Jagat Prakash Nadda was elected unopposed as the Bharatiya Janata Party national president on Monday after he emerged as the only leader in the fray following the nomination process in which his candidature was endorsed by top party leaders.
Amid a stalemate between the government and the Opposition over the issue, the House failed to transact any significant business and was adjourned for the day.
Government on Friday said it will bring a comprehensive law to criminalise marital rape by amending the IPC and was awaiting the Law Commission report on the issue.
The government has assured parents of the December 16 gang rape victim that the bill which will allow juveniles between 16-18 years to be tried as adults in heinous crime cases will be passed on Tuesday.
"I do not think there is any need for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the expose as demanded by many political parties, Tehelka Managing Editor Tarun Tejpal said.
In Bihar, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad have come a long way from being bitter rivals for over two decades to friends with benefits. Their grand alliance along with the Congress, has won them six of the 10 assembly seats in the by-elections on Monday.
The party office in Lucknow buzzed with activity as enthusiastic Congress workers gathered outside the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee building, even before she returned from an overnight stay in Jaipur.
The imapsse continues over issues like bank scams and special status demand for Andhra Pradesh.
Government officers who are by now used to take various pledges like Sadbhavna pledge, Anti-terrorism pledge, Swachh Bharat pledge and Ekta pledge, now will be required to do one more on November 26 every year, beginning this month.
As many as 20 Union ministers are expected to visit different parts of Gujarat between May 27 and June 12 to participate in the 'Vikas Parv' (development festival) organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party's state unit.
Keen to scrap the collegium system, government on Monday introduced a Constitution Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha to establish a six-member body for appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the high courts.
Tanveer Jafri -- son of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the massacre -- speaks to Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf on how the carnage was a conspiracy against the community and their continuous fight for justice.
The current episode may well chart a different course and go for a long haul given the highly acerbic and bitter relations between the Narendra Modi government and the Opposition.
K T Rama Rao, leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, the party which has been at the forefront of the fight for a separate state of Telangana, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa that they will ensure that the contentious bill is passed in Parliament at any cost.
The list has been sent to Governor Ram Naik for approval.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated a memorial in London dedicated to Dr B R Ambedkar over two months after India acquired the bungalow where the Dalit icon and architect of India's Constitution lived as a student in the 1920s.
Rajya Sabha also rejected an opposition sponsored motions to send the bill to a select committee of the House and for making triple talaq a civil offence with 100 votes against it as compared to 84 in favour.
However, the SC granted liberty to the Gujarat Congress to file 'election petition' after conclusion of polls.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia had raised the issue of a recent statement by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who had said in London recently that Congress, as a party, was never involved in the carnage.
Earlier on July 30, Khan, 65, had expressed his desire to take the oath of prime minister on August 11, as his party announced that it had acquired enough seats in the lower house through coalition talks to form a majority government.
The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of the Election Commission on a plea seeking stoppage of ward-wise counting of votes on the ground that the declaration of result of every polling booth strikes at the root of right to privacy attached to voting.
The verdict could impact a range of life choices of Indians, including food habits and sexual orientation.
'It has to be ensured adequately that marital rape does not become a phenomenon which may destabilise the institution of marriage apart from being an easy tool for harassing the husbands,' the affidavit, filed through central government standing counsel Monika Arora, said.
Arun Jaitley, who is recovering from a kidney ailment, attended the proceedings after a long gap.
Banerjee feels that as long as Sonia Gandhi is the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party, she should be the undisputed leader of a united front of opposition parties, reports R Rajagopalan.
'India, which climbed the escalation ladder first, has climbed down.'
'It remains unclear what Indian objectives have been realised in precipitating the crisis in the first instance last Tuesday,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The time has come to substitute the present Constitutional set-up with an alternative democratic framework,' argues B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Ending suspense, the Bharatiya Janata Party has picked actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani to take on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.
The NGT has asked the Centre to respond to the plea of an environment enthusiast alleging that large-scale burning of municipal solid waste in Agra was turning the Taj Mahal yellow.
Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva will be sworn-in as Governor of Goa on Saturday after predecessor B V Wanchoo resigned last week. Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, Mohit Shantilal Shah will administer the oath of office to the Governor at Durbar hall of the Raj Bhavan at 6 pm on Saturday, according to a statement issued by the state government.
"Here is an opportunity to look at it from a different perspective. It is an out of the box situation. It maybe a first of its kind situation.
The PM alleged that a 'PC' (percentage commission) culture has become the state government's identity.
Despite the Congress having nearly four times as many members in the Rajya Sabha as the TMC (48 to 13), Derek O'Brien has been informally leading the coordination of Opposition parties, rallying other parties to demand a discussion on electoral reforms and to protest the government's disinvestment plans, report Rahul Jacob and Archis Mohan.
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The implementation of the much-hyped Aadhaar Card scheme is in trouble following the Supreme Court's interim order on Monday, which observed that the card can be issued only to Indian nationals and the identification number cannot be made mandatory for availing of benefits of the government's subsidy schemes.
Known for his witty one-liners, Naidu said "after all, the culture of India is agriculture."
Higher education policy may be at the core of the Tamil Nadu assembly polls next May, with a potential to break the ties between the ruling AIADMK in the state and the BJP counterpart at the national level, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
A bill to amend a law on the appointment of Central Bureau of Investigation chief was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday amid stiff resistance with the Congress alleging that it was aimed at keeping the largest opposition party out of the selection process, a charge denied by the government.
In a surprising move, the Rashtriya Janata Dal announced it would support the new Janata Dal-United government in Bihar headed by Jitan Ram Manjhi.
Social Justice Minister Thaavarchand Gehlot sought to allay doubts raised by several opposition members about the legislation's fate if challenged in the Supreme Court, saying he can say with confidence that the apex court will accept it.
V P Duraisamy's exit will in no way upset the poll scene in western Tamil Nadu, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
