Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentary party chairman LK Advani has appointed senior Maharashtra leader Gopinath Munde as the deputy leader in the Lok Sabha.
After six days of stalemate, a discussion on the anti-paper leak bill began on Tuesday in Lok Sabha with the government describing it as a reaffirmation of ruling dispensation's commitment to safeguard the welfare of students but opposition hit back over the lathi-charge on protesters, saying every blow on them hurt the government's prestige more than the backs of the youth.
The external affairs minister said that the dreaded terror outfit Islamic State had killed all the Indian nationals.
Delhi Police have arrested Asad Siddiqui, the main accused in the double murder of a man and his son in Delhi's CR Park area. The victims, Rakesh Sood and Karan Sood, were stabbed to death, while a third person was injured. The incident stemmed from a long-standing dispute, and the police are continuing their investigation.
Delhi Police have arrested Asad Siddiqui, the main suspect in the double murder of an elderly man and his son in the Alaknanda area. The victims, Rakesh Sood and Karan Sood, were stabbed to death following a financial dispute. A third person, Rahul, was injured in the attack.
In one of the most powerful speeches Mrs Sushma Swaraj, deputy leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha from Bhartiya Janata Party, demanded that government of India should send two separate delegations to Sri Lanka and Australia to express their solidarity with Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian students who are being targetted in Australia.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani is understood to have indicated that he will not complete his five-year term as the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and make way for his deputy Sushma Swaraj. Highly placed party sources said Advani also conveyed to Arun Jaitley that the latter would continue to be the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Though Advani did not specify when he would hang up his boots, he is unlikely to continue for long.
Advani retained his predecessor Venkaiah Naidu in the panel and in the parliamentary board.
The high court had on Friday allowed the Special Investigation Team to go ahead with the investigations in the riots cases and question the chief minister who had so far had avoided joining the investigations.
The BJP today said in the Lok Sabha that party MP Varun Gandhi's life was under threat from an underworld outfit and demanded upgrading of his security.
They also emphasised that Pakistan should play an "active role in highlighting the human rights violations" in Jammu and Kashmir at international fora.
'The move to appoint a person with a profile, markedly lower than the leader Nitin Nabin will replace, has the potential to put the brakes on the careers of several others in the party and government in the positions they currently hold,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'This is how Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar treated the Leader of Opposition,' Swaraj tweeted.
Asking that if all these leaders and actors accompanying the Pakistani journalists are Inter-Services Intelligence's contacts, Singh asserted that he would have invited her again had there been no visa restrictions between India and Pakistan.
The stage would be set for the elections with the issue of notification on Friday.
Demanding an inquiry into the purchase of 111 new aircraft by national carrier Air India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said the proposal was the root cause of the airline's financial woes.
Addressing media persons at a press conference, Swaraj said: "We have elected him for a full term. We did not elect him Leader of Opposition with a deadline."
Gadkari has been called to New Delhi for the meeting and will be anointed party chief. The decision will be ratified by the BJP national council. The elevation of Swaraj as Leader of Opposition is almost a certainty, sources said.
Deputy Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj tore apart the Justice Liberhan Commission report, probing the Babri Masjid demolition, on Tuesday and asked the government to reject it.
Expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh on Tuesday put to rest speculations that he might rejoin the party saying "the roads are closed".
After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's aggressive stance in Rajya Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday said he looked for "alibis' in his speech on the state of the economy and his words reflected "pessimism and negativism".
Deputy leader of BJP in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and senior party leader M Venkaiah Naidu in the Rajya Sabha raised the issue in Zero Hour saying the government should bring a bill in right earnest.
On the last day of the Budget Session, the National Democratic Alliance today created uproar in the Lok Sabha over the issue of alleged corruption involving Union Minister Virbhadra Singh and Scheduled Caste Commission Chairman Buta Singh and demanded action against them.
Neither the Indian government nor any other agency had anything to do with any terror operations in Balochsitan, External Affairs Minister Pranab Kumar Mukherjee said in the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.
BJP Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha Sushma Swaraj, who addressed reporters after an NDA meeting, said the boycott will continue till the time the "opposition is allowed to raise its voice on issues like corruption."
The NDA will raise its apprehensions in both Houses about the possibility of Shibu Soren government nominating an Anglo-Indian before the March 15 trial of strength in the Jharkhand Assembly, BJP deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Sushma Swaraj said.
The two countries agreed to intensify coordination to deal with terrorism as Swaraj met top Israeli leadership and discussed a wide-range of bilateral and regional issues.
A staunch Rajput leader, Singh had opposed the manner in which UP legislator Raja Bhaiyya and his father were arrested by the then Mayawati Government under POTA.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be the deputy leader.
Rekha Gupta had the support of the RSS, which actively participated in the Delhi assembly poll campaign to help the BJP win.
Congress vice-president Rahul also slammed Sushma, calling her speech eloquent but hollow.
Debutant legislator Rekha Gupta was sworn in as Delhi chief minister along with six ministers on Thursday in a grand show of strength full of colour and spectacle to mark the Bharatiya Janata Party's return to power in the city after more than 26 years.
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday turned 88 with senior leaders, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wishing him a healthy life.
First-time MLA Rekha Gupta will be the new chief minister of Delhi, capping 11 days of suspense over who will get the top post after the Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power after over 26 years ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party.
Vajpayee's picture is now displayed on the last page along with those of party's idealogue Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, who were on the second page of the 2014 manifesto.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hailed Russia as a "time-tested and reliable friend" and said he intends to take the relationship to a higher level.
In a rude shock to top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders L K Advani, Arun Jaitley and Uma Bharati, the party leadership chose not to include their names in the list of leaders to address protest rallies.
New Delhi is likely to experience a huge traffic jam on Wednesday, as the Bharatiya Janata Party holds a rally to protest against price rise.
An end to the ongoing logjam in Parliament on the issue of Foreign Direct Investment in retail on Wednesday appeared in sight, with the government giving enough hints that it has no problem over a vote on the issue. In an effort to break the impasse, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath, along with his deputy Rajiv Shukla, held a meeting with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley.
India on Monday did some plain-speaking with China over its blocking of the Indian bid to get JeM chief Masood Azhar banned by the UN and warned the global community of "serious consequences" if it continues to adopt "double standards" in dealing with terrorism.
