The BJP has accused the Congress of politicising the death of former prime minister Manmohan Singh and levelling "baseless allegations" of disrespect and mismanagement at his State funeral. The Congress has countered by alleging that the government's arrangements for the funeral were a "shocking display" of disrespect. The row comes as the Congress alleges that the Centre did not allow news agencies except for DD (Doordarshan) to cover the funeral, did not provide enough space for Singh's family around the pyre, and did not stand up for the national flag during the gun salute. The BJP has refuted all of these charges.
The 86-year-old Congress leader had been suffering from various ailments, sources in Medanta Medicity said.
The agreement is aimed at expanding economic cooperation and facilitate people-to-people contact between the two countries, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters.
Union Cabinet committee on accommodation has allotted 6 Krishna Menon Marg -- the prestigious type 8 bungalow -- to the Jagjivan Ram Foundation.
The Chief Minister has been under intense pressure for some time now, over expansion and rejig of the Cabinet not taking place, to make way for the fresh faces, ahead of Assembly elections by April-May next year.
As several political parties make a pitch for conducting caste-based census, the Union Cabinet is set to discuss the vexed issue on Thursday.
Tolerant Muslims can be counted on fingers. I think their number is not even in the thousands, the Union minister of state for law and justice said.
However, the amendment would not be applicable to all persons of Indian origin, their children and grand children, who migrated to Pakistan and Bangladesh after January 26, 1950.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said he will extend all possible cooperation to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and will work as a team. Addressing a news conference, Shinde described his tenure as chief minister as very successful and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their support. He also said the Mahayuti government secured a majority in the recent elections. Shinde said that when he was the chief minister, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar extended cooperation to him and they worked as a team. He added that he will now be "dedicated to the common man" 24 x 7. In the first cabinet meeting after the swearing-in ceremony, officials were instructed to disburse the next instalment of the Ladki Bahin scheme to beneficiaries. Shinde also rubbished all talk of him being upset over not being made chief minister. He pointed out that 39 Shiv Sena MLAs were with him when he led a revolt in 2022, and today, the party has 57 MLAs, which he asserted was a seal of approval from the people. Shinde was given a rousing welcome at Anand Ashram, the headquarters of the Shiv Sena in Thane, following the swearing-in ceremony. Several hundred party workers thronged the area carrying placards and shouting slogans in his praise.
The Union Cabinet on Monday recommended President's Rule in Jharkhand. According to official sources, the Jharkhand assembly will be kept under suspended animation.The state had witnessed political uncertainty after Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren was forced to resign, in the wake of his humiliating defeat in the bypoll in Tamar constituency.
Sources in the party have been maintaining that Congress will induct at least one minister from West Bengal during this reshuffle.
A reshuffle-cum-expansion of Union Council of Ministers appears to be on the cards after the July 19 Presidential elections.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the Union Cabinet for the first time after he underwent a heart bypass surgery nearly two months ago. The meetings of the Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs were held at his official Race Course Road residence today, unlike the meetings which were held in South Block during his absence. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had presided over those meetings.
The government on Wednesday decided to set up a Group of Ministers to take a view on the controversial issue of whether there should be a caste-based census. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, discussed the issue over which various ministers are divided, official sources said. The Cabinet then decided that a GoM should take a final decision on the issue, they said. The GoM is likely to be headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
JD-U leaders contend that R C P Singh may have misled the BJP leadership into believing that Nitish Kumar was ready for a smaller share in power at the Centre.
Sonowal, a law graduate, is considered to be a rarity -- an honest politician who also worked to unite different communities with his oft-repeated lines 'Barak-Brahmaputra-plains-hills'.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the amendment of the Telegraph Act giving statutory status to the Universal Service Obligation Fund.
The Union Cabinet on Monday cleared a proposal for setting up the National Investigation Agency.The NIA, a federal agency, will probe terror cases as well as other organised crimes with inter-state and foreign linkages.The NIA is expected to invoke harsher provisions than the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which was repealed by the United Progressive Alliance government.
Her successor in the HRD Ministry Prakash Javadekar elevated as a member of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.
Swami Chinmayanand, Kailash Meghwal, Prahlad Singh Patel, Nagmani and P C Thomas were also inducted as ministers of state into the council of ministers.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil briefed the Union Cabinet on the terrorist attack in Ayodhya on Tuesday.
