Opposition parties are demanding a full Parliament discussion on the West Asia conflict, criticising the government's silence and calling for a contingency plan to protect India's energy security and citizens.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra's reference to the death of judge B H Loya 'long before his time' created uproar in Lok Sabha on Friday as Union minister Kiren Rijiju accused her of raising a matter settled by the Supreme Court, and warned of 'appropriate parliamentary action'.
The unusual timing of the session has left everyone wondering, even though the main standout feature on the listed agenda is a special discussion on Parliament's journey of 75 years starting from the "Samvidhan Sabha" (Constituent Assembly).
A recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours
Avtar Singh Khalsa, a longtime leader of the Sikh community who had planned to run in the parliamentary elections set for October, was killed in the attack.
With just eight days left for the winter session, Jaitley and Parliamentary Affairs Minster M Venkaiah Naidu held consultations with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Deputy Leader Anand Sharma.
Noisy protests by the members of the Congress and other opposition parties seeking an apology from the prime minister continued unabated throughout the day since the proceedings began.
As indications emerge that Centre could withdraw the controversial ordinance on lawmakers, Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress on Wednesday engaged in a slugfest over the issue with the Opposition claiming victory and the ruling party accusing it of changing tunes.
Interestingly, the choice of August 5 as the day of the bhoomi pujan coincides with the abolition of Kashmir's special status on the same day a year ago. Perhaps the RSS-BJP wants August 5 to be remembered as the date on which the foundation stone of their cherished Hindu rashtra was laid, notes Amulya Ganguli.
With a decelerating economy that weakens India's hands on geopolitical issues, it will be interesting to know which way this trip will go.
In the 2009 election, P Chindambaram the Sivaganga seat by a narrow margin. Then the Congress was in alliance with the ruling DMK. This time his son Karti is battling the seat with the alliance. India abstention at the UNHRC on an anti-Lanka resolution will further fuel Tamil anger against the Congress party. This leaves the finance minster sulking and his son facing an uphill political debut, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The calculated playing up of confidence by Amit Shah and his team obviously means that the BJP has a strong counter-strategy in place to turn the tables on the Congress before the monsoon session is over, reports Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
