With members of his team facing several controversies, Anna Hazare on Monday said he plans to restructure his core committee to also give representation to religious minorities, tribals, Dalits and youths to strengthen the campaign against corruption. Hazare also hit out at the United Progressive Alliance government for targeting key members of his team, alleging that those who are threatened by the Lokpal movement are attacking his supporters.
With Trinamool Congress walking out of the United Progressive Alliance, a reshuffle-cum-expansion of the Union Council of Ministers is likely to be effected this week.
Renewing her demand that Sri Lankan airmen should not be trained anywhere in India, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday lambasted her arch rival and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M Karunanidhi for not "exerting pressure" on the Centre on the issue despite being a key ally of the United Progressive Alliance.
With the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam pulling out of the United Progressive Alliance, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said the party is ready for the general elections as the continuation of the central government is not in the interest of the country.
Mounting pressure on the Centre on its demand to punish 'war criminals' in Sri Lanka, United Progressive Alliance key ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has threatened to pull out its ministers from the Union Cabinet if its demand to bring in amendments to the US-backed resolution at UNHRC in Geneva was not conceded.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has no qualms in mixing economics with politics, which is evident from her reaction to the railway budget, says Renu Mittal.
Arun Jaitley, leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the Bharatiya Janata Party's strategist, is getting ready to take on the United Progressive Alliance in the coming Budget session of Parliament. Jaitley's legal background and his envious reach in New Delhi's media is a potent combination helping his party to push its political agenda. He spoke exclusively to Sheela Bhatt on the Uttar Pradesh election.
In the pre-budget measure, the government has announced an across-the-board increase in rail passenger fares with effect from January 21 to net an additional Rs 6,600 crore (Rs 66 billion) a year, the first such increase in a decade.
Taking strong exception to the central government's decision to return the proposal for division of the state into four parts, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Tuesday flayed the United Progressive Alliance regime for what she termed as "total apathy" towards the issue.
Claiming that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi are not on the same page, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said government has to be large-hearted and not act as "big brother" for creating a political consensus, which is key to economic reforms.
This is the second time in a month that Minister of State in PMO Narayanasamy has met the DMK patriarch, whose party is the largest ally of Congress with 18 Lok Sabha members after the exit of Mamata Banerjee-led TMC.
Trinamool Congress, a key constituent of the United Progressive Alliance, on Thursday opposed the hike in diesel prices, saying it was not consulted about the step and demanded its rollback. "We were not consulted for this and we are unhappy with the decision to hike diesel prices," said Railway Minister Mukul Roy.
In surprising comments, Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday said his Samajwadi Party, a key outside supporter of the United Progressive Alliance government, is in the "opposition" and will fulfill its role in that capacity.
The United Progressive Alliance will face the monsoon session of Parliament, which begins on Wednesday, on a high, having proved that when it comes to numbers it can beat its opponents hollow.
The beginning of the month-long session will coincide with the vice presidential election, in which the victory of United Progressive Alliance-Left nominee Hamid Ansari appears to be certain.
Trinamool Congress has named Derek O'Brien as its chief whip in the Rajya Sabha. The party, which is a key constituent of the United Progressive Alliance government, has sent a communication in this regard to the Rajya Sabha secretariat, sources said in New Delhi on Thursday.
Nearly three years ago, Pratibha Patil became the first woman governor of Rajasthan and, after her selection as United Progressive Alliance nominee for the post of President, she could break the male dominance at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The move to open multi-brand retail to foreign direct investment may run into rough weather, with key Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states, as well as some constituent parties of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, rejecting or being ambivalent towards the proposed policy.
Dravida Munettra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Tuesday refused to rate the three year performance of the United Progressive Alliance-II government, saying there are "ups and downs" for every government.
Upset over the naming of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi in the 2G scam charge sheet, United Progressive Alliance's key ally Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam on Monday decided to convene a high-level committee meeting on Wednesday to plan its future course of action.
In a big organisational rejig, the BJP named Union minister G Kishan Reddy, Sunil Jakhar and Babulal Marandi as party presidents in Telangana, Punjab and Jharkhand respectively.
Scheduled meetings of various Groups of Ministers have been postponed for the foreseeable future as key ministers in the United Progressive Alliance government turn their attention to political assignments for the Assembly polls in six states.
Public-sector oil retailers are projected to lose Rs 45,571 crore on selling petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene below cost.
Slowly, Rahul Gandhi is becoming more pro-active and taking a great deal of interest in matters of governance and key programmes of the United Progressive Alliance government. On Thursday, Rahul called on Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee at his residence (the first time he paid such a visit) with a Budget wish-list.
Sources said both Mukherjee and Deora were in favour of Rs 2-3 a litre hike in petrol and diesel prices and Rs 25 per cylinder increase in LPG rates.
Hailing the Supreme Court verdict in 2G case, L K Advani on Wednesday wondered if former telecom minister A Raja could be the sole "villain" and said no one can beat the United Progressive Alliance government, which is "actually run" by Sonia Gandhi, in its "stinking record" in scams.
Inaugurating the Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas celebrations here, he pointed out that infrastructure, agriculture, health and education were the key priorities for the second term of the United Progressive Alliance government.
For the first time, the Government of India has launched an interactive website to seek feedback and suggestion on various issues that would contribute to the approach paper of the twelfth Plan (2012-17). Views on the Plan can also be expressed through a Facebook page.
United Progressive Alliance key ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday strongly pitched for a multi-member Comptroller and Auditor General, saying the recent flopped auction of 2G spectrum that netted only about Rs 9,000 crore had proved wrong the top auditors' report pegging the presumptive loss in 2G allocation at Rs 1.76 lakh crore.
Karunanidhi, a key ally of the United Progressive Alliance, was busy attending a book release function by his close friend and renowned poet Vairamuthu.
'I left the party with heavy heart. If a party is working against national interest, there there is no other option but to leave it'
In a significant move, the Centre on Wednesday announced that caste enumeration will be part of the next population census, with the inclusion of caste details for the first time since independence hailed by the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies as a historic step to help design truly equitable and focused policies.
Senior lawyer and Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan was attacked by three youths on Wednesday at around 4.15 pm when he was getting ready for an interview with a TV channel. Bhushan is fighting scores of cases against the United Progressive Alliance, and also the petitioner of the case related to 2G scam.
A day after the Trinamool Congress, a key ally of the United Progressive Alliance, hinted at going alone in 2014 Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, a Congress MP on Tuesday said it was impossible for the Mamata Banerjee-led party to win all 42 seats without its support in the state.
The others who will be joining the commission as members are Narendra Jadhav, honorary vice-chancellor of Pune University and Mihir Shah, secretary of Samaj Pragati Sahayog. The government has also retained Abhijit Sen, Syeda Hameed and B K Chaturvedi as members in the reconstituted commission, sources in the Prime Minister's Office said.
In 1999, Sharad Pawar, along with P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar were expelled from Congress. The same year, Pawar founded the NCP.
The new United Progressive Alliance government will prepare an approach paper to address the key issues of the economy against the backdrop of the global economic slowdown.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision to go ahead with the scheduled Indo-Pak meeting after the blast at Pune's German Bakery that has so far claimed 10 lives, is not an easy one for him, with two key ministers of his government opposing the move.
