Hitting out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over his handling of foreign policy, Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said India has completely reversed its position on terrorism emanating from Pakistan, and warned that the mention of Balochistan in the joint statement would 'trouble' the country. Initiating a debate on the 'Issues arising out of Prime Minister's recent visits to foreign countries', BJP leader Yashwant Sinha also targeted the government.
On mid-term parliamentary polls, he said that it cannot be ruled out and added the party is prepared for it.
The Opposition wanted the PM to respond to their questions but the Chairman did not allow it.
Bhartiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh said that the party should jointlytake responsibility for victory or defeat. "If any individual must own up the defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, I as the president of the party I accept the responsibility," he said while making opening remarks at two day meeting of the national executive at Parliamentary Annexe in New Delhi on Saturday.
With raging dissent in Bharatiya Janata Party coming out in the open, a senior party Member of Parliament on Wednesday said that the points raised by veterans like Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and Jaswant Singh should be given due importance.
Reacting to the Interim Budget 2009-10 on Monday, the Bhartiya Janata Party claimed that the United Progressive Alliance government had failed to live up to the promises it made to the nation under its common minimum programme.
The Opposition BJP on Thursday said it is willing to consider supporting the government in expediting economic reforms if the Prime Minister takes the initiative.
The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of the appointment of controversial Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission chairman Anil Yadav, who was accused of turning the state's highest recruitment body into a private fiefdom by handpicking largely Yadavs for all top jobs.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has convened a meeting of the party's core committee to discuss the resignation of senior Maharashtra leader Gopinath Munde. Senior leaders including L K Advani, Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley are expected to participate in the meeting.The BJP leadership had called Munde and Maharashtra BJP chief Nitin Gadkari to Delhi. Gadkari had arrived in New Delhi and Munde was expected to arrive late on Monday.
'It's a fact that the Government of India was misleading Parliament and the people. We were saying what the letter is saying. We were saying all along that these are the conditions, but the government is even now saying that 'we have the right to test'. It's like saying that I have the right to murder, it's only that I will have to suffer the consequences. The consequence of murdering somebody is death penalty, so is India prepared to accept the death penalty?'
(Excerpts from former BJP vice-president Yashwant Sinha's letter to party President Rajnath Singh)
President A P J Abdul Kalam left New Delhi on Saturday on a week-long visit to the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Bulgaria, his first foreign tour after assuming the high office.
Shortage of ICU beds, oxygen, ventilators, vaccines, doctors, nurses and crematorium space in India has dominated headlines around the world in the past few weeks with Covid-19 cases surging beyond control and the government failing to deliver. Yes, election rallies, Kumbh Mela, blatant flouting of social distancing and mask protocols coupled with a messy vaccination process are said to be responsible for the health crisis of colossal proportions that India is facing today. But an analysis of Budget speeches made by finance ministers over 75 years also offers a glimpse of how low on the priority list healthcare has featured for the political class and policy-makers, which is a significant reason for the current situation.
"We are little perplexed that the two cases are listed on two different dates when the order was that these matters will be heard together," the bench said.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Friday concluded his four-day visit to Moscow leaving for home without meeting with President Vladimir Putin. He is the second senior Indian minister to have visited Moscow in one week who the president hasn't met, the other being External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said inflation in India is not going to be reduced any time soon, thanks to the wrong policies of the United Progressive Alliance Government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He was responding to a question by rediff.com on the sidelines of a day-long India business conference at the Columbia University, in New York. He said that the government should have woken up long time ago and not now when the situation is out of control.
Dr Singh must really attain the 'historic' by being the first Indian PM to author a public document refuting every criticism against his biggest policy yet.
The trio said the top court had relied upon 'patently incorrect' claims made by the government in an unsigned note given in a sealed cover in the court.
Rajnath did not say anything about the exact date of power transfer
A three-judge bench presided by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph said that it was not their job to go into the issue of pricing of the fighter planes.
Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha told rediff.com that the numbers were in favour of Shekhawat.
Taking a jibe at Yashwant Sinha, the finance minister said that he doesn't have luxury of being former finance minister.
The two countries to resume a composite dialogue next month to resolve all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir.
Former deputy chairperson of Rajya Sabha Najma Heptulla would contest from Rajasthan.
The party is likely to table a privilege motion against Manmohan Singh.
'Mamata will beat the living daylights out of BJP workers with the result that people who are not totally committed, they will promptly leave the party and go back to Trinamool.' 'Or when they find they cannot get what they came to the BJP for they will go back to Trinamool.'
About 3,500 jurists, academics, actors, artistes, writers and people from other walks of life called the registration of the FIR against The Wire's founding editor an attack on press freedom.
The incident, involving a Chinese patrol, occurred in Arunachal Pradesh, on June 26, 2003.
"The fourth quarter results of GDP data showed a phenomenal 7.7 percent growth rate and has established India firmly as the fastest growing global economy. This trend, according to experts, is likely to continue for the next few years," Jaitley said in a Facebook post.
Before 2019, an estimated 22 million individual income-tax returns did not have to pay any taxes. But after the change in the exemption level, another 13 million individual tax returns did not require to pay taxes. Thus, of about 58 million returns, as much as 63 per cent or 35 million went out of the direct tax net, A K Bhattacharya points out.
Many in party believe that Advani will be left out as the group of veterans supporting him will not stick together for long.
Hema Malini and Shaina NC have also been omitted from the group.
