Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi attacked the Modi government of forcing everyone into silence at a function to re-launch the National Herald newspaper.
With logjam in the Upper House leaving key bills in the limbo, Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari has called an all-party meeting on Friday.
During Vajpayee's tenure, he was there as an indispensable insider, witness to every action that had an impact on history: Pokhran-II (nuclear tests in 1998), the 1999 Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan, the Indo-Pak Agra Summit in 2001, intense engagement with the United States on nuclear issues besides the Kandahar hijack.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday called on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Islamabad and discussed connectivity, terror threats to the war-torn country and the peace and reconciliation process there.
Tuesday's exercise underlines Bharatiya Janata Party's attempts at wooing Dalits and OBCs, whose votes would be crucial to its fortunes in key states like UP and Gujarat.
Vice President Hamid Ansari on Monday held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and conveyed the new Indian government's interest in furthering bilateral ties, even as he flagged off India's concerns over border related issues during his parleys with the top leadership in Beijing.
Speaking to the Indian community, he asked them to join the campaigns launched by Prime Minister Modi such as 'Digital India', 'Startup India, Stand up India', 'Clean India Mission', 'Smart Cities' etc.
On Thursday, December 14, Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy tweeted: 'Jihadis have killed, maimed, brutalised tens of thousands of innocent people all across the world. And you ask me about a man killed in Rajasthan and then tell me not to do whataboutery!' It was not the first time that Roy's statements have provoked controversy. Should Tathagata Roy even be a governor, asks Amulya Ganguli.
Ending a weeklong logjam, Rajya Sabha on Monday resumed normal functioning during the Question Hour after government and opposition leaders agreed to a compromise formula to end protests over Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's controversial remarks.
'Today, there is pervasive fear in society; an uncertainty of what might happen.' 'This has forced Muslims to shrink further into mental ghettos, with many considering extreme measures like pretending to change their identity.'
Former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and three others were on Sunday inducted into the Union Cabinet as Prime Minister Narendra Modi expanded his Council of Ministers, bringing in 21 new ministers as Shiv Sena kept away from the exercise.
The chairman posed questions before the House, mentioning earlier instances of adjournment in such cases, saying the norm was to adjourn only when a sitting member of the Upper House passed away.
Will the Monsoon Session of Parliament be adjourned sine die on Monday? That's the buzz in the Central Hall of Parliament on Friday, with many members of Parliament from both the Bhartiya Janata Party and the Congress, privately saying that the situation was getting out of control with the continued stalemate in the first week of the session.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday said people of India have not treated Hinduism as their fiefdom but as their heritage meant for the world and there is a greater need for people in the country to have knowledge of its roots than those abroad.
The nation on Thursday remembered Mahatma Gandhi on his 145th birth anniversary with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders paying floral tributes at his memorial in New Delhi.
Insiders said Akhilesh's warring uncle Shivpal Yadav and Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh were not present at father-son meeting.
Apparently exasperated over frequent disruptions, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has called an all-party meet on Monday to discuss possible changes in rules for smooth running of House.
At 35 years, April 1981 born Anupriya Patel, who comes from electorally crucial Uttar Pradesh, is the youngest face to be inducted in the Modi government.
With his "anarchists" remark evoking a sharp reaction from the Opposition, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Wednesday maintained that it was not an allegation against anybody and said his secretariat will review it in light of the atmosphere prevailing in the House at that time.
The opposition on Friday created ruckus in Parliament over the issue of regional language aspirants having disadvantage in Civil Services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission.
Setting up Chinese Industrial Parks in India, increased access to Indian products to bridge the ballooning trade deficit besides border issues was expected to figure in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.
Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Prince Karim Aga Khan were among the eminent personalities awarded the Padma Vibhushan, country's second highest civilian honour, by President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party chose not to raise any protests when their demand to raise Robert Vadra's suspect land deals was not considered by Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari. Anita Katyal reports.
Hyper-nationalism and closing of mind is also a manifestation of insecurity about one's place in the world, the vice-president said.
The Zero Hour saw members from opposition and treasury benches coming together to condemn Justice Katju's remarks in his blog with the entire House later unanimously adopting a resolution by a voice vote.
Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party government for spurt in prices of essential commodities during its 45-day rule, Opposition Congress on Monday took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for riding to power on promise of controlling inflation yet doing nothing on it.
Acclaimed writer Nayantara Sahgal, the niece of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, has returned the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award to protest against the "vicious assault" on India's diversity and the government's failure to protect cultural diversity.
Turmoil over Telangana statehood and a variety of other issues paralysed proceedings in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday prompting a comment from the Chair that he was "disturbed" and "disappointed" over lack of consensus to run the House.
Congress along with Communist Party of India-Marxist and Janata Dal-United accused Irani of "willfully misleading" Parliament.
Through the programme, he said he felt like he was conversing with 'my family while sitting at home'.
There is a lot to be done at Rashtrapati Bhavan, said President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday as he ushered in his fourth year in office dispelling notions that life in the President's Estate was in a "realm of boredom".
'Surprised and pained that my name has been dragged into Indian domestic politics,' says Pakistan's former foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri.
With SAD member and union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
She was 86 and passed away on Friday night at her residence in Noida.
Towering effigies of 10-headed demon king Ravana, his son Meghnad and brother Kumbhakaran crackled in fiery splendour marking the triumph of good over evil as gusto and fervour marked Dussehra festivities across the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-speculated Cabinet reshuffle is likely to take place on Monday, reports R Rajagopalan/Rediff.com.
An all-party meeting on Monday failed to hammer out a consensus over the controversial Insurance Bill, which was scheduled to be taken up in Rajya Sabha.
What Shekhar Gupta would have really liked to know from Pranabda: Why did Sonia prefer Dr Singh to him as PM? Why did he deny finance first, why did he accept it 5 years later, and why did he make such a mess of it? How did he force Sonia to nominate him for President and not Hamid Ansari? And how does he justify that most toxic legacy -- the Vodafone tax amendment?
Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart L K Advani turned 88 on Sunday and was greeted by a host of leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
India will pay China over Rs 82 lakh annually for crucial flood data of the Brahmaputra to improve flood forecasting even as the two sides agreed to allow their water experts to conduct study tours on both sides of the river which originates in Tibet.
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