According to DMK, the voters are already consolidated on ideological lines, hence the impact of anti-incumbency, whether against the BJP Centre or the DMK state may not be too much, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Upper House was earlier adjourned twice in the afternoon session when it took up the discussion on the Budget after Prime Minister Narendra Modi finished his speech on the motion of thanks on the President's address and the motion was passed.
'The finance minister has told the BJP's core voters we are hearing you and we are sensitive to your aspirations.'
When Nirmala Sitharaman announced her new privatisation policy, there were serious doubts if the move had the BJP's full political backing. All those doubts were dispelled when her initiatives were endorsed by Modi in Parliament, observes A K Bhattacharya.
He asked to focus on the 'vocal for local' mantra during the 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said the country needs 1,000 vehicle scrapping centres and 400 automated fitness test centres. Launching 'DigiELV', Gadkari said the road ministry has so far approved 85 vehicle scrapping facilities across the country. "We need 1,000 vehicle scrapping centres in the country and at least 400 automated fitness test centres," he said.
Raising slogans, members of the BRS, Left parties and some members of the Congress walked out of Lok Sabha in protest as the prime minister was speaking.
'Part A of the Budget was like it was written by somebody from the 21st century and Part B was written by somebody from the 19th century.'
Whether this remains under control in the coming months will depend on the future intensity and spread of the Russia-Ukraine war, and the effectiveness of the Indian government's response, points out A K Bhattacharya.
As India emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, the ninth budget under the Modi government, including an interim one, is widely expected to focus on boosting spending on job creation and rural development, generous allocations for development schemes, putting more money in the hands of the average taxpayer and easing rules to attract foreign investments.
Given the many policy areas where the Centre and the states have not been seeing eye to eye in the last few years, it is time the Modi government convenes a meeting of the Inter-State Council, recommends A K Bhattacharya.
Amid a war between Russia and Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India's several needs are connected to the involved countries but it is on the side of peace and hopes that all problems get resolved through dialogue.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday made a veiled attack on Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal, telling them "neither populism nor individualism" is an alternative way of governance and expressed confidence that people will entrust responsibility to a "hand" that works for equity.
When there is a state government committed to development, it is important that Mumbai has a civic body that, too, shares that goal, Modi said.
This is the first time that the House is meeting after the BJP's overwhelming victory in the recent series of assembly elections held in February-March.
While Modi had a party and an organisation that supported him, all Mulayam, a self-made man with no inheritance in politics, had was a set of (fairly flexible) beliefs.
'Rahul Gandhi should have prevented Nitish Kumar from going.' 'He must pacify Mamata Banerjee if he has a cause of Mohabbat Ki Dukaan.' 'He should bring this Mohabbat Ki Dukaan on the political canvas.'
'The people of Tamil Nadu in particular Chennai know about the double standards of the BJP. Nothing will work for them here.'
Like the winter session of the Parliament, the budget session has also begun on a stormy note.
It is unfair to expect Mr Jaitley to perform miracles with the Centre's straitened finances.
'My protest was in the interest of the nation.' 'I am just doing my duty as a citizen of this country.'
Modi launched the membership drive of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party from his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi on Saturday, noting that it will further connect people from all walks of life with the saffron party.
Thank you, Mr Prime Minister, for bringing colour to our colourless, drab, despair-ridden lives.
Blame the voter, who invariably chooses the promise of hand-outs today in preference to a vague promise of, say, better schools tomorrow. Getting the Supreme Court to issue an edict, or Parliament to pass a law, is no solution, observes T N Ninan.
When a strong executive decides it wants something, even something that is dangerous and unconstitutional, there is little resistance from within to stop it, notes Aakar Patel.
The deputy leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Capt Amrinder Singh, said the budget was "not pro-poor".
'ISRO Chairman Dr. Somanath's leadership truly created history and we extend our hearty congratulations to him and his team,' Venugopal said on X, formerly Twitter.
Some members held placards of news reports about unemployment figures.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday mooted the idea of "One Nation, One Uniform" for the police, saying it is just a suggestion for consideration and he is not trying to impose it on the states.
Among the handful of countries with large defence budgets and armed forces, India is matched only by Saudi Arabia in the level of its import dependence. For revenge to be served cold, go beyond import bans and correct these long-term failures -- if we're up to it, notes T N Ninan.
Sacked Rajasthan minister Rajendra Gudha had claimed that the red diary which he had secured from the residence of Congress leader Dharmendra Rathore during an income tax raid in July 2020 on the directions of the chief minister had details of Gehlot's financial transactions.
'That Modi and the BJP can continue to treat the rising and expanding middle class this way shows that they have gamed its mind quite perfectly,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
Modi's critics will say that he has put up cement and steel structures, but weakened the institutions of governance whereas Nehru strengthened them, observes T N Ninan.
After Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented his fifth straight budget in the Lok Sabha, Bharatiya Janata Party members and ministers from the Cabinet reacted positively to the Budget. Here are some of the reactions.
"There is enough time, and required mandatory time for the circulation of agenda will be followed", the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said.
India's sportsperson could not perform well in the past due to nepotism and corruption but his government cleaned up the system, he said.
'But can it afford to present a scenario within the existing legal framework of fiscal consolidation?', asks A K Bhattacharya.
Modi said that he wanted a vast and qualitative discussion on financial issues in both the houses.
Last year, Sitharaman had ditched the long-standing tradition of carrying budget documents in a leather briefcase and went swadeshi with a 'bahi-khata'.
In her first address to a joint sitting of the two Houses in the new Parliament building in which she touched on varied issues ranging from insurgency to inflation, Murmu said a country can progress at a fast pace only when it defeats the challenges of the past and puts maximum energy into building the future.
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