P Chidambaram rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's veiled charge that Sonia Gandhi was an "unconstitutional authority."
"We request and seek cooperation from all parties, including the Opposition, for smooth functioning of both Houses to make this session fruitful," Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar said.
The first indication that the United Progressive Government may opt to hold the General Election before schedule came on Tuesday, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed Ashok Chawla s secretary, economic affairs instead of picking up a full-fledged finance secretary.
According to a Cabinet minister, the UPA's focus during the remaining period of the Budget session will be on passing the Right to Education Bill. Apart from this, the government is planning to bring a Bill to amend the Rubber Act and the National Commission for Heritage Sites Bill. The government will be occupied till July 27 with the General Budget, as contained in the Finance Bill. It will actually not get more than seven days to deal with other legislative business.
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday night tweeted that her party was opposed to the ordinance approved by the union cabinet and "we request the President not to sign this ordinance".
Leaders of Left parties, who have strongly opposed the implementation of the Indo-US nuclear deal, have started receiving "death threat" mails.
The central government has made Intelligence Bureau's clearance mandatory for appointment of a private person as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to a minister.
The prime minister was often seen vigorously thumping the desk, prompting his Cabinet colleagues and NDA MPs to follow suit.
He was last month appointed as Secretary in Department of Economic Affairs in place of his batchmate Arvind Mayaram, who was first shifted to Tourism and then to Minority Affairs Ministry.
.jpg)
Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag will be the next Army Chief succeeding Gen Bikram Singh as the government on Tuesday appointed him to the top post, ignoring protests from Bharatiya Janata Party.
The recent revelations come six years after another round of tapes stole the limelight.
The document titled 'Details of the steps in the decision making process leading to the award of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft order' stated that the process as laid down in the Defence Procurement Procedure-2013 has been followed in procurement of the Rafale aircraft.
How can you issue an ordinance along with summoning the Parliament session, the President is learnt to have asked the government.
After books by a former media adviser to the Prime Minister and a top bureaucrat, a member of the outgoing Planning Commission has added grist to the mill saying it was Sonia Gandhi who called the shots on all appointments and policies of UPA governments.
Religious institutions and charitable trusts employing 20 workers or more will have to deposit employees' provident fund with the EPFO.
Andhra Pradesh Minister for Infrastructure and Investment Ganta Srinivasa Rao on Thursday resigned from his post in the backdrop of mounting protests across Andhra-Rayalaseema regions against the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government's decision to bifurcate the state.
How Modi retrieves the situation and how he enlists new allies in the next two years will show if the BJP is fighting fit, report Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
The Samajwadi Party on Saturday refused an offer by the United Progressive Alliance to join the Cabinet, saying its first priority was to prepare for the coming Lok Sabha elections. The offer was made to the SP in the first meeting of the coordination committee it had formed with the UPA in the wake of the Manmohan Singh government winning the July 22 trust vote its the support.
For Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao, his resounding victory in the Lok Sabha bypoll in Karimnagar is "sweet revenge" against the ruling Congress
'Mr (Gautam) Adani invested in Vizhinjam port when no other viable party was willing to bid.' 'He has also been active in charitable work and CSR projects in our coastal areas.' 'As the local MP, I do not judge the local situation purely through the prism of politics.'
Cabinet secretary calls meeting to review the impact of inflation on essential commodities.
Indian elections are won and lost on 'negative' imageries and campaigns - but not certainly on 'negativity' as a political trait and electoral creed, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Here is all you need to know about the National Population Register and worries over its links with NRC.
While Congressmen may try and give Rahul Gandhi credit for the withdrawal of the controversial ordinance on convicted lawmakers, it was the President's timely intervention that saved the day for the Congress, says Anita Katyal.
Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said the cost of each Rafale aircraft is approximately Rs 670 crore.
Senior Supreme Court advocate Ranjit Kumar, considered an expert on constitutional laws, was appointed as the solicitor general on Saturday. The law ministry issued a notification appointing Kumar, who has defended Gujarat in a number of cases, as the next solicitor general of India.
After 17 tumultuous years, a nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST) will rollout from midnight of June 30, overhauling India's convoluted indirect taxation system and unifying the $2 trillion economy with 1.3 billion people into a single market.
Though the election officials were yet to make formal announcement, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani informed the media about the victory.
Inching towards withdrawal of the controversial ordinance on convicted lawmakers, Congress top brass including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday grappled to work out a face saver in the wake of a huge political storm over Rahul Gandhi's public outburst against the measure.
Thailand, Indonesia want unconditional access to India's multi-brand retail space.
'No country or society ever prospered or remained secure by marginalising more than one-sixth of its own,' warns Shekhar Gupta.
A 1985-batch Karnataka cadre officer, Kharola would be steering the national airline at a time when the government has started the process for its strategic divestment.
LJP candidates had split the United Progressive Alliance votes but Paswan's party had also lost out in the process, Lalu said.
Cutting across party lines, political leaders welcomed the government's decision to confer Bharat Ratna, the nation's highest civilian honour, on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malviya.
Ambassador Venu Rajamony, who served as press secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee during his tenure, salutes the statesman and political legend, who passed into the ages on Monday.
The Modi sarkar said that the former even though the IPL boss committed all offences during the UPA rule no action had been taken by them.
The move is being planned with a view to ensuring that the benefits provided by the government reach the beneficiaries and the process remains transparent.
The prime minister further added: "That is how the governor made the recommendation that there is no alternative but to dissolve the assembly."
AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam is said to be upset at his son Raveendranath Kumar, a Lok Sabha MP, being denied a ministerial chance for a second time in a row, beginning with the formation of Modi 2.0 in 2019, reveals N Sathiya Moorthy.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances