Udit Raj, chairman of Indian Justice Party and president of the All India Confederation of SC/ST, hailed the United Progressive Alliance government's move to pass a constitutional amendment bill for promotion of for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in both the government and private sectors. He regretted that the Bill could not be passed in the Parliament following agitation from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Terming the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government as 'anti-Dalit', the Bahujan Samaj Party on Friday demanded that a special session of Parliament should be called in August to clear the Bill for reservation in promotions for Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe employees.
Attacking the government over the issue of price rise, the Bharatiya Janata Party said on Wednesday if the United Progressive Alliance dispensation was sincere in addressing the "burning issue" they should agree on a discussion in Parliament under a provision that entails voting.
Toeing the Centre's line for cordial ties with Sri Lanka, key United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munettra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Wednesday virtually blamed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for attacks on Lankan pilgrims, saying her action in sending back a football team from that country had led to the incidents.
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.
A steady stream of mourners led by Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday paid homage to veteran Congress leader K Karunakaran at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram where his mortal remains are kept.
His provocative comments are the first political steps taken by the Congress to handle the coal scam and its fall-out, says Sheela Bhatt
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.
With the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha withdrawing support to the 23-month-old United Progressive Alliance government in Jharkhand and Chief Minister Madhu Koda still expressing confidence for a solution, all eyes are on Governor Syed Sibtey Razi as different political parties are meeting him and placing their views.
Criticising the United Progressive Alliance government for continuing to allow training of Sri Lankan defence personnel in the country despite opposition to it in Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazha, a key ally of the ruling front, on Monday said India should immediately stop such exercises.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi's speech in Uttarkhand on Wednesday, which made a veiled attack on Team Anna, sparks a political slugfest between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party over the issue of corruption.
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.
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.
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.
It's the floundering economy that caused the Congress' grievous loss in the Assembly elections.
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.
The appointment of Nagpur MP Vilas Muttemwar, a former Union minister, in July as the party's general secretary to monitor central programmes appears to have failed in delivering any results so far.
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.
Cracking the whip, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday summarily expelled eight of its MPs who cross-voted or abstained during the trust vote as shocked opposition parties got down to fix errant MPs whose actions helped the United Progressive Alliance government survive.
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.
She has advised External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid to meet ex-Congressman K Natwar Singh, who is an acknowledged hand at diplomacy.
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.
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
Members of Parliament belonging to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday exposed the chinks in the United Progressive Alliance's armour by getting question hour suspended in the Rajya Sabha with their demand to bring the Coalgate scam into focus
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and All India Congress Committee Vice President Rahul Gandhi have been named among top 5 in the world's 100 most influential list of Asians topped by China's new President Xi Jinping.
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.
If the poll surveys pointing to a near-whitewash for the Congress in the five assembly elections are any indication, the United Progressive Alliance government it heads will find it increasingly difficult to govern, as it will now have to contend with an aggressive opposition and far more assertive allies. The situation is unlikely to improve even after the session ends as the looming 2014 Lok Sabha elections will reduce the UPA to a 'lame duck' government, feels Anita Katyal
Affirmative action here refers to direct efforts to ameliorate the educational and employment situation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's campaign against the Centre's meat exports policy is likely to be replicated by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in western Uttar Pradesh to increase the party's vote share in the Lok Sabha elections.
Around 50 Team Anna supporters, including girls, on Saturday staged a protest outside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence in New Delhi.
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.
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
In only two of the past 12 occasions has the BSE S&P Sensex recorded a gain during the month before the Union Budget's presentation.
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.
"There will be no President's rule in Andhra Pradesh," said a senior All India Congress Committee functionary on condition of anonymity.
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