The Bharatiya Janata Party and its Parliamentary Board members were on Thursday directed by the Delhi high court to respond to former Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani's plea challenging his expulsion by the Board in May this year.
In an unusual episode, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Deputy Chairman P J Kurien sparred in the Rajya Sabha over procedures, triggering commotion, which led to stalling of the House for nearly an hour.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at the centre of attention today at the 'At Home' function hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee on the occasion of the 68th Independence Day.
Seeking a consensus on Narendra Modi's projection as the prime ministerial candidate, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has held confabulations with top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including L K Advani, who is said to have reservations on the issue.
While Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reiterated her stand that the central government was committed to cooperative federalism, finance ministers of non-BJP ruled states such as Punjab and Kerala said she refused to give a categorical assurance that states will be paid compensation on time.
The government on Monday ruled out any terror or "external aggression" link to the communal violence in Jammu and Kashmir and asserted that there will be no repeat of 1990 when Pandits were forced to leave KashmirValley.
We should work in unison to boost growth: FM
The RTI reply also stated that the interception of communication was being carried out in accordance with the Telegraph Act of 1885 and Telegraph (Amendment) Rule of 2007, a clause that finds a mention in the clarification issued by the government over the December 20 order.
The government on Monday came under sharp attack on the issue of crucial files of Coal ministry going missing, with the Opposition alleging that it was a conspiracy to save Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the coal block allocation scam and demanding an impartial probe into it.
Indian factory growth likely slowed in Jan, inflation to stay muted.
A day after media reports stated that 39 Indians in Iraq had been killed by terrorists belonging to the Islamic State, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Rajya Sabha said that there was no evidence to corroborate the same.
'I'm Indira Gandhi's daughter-in-law. Not afraid of anyone,' says Sonia Gandhi.
"I think the Governor has been doing a great job for the country and we would certainly see it as a very positive move if he were reappointed," Naushad Forbes, president, CII.
Several Muslim leaders on Friday echoed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party's sentiments on the Section 377 issue with some even warning the United Progressive Alliance government that it would be taught a lesson in the 2014 polls over its move to file a review petition against the Supreme Court verdict against homosexuality.
On Thursday, in a big win for India, the International Court of Justice stayed the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav. The ICJ instructed Pakistan to take all "necessary measures at its disposal" to ensure that Jadhav was not executed pending a final decision by it. Following the order, reactions poured in from all over celebrating the big win.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on Sunday attacked ruling Congress and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over a book written by a former aide of Singh, saying it is a confirmation of what the world already knew that he is a "weak" PM and Sonia Gandhi had the last word in government matters.
Describing journalist Ved Pratap Vaidik as a "Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh man", Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday questioned whether the Indian high commission in Islamabad had facilitated the meeting between him and Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
A day after taking charge as Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar on Monday said he would focus on "targeted completion" of works to strengthen the armed forces.
The Zero Hour saw members from opposition and treasury benches coming together to condemn Justice Katju's remarks in his blog with the entire House later unanimously adopting a resolution by a voice vote.
The government may on Monday file an additional affidavit in the Supreme Court over the black money issue, stating clarification on its earlier stand of not revealing the names of those account holders who have deposited money in foreign banks.
Jethmalani said that the BJP-led government at the Centre should take no step without obtaining the consent of the SIT which has been set up to probe the matter.
Television news. Anarchists. Special Status for UP! And that man-who-wants-to-be-Pradhan Mantri so baaad. Sherna Gandhy takes them on.
Parliament on Thursday cleared the decks for the rollout of the historic Goods and Services Tax from July 1 as it approved four supporting legislations to usher in the one-nation-one-tax regime.
Upping the ante in the escalating snooping row, the Congress on Wednesday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party should change Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, as the saffron party rejected its demand for a probe into "illegal" police watch of a woman allegedly at the behest of his close aide Amit Shah.
Keeping the possibility of early general elections in mind, the Bharatiya Janata Party has drawn up an aggressive campaign strategy with a special focus on southern states, and "development and good governance" as its agenda, senior party leader Venkaiah Naidu said.
BJP sources said their party has consistently maintained that while it is committed to the formation of a separate state of Telangana, it also wanted the concerns of the Seema-Andhra region to be adequately addressed. Oddly enough, Sushma Swaraj did not press this issue in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Anita Katyal reports.
Four junior ministers - Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Sanjiv Kumar Balyan, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahendra Nath Pandey - have resigned ahead of the rejig.
The Bharatiya Janata Party chose not to raise any protests when their demand to raise Robert Vadra's suspect land deals was not considered by Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari. Anita Katyal reports.
Modi said the two countries should resume their discussions on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
The Congress on Monday took a swipe at the National Democratic Alliance government over its proposed move to give a quiet burial to the United Progressive Alliance dispensation's controversial move to order a probe into the Snoopgate affair, saying it was "quite natural" after the change of guard at the Centre.
Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi has written to Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha who is likely to consult the parliamentary affairs ministry before framing his response on the government's plans to advance the budget presentation to February 1, sources said.
Azad said electoral laws make it clear that the ruling party should have no advantage during elections and both the Opposition and the ruling side should be on an equal footing.
Rahul Gandhi stressed the importance of an electoral understanding in UP if the BJP is to be defeated in the Lok Sabha polls.
Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Thursday termed Narendra Modi administration's scheme to abolish 500 and 1,000-rupee notes as "a monumental management failure".
Protests continued to stall the monsoon session of Parliament, as it entered the last week on Monday.
A more vigilant Opposition and a more aware civil society including the media could have certainly helped keep a check on an unhealthy trend, says A K Bhattacharya.
The minister clarified that she had not favoured the former IPL chief and all such allegations were 'baseless'.
Strongly opposing Aam Aadmi Party leader Prashant Bhushan's suggestion on the deployment of armed forces in Kashmir with the consent of the people, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday hit out at his party for taking a "weak" stand on issues of national security.
The Rajya Sabha on Monday saw high drama and embarrassment for the government as a Constitution amendment bill on backward classes was changed after some amendments moved by the Opposition were passed by the House.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took a dig at the culture of dynastic politics and appeared to target Congress by taking a veiled swipe at Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra who is embroiled in controversies over his land deals.
