The Congress party has strongly criticized the Union Budget, calling it 'lacklustre' and 'disappointing,' claiming it fails to address the needs of farmers, unemployed youth, and other key sectors.
The death of a booth level officer in West Bengal due to cardiac arrest has ignited a political battle between the ruling TMC and the BJP, with accusations of workload pressure and politicization of the tragedy.
Veteran politician and former railway minister Mukul Roy, a key figure in West Bengal politics, has died due to cardiac arrest, marking the end of a significant era.
Amid disruptions in the Lok Sabha, opposition parties are protesting the denial of speaking rights to the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, during discussions on the President's address. The Congress party draws parallels to a similar incident in 2004 when then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was prevented from speaking.
Opposition parties are questioning the Election Commission's intentions behind the second phase of special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories. The BJP has slammed the Congress and called the opposition a 'herd of dissatisfied souls'.
The prime minister is now expected to speak on Thursday in the Rajya Sabha, where the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address has taken place without any disruption.
The present strength of the electoral college is 781 as six seats are vacant in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha. This puts the majority mark at 391. The NDA has 425 MPs, while the opposition camp has the backing of 324.
Is Mamata Banerjee's decision to support United Progressive Alliance's presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee going to change the dynamics of opposition politics in West Bengal? Both Congress and Communist Party of India Marxist rule out that possibility and insist that instead the heat would be more and more on the ruling Trinamool Congress in the coming days.
The Congress was the only party in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday to demand a discussion on setting up a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe allegations against the Adani group. Other opposition parties gave similar notices on different issues, including violence in Manipur and Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal. The Congress members sought a JPC to investigate the alleged misconduct, including corruption, bribery and financial irregularities of the Adani Group in connivance with other authorities. However, other opposition parties raised different issues, with the AAP seeking a discussion on "increasing crimes in Delhi" and the TMC, DMK, AAP and CPI seeking a discussion on violence in Manipur. The CPI-M, SP and IUML sought a discussion on the recent violence in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh.
Leaders of the West Bengal Congress unit, which has an alliance with the CPI-M-led Left Front in the state, were seen welcoming the Left leaders.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of 'linguistic terror' and plotting to delete Bengali voters from electoral rolls, vowing to protect voting rights.
Navigating a history of animosity and mistrust, negotiations for a potential Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance in West Bengal face significant challenges while addressing the shared adversary of the Bharatiya Janata Party, with the Bengal Congress unit appearing reluctant to engage in an electoral pact.
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Aam Aadmi Party's Gopal Italia on Monday won from Gujarat's Visavadar assembly constituency and his party also retained Punjab's Ludhiana West seat while the Congress-led United Democratic Front wrested Nilambur from the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala, according to results of assembly bypolls in four states.
Opposition parties allege the Modi government is attempting to turn India into a 'dictatorship' with the introduction of three Bills that seek to provide for removal of the prime minister, chief ministers and ministers arrested on serious charges, and vowed to oppose it 'tooth and nail'.
The feisty TMC boss also accused the CPI-M of ruining her party's relationship with the Congress, its ally in the Opposition bloc INDIA at the national level.
Trinamool Congress Monday said Left's failure to support a no confidence motion to be brought by it in winter session will mean that their opposition to FDI in multi-brand retail "is false and sham" and voiced hope that all parties would come on board.
"If Nano has gone out of West Bengal and is rolling out from Gujarat on Monday, the Opposition in Bengal, the unholy alliance of Trinamool Congress and Congress is responsible," CPI-M Politburo member Brinda Karat told reporters in New Delhi.
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.
Opposition parties on Tuesday decried the GJM for raising the Gorkhaland demand before Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a government programme, with the Communist Party of India-Marxist accusing the Trinamool Congress of having created a 'Frankenstein'.
INDIA bloc parties are set to raise issues such as the Pahalgam attack, US President Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire, and concerns over electoral roll revisions in Bihar during the Parliament's Monsoon session.
Fissures appear to have emerged in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as its two key allies, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, on Thursday clashed over seat sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal.
Opposition leaders on Monday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his comments made at an elections rally in Rajasthan, with some leaders also appealing to people to reach out to the Election Commission of India.
The TMC also announced it would hold talks with other regional parties in their bid to take on the BJP in the crucial 2024 elections but at the same time denied that it was planning a third front, separate from the Congress-led front.
One person was killed and another 19 injured during a clash in Burdwan district between followers of the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist, police said.
Whether the age-old cry of kendrer banchana will be able to drown out pangs of Sandeshkhali, the EVM will tell.
The accused has been arrested on the basis of an FIR lodged by the woman at Haridevpur Police Station, they said.
The diplomatic exercise aimed at presenting India's stance against Pakistan on terror comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor -- the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
A year after the RG Kar rape-murder Swarupa Dutt/Rediff look at the city where it happened, Kolkata -- its study in dichotomy, at once the self-proclaimed cultural capital of India as also a petri dish for a peculiar rage that breeds crimes against women.
Mamata Banerjee's party won 132 seats and was all set to pocket two more to post a hat-trick of wins, decimating a frail challenge from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, the Left Front and the Congress, officials said.
There is a strong possibility of opposition parties coming together to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday, stressing that he has had good talks with them and many will join hands gradually.
Kerala Chief Minister and CPI-M leader Pinarayi Vijayan, Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu, West Bengal CM and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, and Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy lent support to the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government's fight with the Centre.
The run-up to the polls, which should have been a humdrum affair, became a cause celebre after it was marred by violence, arrests, sit-ins in far-away Delhi and a Supreme Court intervention asking officials to ensure peaceful polling.
"We are ready to work with any anti-BJP party. This has been our stance whenever the need arose for a big movement against divisive forces from Kashmir to Kanyakumari," CPI-M politburo member Biman Bose told reporters to a question on whether the CPI-M will be with the TMC to prevent the BJP from coming to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
'Women are likely to have voted because of the numerous welfare schemes. The CAA consolidated minority votes and the BJP's booth-level organisation in Bengal is weak.'
"We will complain. He can meditate, but televisions cannot show it," she said, alleging that this will amount to "violation of the MCC."
The outrageous remarks by Trinamool Congress leader Tapas Pal reflect the reality of "politics of terror and intimidation" in West Bengal, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said on Thursday, as it moved Parliament to seek action against him.
This is a complete betrayal of the mandate of the people of the Sagardighi Assembly constituency, Ramesh said on Twitter.
Mahmudabad, head of the political science department at the private university, was arrested on Sunday after two FIRs were lodged on stringent charges, including endangering sovereignty and integrity, for his social media posts related to Operation Sindoor, police and his lawyer said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances