Opposition Peoples Democratic Party Sunday said the hanging of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru was a "political decision" as the UPA government wanted to divert attention from burning issues facing the country.
'The whole Kashmiri population is seemed to be a suspect community. This status is not good.'
Lalu's son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, however, sought to downplay the remarks made by his father, in an interview to a local news channel, claiming that the RJD supremo had merely tried to satisfy the curiosity of the prying media.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is not the only one to support Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's 'cricket diplomacy' in inviting Pakistan President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to visit India and watch Wednesday's semi-final game between India and Pakistan at Mohali.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that 'unless a congenial atmosphere was created in the state, well meaning initiatives like the internal dialogue or resumption of Indo-Pak talks will fail to takeoff.'
Parliamentary proceedings were disrupted for the third consecutive day in the Winter Session as opposition parties continued their protests over the Adani issue and violence in Manipur and Sambhal. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned within minutes of convening, despite appeals from the Chair to engage in productive dialogue and refrain from disruption. The opposition members raised slogans demanding action against the perpetrators of violence in Sambhal, and sought discussions on allegations of irregularities against the Adani Group and the violence in Manipur.
The eight states of the north-east account for 25 Lok Sabha seats and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is eying to bag those in the Parliamentary election.
The Assam Police have issued notices to opposition parties 'ordering' them to 'withdraw' the hartal over the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and warned that 'legal action' will be taken against them if they fail to follow the diktat.
The no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against the National Democratic Alliance government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was defeated by voice vote in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Supporters of opposition Peoples Democratic Party member of legislative assembly Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari on Tuesday staged a protest outside the assembly complex and demanded the resignation of Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone for allegedly using abusive language against the legislator.
It was a protest which held a mirror to the government of a state taking pride in its commitment to democracy, gender equality and social indices.One person, who in his employed days had known governments and political parties at close quarters, told me that public perception of how the Kerala government handled the ASHA workers' strike had been terrible, reports Shyam G Menon.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party has expressed grief over the death of Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah, who was fatally attacked by another inmate in the high-security Kotbalwal jail in Jammu last week.
The Congress continued its losing spree on Saturday posting its worst-ever show in Maharashtra and ending up a distant junior partner to the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Jharkhand, further diminishing its role in the opposition bloc as other allies perform better.
If as critics point out, the environmental impact assessment study was commissioned only after the auction process got underway with not all the stakeholders getting to know of it, then the government has already compromised the trust it could have enjoyed with Kerala's public including its coastal communities, points out Shyam G Menon.
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed three bills to replace the colonial-era criminal laws by voice vote.
Opposition parties will hold the next meeting of their 26-member INDIA coalition in Mumbai on August 25 and 26, sources said on Thursday.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday told the state assembly that 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's hanging was not 'selective and political' and that 'the course of action regarding similar cases would determine it'.
Opposition People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti has hailed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision to extend invitations to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani to watch the India-Pakistan semi final of the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup at Mohali on March 30.
An average voter turnout of 20 per cent was recorded in the first four hours of voting in the bypolls to 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand on Wednesday amid an incident of stone pelting in a village in UP's Meerapur and allegations of police personnel deterring voters from casting their ballot.
The Congress has tried to inflict capital punishment on true secularism, he claimed, asserting that the Waqf law has no place in the Constitution.
The reputed Kashmiri Pandit surgeon, Dr Sameer Kaul has extended full medical assistance to the 25-year-old woman who received serious facial burns in an acid attack in summer capital Srinagar on Wednesday.
While the results of the bypolls will not directly impact the composition of the 403-member state Assembly, the contest is being seen as a prestige fight between the BJP and opposition parties.
In the months immediately following the 2024 tragedy, reporting on the landslide per se had been a straightforward affair. On one side was death and destruction. On the other side, survivors and the business of survival. It was black and white. What direction to take was clear. Rehabilitation in comparison, felt like a complex situation. One that is fraught with shades of grey. As grey as human life, explains Shyam G Menon.
Brisk polling was seen for the Wayanad Lok Sabha and the Chelakkara assembly seats in Kerala as they witnessed a turnout of 20.54 and 19.08 per cent, respectively, after the first three hours of voting on Wednesday.
The L-G will take decisions on police, officers of all-India services such as the IAS and the IPS, and giving sanction for prosecution in various cases.
Shigeru Ishiba is expected to prioritise strengthening Japan's military capabilities and fostering deeper international partnerships, particularly with India, with whom Japan shares significant strategic interests, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
In a sharp counter-attack against opposition People's Democratic Party, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday dubbed the party as "utterly irresponsible" and told it bluntly that he was not "going to be caged in" by their "vicious" campaign for his ouster.
Pandemonium hit the Jammu and Kashmir state assembly on Monday again as the speaker disallowed an adjournment motion moved by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party seeking a discussion on the alleged custodial death of a ruling National Conference worker in Srinagar last week.
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly was on Monday adjourned for the day following pandemonium after the speaker rejected an adjournment motion notice moved by Opposition Peoples Democratic Party demanding discussion on the death of a National Conference worker allegedly in police custody.
In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, political parties are extensively using social media to propagate their achievements and seek support from voters.
They said they will raise issues related to rising prices, unemployment, corruption and caste census.
Opposition People's Democratic Party on Thursday said it will boycott the entire summer session of the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly to protest the deteriorating law and order situation in the Valley, in which over 100 people have died and thousands have been injured."We will not attend the rest of the session of the assembly as a mark of protest against the killings and solidarity with the people," PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said in the assembly.
The PMK has now lent its voice to the protests against the mining of atomic minerals in Kanyakumari.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday urged the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh to convene a round table conference to start the dialogue process.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi along with the five other Congress MPs from Uttar Pradesh will visit violence-hit Sambhal on Wednesday, party's state unit chief Ajay Rai said.
Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan on Sunday said the UDF will take part in all the rehabilitation efforts and work towards restoring normalcy in the lives of the survivors.
The Haryana victory will be a morale booster for the Bharatiya Janata Party and increase its bargaining power in the Mahayuti's seat-sharing talks for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, according to political analysts.
Maintaining that it would put up candidates in all six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday ruled out alliance with any party during the upcoming parliamentary polls.
Earlier this week, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi held a series of meetings, including with Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and Janata Dal-United president Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lallan.
"I will not succumb to my critics and enemies and I am damn well going to do my job," a combative J and K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah declared on Friday.