Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said that there was no case for National Democratic Alliance's call to boycott Home Minister P Chidambaram in Parliament and hoped that the opposition political parties would desist from any such temptation.
An escalation in confrontation looms large over the winter session of Parliament beginning on Tuesday with the National Democratic Alliance deciding to target Home Minister P Chidambaram on the 2G issue and boycott him. The Opposition also plans to rake up a spate of issues including price rise and black money.
The Rajya Sabha chairman asked him to authenticate his assertions and refused to accept newspaper clippings that the Congress leader showed to buttress his points.
The first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee under Mallikarjun Kharge's presidency will be held in Hyderabad on Saturday during which the party's top brass will deliberate on evolving a strategy for upcoming assembly polls in five states and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Veteran Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Awadh Bihari Chaudhary was on Friday unanimously elected as speaker of the Bihar legislative assembly.
Opposition National Democratic Alliance refused to participate in the process alleging that the officiating speaker has no power to conduct the trust vote.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday gave further indication of a climb down from its stand on the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying the government was yet to respond to the National Democratic Alliance offer of resolving deadlock in Parliament if the controversial coal block allocations were cancelled and a judicial probe ordered.
Leader of opposition L K Advani on Tuesday led a delegation of 146 members of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and met President Pratibha Devisingh Patil to intervene in the row triggered by the joint-statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani at Sharm-el Sheikh, Egypt -- wherein the issue of Baluchsitan was mentioned for the first time.
Opposition National Democratic Alliance on Friday expressed concern in Parliament over reported threats to Sikhs from militants to convert to Islam or vacate Kashmir, prompting government to give an assurance that nobody would be allowed to harm the minority community.
The Opposition said Lok Sabha could function only if Sonia and Natwar resigned.
Amid some Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) constituents switching sides to the National Democratic Alliance, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Sunday said the opposition alliance is 'strong' and the Bharatiya Janata Party is attempting a 'frantic rejig' of the political landscape as it is worried over the collective strength of the coalition.
The much-debated Lokpal Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday amid objections from the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies of the National Democratic Alliance over the exclusion of the prime minister from the purview of the proposed legislation.
The government must be complimented for finally showing some determination in biting the bullet on petroleum prices. It must now stand its ground and ride the wave of political protests that are bound to be staged by an Opposition waiting to return to relevance.
A formal decision would be made on the Chief Ministerial candidate of the NDA once the Election Commission issues the notification for the assembly elections, expected in April-May, he said, adding the strategy was part of the ongoing exercise to strengthen the BJP in the state.
National Democratic Alliance Working Chairman L K Advani on Friday conveyed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh his concern over illegal Bangladeshi migrants getting enumerated in the ongoing Census.
Notwithstanding the clear edge for Pranab Mukherjee in the Presidential race, the opposition National Democratic Alliance on Saturday appeared keen on ensuring a contest even if it means supporting P A Sangma in a bid to gain new allies ahead of 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi also called up Kumar to say thanks.
This is the first meeting chaired by Gandhi after relinquishing the post of Congress president last year.
West Bengal: Congress to field candidates in all 294 constituencies
Leader of the opposition L K Advani, NDA convener George Fernandes and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Arun Jaitley and V K Malhotra will be among the alliance leaders calling on the President.
Says rules will be implemented strictly next time
The manner in which various issues are being handled is extremely worrisome and a matter of grave concern, Leader of the Opposition and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh said in the Rajya Sabha, Jaswant Singh said.
She also holds the distinction of delivering the longest budget speech at two hours and forty minutes in 2020.
Congress president warns against the divisive agenda of the NDA at the Aligarh Muslim University
BJP MPs refused to allow the house to function till the railway minister apprised them of the accident.
The accident occurred at 3.45 AM near Barabamboo, around 80 km from Jamshedpur, under the Chakradharpur Division of the South Eastern Railway (SER), they said.
Speaking at the all-party meeting called by the government, Modi said, "People have great expectations and that is why Parliament should function and be productive."
Senior NDA leaders held a press conference on Tuesday to present the report of a task force appointed by BJP to look into the issue of Indian black money stashed abroad and ways of dealing with the issue.
"My aim is to make Maharashtra the world's big financial powerhouse and to make Mumbai a global fintech capital," he said.
In a letter to Chatterjee, Vajpayee endorsed the NDA's plans not to attend Lok Sabha for a day as a mark of protest against the speaker.
The govt and the opposition are set for a showdown in Parliament's monsoon session.
'We want the prime minister to express public regrets over his attitude,' BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said.
The political row had erupted after the National Democratic Alliance government inked the Rs 59,000-crore deal on September 23, 2016 to procure 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation after a nearly seven-year exercise to procure 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft for the Indian Air Force did not fructify during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime.
He has served as a minister in all the previous National Democratic Alliance governments in Bihar. He was the minister for the road construction department in the last government.
The opposition National Democratic Alliance, of which the TDP is a part, has decided to continue its boycott of Parliament through the entire budget session.
Ahead of its rally in Delhi on Wednesday against corruption, the National Democratic Alliance on Tuesday remained firm on its demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam and asked the government to give up its 'adamant' stand on it as the parliamentary accounts committee has 'limited powers'.NDA convener Sharad Yadav also downplayed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's offer to appear before the PAC.
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh launched a sharp attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party, likening their "hatred" towards Muslims to that of the Nazis towards the Jews and claiming that the "roots of terrorism" in India lie in BJP leader L K Advani's 1990 Rath Yatra.
