'Meddling with our national emblem was totally unnecessary and avoidable'
In separate letters to the speaker, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Supriya Sule of the NCP, DMK leader Kanimozhi and TMC's Aparupa Poddar said what had happened with Ali is unfortunate and that action should be taken against Bidhuri.
Workers from the BJP and Congress clashed in Patna during a protest march organized by the BJP against the use of abusive language towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's late mother. The protest turned violent, with stone pelting and vandalism reported. Police intervened to control the situation, and an investigation is underway.
In the chair was Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader of the old school with friends across parties unlike the duo who currently run the BJP.
While the Congress top brass has declined an invitation to the January 22 consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the party's Uttar Pradesh unit stuck to its plan to offer prayers in the holy city on Makar Sankranti.
As many as 11 Lok Sabha MPs of the Congress have written to Speaker Om Birla against the "unethical conduct" of BJP parliamentarians Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Subrat Pathak and Bhola Singh of sharing a distorted and fake video of Rahul Gandhi that could pose a threat to the country's social fabric and demanded swift intervention.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asserted that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will return to power with a two-thirds majority in the 2026 Assembly elections in the state and ruled out the possibility of stitching any alliance with the Congress. Banerjee's statement comes amidst speculation over a possible Congress-TMC understanding in West Bengal, following the removal of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury as state Congress president and the appointment of Subhankar Sarkar. However, Banerjee has categorically stated that the TMC will fight alone and secure a historic victory. The Congress, on the other hand, has responded by saying that regional parties are bothered about the Congress because they have realised their mistake in ignoring the party during the Delhi polls. The BJP has downplayed Banerjee's remarks, stating that the TMC's defeat in the upcoming elections is inevitable. The West Bengal Assembly elections are likely to be held in April-May next year.
Expressing 'pain' over opposition parties boycotting the Constitution Day event organised by the Lok Sabha secretariat on Friday, speaker Om Birla said staying away from such non-partisan events held by Parliament is not good for the health of democracy.
Chowdhury said that the visiting MPs will present their observations on Manipur in Parliament.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday expunged the references made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to Sonia Gandhi in the House on July 28.
The Defence Minister said the government is committed to protect the sanctity of Parliament.
A 7-hr debate was held over the contentious bill. Oppn amendments rejected.
The bill seeks to authorise taking measurements of convicts and other persons for the purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters and to preserve records and related matters.
The Congress and other opposition parties have accused the police of bias and inaction in the Delhi violence.
There were some tense moments as BJP members, carrying placards, marched towards the opposition members near the Gandhi statue in Parliament premises to condemn their 'undemocratic actions' inside the House.
The Lok Sabha witnessed a heated debate Friday on an Ethics Committee report recommending Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra's expulsion in the cash-for-query issue, with the Opposition demanding she be allowed to speak in the House, and the government contending her views were heard by the panel.
Kharge said conducting polls in seven phases meant that nearly all the development works will be stopped.
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.
Addressing reporters at his residence soon after the meeting ended, Chowdhury said six names came up before the panel for the selection of the two ECs and the names of Sandhu and Kumar were finalised by a majority of members of the high-powered panel.
Ahead of the visit, Congress' deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi called for an inquiry under a retired Supreme Court judge into the violence in Manipur.
Mamata's 'there is no United Progressive Alliance (UPA)' remark after a meeting in Mumbai with Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, an ally of Congress in Maharashtra, evoked a strong response from the party, currently being led by interim president Sonia Gandhi.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders celebrated Raksha Bandhan on Thursday.
Kharge termed the high-level committee constituted by the Centre to examine the feasibility of 'One Nation, One Election' a 'gimmick' and alleged the Modi government wants to slowly replace democracy in India with dictatorship.
Campaigning for May 13 elections in 96 Lok Sabha constituencies across 10 states and Union territories including all seats in Andhra Pradesh, where assembly elections are also being held concurrently, and Telangana concluded on Saturday evening.
"I am not allowed to speak in the Rajya Sabha often. Should I say it is because I am a Dalit?" he asked.
The Congress plans to ensure that even if its candidates fail to register a win in the Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, the benefit should go to the Left Front and not to friend-turned-foe Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. Renu Mittal reports.
The women's reservation bill is back in focus ahead of Parliament's winter session, with several opposition parties, including the Janata Dal-United, which had once opposed the move, demanding that it be introduced and passed in this session.
As yet another day of Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned due to vociferous protests, Joshi, the Union parliamentary affairs minister, urged the protesting members to allow the House to function while speaking during the Question Hour.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday rejected in Lok Sabha the claim by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury that he sat on Rabindranath Tagore's chair during his visit to Visva Bharati.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday strongly objected to the use of the term pitai (beating) by former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi while referring to the India-China clash in Tawang, and asserted that our soldiers have stood their ground in Yangtse in Arunachal Pradesh and should be "appreciated and honoured".
Ahmed Patel, K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh will be part of the Rajya Sabha Committee, which will also include Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and party's deputy leader Anand Sharma. Azad and Sharma are signatories to the letter that demanded an overhaul of the Congress party and a new 'full-time and visible' party president.
Ahead of the Winter Session in Parliament, leaders of 11 opposition parties met in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
Amid continuous disruptions by Opposition members, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has convened an all-party meeting on Thursday to discuss better functioning of the Lok Sabha, proceedings of which have been virtually washed out in the monsoon session so far.
The defence minister said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was present at the Trump-Modi meeting held on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Osaka and his statement is the "most authentic" on the issue.
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha did not see a debate on the Manipur violence, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah spoke on it during their addresses on the no-confidence motion.
A high-level committee to explore the feasibility of conducting simultaneous elections, headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, held its first meeting in New Delhi on Saturday and decided to invite political parties and the Law Commission to seek their views on holding synchronised polls in the country, a statement said.
Modi also reminded Congress of the Emergency, saying it's a blot on the democracy that will never fade.
An agitating Congress member in Lok Sabha on Monday banged his placard on the table of the Speaker, prompting the angry Sumitra Mahajan to abruptly adjourned the House for an hour.
AAP leader and Delhi minister Atishi made the allegations against the agency at a press conference and called the entire probe a "scam" in itself.
Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha was appointed as the chief information commissioner on Saturday, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances