Political observers are keen to see if the BJP will now be guided by its more firmly entrenched ideological dominance in picking a face solidly identified with its core planks, or if it will choose a person tilted more to its electoral calculations. Or, whether its pick will be an ode to its core supporters or a outreach to relatively new groups of votaries.
Ahead of the budget session, PM Narendra Modi appealed to the opposition to allow Parliament to function. While his call was taken positively by most of the parties, the Congress signalled that disruption will be their main weapon to raise several issues.
As indicated earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend the get together at the Rashtrapati Bhawan like last year.
The two bills -- Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 -- were passed by Lok Sabha on Thursday.
During the debate on the 'Motion of Thanks on the President's Address', Leader of the House Piyush Goyal and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman strongly objected to 'insinuations' against the prime minister, who was also present in the House.
"The chief minister's office has not been raided. The raid has nothing to do with Arvind Kejriwal or his tenure. There is a corruption case against an officer of Delhi government. The raid is in relation to that officer. It is the officer (office) that has been searched," Jaitley said in Rajya Sabha.
P Chidambaram and Rajeev Shukla of the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party's Sumitra Valmiki and Kavita Patidar, former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Misa Bharti and Jayant Chaudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal were among the 41 winners declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.
Sitting Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Yashwant Sinha's son, Jayant, and Congress MLA Sourabh Narayan Singh filed nomination papers from Hazaribagh Lok Sabha seat.
The UPA has 112 members in the Upper House and the NDA 93. One seat is vacant.
Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah engaged in a war of words on Twitter after the passage of the triple talaq bill in Rajya Sabha, with the latter stating that PDP leaders abstaining from voting "helped the government with the numbers needed to pass the bill."
Kumar, whose "national role" has become a matter of much speculation since his break-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party last month, however also sought to rule himself out, for the umpteenth time, of the Prime Ministerial race.
'My immediate concern is restoring prestige and decorum of Rajya Sabha...'
Both Houses adjourned till Wednesday amid din.
Opposition charged the government with making Parliamentary Standing Committees irrelevant.
Setting the stage for confrontation in Parliament, an all-party meeting called in New Delhi on the eve of the monsoon session on Monday ended in a deadlock over controversies related to the Lalit Modi and Vyapam scam even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered to discuss all issues. The government ruled out any resignations.
Post Nitish's exit, 17 parties plan to meet on Friday to formulate their future course of action. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has invited Sharad Yadav to join them, reports Archis Mohan.
Pappu added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should intervene to check and control violence against Bihari migrants in Manipur.
On the eve of the budget session of Parliament, the government on Sunday reached out to the opposition
The invite to Paswan from the BJP assumes significance as this made it clear that the LJP remains a member of the NDA despite walking out of the alliance in Bihar during the state assembly polls.
'Does a political or social worker ever retire? Is Nitish Kumar himself contesting the assembly elections'
Moving the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 in the Upper House, Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the proposed legislation should be not seen through a political prism or vote bank politics, as it aims at ensuring gender dignity, justice and equality.
President Pranab Mukherjee has cut short his scheduled visit to Bihar by a day, possibly because it was clashing with a rally of Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Patna.
The Congress top brass staged a dharna in Parliament for the 2nd day in protest against suspension of its MPs.
Mulayam's last rites will be performed with full state honours in Saifai near Etawah in Uttar Pradesh
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the underprivileged need economic and political power and not empty words as he again called for removing the 50 per cent ceiling on quota and demanded reservations for Dalits and tribals based on their population.
From the point of view of qualification, Murmu is probably educationally the least qualified among India's recent Presidents. But then, with the BJP in command, she will be required to do little but sign on the dotted line.
The contrast between the two meetings couldn't have been more stark, yet, both were organically linked, the latter a show of support for the former.
When asked about the reason behind his criticism of the incumbent chief minister with whom his party has an alliance, the five-term MP said he won't be silent on wrong things.
Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan is working overtime to ensure the victory of his son Chirag Paswan, who is contesting from the Jamui parliamentary constituency in Bihar.
Members of allies, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Lok Janshakti Party, were left out from the cabinet expansion.
'Does anyone understand India?' 'Does anyone have a larger perspective for India as a whole?' 'Today we have rulers who do not understand the ruled.'
Keeping the government on tenterhooks on key reform measures like the Insurance Bill and Goods and Services Tax, the Congress party on Monday said there is "no blank cheque" on its support on these in Parliament as the "devil lies in the details".
He accused the BJP leadership of having 'vested interests' while stubbornly refusing to learn any lesson from the thumping loss in the Bihar assembly elections.
Stepping up its attack on the government over Income Tax Amendment Bill, a united opposition on Thursday petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee against it, alleging the legislation was hurriedly passed in the Lok Sabha bypassing parliamentary rules and procedures.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered cases against six sitting and former members of Rajya Sabha in connection with the LTC scam in which travel reimbursement was allegedly claimed by them through purportedly forged bills.
Janata Dal-United MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh offered juice to Harivansh to help him break the fast.
Kishor posted a tweet 'thanking' Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for their 'formal and unequivocal' rejection of the NRC. He also reassured the people of Bihar that the CAA and NRC will not be implemented in the state. However, JD-U's ally BJP got rankled by Kishor's move and made contrary claims.
With Lalu Yadav's conviction in the fodder scam case, an alliance between the Congress and Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United should have been easier, but that may not be the case. Lalu and his militant Yadav clan will not make way for the two parties so easily, says Sheela Bhatt.
JD-U leaders contend that R C P Singh may have misled the BJP leadership into believing that Nitish Kumar was ready for a smaller share in power at the Centre.
Vociferous protests by Opposition members led by the Congress continued in the Lok Sabha.
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