The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday took up the four bills related to the GST, with the Opposition urging the government to insulate taxpayers from harassment and questioning how the new regime was "ideal" when 40 per cent of the revenue base of the GDP was kept out of its purview.
'The Congress party hated him because he had not gone to jail, he was not lathi charged, he had not gone on hunger strike.' 'They felt he had lived in London all his life and then he came to India and became an MP and a minister.'
The Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's key confidants -- general secretaries Madhusudan Mistry, P C Joshi and Mohan Prakash -- were clearly among the most notable absentees. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports
Questioning the freedom movement led by Gandhi, Hegde said it was an "adjustment" with the British.
Trinamool Congress has already announced its decision to boycott the event.
The Bill also makes it mandatory for every person presenting the document at the registration office to affix his passport size photograph and get photographed by a digital camera on the document.
To questions whether there will be action against Swaraj or Raje, he said, "The question is imaginary There is no technical and legal base that you can say there is any point of impropriety."
'This is not a Sanjay Baru or Natwar Singh type of book. It's not a memoir. It's not a book to reveal conversations, real or imaginary. This is not a book to position myself at the centre of the world.' Jairam Ramesh on his stint as environment minister.
Congress leaders claim the land Bill stir is an opportunity to shake off despair and serve as return vehicle for Rahul Gandhi.
This after high drama in the House over what opposition charged was "intimidation" by the treasury benches to get the motion for sending the amendment to the RTI Act to the select committee rejected.
Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, former defence minister AK Antony, senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma also took part in the protest sporting black bands.
Major political parties in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday ensured victory for all their candidates despite cross voting in Rajya Sabha biennial polls in which senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal emerged triumphant against the Bharatiya Janata Party-backed Independent socialite Preeti Mahapatra.
The Income Tax raids on a Karnataka minister on Wednesday had its echo in Parliament where the protesting Congress members disrupted the proceedings
'Today, environment has become an issue of political debate. It has become a media issue. I think that is a good development.'
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.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has taken to invest in young people from non-dynastic backgrounds to build a core team of 100-odd youths in every state who believe in the Congress party's philosophy, reports Archis Mohan.
Priyanka Gandhi will decide her future role herself, the Congress said on Wednesday downplaying suggestions that she is set to play a larger role in the party ahead of Lok Sabha elections.
The amendment of around 40 central statutes makes the Finance Bill, 2017 unique
Taking serious note of the rampant corruption in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in Uttar Pradesh, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court on Friday ordered a Central Bureau of Investogation probe into the alleged large scale financial bungling brought to its notice through a public interest litigation, moved by local journalist Sachchidanand Gupta .
As the debate on possible ruling dispensation at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections gathers momentum, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh feels that extending outside support in a coalition set up is "impractical, utopian and unworkable".
Several Congress leaders interpreted it as a dig at Prime Minister Modi who is yet to address a single press conference in his 54-month tenure.
Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned without transacting any business on Tuesday, with senior leaders attributing the adjournments to a diktat from Gandhinagar where Narendra Modi has come in the firing line from multiple quarters along with his key aide and confidante Amit Shah, and the Congress has taken the opportunity to ask for the Gujarat chief minister's resignation.
Since two weeks now, A K Antony has been meeting Congress leaders across India to pinpoint reasons behind the party's abysmal performance in Lok Sabha elections.
Business reacted with caution to the reforms of 1991, and demanded protection from multinationals and imports. Twenty-five years later, traces of that demand can still be found, reports Bhupesh Bhandari.
A demand was also made that the Election Commission take appropriate action over the alleged money deal.
The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed in Rajya Sabha by a voice vote, although many parties including the Trinamool Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazagham opposed it citing various reasons, including apprehensions data theft.
Stung by Jayanthi Natarajan's attack on Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders on Friday rallied behind him and slammed their outgoing "opportunist" colleague, saying she had been removed as environment minister because of 'Jayanthi tax' barb by Bharatiya Janata Party in the run up to Lok Sabha polls.
The Maoist-infested state needs a visionary leader and Hemant Soren is definitely not one, opines Aditi Phadnis
The Bharatiya Janata Party might have a majority in the Lok Sabha but sarcasm and public humiliation of rivals may not be the way to assert this. In fact, it is a waste of time
The party is finding increasing acceptability in the 18-35 years age group with Rahul Gandhi adding a million followers in the past 2 months and Facebook and Twitter also seeing similar spikes.
Worried about the adverse impact that price rise could cause to Congress' prospects in Lok Sabha polls, Rahul Gandhi unveiled quick fix policy prescriptions for 12 party-ruled states including reform in PDS and giving farmers a wider choice to sell vegetables and fruits.
The definition of affected family includes farm labourers, tenants, sharecroppers and workers in the area for three years prior to acquisition.
Railway Budget has not discriminated against any state.
MPs will first attend a 'Farm Progress Show' in Iowa, then visit the Monsanto headquarters in St Louis, Missouri.
Laying down a host of criterion for the selection of candidates for the coming Lok Sabha elections, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has made it known that no tainted leader will be given a ticket by the party.
If Priyanka Gandhi does take a plunge into electoral politics as demanded by the Congress rank and file, it will tantamount to an admission that Rahul Gandhi lacks the necessary qualities to take on Narendra Modi. On the other hand, the Congress also needs to change the political discourse in its favour, notes Anita Katyal.
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.
'The Congress president gets into samurai mode only when there is a direct attack on her and her family.' 'Is being the president of the oldest and one of the most respected parties in India only about personal reputation and survival?' asks Sudhir Bisht.
Ramesh says that since the attitude of the Narendra Modi government is deliberately provocative and confrontational, it should not expect cooperation from the Congress.
The two senior most leaders of the Communist Party of India-Marxist are at the loggerhead over alliance or adjustment with the Congress.
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