'At no point did Kamal Nath and Digvijaya indicate that the Opposition bloc was formed only to fight the Lok Sabha polls.'
A group of faculty members of Ashoka University has written to its vice chancellor claiming that free thought within universities in India is in crisis today and demanded that all decisions on matters related to academic freedom should be put on hold till the promised committee for academic freedom is in place.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to present Union Budget on February 28.
The Telugu Desam Party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam continued to raise the issue of the dam over the River Cauvery and special status for Andhra Pradesh in both the Houses. While the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day soon after it met at 11.00 am, the Lok Sabha saw repeated adjournments, but managed to pass the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill amid the din.
The proceedings began at 11 am with two-minute silence for those killed in the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis that began on May 3.
It will be the year of preparation for the electoral test in Uttar Pradesh, due in 2022. But before that, the West Bengal Assembly election will set the mood for the rest of 2021.
Dubbing Rahul Gandhi's utterances on the Adarsh issue as "contrived", Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley on Saturday said his anger is not natural but "manufactured dissent" and queried why it had been "missing" when the 2G, Coal and Commonwealth scams had surfaced.
This form of government, where secrets and major decisions are kept from the Cabinet itself, appears to be continuing, which is why the speculation around this special session, asserts Aakar Patel.
IMAGE: Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi at Parliament House during the winter session in New Delhi on Friday. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo
In a further escalation of the confrontation between the Congress and the government, the opposition party claimed that a committee constituted by the Delhi government has found 'gross financial irregularities' in the DDCA during that period.
The compulsions of the Hindutva vote bank over 25 years in Maharashtra have made the two parties the oldest ideological partners and it is unrealistic to believe the situation has changed, reports Sunil Gatade.
In the five years in politics Priyanka Gandhi has undeniably emerged as a thorn in the BJP flesh, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay. It is time that this thorn is twisted a wee bit more when the elections have become far more uncertain than what it was when the Election Commission announced the poll schedule.
He was suffering from lung cancer for last several months, West Bengal CPI secretary Swapan Banerjee said.
According to the Committee's recommendation, while Part 1 of the Budget session would be held from January 29 to February 15, Part 2 would be from March 8 to April 8.
The Government on Friday managed to have its way in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G scam when the panel approved the draft report giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram with a 16-11 vote in its favour.
Rahul targets the Modi government on Twitter, using the hashtag "BikGayaChowkidar".
The winter session that begins on Thursday is likely to be a stormy with the Opposition stacking up a lot of ammunition to attack the government and it could be visible from day one.
'Every Congressperson is disillusioned in different degrees.'
The Congress, which was not a petitioner before the apex court, wants the Rafale deal to be referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee to go into the price arrived at by the BJP government versus the one negotiated by the previous UPA regime, as also how billionaire Anil Ambani's group with virtually no experience in manufacture of fighter jets was selected as an offset partner for the deal.
The lower house has been witnessing daily disruptions since the winter session began last week. It had passed a bill on transgender rights on Monday.
Amid a stalemate between the government and the Opposition over the issue, the House failed to transact any significant business and was adjourned for the day.
The rapprochement could open the door to an anti-saffron alliance for the 2019 general elections, reports Archis Mohan.
'The Constitution of India is a stumbling block. So, they want a Presidential mode of election.' 'This is the sole purpose of the BJP to go for one nation, one election.'
In keeping with the main theme of 'Tides Surging in Asia', the ceremony was about the intermingling of China, Asia and the world in the new era
"Articles 15(4) and 16(4) (dealing with provision for socially and educationally backward classes, and reservation) do not put any limit on the percentage of quota and there is no constitutional hurdle in increasing the same," Sharad Pawar said.
'No sovereign guarantee, no bank guarantee, no escrow account, yet a huge amount was paid as advance'
'It is violation of the Model Code of Conduct.' 'It is a penal offence under the IPC to exert undue influence on voters.' 'Under the election law, it is a corrupt practice.'
The situation in Manipur and the Delhi services ordinance are set to dominate the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning Thursday with the Opposition gearing up to raise these issues to corner the government.
The 54-year-old Lekhi, who took oath as a Union Minister of State on Wednesday on her second term as the MP from the prestigious New Delhi constituency, has been at the forefront of struggles on a host of issues ranging from those pertaining to women and environment to law and development.
An impartial probe into the coal scam can only take place once Prime Minister Manmohan Singh steps down from office, Bharatiya Janata Party said on Friday in reaction to his offer to face CBI in a coal block allocation case.
Pawar's recent comment which was inferred as defence of Modi was welcomed by the BJP and party president Amit Shah had thanked Pawar for the same.
The productivity of the Budget session was abysmal. The Lok Sabha functioned for 33% of its scheduled time (46 hours); the Rajya Sabha 24% (32 hours).
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on home in its report, which was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, took stock of overall performance of ministry of home affairs.
The two Houses would now meet on December 27 as there would be no sitting on December 24 and December 26 in view of Christmas.
The unity by the opposition parties is likely to reflect inside Parliament as well.
Ending days of suspense, the Congress on Thursday announced Siddaramaiah as the next chief minister of Karnataka and D K Shivakumar as his only deputy in the soon-to-formed cabinet.
Jaitley said it is no surprise that Dr Manmohan Singh is unhappy as 'maximum black money was generated' under his rule.
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has named Ravneet Kaur, a Punjab cadre IAS officer of 1988 batch, as chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Kaur will hold the post for five years or until attaining the age of 65. She is the second woman to serve in an 'economic regulator' role after Madhabi Puri Buch, who was appointed chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India last year and the first woman to head the country's chief national competition regulator.
Environmental activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk accused the BJP of reneging on its promise of including Ladakh under the sixth schedule.
Providing official secret information to a journalist is a 'criminal act' and both the giver and the receiver will have to go to jail, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday referring to the purported WhatsApp chats of Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami doing the rounds of social media.
