Opposition members, including from the Congress and the TMC, started raising slogans and showing placards to attack the government on the snooping issue as soon as the House met for the day at 11 am.
The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as single largest party with about 90 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the face of the ruling alliance through the poll battle in the highly sensitive political state.
The former Bihar minister, who lost the election from Mahua assembly seat, voiced his sentiments in support of his sister Rohini Acharya in a post on his X handle, blaming the crisis on 'Jaichand', a metaphor for traitors.
From 1952 to 1967, each of the three Lok Sabhas sat for an average of 600 days and more than 3,700 hours. In comparison, the 15th Lok Sabha -- from 2009 till 2013 -- has met for just 345 days and 1,331 hours, says Shreya Singh
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of rigging the Maharashtra assembly elections and expressed concerns about similar tactics being used in the upcoming Bihar polls. He alleged that the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar is an attempt to manipulate the election process.
Amid the political push and pull, the Centre's decision to allow sugar exports and remove the 50 per cent duty on molasses exports has rekindled hope in the industry that more relief may follow.
Sources said a couple of resolutions are expected to be passed at the crucial meeting, with an eye on the upcoming Bihar polls.
Uttar Pradesh deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Friday after taking the oath of the office said that Bharatiya Janata Party is targeting to win more than 75 seats out 80 from Uttar Pradesh in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The power tussle within the ruling party has intensified, amid speculation about chief minister change in the state, after the Congress government reached the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20, citing an alleged "power-sharing" agreement involving CM Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar in 2023.
In 2019, an all-party meeting was held in Delhi and it was attended by 19 political parties to discuss critical reforms in governance. One of the subjects of the discussions was simultaneous elections
"One party has held a meeting to hold the election in advance, though my information may not be correct," Mamata Banerjee told a meeting of Trinamool Congress without naming the party.
The INDIA bloc has released its manifesto for the Bihar assembly polls, promising jobs, restoration of the old pension scheme, and free power, among other things.
The Congress party has launched a web portal where people can register to demand accountability from the Election Commission over alleged vote rigging, following Rahul Gandhi's claims of 'vote chori'.
After the setback in the Lok Sabha election, the ruling Congress on Friday recorded a big win in the bypoll to three assembly seats in Uttarakhand retaining Dharchula seat which went to Chief Minister Harish Rawat and wresting Doiwala and Someshwar seats from Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Supreme Court of India has asked petitioners in two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) to make representations to the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding their demand for uploading polling booth-wise voter turnout data on the ECI website. The PILs, filed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra and NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, seek a direction for the ECI to upload the data within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling in Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The ECI, represented by senior advocate Maninder Singh, expressed willingness to deliberate on the matter and suggested a meeting with the petitioners to address their concerns. The court has adjourned the hearing to the week of July 28.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) distanced itself from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Friday, saying it is not part of the opposition alliance anymore and questioning the Congress party's role in leading it.
Both TRS and BJP are contesting on the separate statehood plank while the Congress is banking on development of the region and TDP has expressed its support for "Samaikya" (United) Andhra Pradesh.
The debate between the Congress and its ally Nationalist Congress Party on seat-sharing in Maharashtra for the Lok Sabha elections has taken a new turn. The NCP has told the Congress to go ahead on its own if it was sure of winning all the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, IT expert Nandan Nilekani and cricketer Mohd Kaif are among 194 candidates as Congress tonight released the first list of its nominees for Lok Sabha polls that contains several new and young faces.
Speaking at the Diwali Mangal Milan programme organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi said that it appears that there is a halt in debate on some issues, and if media plays its role in carrying forward the debate, it will be good.
The Congress has appointed Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi as the new president of its Assam unit, replacing Bupen Kumar Borah, ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. The party also appointed three new working presidents - Jakir Hussain Sikdar, Roselina Tirkey and Pradip Sarkar - to its Assam unit. Gogoi, the son of former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, is currently the deputy leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha. The party is going all-out in its bid to wrest power from the BJP after losing two consecutive state polls.
The Exit polls for the Lok Sabha 2024 elections were way off the mark this time with the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc whose rout they had predicted touching nearly 230 seats on the counting day with good showing in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh as per the current trends.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state government would recommend a CBI inquiry if the SIT probe into singer Zubeen Garg's death in Singapore is found to be unsatisfactory.
'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'
With nominations for the first phase of Bihar elections closing soon, the INDIA bloc is struggling to finalize seat sharing, while the NDA has announced its candidates. Key political figures are actively campaigning.
In a move signalling his larger role in the party, Rahul Gandhi was on Thursday made the head of the Congress coordination committee for 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Replying to the debate in Lok Sabha on Motion of Thanks to President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the Parliament, Modi said the Congress' 'arrogance' has not gone away despite multiple electoral defeats and its 'misdeeds' seem to indicate that it has made up its mind not to come to power for the next 100 years.
While it is evident that the INDIA bloc has not shut its doors on Nitish Kumar, those within the NDA are hopeful that the JD-U's support base would benefit them as well
The Election Commission has asked Rahul Gandhi to share details of wrongful entries and omissions in voters' list. Gandhi hit back, asserting he has already taken oath in Parliament to uphold the Constitution.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday evening released its first list of 54 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.
The Monsoon Session of the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday after 19 sittings that saw the passage of 14 legislation while Rajya Sabha came to an end after passing nine bills.
The House passed by voice vote the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2019, to replace an ordinance issued by previous government, extending President's Rule in Jammu and Kashmir, amidst opposition from the Congress and some other parties.
Like Uttar Pradesh, the Aam Aadmi Party has decided to contest all the 40 Lok Sabha seats from Bihar in next general elections.
The O Panneerselvam-led AIADMK Cadres Rights Retrieval Committee has withdrawn from the BJP-led NDA coalition, a year after joining. The move follows meetings between Panneerselvam and DMK Chief Minister M K Stalin, fueling speculation about future alliances.
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya on Sunday charged cohorts of her brother Tejashwi Yadav with accusing her of donating a 'bad' kidney to her father, 'in exchange for crores of rupees and a party ticket'.
"If you are so bent on giving suggestions, you should elect a new Speaker," an angry Speaker Sumitra Mahajan remarked on Friday as she pulled up Jyotiraditya Scindia and Pappu Yadav for causing repeated disruptions and unruly scenes in the Lok Sabha, including tearing of papers.
With the Monsoon Session of Parliament set to begin on April 8, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has been nominated as the leader of the house in the Lok Sabha. He comes in place of President Pranab Mukherjee, who resigned when he contested the presidential election.
The swearing in of the new members will begin on Thursday and continue on Friday, when the Lok Sabha speaker will be elected. Rediff.com contributor Renu Mittal reports
Most Shiv Sena ministers in Maharashtra's BJP-led government were absent from a cabinet meeting, signaling tensions over defections between the parties. Only Deputy CM Eknath Shinde attended. Sena ministers later met with the Chief Minister to express their displeasure.
'There was a 77 per cent chance that electorates in India voted for the same party for both the state and Centre when elections were held simultaneously.'