As the United Progressive Alliance government desperately fights the perception of a policy paralysis, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee dismisses it with equal vehemence contending that the coalition was set on achieving higher economic growth.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress Vice President Rahul will represent the party at the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as the prime minister on Monday.
Condemning the Pune blasts, which came ahead of the visit of Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to the city, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said it is an alarm for the United Progressive Alliance government to take stern action against terrorist activities to "teach a lesson to them".
It also demanded increasing the number of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders per family to 12, instead of nine as decided by the government on Thursday.
Bharatiya Janata Party's senior leader Rajnath Singh on Saturday asked the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance II government to stop all dialogue with Pakistan and recall its high commissioner in Islamabad in wake of entire nation being angry over the ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control.
The ruling United Progressive Alliance's political leadership is holding consultations on options like raising diesel and LPG prices to cut an unprecedented Rs 160,000 crore (Rs 1,600 billion) revenue loss expected from selling auto and cooking fuel below cost this fiscal.
Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Saturday lashed out at Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi over the claims made in a book by the Prime Minister's former aide, saying the mother and son would have to pay the "price" for running the United Progressive Alliance government from behind the scene.
In a major embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party's Karnataka unit, Pranab Mukherjee, United Progressive Alliance's candidate who was on Sunday elected President of India, got more votes than expected in the BJP-ruled state.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attacked critics of the Food Security Bill which was passed by Parliament last week, saying money spent on providing meals to the poor cannot be called "wastage" of financial resources.
Creating a positive reform that does away with an official who constitutes a flawed aspect of Indian democracy will allow the BJP to rightfully claim this as one of its positive legacies, suggests Karan P Shah.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had been "defanged" by the Congress party in his second term with Sonia Gandhi deciding on key appointments to the Cabinet and to the PMO as he seemed to "surrender" to her and to the United Progressive Alliance constituents.
"The Congress is on cloud nine after a little success of the United Progressive Alliance government. It was achieved not on its own but with the help of its alliance partners. As a result, they are trying to create a leadership like Indira Gandhi with all the powers centred around one person," said an editorial in Marathi 'Congresscha Nakli Atmavishwas aani Agami Nivadnuka' (The fake confidence of Congress and the forthcoming elections) in NCP's mouthpiece Rashtrawadi.
The farmers' agitation, spread over months, had halted construction and delayed supply of thousands of residential units.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that the United Progressive Alliance's wrong policies, wrong methods, wrong implementation and corruption are the reasons behind the economic crisis that has engulfed the country.
In a veiled reference to various populist schemes of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Arun Jaitley, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, "When crores are spent not on asset creation but on populist schemes, it disturbs the economy of the country."
Manmohan Singh remains the most popular leader in India, according to a survey conducted by Star News and A C Nielsen
Scores of Sikh protesters gathered at Lal Chowk in the city centre in summer capital Srinagar to protest against the death sentence to Balwant Singh Rajoana, the assassin of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday lashed out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over his televised address to the nation following violent protests demanding justice for the 23-year-old gang-rape victim in Delhi, saying the latter's speech was disappointing. BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said Dr Singh failed to give any promises or reassure the country about the steps being taken by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.
Without ruling out the possibility of working with the Congress after polls, Akhilesh said he has good relations with the party and would be 'happy' if the next prime minister was from his home state.
In a veiled reference to various populist schemes of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Arun Jaitley, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, "When crores are spent not on asset creation but on populist schemes, it disturbs the economy of the country."
The United Progressive Alliance government on Monday had a smooth sailing in Lok Sabha with key ally Trinamool Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party walking out and the Samajwadi Party withdrawing its amendments to the President's address, notwithstanding the hype surrounding their opposition on issues like the National Counterterrorism Center.
With Defence Minister A K Antony rejecting her opposition to build a national war memorial at the India Gate, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has sought United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi's intervention on the issue.
A Constitution amendment bill providing for quota for SCs and STs in government job promotions was on Monday passed by Rajya Sabha with an overwhelming vote of 206 in the 245-member House.
Asked whether Trivedi would remain as railway minister, he said, "Trivedi is an individual. Trinamool Congress is of the opinion that he should not remain as railway minister unless he withdraws the hike (passenger fares in the railway budget).
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks that those who oppose Foreign Direct Investment in retail are "ignorant", saying it is not the Opposition which is ignorant, but the United Progressive Alliance government and the Congress Party.
By all accounts, India's poor, mostly in rural areas, can look back to a 10-year period when their lot clearly improved.
The United Progressive Alliance government has made up its mind to move a resolution on Wednesday in Rajya Sabha to get nine Members of Parliament of the Samajwadi Party suspended for their misbehaviour and disruptions during the debate on the job quota bill for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes.
The Left parties, which severed links with the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance on the issue of Indo-US nuke deal, are inclined to have a fresh understanding with secular partners in the ruling alliance, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar claimed on Wednesday.
The United Progressive Alliance government won the vote on Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail not by "floor management but by fund management", alleged Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesperson Muktar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday.
"The Mumbai terror attack seems to have hit the UPA government like a thunderbolt and enlightened its vision. The government that used to rubbish any nationalist suggestion to ensure national security by dealing firmly with the terrorists and their domestic harbingers has suddenly woken up and started speaking a new language," said an editorial in RSS mouthpiece Organiser.
Keeping the Congress on tenterhooks on their strategy during the crucial Foreign Direct Investment vote on Wednesday, eight party MPs from Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday boycotted a meeting called by party floor leaders in Parliament to seek their assurances on participation in the debate.
With the United Progressive Alliance starting to get its act togther ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar had a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday over seat-sharing in Maharashtra and some other states.
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Breaking its silence, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Tuesday decided to support with "bitterness" the United Progressive Alliance government in Parliament on Foreign Direct Investment in the retail sector issue in order to prevent "communal" forces coming to power.
As for the crisis emanating from the Kingfisher Airlines' flight cancellations, it is now up to the airline to utilise those measures and come up with resources, he tells Business Standard's Kavita Chowdhury in an interview.
Chief ministers of Tripura and Uttarakhand on Sunday joined the anti- National Counterterrorism Center chorus taking to 12 the number of opposing states even as their Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi accused United Progressive Alliance of "attacking" the country's federal structure.
Women leaders banged steel plates with spoons as men rang hand-bells during their symbolic demonstration at Vijay Chowk leading to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
It said AMU is not and cannot be a university of any particular religion or religious denomination as any university which has been declared an institution of national importance cannot be a minority institution.
It is unfortunate that the Congress has taken a decision of contesting the elections in alliance with the JMM without even consulting allies in the UPA government, he said.
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