As BJP leaders went all out to project the event as a moment of national pride, some leaders were directly critical of the ceremony with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, belonging to the Communist Party of India-Marxist, slamming the state's role in the Ram Temple consecration, saying the line that demarcates religion and state seems to be 'getting thinner and thinner'.
A belated comeback to Rahul Gandhi's 'suit boot' jibe over Modi's infamous monogrammed suit.
The feisty TMC boss also accused the CPI-M of ruining her party's relationship with the Congress, its ally in the Opposition bloc INDIA at the national level.
Hooda and Azad were reported to have discussed concrete proposals to strengthen the Congress and ensure collective leadership and decision making as demanded by the grouping which met on Wednesday and signed a joint statement.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was questioned for over eight hours by the Enforcement Directorate for the second consecutive day in the National Herald money-laundering probe and was again summoned on Wednesday, even as the opposition party continued its protests and sparred with the BJP, accusing it of conspiring to defame the Gandhi family through the ''false'' case.
'Seven months he has been in jail for no reason.'
The protests came after Speaker Om Birla announced the end of Question Hour at noon as the designated time for it is 11 am to noon. While asking the first supplementary, Gandhi said he wanted to know the list of 50 top wilful defaulters, including funds given and the amount written off by banks but did not get a proper answer in the written reply.
Lending his support to the ongoing farmers protests, he said in Lok Sabha that it was not an agitation of the farmers only but a movement of the country and the government will have to repeal the laws.
The State Election Commission on Friday informed the Calcutta high court that it has requisitioned 822 companies of central forces for the July 8 panchayat polls in West Bengal.
Trying to pick up pieces after a demoralising defeat, India's decorated top-order will be desperate to change the narrative and give a better account of itself in the do-or-die second ODI against Bangladesh.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused the ruling dispensation of resorting to diversionary tactics.
Between its cryptic, confused politics and lacklustre film-making, Lost is a germ of an idea waiting to be found, notes Sukanya Verma.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will lead a function in the Central Hall of Parliament on Tuesday to celebrate the country's rich parliamentary legacy and resolve to make India a developed nation by 2047.
Speaking with reporters, Gandhi said, "This (school) is India's future. Hate and violence has destroyed it. Nobody has benefited from this. Violence and hate are enemies of development."
Neerja Chowdhury reports from Phulpur where Rahul Gandhi kicked off Congress campaign for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram suffered a fracture in his left rib after he was pushed away by Delhi Police during the party's protest in support of Rahul Gandhi who was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the National Herald case, said the party on Monday.
The district authorities' permission to Rahul Gandhi comes two days after the district magistrate and Superintendent of Police had asked him to reschedule his visit on law and order grounds.
Given the prevailing state of flux in the polity, it is early days yet to predict a presidential polarisation of the Modi versus Rahul variety. But it cannot be ruled out, Neerja Chowdhury
Wearing black clothes, Congress leaders hit the streets on Friday to protest against price rise and unemployment with a host of them, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, being detained by police amid dramatic standoffs outside Parliament and the All India Congress Committee headquarters in New Delhi.
Sources said senior leaders of the party have been told to reach out to other leaders of the alliance and talks with some parties have begun.
'Modi must see how we live, what we have to do to educate our children.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was the Trojan horse of the Bharatiya Janata Party and should be kept out of all efforts to cobble up an opposition platform ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged on Wednesday.
In a historic transition, the Parliament moved into a swanky new complex on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging MPs to forget all past bitterness and start a new chapter and the introduction of the women's reservation bill taking centre stage.
A struggling Indian team, severely depleted by a spate of on-field injuries and fitness-related problems, will be determined to avoid the ignominy of a clean sweep against Bangladesh in the final ODI of the three-match series.
The INDIA bloc has 95 MPs in Rajya Sabha of which 45 were suspended on Monday.
Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury while making these points however, spoke out against any need for change in the top leadership of the party, stating that both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi have been 'trying wholeheartedly'.
Sources said the issues to be raised during the monsoon session of Parliament starting July 19 were discussed at a meeting of the Congress parliamentary strategy group on Wednesday, which was chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi and attended by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
The remarks by the BJP leaders came as 17 opposition parties resolved to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unitedly to defeat the saffron party and work with flexibility by setting aside their differences. They dubbed the planned alliance as "unholy and opportunistic".
Prasun Banerjee and Jawhar Sircar represented TMC in the meeting, which discussed the Opposition strategy on Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Parliament.
The Congress is actively contesting these Lok Sabha polls but vice-president Rahul Gandhi is marshalling the party towards a possible general election in two years. Kavita Chowdhury reports.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first Test against Bangladesh, starting on Wednesday?
The opposition parties, which have demanded the strictest action including suspension of Bidhuri for his "vile and communal" remarks during a discussion on the success of Chandrayaan-3 in Lok Sabha on Thursday, hit out at the BJP, alleging that it was trying to defend its MP instead of punishing him.
Some of her best films are not available on streaming platforms, but Deepa Gahlot looks at her Hindi cinema oeuvre on OTT.
'It is mind-boggling that a party can be in rigor mortis even after numerous electoral defeats,' observes Ramesh Menon.
The Opposition parties need to spell out how exactly they will protect the citizen from government excess, asserts T N Ninan.
Congress MPs on Thursday met the LoK Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and raised the issue of alleged ill-treatment of party lawmakers, including some women, by the Delhi police during their protests in the national capital against Rahul Gandhi's questioning by the Enforcement Directorate.
In all likelihood he is going to rely on senior party leadership for political management, using the Youth Congress and the young brigade to mobilise the 'aam admi', which the Congress redefined in Jaipur as the poor and middle-classes, says Neerja Chowdhury.
'He told senior journalists a few days after the Babri Masjid demolition, 'Jo hua theek hua. Maine isliye hone diya ki BJP ki rajniti hamesha ke liye khatam ho jaye.'
Will the padyatra and mahapanchayat be stand-alone events or will they become part of a sustained and ongoing movement? That was the question on the minds of many in Uttar Pradesh. Neerja Chowdhury analyses the events and its effect on the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections.
