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.
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.
"The fact that not many FTAs were sealed shows the cautious approach of the policy makers," said Ram Upendra Das, fellow, Research and Information System for Developing Countries. "But India has recognised that these duty-free agreements are the order of the day as other countries are engaging in similar deals. Indian exporters will be left out if the nation does not engage in these types of agreements with its trading partners," he added.
One of the ministers said they are going back to Ranchi for a Cabinet meeting scheduled on Thursday.
Political observers say that neither Mulayam Singh Yadav nor Mayawati have any intention of toppling the UPA government, as neither stand to gain from it. Sharat Pradhan reports
Kasab's execution is part of the government's effort to demonstrate how it will deal with issues of national security strongly, political journalist Rasheed Kidwai tells Priyanka.
A parliamentary committee has recommended delinking creation of Lokayuktas from the Lokpal Bill, a provision that was strongly opposed by cpolitical parties including those supporting the United Progressive Alliance.
Opposition parties are wary that any such attempt that is likely to fail or is even potentially risky will end up helping the Congress eventually, says Sheela Bhatt.
The anti-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam has called for 12-hout Assam bandh on May 26 to protest the visit of the united Progressive Alliance chairman and Congress President Sonia Gandhi to Guwahati on that day.
Major parties have lined up a long list of star campaigners to woo voters in Assam where assembly polls are scheduled for April 4 and 11. The ruling Congress, bidding for return to power for the third consecutive term, has a long list of prominent persons, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, to campaign for the party.
Continuing the suspense over its stand on an Opposition-sponsored resolution in Parliament against Foreign Direct Investment in retail, United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam on Wednesday said its decision would be taken keeping in mind the interest of small and medium traders.
Three MPs, including former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, came on wheelchairs.
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.
Accusing the opposition of spreading misinformation regarding policy initiatives taken by the United Progressive Alliance government, a combative Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said reform measures, including FDI in retail, will benefit the common man and create more jobs.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday decided to withdraw some amendments it had proposed to the Right to Information Act after protests from civil society, which was also backed by United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi. A meeting of the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, decided to withdraw the amendments which had sought to restrict disclosure of file notings only to social and development issues under the transparency law.
UPA failed to undertake economic, social and administrative reforms to strengthen India's long-term development potential.
He wanted changes in certain criteria for the project.
Thank God for the United Progressive Alliance. Without its comic blundering, hiss-worthy arrogance and world-class smugness, we would really be gloomy. A parade of errors and puzzling decisions keeps us angered and entertained -- but most importantly, distracted. Or we would notice our economy's problems are less to do with this or any conceivable government, and more a set of principles and circumstances that aren't being questioned and addressed.
Political needs of the Congress largely drove the reshuffle of ministers
To put it starkly, the Congress, and with it, the United Progressive Alliance, is sleepwalking into a minefield by blundering on land and Aadhaar, says Praful Bidwai
Joining the Himachal assembly poll campaign, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday played to the hilt the Congress' 'aam admi' plank by accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of blocking legislations benefiting the people at large and stressed that the United Progressive Alliance had taken strict action against corruption.
It could become a giant leap towards lasting reform if the experiment in direct benefit transfers for cooking gas subsidies pans out.
The Union Cabinet is likely to be reshuffled on Sunday. Speculation has been rife about a possible reshuffle in the wake of the exit of Trinamool Congress ministers and Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam representatives A Raja and Dayanidhi Maran in the last two years.
After a bitter separation with the Congress, the Trinamool Congress is mulling moving an adjournment motion under rule 184 that entails voting in the Winter Session of Parliament against the "anti-people" policies of the United Progressive Alliance government.
He said the economy has 'clawed back' to 4.4 per cent in Q1, 4.8 per cent in Q2.
The vote-on-account is essentially a measure to seek Parliament's approval for government expenditure until the full Budget is presented.
The most worrying aspect of defence budgeting is that the military's long-term equipment planning is based on fundamentally flawed fiscal assumptions.
He said he had achieved a fair measure of success in stablising India's economy and aimed to make it the third-biggest after the US and China.
Sources in the United Progressive Alliance said the offer for a discussion was made afresh during Monday's UPA-Left committee meeting.
Downplaying differences between the Congress and its United Progressive Alliance partner Trinamool Congress, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Friday squarely blamed the Opposition for the government's inability to get through the Lokpal Bill and Foreign Direct Investment.
The Bhartiya Janata Party will pressure the United Progressive Alliance government in the upcoming Parliament session to act on a 23-point charter formulated by its 'task force' for following constitutional, legal, political and geo-political measures to unearth and bring back the Indian monies illegally stashed abroad.
Two Lok Sabha Members of Parliament of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha on Saturday formally withdrew support from the United Progressive Alliance government, slamming it for anti-people decisions like FDI in multi brand retail, inflation and "creating a record in corruption". A delegation of JVM MPs and seniors leaders, led by party chief Babulal Marandi, met President Pranab Mukherjee and submitted a letter withdrawing support from the government.
To douse the 'domestic' fire over his joint statement with Pakistan at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt where Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani registered its concerns about its Baluchistan province, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will get at least one more chance in Parliament soon. There will be a debate on July 29 over the UPA's foreign policy in Lok Sabha, government managers say
Cautioning the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government against making any 'hasty' announcements in the name of reforms, key ally Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam on Friday said decisions should be based on "consultations". "My opinion is that hasty decisions and announcements in the name of economic reforms should be avoided. They should be taken after deep consultations and keeping in mind the future prospects of the country," DMK president M Karunanidhi said.
However, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, hosting a meeting of the leaders of the Third Front in Chennai on Sunday, said the Front would 'choose a nominee' for the presidential election.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi arrived in Kasmir on Tuesday morning. Their visit came within hours of a deadly militant attack at an army convoy that left eight soldiers dead and 11 others wounded in Srinagar.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan talks to rediff.com's Anita Katyal about the current political situation, Narendra Modi's projection by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the future plans of the Congress and the UPA
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'.
The lure of the17 Lok Sabha seats in the new Telangana state is driving Sonia Gandhi and her party to make every effort be made to push it through Parliament at the earliest.
Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday took charge as the sixth Minister of Railways in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's second term.
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