The Odisha government and the Maoist-nominated mediators on Monday resumed negotiation to free the abducted Italian as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik made a fresh appeal to the Naxals to release him.
Congress candidate Gabriel Denwang Wangsu won the Kanubari Assembly seat in Arunachal Pradesh in a close contest defeating his lone rival Rongnai Maham of BJP by 885 votes in the October 15 by-poll.
Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma, who is being backed by the Biju Janata Dal and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for the President's post, on Tuesday sought to reach out to political parties, saying he hoped they will respond "to the call of conscience of the tribal people of the nation."
Maoists have released abducted Biju Janata Dal Member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka on Thursday morning. The release comes after captivity of over a month. Media reports said that Hikaka was released at an undisclosed location into the custody of his wife, and Nihar Ranjan Patnaik, a lawyer.
Two crucial bills, forming part of NDA government's reforms agenda, got approval of Parliament within minutes today after a number of non-NDA parties backed the legislations in Rajya Sabha where the ruling coalition is short in numbers.
The Opposition concluded that NCP's Chavan would be able to get the support of all opposition parties and even a few of the National Democratic Alliance allies.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu announced in the House that the election will be held at 11 am on August 9.
In Lok Sabha, the Opposition demanded action against cow vigilantes.
The dinner was attended by a select few guests like Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her counterpart in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury, BJD leader Jay Panda and National Security Adviser Shivshanker Menon.
'The uneducated think of their rights as a gift. This is deeply troubling.' 'If they were educated they could claim what is rightfully theirs.'
Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who joined the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha election, lost to Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib constituency in Bihar by 2.84 votes.
With the four-member central team set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) delaying submission of its report on Posco's proposed steel project by one week, BJD heavyweights were hopeful over the fate of the country's biggest FDI.
The former union home and finance minister also alleged that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government would not have taken the bold decision had Jammu and Kashmir been a "Hindu-dominated" state.
The Opposition accused the government of bringing a populist budget.
The incident regarding Chinese troops entering the border district of Chamoli in Uttarakhand is that of "transgression" and not "incursion", the government said on Thursdy.
The bill defines electronic cigarettes ss electronic devices that heat a substance, which may contain nicotine and other chemicals, to create vapour for inhalation.
Anti-incumbency is fast losing relevance as an election factor in India.
Declaring that its erstwhile coalition partner in Orissa, Biju Janata Dal, and the Congress are its prime enemies, the Bharatiya Janata Party has threatened to expose the 'misdeeds' of the Naveen Patnaik government. "Being part of the coalition, we know the misdeeds of the Naveen government and have enough material against it, which would be made known during electioneering in phases," BJP said. It dubbed BJD as 'a great betrayer'.
Janata Dal-United chief Sharad Yadav, his party colleague Pawan K Verma in Bihar and senior Congress leaders B K Hariprasad and Rajiv Gowda of Karnataka were among the 12 candidates who filed their nominations on Monday on the last day for June 19 elections for Rajya Sabha berths in 4 states.
Senior BJP leader and former MP M A Kharabela Swain on Tuesday announced severing of ties with the party alleging undue interference and control of RSS in party affairs and said he will soon launch a new political outfit as an alternative to ruling BJD in Orissa.
"It is a historic day. We are making history today," Law Minister said.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party losing Biju Janata Dal as an ally in Orissa, the Congress on Monday gloated over the plight of its principal challenger alleging National Democratic Alliance was "virtually non-existent" and there was "no serious challenge" to the United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha polls.
Jaitley said the cap on cash transactions is being reduced to curb generation of black money and the move to introduce electoral bonds is for cleansing the political funding
After Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved the amended Finance Bill for consideration by the Lok Sabha, Deepender Hooda (Congress) said this was a "historic" occasion as never in the past had the Rajya Sabha amended the Finance Bill.
The opposition has decided to continue with their winning streak and further embarrass the government.
India is not evolving towards a bipolar polity, but towards a complex multipolar system, in which regional and caste-based parties are indispensable to government formation at the Centre. The Left may shrink in size but will have a place of its own, which cannot be ignored.
Janata Dal Secular chief H D Deve Gowda on Tuesday said that Biju Janata Dal chief and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik would definitely join the Third Front, following the split in the BJD- Bharatiya Janata Party alliance.Gowda said that he had spoken to Patnaik, who had assured him that he will join the Third Front unconditionally.When queried about the Third Front rally, which will be held in Bangalore on Thursday, Gowda said Patnaik would not be able to attend.
Cyclone 'Titli' did dampen the spirits of hockey fans to some extent but not veterans like Dilip Tirkey and Dhanraj Pillay who were excited about the exhibition match played, in Bhubaneswar, on Wednesday.
The 71-year-old Dalit leader is expected to have a smooth sailing in the event of an election.
Top BJP leaders, including its president Amit Shah, reached out to their allies as well as other parties with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar expressing confidence that the government will get support from 'new' parties.
The 67-year-old hasn't only received a clear-cut mandate for an unprecedented fourth term but also done it on his own. From distributing tickets to planning party campaigns to chalking out strategies for the present and the future, the chief minister had played a stellar role throughout, and emerged successful in his endeavour. Bikash Mohapatra reports
But will this move of BJD supremo and chief minister Naveen Patnaik help him to return to power for the third consecutive term? Or will his decision to sever 11 year old ties with BJP, which saw him at the head of a coalition government for last nine years, prove to be costly? This is the question that every voter in the state is asking.
The Third Front will be a major force in the next Lok Sabha polls, says Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Niloptal Basu.
BJP and other rivals took the opportunity to slam the Congress and asked that there be no political intervention.
The proceedings were washed out over various issues including the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and roster system for reservation in educational institutions.
'A rag-tag coalition is more insecure and hence, more inclined to reform,' argues Devangshu Datta.
CBI has registered three FIRs in West Bengal against Saradha group and 44 FIRs in Odisha against chit fund companies allegedly operating on the lines of Saradha.
The breach of privilege notice against Maken was issued for going to the press on an issue raised in the House.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to vote in large numbers. "Today, there are bypolls taking place in various places across India. I urge those voting in these seats to vote in large numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy," he said in a tweet.
A weak presence in the Rajya Sabha has forced the NDA to try and rope in 'weak links' in the Opposition ranks to pass key legislation in the Upper House.
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