For now, Modi's government appears singularly focussed on demonstrating that it is not in any way inhibited by the BJP's loss of a majority, and will continue along its patented path of bulldozing all opposition and doing just as it likes, asserts Prem Panicker.
It's obvious to all that the Congress is overestimating its success and the BJP is underestimating the people's message delivered through the ballot box, notes Sheela Bhatt.
Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, in his latest book, argues that Pranab Mukherjee should have been made Prime Minister in 2012 instead of Manmohan Singh, who was then recovering from health issues. Aiyar believes this would have prevented the "paralysis of governance" and "doomed" any prospects the Congress might have had to form UPA-III. He also criticizes the government's handling of the Anna Hazare-led agitation and the Commonwealth Games scandal, which he believes contributed to the party's downfall in the 2014 general elections.
Several complaints had been received about illegal and unlicensed television channels and action had been taken against them, the government informed the Rajya Sabha.
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Tuesday after repeated stoppages as opposition members continued to protest demanding the revocation of suspension of 12 members.
There are no major legal complications in implementing the bill right now but the Narendra Modi government putting it off for 10 years, he said.
The channel should also act as a medium in promoting tourism and culture across the country.
Ruling and opposition members in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday sparred over 'foul' remarks made by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Rajasthan's Alwar, with treasury bench members seeking an apology from him.
Now, every state election -- first up, Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand later this year, then Delhi in January and Bihar in September next year -- will be seen by his followers for evidence of his recovery, and by rivals of sharpening decline, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'If the business before the House is suspended under Rule 267 it will mean the government has recognised that there is great urgency (to discuss the Manipur violence).' 'Government doesn't want to recognise that at all.'
Parliamentary sovereignty cannot be permitted to be diluted or compromised by the executive or the judiciary, he said in his strongest remarks yet against alleged judicial interference in the working of Parliament.
A 'White Paper' versus 'Black Paper' battle erupted on Thursday as the Centre and the Congress unveiled documents and crossed swords over the handling of the Indian economy during the nearly 10 years of the BJP-led NDA rule and the previous 10-year tenure of the Congress-led UPA government.
Most of the members, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were seen wearing face masks. However, members had crowded the Lok Sabha chamber, while hardly a handful of others, including union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal, were seen seated in the Rajya Sabha chamber.
The monsoon session of Parliament got off to a stormy start on Monday leading to adjournment of the two Houses without transacting much business following an opposition uproar over issues ranging from price rise to the Agnipath scheme.
He said the RPI-A will also demand tickets to contest at least two Lok Sabha seats (out of the total 48 in Maharashtra) and 10 to 15 assembly segments in the 2024 elections from the NDA quota.
Amid the row over a new set of unparliamentary words, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Sunday said he would treat the list as indicative rather than definitive, and 'speak normally' in the House and see whether it is applied in a 'draconian manner' to stifle meaningful criticism.
Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day on Friday amid an uproar in the House over the issue of law and order situation in Rajasthan.
Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday admitted to his relationship with Rajya Sabha TV anchor Amrita Rai.
A list of prominent journalists who also became successful politicians.
'Our prime interest is to help the victim get justice. When we speak of justice, what we mean is, all the people who exploited her should be punished,' KK Shailaja, general secretary of the All India Democratic Women's Association, tells Shobha Warrier
Faced with criticism for her latest Budget not doing enough for the poor, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday mocked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 2013 comment of poverty being a state of mind, and asked if this is the poverty she was supposed to address.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 mark a significant step towards empowering Indian citizens and aim to create a more accessible, supportive and efficient justice system for everyone, official sources said.
The Manipur violence issue rocked both houses of Parliament on the opening day of the Monsoon session on Thursday with opposition members creating uproar, demanding a discussion on the situation in the Northeastern state.
The opposition bloc also got support from Telanagana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's BRS, which saw the bill as a move to usurp powers of an elected government in Delhi, and asked the House to vote against it.
First Rajya Sabha approved the Rs 45 lakh-crore spending proposed in the Budget, followed by the nod to the Finance Bill that contains tax proposals.
The 55-year-old actor-turned-politician admitted that due to the hectic schedule of the shooting, she "did not get to watch the series" on television.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget speech on Wednesday was marked by the usual thumping of benches by the ruling alliance members, but the loudest cheer was reserved for her announcement of income tax relief, which was welcomed by 'Modi, Modi' chants in Lok Sabha that also witnessed a few instances of protest by the Opposition.
'The media today is completely free from the government-induced fear factor.' 'It is only scared of the public backlash and its TRP ratings,' say Sudhir Bisht.
Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress alleging that the opposition party has become outdated and has always been against any kind of reservation.
Naveen Patnaik is known as an "absentee landlord" who needs bureaucrats like Pandian to run his government.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge used poetry and humour to take swipes at the government on Monday, saying nothing will be accomplished by changing names, and went on to recall how first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's 'inclusive' approach of involving opposition parties had led to the laying of a strong foundation for the Constitution.
If her turn on TV was so good, wonder what's in store with her onscreen comeback!
When Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi's name was floated as Venkaiah Naidu's successor as vice president, the RSS instead suggested Jagdeep Dhankar, indicating that he was also Mohan Bhagwat's choice, states Prakash Bhandari.
I&B minister Jaipal Reddy said though the media had expressed opposition, the government proposes to go ahead and set up an autonomous mechanism to regulate content.
Assuming we still have a Modi-led majority government after May 2024, there is no guarantee that reforms will move at anything more than a snail's pace, though we must be thankful even for that, notes R Jagannathan.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP D N V Senthil Kumar on Wednesday apologised in the Lok Sabha for his controversial 'north-south divide' remark which had sparked a backlash.
The Trinamool Congress on Thursday dismissed that it has reached an understanding with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha where the National Democratic Alliance does not have a majority.
Government has advised television companies looking for uplinking facilities from the country to apply afresh as per the provisions of the revised guidelines issued in March this year, information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shanker Prasad said
A delegation of 21 Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc MPs will pay a two-day visit to Manipur beginning Saturday to assess the ground situation first-hand and then make recommendations to the government and Parliament for a solution to the problems in the violence-hit state.
'In Parliament, he was the one person who stood for democracy and secularism even when the principal Opposition party was not very forthright in taking on the BJP and RSS.'
