Sheela Bhatt recounts the tension, suspense and disruptions during P Chidambaram's interim budget in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The government says MPs will be busy campaigning in Gujarat. The Opposition counters this, saying campaigning for elections in 5 states was held in the midst of the Budget session earlier this year.
Harish Rawat, a Union Minister, was on Saturday sworn in as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand, succeeding Vijay Bahuguna who was asked by the Congress high command to step down in a bid to boost the party's prospects ahead of the April-May Lok Sabha polls.
Jaitley's concerns are unlikely to cut much ice with the Congress.
The officials said reviewing security cover of celebrities is a routine practice and there is nothing new in it. They also pointed out that the move was aimed at trimming unwanted security cover.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday virtually ruled out contesting CWC polls if the party decides to hold them, saying he is not considering any further elections after having fought the AICC presidential polls and it is "for others to step forward".
The session, which was earlier scheduled to conclude on April 3, is now likely to be adjourned sine die on March 23, sources said.
Bhupender Yadav's entry to the Modi government as a Cabinet minister is seen as his just reward after serving as a party office-bearer for the longest term among all current occupants.
'Modi had not discussed demonetization with me prior to his announcement on 8 November 2016. 'I learnt of it along with the rest of the country. 'I was not surprised when he did not discuss the issue with me prior to making the public announcement. 'It fitted in with his style of making dramatic announcements.' A fascinating excerpt from Pranab Mukherjee's The Presidential Years: 2012-2017.
The proposed bill seeks to raise FDI cap in the sector to 49% from the present 26.5%
The opposition on Friday created ruckus in Rajya Sabha over the issue of regional language aspirants having disadvantage in Civil Services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission leading to two adjournments during Question Hour.
Everything you wanted to know about Prime Minister Narendra Modi but didn't know who to ask. Read on!
Speaking to the media a day after he was released from Tihar Jail after he was charged for sedition, Kanhaiya thanked everyone who supported him and alleged that a conspiracy was afoot to malign the JNU campus and its students.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday allocated portfolios to the twenty-member council of ministers, including 10 of the Shiv Sena, who were inducted into his expanded cabinet.
Vociferous protests by Opposition members led by the Congress continued in the Lok Sabha.
The hijab-row triggered protests in Karnataka spread across the state on Tuesday, with campuses witnessing 'conflict-like' situations marked by stone-pelting incidents, use of force by police and the Muslim girls standing their ground for wearing the headscarves, prompting calls for peace and calm both by the government and the high court, which is now looking into the students' plea for their right to their hijab.
'He has sacrificed a lot. Always done something for others. But never asked for anything in return.'
In a last ditch effort, Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday appealed to Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to "use his good office" to keep Andhra Pradesh united till an amicable solution is reached on the issue of creation of separate Telangana.
The PM said she made a noteworthy contribution to Delhi's development.
Amid demands that MPs should not be allowed to decide their salaries, the government has proposed to set up a three-member panel to recommend pay and perks of lawmakers.
However, no fresh incident of violence was reported from the area since Wednesday night, the police said adding that the situation was 'under control'.
'Who has given them the right to decide that I am not a Hindu like them'
Replying to the debate on the motion, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing it again of trying to bring down his government.
Congress cornered Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, accusing her of 'bias' in the House.
Being made a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs makes her an important player in BJP politics, observes Rashme Sehgal.
Hitting out at the Congress, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said it should not politicise the issue of the Leader of Opposition status in Lok Sabha.
The decision came a day after the Allahabad high court asked the Centre and the state government to file counter affidavits within a week on a petition challenging the decision to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj.
Rediff.com gives you a look at newbies in the Council of Ministers
The Bharatiya Janata Party is confident of giving a tough fight to Union Minister Kamla Nath on his traditional Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat, drawing courage from its performance in 2013 assembly elections in which it bagged four out of seven seats from there.
The government, however, asserted that the Budget will be presented as scheduled, rejecting the opposition's allegations that it will impact the upcoming assembly elections.
"I did not take the name of (any) party... I will definitely expunge the 'vested interest' remark... I am sorry," Sumitra Mahajan said referring to the words she had used when the Congress members were protesting in the well of the House.
Vidya Charan Shukla, a former union minister and Congress veteran from Chhattisgarh, died on Tuesday in a Gurgaon hospital after battling injuries sustained in a deadly naxal attack on a convoy of party leaders a fortnight ago.
The government has readied a big legislative agenda for the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning Monday even as the Opposition is raring to corner the ruling dispensation over a host of issues, including handling of the second wave of COVID-19, rise in fuel prices and farmers' stir.
Shah, who was accompanied by BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy, national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargya, was greeted with slogans of 'Amit Shah zindabad', 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' by party workers at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.
Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath to 10 cabinet ministers and 14 ministers of state, including five ministers of state with independent charge.
The Union minister said it is "not fair" on Congress's part to set conditions for the passage of the GST bill and if the said clauses were so crucial, the UPA could have brought these in the original bill when it was in power.
Members of Parliament on Sunday bid adieu to outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee.
Tharoor put the blame for the logjam in Parliament on BJP and accused the saffron party of reducing the "temple of democracy to a rubber stamp for its agenda or worse, a notice board to announce its unilateral decisions".
Birthday greetings poured in for him from all quarters, with his supporters and Bharatiya Janata Party workers offering prayers for him and organising events to mark the occasion.
The delegation was told that the autonomy resolution passed by the Jammu and Kashmir assembly in 2000 should be implemented.