With jailed Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad disqualified as Lok Sabha member, ally Lok Janshakti Party President Ramvilas Paswan met Rabri Devi in Patna on Tuesday and mooted an alliance of secular parties, including Congress.
West Bengal, the chief minister said, cannot be compared with other states and despite all hurdles it had an increased revenue generation over the last three years from Rs 21,000 crore (Rs 210 billion) to Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion).
Ahead of the Lok Sabha poll verdict on May 16, former Nationalist Congress Party leader P A Sangma on Monday met Narendra Modi and declared support of the North East Regional Political Front led by him to the Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial nominee.
The Times Now-C Voter-India TV poll claims that no single pre-poll formation looks in a position to form the government and will have to work very hard to get the support of key allies.
Mamata Banerjee, who had pulled out of UPA-II over FDI in retail, among other issues, would dedicate mall to people of Kolkata.
The senior Congress leader, a Rajya Sabha MP, said "all your friends are greatly relieved that truth has prevailed".
United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday came down heavily on main opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party for disrupting Parliament proceedings and preventing crucial legislations from being passed. "I cannot hide my deep sense of disappointment over the manner in which Parliamentary proceedings have been disrupted by the principal opposition party," Gandhi said.
In a recent public appearance, Mr Chidambaram was quite candid in saying that UPA-II misread the signals from its electoral performance in 2009.
United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday dismissed reports of differences with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asserting, "We all stand by him". "There are no differences between the prime minister and me. There is collective leadership," Gandhi told reporters at a function held to celebrate four years of the UPA-II government.
Seeking to dispel the perception of gloom amid scams and controversies, the United Progressive Alliance on Wednesday painted a rosy picture of its government's performance during the last nine years, contending the fruits of economic growth have reached both urban and rural areas.
The Samajwadi Party is ready for mid-term Lok Sabha polls but it is supporting the United Progressive Alliance government to keep communal forces at bay, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said on Sunday.
Then prime minister Manmohan Singh's brief to his new information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari on what should be the government's approach to the media was simple -- it should be an essay in persuasion, not coercion.
Samajwadi party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Sunday admitted that he had offered "issue based support to the United Progressive Alliance provided it drops Trinamool Congress from the alliance." Pointing out that the UPA government's policies were against common people, he said, "We have opposed their anti-people policies in the Lok Sabha. Our support to them will be based on consensus over issues like national security, price rise and the plight of farmers."
"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.
It is expected that the finance ministry will be handled for some time by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
As United Progressive Alliance completes three years in office, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday claimed the government may fall anytime as coalition partners were unhappy and were not even ready to break bread together.
It's the floundering economy that caused the Congress' grievous loss in the Assembly elections.
In an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN Editor in Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Mamta Banerjee about the recent row over former Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi and the strained relationship with the Congress.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asked all political parties, including those supporting the United Progressive Alliance government from outside, to build pressure for roll back of hike in price of non-subsidised cooking gas.
Ministers in UPA-II had undertaken over 460 official foreign trips in the first 18 months of its tenure and spent more than 1,800 days abroad.
Indian Administrative Services officer Alka Sirohi, the key coordinator for the drafting of the Lokpal Bill, has been appointed as a Member of the Union Public Service Commission.
The UPA-II may not talk about this, but it continues to implement its programme to revive ailing PSUs by investing fresh capital.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday described the first year of the second term of the United Progressive Alliance as one of 'reasonable achievement', but said his government could have done more.
From the economy to foreign policy issues, to addressing the serious challenge posed by communal forces which are out to viciously polarise and divide Indian society, the UPA II government has shown a certain pronounced weakness and lack of vision and commitment that could seriously harm India in the long run, notes Sanjay Kapoor.
The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to give an early hearing on a plea challenging the appointment of Army vice chief Dalbir Singh Suhag as the next Army chief and directed listing of the case in the second week of July.
The 77-year-old was recently diagnosed with pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital, where he died at 1.28 am, a Congress leader said.
The AAP chief also said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi would be to blame if Narendra Modi came back to power.
Probodh Panda and Atul Kumar Anjaan are among 39 candidates declared by the Communist Party of India for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as the party said that it would fight on 60 seats in 24 states.
'The group commands 85 per cent of the global GDP, and if you are able to convey your point of view effectively to this group then you have reached more or less all the important players that matter.'
Sibal, a prominent Opposition voice and a former Congress leader, also said that instead of a common minimum programme, the Opposition parties should talk about a 'new vision for India'.
While some companies used that to become world leaders, others squandered it by over-borrowing.
What is most troubling is that not a single party that is part of INDIA has talked about any kind of reform and economic sense, argues R Jagannathan.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday attacked the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre and accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of neglecting and using Assam, which he has been representing since 1991, for his "political advantages".
Gautam Adani's alleged proximity to Narendra Modi may dent the latter's self-styled image of incorruptibility, points out Kanika Datta.
The controversial decision of the United Progressive Alliance-II government ahead of general elections to include Jats in Other Backward Classes category came under judicial scrutiny with the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking explanation from the Centre for allegedly ignoring the advice of a statutory body to keep the community away from reservation benefits.
With the United Progressive Alliance-II's tenure coming to an end, France had wanted India to sign a pact to provide government guarantee for completion of negotiation for 126 fighter aircraft with Dassault company but Defence Minister A K Antony has refused to do so.
Modi visited over 55 countries in 48 foreign trips since taking over as prime minister in May 2014.
He said that non-ideological opportunistic coalitions always get trapped within their own contradictions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held bilateral talks with Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni in Bari during which they discussed defence and security cooperation and hoped for further enhancing the defence industrial collaboration.
I begin a new chapter in my political journey. Jai Hind," he wrote on Twitter sharing his brief resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi.
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