The Congress top brass, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi, are meeting in Delhi on Thursday to hold a strategy session in the backdrop of an united Opposition's demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam. The meeting of the Congress Core Group is being held amid a deadlock over the issue in the Winter Session of Parliament, which started last week.
An all-party meeting on Tuesday failed to break the stalemate in Parliament over the demand for a joint parliamentary committee into 2G spectrum scam, leaving no immediate signs for return of normalcy in both Houses that have remained paralysed for four days.
The bandh called by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Telangana Joint Action Committee and several other organisations brought normal life in the region to a grinding halt on Saturday. The bandh was called to protest Friday's firing on pro-Telangana activists who tried to stop the visit of Congress Member of Parliament from Kadapa YS Jaganmohan Reddy to Warangal district. Nearly five hundred pro-Telangana activists were arrested.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee has squarely blamed the finance ministry and the Securities and Exchange Board of India for last year's multi-crore securities scam.
The early tabling of the financial Budget ends a 70-year tradition.
The Shiv Sena has turned down ally Bharatiya Janata Party's offer of a seat in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G Spectrum scam as a multi-national company owned by one of its Rajya Sabha members is allegedly a beneficiary of the contract, sources said.
The Central Election Committee (CEC) said that Blue and White party seemed to be taking a lead over Likud after 91 per cent votes were counted.
Economic reforms seem to be on a slow train, while good old fiscal populism is alive and flourishing.
Communist Party of India - Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat on Sunday stated that the Left parties would not compromise on the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam.The CPI-M leader underlined the urgent need for an alternative economic policy as the people were reeling under scorching prices for the 'wrong policies adopted by the United Progressive Alliance'.
"We want good ties with all neighbours including India and Afghanistan," he told the Senators.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti supremo K Chandrashekhar Rao said that he will go on a hunger strike from February if until then the bill to form a separate Telangana state is not introduced in the Parliament. Rao's decision came at the Joint Action Committee meeting held in Hyderabad on Thursday night, hours after the Srikrishna Commission was made public.
The TMC, fresh from its resounding victory in West Bengal, is renewing efforts to mark its presence in the country's most populous state as well as politically crucial elections before the Lok Sabha battle in 2024, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
Chairman of the committee S S Ahluwalia has sought an extension.
SAD and Paksha have written to the panel headed by S S Ahluwalia that "not an inch" of land should be acquired without the consent of farmers.
Fifty BJP MPs on Tuesday tabled a breach of privilege notice in Lok Sabha against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for announcing outside Parliament his decision to reject setting up of a joint parliamentary committee on the issue of alleged phone tapping.
Pak also suspended all bilateral visits as a mark of protest.
The BMS said that creating workers who do not own their industry and without permanent commitment or relationship with the industry, will be a hazard for industrial growth.
Former RBI governors Urjit Patel and Raghuram Rajan have also expressed worry about the Mudra scheme, particularly government's target-setting practice and the rising bad loans.
"If the Central government does not agree, we will oppose the Bill," party spokesman V K Malhotra said.
Leader of opposition Sonia Gandhi, deputy leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Shivraj Patil, and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Vijay Kumar Malhotra and former minister Shanta Kumar may also be part of the committee.
Terming investment in infrastructure "quintessential" to boost growth, the Economic Survey on Friday said post unlocking of the economy, infra sectors are poised for growth and construction of roads is expected to return to the high pace attained before COVID-19. The infrastructure sector will be the key to overall economic growth and macroeconomic stability, the Survey said emphasising that the year after the crisis (2021-22) will require sustained and calibrated measures to facilitate the process of economic recovery and enable the economy to get back on its long-term growth trajectory. "Basic infrastructure facilities in the country provide the foundation of growth. In the absence of adequate infrastructure, the economy operates at a suboptimal level and remains distant from its potential and frontier growth trajectory.
The Congress expressed its 'whole-hearted' support to the 'Bharat bandh' called by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and announced that it will hold protests that day at all district and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of the farmers. TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the party rank and file would actively participate in the bandh to ensure it was a success.
The Joint Parliament Committee report, tabled in Parliament on Thursday, has indicted former finance secretary Ajit Kumar for failing to resolve in time the redemption problem of the Unit Trust of India.
The Budget session of Parliament was the least productive since the year 2000.
The opposition made it clear during the meeting that it will press for a joint parliamentary committee to probe the Rafale jet deal and raise several issues, including the "misuse" of probe agencies and the autonomy for Reserve Bank of India.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes was pulled up by the Public Accounts Committee for delay in tax recovery from the hosts of the 1996 cricket World Cup.
Ahead of the Parliament session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reached out to parties appealing them not to come in the way of prosperity of farmers, saying the deadlock over the land acquisition bill is seriously impacting rural development.
The Hyderabad Union Cabinet's surprise and sudden move to take up the Telangana note for consideration has inflamed the passions of people in Seemandhra regions and several organisations have called for a 72-hour strike in 13 districts of two regions from Friday.
Following the address by President Ram Nath Kovind, the economic survey will be tabled in the two Houses.
The demand for turning Hyderabad into a UnionTerritory on the lines of Chandigarh and make it the joint capital of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana may be considered by the government.
Gandhi used a purported audio clip to allege that Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is 'blackmailing' Modi.
The BSP extended outside support to the Congress to form governments in these two states as it had failed to reach majority on its own.
The announcement put an end to speculation that Sonia Gandhi may not contest in the upcoming polls due to health reasons and the party's newly appointed general secretary in-charge (East UP) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may be fielded from her constituency.
The monsoon session of Parliament was on Monday adjourned sine die four days ahead of schedule in the shadow of the government-Opposition stand-off on the Indo-US nuclear deal that disrupted proceedings from day one
Rohith's mother and brother raised the demand for enactment of Rohith Act during the ongoing Parliament session to prevent discrimination and institutional atrocities towards Dalits, tribals and marginalised sections at the educational institutions.
Congress insists on sending legislation to select committee, says will support it in winter session.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday approved the biggest tax reform since Independence.
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