The total value of Naveen Patnaik's assets has swelled by Rs 4 crore from Rs 7.98 crore to Rs 12.06 crore between 2009 and 2014. This increase is because of appreciation of property value instead of acquisition of any new property.
The prime minister was often seen vigorously thumping the desk, prompting his Cabinet colleagues and NDA MPs to follow suit.
India is mushrooming with Deve Gowda wannabes because being a former prime minister is better than being a former chief minister, says Shekhar Gupta.
The passage of this major legislation comes ahead of the general election due early next year.
The move is being seen as an attempt to forge opposition unity to defeat the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
Biju Janata Dal termed the Budget, which was presented in Parliament by Rail Minister Sadananda Gowda, 'quite shocking' and 'illogical' as it complained that no emphasis had been made in it for the areas that generated more revenue from freight.
Accusing the Modi government of interfering in states ruled by non-BJP parties by creating "artificial crisis" there, the Janata Dal-United on Monday appealed to regional parties such as the Trinamool Congress, the Biju Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party to "join hands" to counter the "dirty designs".
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sumitra Mahajan will be the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha with senior leaders from all parties, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, moving motions on Thursday proposing her name for the high office.
A bill to amend a law on the appointment of Central Bureau of Investigation chief was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday amid stiff resistance with the Congress alleging that it was aimed at keeping the largest opposition party out of the selection process, a charge denied by the government.
'If the Congress is to challenge the NDA government, Rahul Gandhi will have to shed his indifference to Parliament, become more visible and vocal and, essentially, lead from the front,' says Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal.
The government has conveyed its "deep concern" to the US administration over attacks on Indians there, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday, asserting that the safety of Indian diaspora was a top priority.
The win in UP is especially significant because UP assembly members carry the maximum value of votes in a Presidential election, given the fact that the state is India's most populous.
Ahead of the visit of an all-party delegation to Jammu and Kashmir, political parties on Saturday pitched for holding dialogue with "all stakeholders", including Hurriyat, to douse the unrest and banning the use of pellet guns by security forces.
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to the GST bill to compensate states for revenue loss for five years on introduction of the uniform nationwide indirect tax regime.
The chief minister skipped meals and remained awake the entire night on a makeshift dais along with some senior ministers and party members.
Maharashtra could become the gateway for the rest of the country.
Amid noisy scenes, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017 for discussion and passage, but pandemonium broke out in the Upper House with the opposition creating an uproar and the BJP countering it vociferously.
Even the United Progressive Alliance constituent Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday rubbished the Planning Panel's claim that the number of poor people had declined to 21.9 per cent.
The Biju Janata Dal MP from Dhenkanal says crime will come down if cannabis is legalised.
Political leaders and celebrities, including Union Minister Kapil Sibal, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and filmmaker Karan Johar, have condoled the death of Sunanda Pushkar whose body was found at a five-star hotel in New Delhi.
Even as the BJP makes inroads into previously unfamiliar territories in eastern India, the party will have to be wary of losing out elsewhere, says Amulya Ganguli.
Opposition calls the Budget 'hollow and plain'.
Promising Central Bureau of Investigation probe into mining, chit fund and other scams in Odisha, Congress on Friday said it would review all MoUs signed by BJD government in the state in last 10 years, provide pucca houses to landless and allowance to unemployed youths if voted to power.
For the government to meet its GST roll-out deadline of April 1, 2017, the states will have to ratify the Bill before Parliament's winter session, starting November.
The new law will apply to all establishments employing 10 or more people and the entitlement will be for only up to first two children.
The Janata Dal-United on Friday announced its support to Congress for the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha even as the treasury side has kept suspense over the issue.
'If there is lesser number of elections, populism will naturally be restricted.' 'Decisions will be taken speedily because there won't be the spectre of adverse electoral impact of the decisions because elections will be held once in five years or maximum two times in five years.'
Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi, Government on Wednesday dared him to give proof in Parliament on his allegations against the government and PMO on National Herald issue.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley appealed to parties to rise above partisan considerations to support it.
Noisy protests by the members of the Congress and other opposition parties seeking an apology from the prime minister continued unabated throughout the day since the proceedings began.
A Dalit girl, who was set ablaze after an attempted rape, died after struggling for survival for twelve days at a hospital in Bhubaneswar, triggering public protests and demands for the resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
While Rahul loyalists were keen that he be given the post, a leader known to be close to him said, "If he does not become the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, then he should quit politics."
In a blistering attack on Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi on Monday dubbed the Gujarat model propagated by Modi as a 'toffee model', saying it has only benefited one industrialist in the state, ignoring the interests of farmers and the poor.
Congress received donations worth over Rs 66 crore and NCP garnered about Rs 14 crore from individuals and business entities in fund contributions of over Rs 20,000 in the last financial year while BJP was among the parties which did not disclose such details to the Election Commission till the November 30 deadline.
Rare unanimity was witnessed as the members passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014.
'There are no jobs, the economy is slowing down, but the BJP is more concerned with issues like triple talaq, anti-Romeo squads and the beef ban.'
Pushing efforts to firm up a Third Front, top leaders of the Janata Dal-United, Left and the Janta Dal-Secular met in New Delhi on Monday and decided to convene a meeting of 11 parties after the end of the current Parliament session to give concrete shape to a non-Congress and non-BJP alternative.
'Putting Yogi Adityanath in the CM's seat two years before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls is something to be read carefully.' 'Opposition parties would be dishonest themselves and unfair to secular people if they failed to unite and work as a single force to defeat the BJP.'
Lack of numbers would upstage it in Rajya Sabha
Venkaiah Naidu said Aadhaar will not be made mandatory till the entire population gets such cards or UID numbers.
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