Archis Mohan decodes Bharatiya Janata Party's pre-presidential poll manoeuvres.
There has been a national outcry seeking harsher laws for rapists in India. As the outrage grows against the heinous incident of gangrape in Delhi and Parliament discusses the issue, Vicky Nanjappa takes a look at the background of our lawmakers (members of Parliament and members of Legislative Assembly) with respect to rape cases and other crimes against women based on their self-sworn affidavits.
The list, which was released by Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, also included former AAP MLA Kapil Mishra and has 11 SC and four woman candidates.
Incumbents Pushkar Singh Dhami and Pramod Sawant are the clear favourites but face some opposition
Telangana Congress group, comprising of 52 Members of Legislative Assembly and 11 Members of Parliament and other elected representatives, appear to be a divided house on the eve of their visit to New Delhi on Tuesday to meet the party high command on the issue of formation of Telangana state.
The Commission said it cannot, under the existing law, disqualify a contesting candidate or prevent him from contesting the election, nor can it prevent an elector from casting his vote in an election, if otherwise qualified and eligible, as is being demanded by some of the parties.
Governor S C Jamir administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sequeira at Raj Bhavan in the presence of Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and others.
Days after Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar joined the Maharashtra government, the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday claimed that only alleged economic offenders Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya were left to be inducted into the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"Murderous attack on AAP MLA, Kartar Singh Tanwar. Chhatarpur. Driver is injured. Attackers were carrying pistol. Kartar is safe," senior party leader Ashutosh tweeted.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which emerged as the single largest party in Delhi assembly polls but fell short of a majority, on Thursday declined to form a government, strengthening the likelihood of fresh election in the national capital.
As the tables turned on the Congress in the Delhi polls, several heavyweights including three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit, four-time member of Legislative Assembly A K Walia and senior Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijender Gupta failed to save their seats.
Shortly after reaching the national capital, Naveen Patnaik held deliberations with party MPs Baijayant Panda and Pinaki Mishra and said he would also consult his party members after reaching Bhubaneswar in the evening. "I will certainly see what has to be done," he said
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai who is under pressure to expand or rejig his cabinet at the earliest, ahead of the assembly polls next year, on Friday said he would try to discuss in this regard with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is scheduled to visit Bengaluru on May 3.
By keeping the Sanatana Dharma row alive and adding the Ayodhya temple consecration scheduled for January 22 and adding the free darshan promise from four polled states to the entire country, the BJP may have a self-fulfilling concoction, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Addressing a poll rally at bypoll-bound Munugode Rao segment, Rao referred to the TRS MLAs case and said 'brokers' from Delhi came and attempted to bribe the MLAs by offering Rs 100 crore each.
Breaking with past practice, the Congress on Thursday released its first list of 24 candidates for the Delhi assembly polls repeating all its eight members of Legislative Assembly and 12 others who were runner-ups in the 2013 assembly election in which the party had suffered a setback.
In the video, Nath was talking to Raghuvanshi's supporters when he made the remarks about former CM Digvijaya Singh and his son.
After a spirited eight-hour debate in which 60 members participated, the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, with 454 members voting in favour and two against it.
The Election Commission on Tuesday ordered the delisting of another 86 'non-existent' registered unrecognised political parties, raising the number of such organisations red flagged by the poll panel for failing to comply with electoral rules to 537.
Rediff.com's Priyanka narrates the different moods at the Bharatiya Janta Party's headquarters in New Delhi on election verdict day.
With this, the Cabinet will reach its full strength of 34.
At least a dozen AAP MLAs have gone incommunicado ahead of a crucial meeting convened by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at his residence on Thursday to discuss alleged poaching attempts by the BJP, sources in the party said.
Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil on Friday said in the legislative assembly that records did not show that terror suspect Syed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, arrested last month in Delhi, had stayed in the MLA hostel rooms of state Minister Fauzia Khan in 2006.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress not coming forward with the name of a candidate for the post of Delhi assembly speaker, the Aam Aadmi Party is considering the names of its legislators for the post.
Top state leaders--Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Congress' Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar and Janata Dal-Secular leader HD Kumaraswamy are contesting from different seats.
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Saturday sought to defend the joint opposition by the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party to introduction of Janlokpal Bill in Delhi Assembly and accused Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal of violating his oath of the chief minister's office.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers on Monday amid a heightened buzz about the likelihood of a Cabinet reshuffle following a series of meetings of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's top brass.
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said on Saturday that the responsibility for the Bharatiya Janata Party's debacle in the general elections has to be fixed from the top.Raje refused to step down as Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan assembly on the directive of the party high command and made it clear that she alone couldn't be blamed for the party's poor performance in the state.The BJP central leadership holds Raje responsible.
Suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist Shahzad has reportedly named at least three politicians, including a former member of the Legislative Assembly from Azamgarh, claiming they helped him flee from Delhi after the Batla House shootout two years ago, police sources said in New Delhi on Frday.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yedyurappa got into the damage control mode on Saturday as he sent an emissary to New Delhi to pacify the 11 rebel Bharatiya Janata Party members of Legislative Assembly. The 11 rebel MLAs who got relief from the Supreme Court on Friday have demanded a change in the leadership, but have assured to stay loyal to the party.
'If we do this, we will see that the true history of India will be established and the lies will end spontaneously'
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday conducted a lie-detection test on Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Legislative Assembly from Bhopal Dhruv Narayan Singh in connection with the murder of RTI activist Shehla Masood. Singh underwent the test for several hours on Saturday at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Delhi as the previous attempt of the CBI to carry out a polygraph test on him remained inconclusive on March 19, sources in the probe agency said.
The probe in the Shehla Masood murder case intensified on Wednesday with Dhruv Narayan Singh, a Bharatiya Janata Party member of Legislative Assembly from Madhya Pradesh, being subjected to a lie-detection test after which he refuted allegations of his involvement in the killing.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday directed Telangana Congress members of legislative assembly and Parliament to withdraw their resignations, paving way for United Progressive Alliance to come out with a package for Telangana.
All 27 MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party will meet President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday with a request to dissolve the Delhi assembly, AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal said.
Both the BJP and Congress understand that coalitions and alliances are not just about numbers, but have symbolic value.
The government on Tuesday introduced a constitutional amendment bill reserving 33 per cent seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, reviving a proposal pending for years and blending history, politics and societal imperatives on the first day in the new Parliament building.
Patel's name was declared as the leader of the legislative party unanimously at the meeting held at the party's state headquarters 'Kamalam'.
In switching over, Nitish has sent out a message that if he could not now become the NDA's PM, then he would need to stay on as CM at the very least, which a third term for Modi would not let him have, N Sathiya Moorthy points out.
"If Congress fails to fulfill the promise made to the Jammu constituency on change of power and install a Jammu chief minister, we will face rout in next assembly elections," the MLAs said.