The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday sought to paint a dismal picture of United Progressive Alliance-II holding it responsible for the economic gloom and failure to give the country leadership while accusing it of diminishing the role of the prime minister.
The real assessment of the actual diplomatic gains out of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's three-day India visit can be made only after promised actions are initiated, but surely it has yielded some political dividend for the beleaguered United Progressive Alliance government, notes Sheela Bhatt.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna is expected to travel to Kolkata to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other leaders of ruling Trinamool Congress to discuss the proposed Teesta water-sharing accord with Bangladesh.
After nine years in power, the United Progressive Alliance faces the question of credibility, says Aditi Phadnis
As Parliament remained stalled on Wednesday for the second succesive day on coal blocs allocation issue, key United Progressive Alliance ally and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee suggested an all-party meeting to end the logjam.
Both Houses of the Parliament were adjourned minutes within the proceedings began on Thursday with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led opposition sticking to their demand for Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh''s resignation over the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on coal block allocations.
The stalemate in Parliament over the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on coal block allocation continues.
Top United Progressive Alliance leaders tonight dismissed as ' nreasonable' the BJP's stalling of Parliament on coal blocs allocation issue and its demand for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and stood by the government's offer to discuss the subject in the House.
The failed alliance with Congress for the May 30 civic polls in West Bengal notwithstanding, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said her party did not want any rift with the United Progressive Alliance government.
Vayalar Ravi on Tuesday became the fifth person to assume charge as minister for science and technology in three years since United Progressive Alliance returned to power in 2009.
The Bharatiya Janata Party charged the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government on Friday of shielding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his alleged role in the coal allocation scam by forcing former Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar to quit his post.
The alliance will resume its boycott of Parliament indefinitely from Tuesday protesting against the United Progressive Alliance government's 'hostile and vindictive' attitude.
According to the WikiLeaks cables published by the Hindu, just five days before the United Progressive Alliance government faced a trust vote in 2008 over the Indo-US nuclear deal, a political aide to Congress politician Satish Sharma showed a United States embassy official 'two chests containing cash'. This, he described as part of a large stash of Rs 50 to Rs 60 crore the Congress party had put together to buy out votes from members of Parliament
His provocative comments are the first political steps taken by the Congress to handle the coal scam and its fall-out, says Sheela Bhatt
Publication of Wikileaks reports, which suggest that a "United States tilt" was visible in the Cabinet reshuffle of 2006, on Tuesday prompted the Opposition in Rajya Sabha to allege that the pro-American shift by the United Progressive Alliance government was a "shameful" act.
Those joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers for the first time include three former chief ministers -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and H D Kumaraswamy (Karnataka).
The remarks were made when the former IPS officer accused the media of ignoring corruption allegations against United Progressive Alliance's ministers and not giving adequate coverage to the issue despite erstwhile Team Anna giving evidence regarding it.
Notwithstanding the failure of alliance with the Congress for the civic polls in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that her party would be in the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre as long as "we get the minimum respect".
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday challenged the Centre to produce evidence against former defence minister George Fernandes against whom the CBI has filed an FIR in connection with Barak missile deal.
"There will be no President's rule in Andhra Pradesh," said a senior All India Congress Committee functionary on condition of anonymity.
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.
The six presidential nominees to the Rajya Sabha have reportedly been handpicked by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, in an attempt to reassert her authority in the United Progressive Alliance government, which has allegedly acquired a pro-United States stance under the aegis of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.The five persons nominated are Mani Shanker Aiyer, Javed Akhtar, Dr Balchandra Mungekar, Bombay Jayshri and Dr Ram Dyal Munda.
Hamid Ansari, in his second stint as vice president, is likely to face a more unruly House, with general elections being less than two years away and the Opposition becoming increasingly aggressive, and the Congress's chief troubleshooter having gone to Rashtrapati Bhavan, writes Neerja Chowdhury
Apparently angry over the delay in finalisation of seats among United Progressive Alliance allies in Bihar, Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Saturday stepped up pressure on the Rashtriya Janata Dal, threatening to go it alone if an alliance does not happen soon. "I have directed my party workers to be ready to contest on all 40 seats in Bihar as the alliance talks do not appear to have fructified till now," said Paswan.
The ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha on Sunday announced that it would abstain from voting in the vice-presidential election scheduled to be held on August 7.
Accusing the United Progressive Alliance government for its weak policies on border issues, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for terming the Chinese incursion in Ladakh as a localised one and said such statements pose a threat to national security.
In an embarrassment to Congress, five party Members of Parliament from Telangana on Monday launched a 48-hour sit-in at the main gate of Parliament against non-fulfilment of the promise by the United Progressive Alliance government to create a separate state out of Andhra Pradesh.
Members in the Lok Sabha on Monday voiced concern over intrusion by Chinese troops in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, with the crucial United Progressive Alliance ally Samajwadi Party objecting to the upcoming visit of External Minister Salman Khurshid to Beijing.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that India was committed to respond to any act of terrorism perpetrated from across the borders, and asserted that since terrorists do not play by rules, there cannot be any rules in the country's answer to them.
Around 50 Team Anna supporters, including girls, on Saturday staged a protest outside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence in New Delhi.
Slamming the United Progressive Alliance government for adopting the path of confrontation with the Opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday made it clear that it was in no mood to let passage of bills in Parliament.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi will visit strife-torn Kokrajhar district in Assam on Saturday to take stock of the situation.
The year began with major infrastructure players like GVK, GMR exiting out of mega road contracts on account of problems such as delays in receiving the green nod, funding crunch and regulatory hurdles.
Sharad Pawar's real grievances have to do with the frustration of his prime ministerial ambitions, and his inability to gain high stature, including the Number Two slot in the Cabinet, says Praful Bidwai
She has advised External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid to meet ex-Congressman K Natwar Singh, who is an acknowledged hand at diplomacy.
The prime minister has been careful to say the right things about foreign investment and animal spirits; some of the more controversial aspects of the Mukherjee era are being given a high-profile review.
As Team Anna on Wednesday launched an indefinite fast raising the pitch against the United Progressive Alliance government on the issue of corruption, villagers from his native place, Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar district, 75 km north of Pune, joined in support, holding a protest.
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar's face-off with the United Progressive Alliance was a camouflaged attempt to hide his failure to deliver as the Agriculture Minister, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Ram Naik said on Wednesday.
Ruling out early elections, the minister said the government would last for 13 months more and would continue to take small but significant steps to ensure that the country achieves its potential growth rate of 8 per cent.
Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, whose appointment as army chief had kicked up a row, will on Thursday take over as the next head of the 1.3 million strong force succeeding Gen Bikram Singh who is retiring.
