem assembly constituency in Karnataka.
After a see-saw week, the Congress-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alliance seems to firmly back on track with reports suggesting that DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi will speak to Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday and thank her for the Congress's acceptance of their seat-sharing formula.
After a drubbing in the Bihar assembly polls, Krishnakumar Padmanabhan finds that Congress workers are sceptical about Rahul Gandhi's charisma working in the TN polls.
Despite being one of the "most interesting countries", India needs to get over its ambitions to become a superpower nation, historian Ramachandra Guha has said.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa helped the Congress-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alliance's performance in Tamil Nadu during last year's parliamentary elections by agreeing to halt the use of heavy weapons against the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam in the final stages of the civil war, a top Sri Lankan official has claimed.
Reflecting further strains in his party's ties with Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Karunanidhi has blamed the Centre for the arrest of his daughter Kanimozhi in the 2G spectrum case.
The Congress-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alliance is back on track, with the re-opening of communication channels between the two parties. Sources said the Congress is set to agree to contest 60 seats, which was the DMK's final offer after three rounds of hard bargaining.
'How come?', 'why now?', 'what next?' Rediff.com's Krishnakumar Padmanabhan answers all your questions on the DMK-Congress drama!
A police complaint has been lodged at Barakhamba police station in Delhi, against 26 Opposition parties "for improper use of the name of INDIA and use of the said name for the undue influence and personation at elections."
Filmmakers Bharatiraja and Seeman, who have been vocal in their support for Sri Lankan Tamils and the demand for a separate nation, Eelam, are going all out to derail the Congress in Tamil Nadu.
Their leader is now Lalu Prasad Yadav, a convict in several corruption cases, he added.
Opposition parties in India, including the Congress, Left parties, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), have unanimously hailed the armed forces' "Operation Sindoor", a retaliatory strike against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation, which involved missile and drone strikes, was conducted in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Despite political differences, all parties expressed support for the government and the armed forces, stressing the importance of national unity and integrity in the face of terrorism. While emphasizing the need for diplomatic avenues to prevent further escalation, some parties also called for caution in attributing political credit for the strikes.
On the announcement of his gurantees, Kejriwal said, "I have not discussed with my INDIA bloc partners about this. I will press upon my INDIA bloc partners to fulfill these guarantees."
The diplomatic exercise aimed at presenting India's stance against Pakistan on terror comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor -- the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
DMK had in early 2013 snapped ties with Congress over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.
The government and opposition parties on Monday reached an agreement to break the impasse in Parliament with dates announced for discussions on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
It also asked why the data shared pertained to a period from April 2019 even though the scheme for anonymous political funding was introduced in 2017.
The Delhi high court on Friday sought a response from the Centre, Election Commission of India, and 26 political parties on a petition seeking to restrain opposition parties from using the acronym INDIA for their alliance.
Amid a major political row, former Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister Agri Krishnamurthy has been arrested in connection with the alleged suicide of a senior engineering department official S Muthukumarasamy but the opposition remained unimpressed and pressed for CBI probe.
Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi was on Sunday appointed as Lt Governor of Puducherry.
An interim report on the action has also been sent by the field investigation wing of the income tax department to the Central Board of Direct Taxes in Delhi, the administrative body for the department.
Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate on Tuesday, with the opposition terming the move 'dictatorial' and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the legislation would not tamper with the powers enjoyed by states.
From steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal to billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal's Airtel, Anil Agarwal's Vedanta, ITC, Mahindra and Mahindra, and a lesser-known Future Gaming and Hotel Services were among the prominent buyers of the now-scrapped electoral bonds for making political donations.
Ruling NDA and opposition INDIA bloc MPs clashed in Parliament on Thursday over Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on B.R. Ambedkar, leading to jostling and an injury to BJP MP Pratap Sarangi. The opposition demanded Shah's resignation, while the BJP defended him.
An anonymous letter threatening to kill Rahul Gandhi at an election meeting in Puducherry has been received by a senior Congress leader V Narayanasamy.
The April 13 Assembly polls in the Union Territory of Puducherry is shaping up to be a face-off between two fronts -- the ruling Congress-DMK combine and the oppositon All India NR Congress- All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alliance.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has held a series of meetings with MPs and Union ministers from Punjab and Haryana and surrounding states, and virtual interactions with state agricultural ministers of all BJP-led National Democratic Alliance ruled states where he briefed them about the merits of the two bills, the sources said.
The Congress government in the Union Territory will have to prove its majority in the assembly on February 22 with Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Thursday ordering the floor test, hours after assuming charge vowing to function in accordance with the Constitution.
From Instagram to X, social media platforms, in the run-up to the polls have seen bitter poster wars and even bitter meme battles for political one-upmanship.
Several Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly have declared cases in which they have been charged with inciting communal tension. The Association for Democratic Reforms in a report gives details of elected representatives with such charges.
Rahul is scheduled to address a rally of the Congress-Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alliance on Tuesday at Karaikal in Puducherry.
Chowdhury said the family faces threat to life and the cover by the elite security organisation should not have been withdrawn.
Delhi faces a severe financial crunch and the deficit is largely due to numerous welfare schemes without adequate revenue flowing in. The success of welfare schemes and electoral promises will need careful financial planning and out of the box thinking to whip up additional revenue, notes Ramesh Menon.
Arun Jaitley, who is recovering from a kidney ailment, attended the proceedings after a long gap.
The government on Tuesday asserted in Lok Sabha that it was ready to discuss issues related to farmers both inside and outside Parliament amid vociferous protests by the Opposition which forced repeated adjournments of both the Houses.