With its age-old fascination for education, southern states have done better than the North. Start-ups, IT hubs, and industry majors setting up shop have changed the face of the South. Nearly 79% of global offices set up by international conglomerates in India are in the South. Almost 46% of tech unicorns are from the South. The GDP per person in the South is 4.2 times higher than the North. None of these indicators can be ignored by any central government, whatever the political compulsions, notes Ramesh Menon.
The reshuffle in the Union Cabinet, carried out on Wednesday, appears to have some focus on assembly election-bound states like Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing of a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement, a kind of a free trade pact, between India and Mauritius which is aimed at liberalising norms to boost two-way commerce
Festivals and a looming election combined to make it a season of bonanza for voters as the Union Cabinet unveiled a swathe of measures designed to please all.
Mulayam Singh joining the Cabinet will be good news for many who increasingly worried about the stability of the United Progressive Alliance government. Sheela Bhatt reports
The Union Cabinet is likely to review prices of petrol and diesel as crude oil price continue to move northward.
Outgoing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who returned to Mumbai from New Delhi on Friday morning, is travelling to his native village in Satara district amid continuing suspense over his successor a week after the assembly poll results. Shinde had told reporters in New Delhi on late Thursday night that the next meeting of the Mahayuti alliance on government formation will be held in Mumbai on Friday. However, the caretaker CM, who heads the Shiv Sena, is travelling to his native village Dare in Satara district in western Maharashtra and the meeting is now expected to take place on Sunday, the sources said. The Shiv Sena leader has repeatedly said he would not be an obstacle in the government formation and abide by the decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the next chief minister. Different viewpoints are emerging in the Shiv Sena over Shinde's place in the next government to be headed by the BJP, the biggest constituent in the Mahayuti, which posted a thumping win in the just-held assembly polls. Many leaders in the Shiv Sena are asking Shinde to accept deputy CM's post if offered by the BJP. However, another section feels it wouldn't be right for him to accept No. 2 position after serving as CM for more than two-and-a-half years, the sources said. "The government formation process will start after the BJP announces its legislature party leader," they said. During his Delhi trip, Shinde had met Shah and discussed formation of the next government in the state. His deputies in the outgoing state cabinet Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) and Ajit Pawar (NCP) had also met the senior BJP leader. Talking to reporters in the national capital, Shinde called the discussion good and positive. Shinde, Fadnavis and Pawar had also met BJP president J P Nadda.
While Joon was a Congress rebel, Kadyan fought as an Independent after the BJP denied him ticket.
Most of the 40 MLAs in the Shinde camp don't have enough legislative experience to conduct business in the House and so the first ministry expansion needed induction of veterans.
Expressing unhappiness over the announcement of the much-touted direct cash transfer scheme by the government even when the model code was in force, the Election Commission on Sunday wrote to the Union cabinet secretary seeking a report on the matter.
The much talked about reshuffle of the Union Cabinet will take place on Monday, ahead of which C P Joshi and Ajay Maken stepped down as Cabinet ministers. Both Joshi and Maken had handed over their resignations on Saturday night. Their resignations were today accepted by President Pranab Mukherjee with immediate effect, a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said.
He said that as compared to global models costing 2.5 to 3 US dollars per hour usage, India's AI model will cost less than less than Rs 100 per hour (1.16 US dollars per hour) after 40 percent government subsidy.
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill. According to the provisions of the Bill, judges would not be allowed to delay judgments beyond three months after the conclusion of arguments. The Bill lays downs standards and accountability for members of the higher judiciary.The Bill aims at laying down judicial standards and establishing a mechanism to deal with complaints of 'misbehaviour' or 'incapacity' of a judge of the Supreme Court
This is part of the government's plan to raise Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) from disinvestment in the current financial year.
'Someone who cannot even take his cabinet into confidence, how will he take the NDA alliance into confidence?'
Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on Tuesday stepped down as Maharashtra chief minister, even as the suspense over who will succeed him as the new CM continued, three days after state assembly election results were announced.
Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Congress of twisting facts and distorting his comments on B.R. Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha, saying the opposition party launched a malicious campaign after a parliamentary discussion "established" the Congress as being "anti-Ambedkar and anti-reservation." Shah defended his remarks, stating his address was clear and without confusion, and that his party would explore all legal options against the Congress for misrepresenting his comments. He also accused the Congress of insulting V.D. Savarkar, crushing constitutional values by imposing Emergency, and humiliating soldiers who laid down their lives.
'Joined fellow NDA MPs at a screening of The Sabarmati Report. I commend the makers of the film for their effort.'
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