The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Constitution amendment bill to restore the power of states to make their own OBC lists after a thaw in the logjam as Opposition parties backed the legislation but demanded the removal of the 50 per cent cap on reservation, with many of them also calling for a caste-based census.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member of Parliament Kanimozhi and three others, arrested for their alleged roles in the 2G spectrum allocation case, moved the Delhi high court for bail on Saturday.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi on Sunday said a Central Industrial Security Force officer asked her if she was an Indian, when she asked the woman official to speak in Tamil or English.
For a party that has adopted the successful social re-engineering model from Gujarat, Rajasthan and across the rest of the 'Hindi belt' over the past decades, Tamil Nadu continues to remain a tricky customer, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Anti-Congress regional parties may have felt the possible impact of Rahul's South-North yatra, pending a second East-West padayatra, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Lok Sabha proceedings were washed out for the second consecutive day on Wednesday after the House was repeatedly adjourned due to protests by opposition members who were demanding a separate discussion on the farm laws issue.
Southern Railway however clarified that the issue was the result of a particular user selecting Hindi as the preferred language while registering in the IRCTC website. 'Language is an option in e-ticketing,' a Southern Railway release said.
'It is a great privilege that after 1970 this is the first private bill that has been passed by Parliament. The bill was supported across party lines and I am very happy with the result,' says DMK MP Tiruchi Siva whose private member bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha, the first in 46 years.
Amid slogan shouting by MPs from the Trinamool Congress, the Congress and other opposition parties from the Well of the House, Modi began replying to the debate on the motion thanking the President for her address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at the start of the Budget Session, and accused the Congress of adopting only 'tokenism' to solving problems the country faced.
He also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party wanted to create a Delhi-like situation in Puducherry and take power away from an elected government.
Proceedings in Rajya Sabha were repeatedly disrupted on Monday before being called off for the day as opposition members protested on the alleged phone-tapping and other issues and demanded discussions on them in the House.
JD-U MP Harivansh filed his nomination as the ruling NDA candidate to the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman's post and is likely to be elected, even as the Opposition is working to field a joint candidate against him to force a contest.
Ugly scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday as opposition MPs climbed on the officials' table, waved black cloth and threw files when the House began a discussion on farmers' protest against new reform laws.
MPs from 10 Opposition parties on Thursday wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla saying that the situation at Ghazipur border was like that of India-Pakistan border and condition of farmers resembles prisoners in jail.
Tamil Nadu's unending legislative fight for exemption from NEET has now flagged the question if it's time to review the Supreme Court's famous verdict in the 'Mandal case', fixing 50-per cent upper-limit for all reservations, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Rajiv Gandhi assassination, investigation and trial were all jinxed in parts, recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rahul Gandhi is neither Congress president, office-bearer nor Congress leader in Parliament. This technical leeway provides adequate cover for Shiv Sena-Congress ties taking a nosedive, says Rasheed Kidwai.
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Tuesday once again adopted the anti-NEET Bill, returned days ago to the government by Governor RN Ravi, with the ruling Dravida Munentra Kazhagam and principal opposition All India Anna DK reaffirming their opposition to the test.
After Rahul's Bharat Jodo Yatra began criss-crossing the Hindi heartland, BJP leaders have revived their attacks on 'dynasty politics' and 'family rule' in the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Terming grant of bail in the 2G case as the "first step", Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member of Parliament Kanimozhi on Saturday said she would prove her innocence and get out of the case legally.
As soon as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan took up the Question Hour, members from these parties trooped into the Well holding placards.
Upset over political developments in Maharashtra, the Congress and other opposition parties boycotted Constitution Day celebrations in the Central Hall of Parliament and held a joint protest in front of the Ambedkar statue inside Parliament complex.
Kanimozhi, the daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi and Kumar have challenged the Delhi high court verdict rejecting their bail. "We have filed a special leave petition on behalf of both Kanimozhi and Kumar challenging the high court order," senior advocate V G Pargasm said.
If the Opposition has any chance at the prime minister's job, it can happen only if they all stop dropping names and work at the grassroots-level, state-wise, suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
An AIADMK survey estimates that the party will get between 25 and 30 of Tamil Nadu's 39 seats. This makes Jayalalithaa a major player in New Delhi, if not a contender for the prime minister's post.
While DMK MP Kanimozhi will walk out of Tihar after being incarcerated for nearly six months, the anxious wait for bail continues for many other high-profile accused of the 2G scam, says Sheela Bhatt
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Member of Parliament Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar, accused in the 2G spectrum case, moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking bail.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday rejected the bail application of Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam Member of Parliament and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi.The court also rejected the bail application of Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar.The DMK MP had stated that she should be granted bail since she has a young son to look after and her husband lives abroad. She pointed out that she was the only woman who has been jailed for 2G scam.
One of the followers of jailed Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam member of Parliament Kanimozhi had a tough time in a Delhi court on Tuesday which first ordered his detention and then let him off with a stern warning for clicking the photograph of his leader inside the courtroom.
Welcoming the arrest of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member of Parliament Kanimozhi in the 2G spectrum allocation case, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday said this was possible only because the case was monitored by the Supreme Court and demanded that it also oversees cases related to corruption in the Commonwealth Games.
The answer to this million-dollar question may lie behind certain recent developments. Shahid Usman Balwa, Swan Telecom promoter and an accused in the 2G scam case, on May 18
In a sort of anti-climax, a special court on Saturday prolonged the suspense on the bail application of Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam member of Parliament Kanimozhi in the 2G spectrum case by deferring the pronouncement of its order till May 20.
With a Central Bureau of Investigation court summoning her to appear before it in Delhi on May 6 in the 2G spectrum scam case, DMK chief M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi on Wednesday reached the national capital.
Speaker Om Birla he will hold a meeting with leaders of all parties and then take a decision.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader M K Stalin on Monday met his half-sister and party member of Parliament Kanimozhi, arrested in connection with the 2G scam, at Tihar jail in New Delhi.
A bench of justices B S Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar, while terming 'corruption as the worst form of human rights violation,' asked CBI to come out with a status report on the loss to the state exchequer because of the award of 13 licences to one of the telecom operators and trial proceedings in the CBI special court.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi's daughter and party member of Parliament Kanimozhi says she will "stand and fight" even if the Central Bureau of Investigation names her in the 2G spectrum scam chargesheet, which is expected to be filed soon.
Kanyakumari is the tip of India and will convey the symbol that from the tip of India, the Congress is on its way up.
Aditi Phadnis predicts frequent stand-offs between the Centre and states in the future.
