'It is not as if Hindus are not being touched at all, and only Muslims are.'
There is, between Rao's tenure as PM and the current Modi regime, a powerful resonance of how transition can be managed. Rao's tenure saw many scams -- one where he was supposedly approached by Harshad Mehta with a bribe for making the securities scam go away. The Opposition insisted on a JPC. Despite knowing a JPC report would undermine him politically, Rao agreed to one, saying he had 'nothing to hide'.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sougata Roy has demanded the removal of Kalyan Banerjee as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha after a spat with fellow MP Mahua Moitra. Roy accused Banerjee of "uncivilised" behaviour on multiple occasions and cited incidents of Banerjee breaking a bottle and throwing it at the chairman of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting and making inappropriate remarks about Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. The spat between Moitra and Banerjee reportedly occurred on April 4 when a TMC delegation met the Election Commission over duplicate voter ID numbers. Banerjee was tasked with collecting signatures from TMC MPs on a memorandum to be submitted to the Election Commission, and Moitra alleged that she was not included in the signatories, leading to a heated exchange. Roy, who was present at the time, said he saw Moitra crying and complaining about Banerjee's behaviour. Roy believes that Banerjee's actions warrant his removal as chief whip and left the decision to Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee. The incident has also been highlighted in leaked WhatsApp messages, where Banerjee engaged in heated exchanges with another TMC MP, Kirti Azad, leading to further accusations of uncivilised behaviour.
The Janata Dal (United), an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has sought an extension in the tenure of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) scrutinising the bills proposing simultaneous elections. The party argued that the committee, which has only met once, requires more time for extensive consultations. Meanwhile, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), another BJP ally, has demanded a "special industrial package" for Bihar, highlighting the state's low per capita income compared to the national average.
A three-judge Supreme Court bench will hear petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, on April 16. The petitions, including those by politicians and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, were filed in the top court challenging the validity of the newly-enacted law. The Centre has filed a caveat in the apex court, seeking a hearing before any order is passed.
'Muslims in Bihar under Nitishji's rule are safest than anywhere else.'
An upcoming book by investigative journalist Chitra Subramaniam claims that senior Indian bureaucrats "tutored" Bofors officials in a secret meeting in 1987 on how to absolve then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of all blame in the infamous bribery scandal. The book, "Boforsgate," details how the meeting was held to cover up the alleged Rs 64 crore bribe in a Rs 1,437 crore deal for Howitzer guns, and how Indian officials provided advice on concealing information from investigators. Subramaniam's revelations are based on documents provided to her by the Swedish head of police investigating the Bofors case.
With billionaire Gautam Adani charged in the United States with alleged bribery and fraud, the Congress on Thursday said it 'vindicates' its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation into the various 'scams' involving his conglomerate.
One of the reasons why the TMC decided not to demand a JPC is that the chairperson and most of its members would be from the BJP, he said, adding JPC means putting the issue under the carpet.
The opposition on Sunday asked the Centre to allow discussions in the Parliament on the United States prosecutors' bribery charges against the Adani Group even as Union minister Kiren Rijiju made it clear that the matters to be taken up in the two Houses will be decided by their authorised committees with the consent of the respective Chair.
Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate on Tuesday, with the opposition terming the move 'dictatorial' and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the legislation would not tamper with the powers enjoyed by states.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was passed in the Lok Sabha early Thursday, with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to name the committee's chairperson soon.
Dr Manmohan Singh first embossed himself on the national consciousness when as India's finance minister he flagged off economic reforms which changed this nation forever.
Pawar posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, pictures of him and Adani cutting a ribbon of the factory.
'They want to snatch the land and give it to their friends'
India's Parliament is set to begin its Budget session on Friday, with opposition parties poised to demand a discussion on the alleged mismanagement of the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, where 30 pilgrims died in a stampede. The opposition also accused the government of politicising parliamentary committees and pushing its agenda through its majority. The session will start with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both houses of Parliament. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Saturday for the eighth consecutive time.
'We are going to need more technical people in government.' 'You can't expect a generalist to understand the complicated world of financial engineering.' 'I regret to say that most of our politicians have no competence to deal with these things. Nor is there a willingness to learn.'
Leaders of various INDIA bloc parties have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to allow leaders of the opposition in both Houses of Parliament to speak during the Constitution Day function to be held on Tuesday. The function will be addressed by President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The letter, signed by leaders of various opposition parties, states that they believe in the best traditions and interests of Parliamentary democracy, the Leaders of Opposition (LoPs) in both Houses should also be given an opportunity to speak on this historic occasion. Parliamenary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, however, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be addressing the event and accused "some of the Opposition parties " of giving reactions without knowing the actual arrangement. He added that sitting arrangements have been made for the Leaders of Opposition of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the dais.
The development comes a day after a government resolution (GR) was issued, in which the state administration ordered disbursal of Rs 10 crore funds for strengthening the state Waqf Board.
The Pal-led committee is currently on a tour of five states to speak to various stakeholders though opposition members have boycotted it.
Opposition MPs in the parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill are scheduled to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday to protest its chairperson Jagdambika Pal's alleged 'unilateral' decisions and attempts to 'bulldoze' proceedings, indicating that they may disassociate themselves from the panel.
The meeting of the Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill took an ugly turn as the Trinamool Congress MP smashed a glass water bottle and threw it towards panel chairman Jagdambika Pal of the Bharatiya Janata Party during a heated exchange of words with BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a former Calcutta high court judge.
In the backdrop of former Telecom Minister A Raja telling the JPC that he took major decisions after consulting the prime minister, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha on Wednesday asked Manmohan Singh to appear before the panel, saying his silence will "confirm" his involvement in the 2G scam.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee, probing the 2G telecom spectrum allocation scam, is unlikely to call former Telecom Minister A Raja as a witness before it.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday rejected the Opposition's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into both the IPL controversy and the phone-tapping issue, on the ground that it was not needed. "JPC for what? This is not a fit case for JPC," Dr Singh said when asked about the Opposition's demand for a JPC into the phone-tapping allegation. He said Home Minister P Chidambaram had explained the phone-tapping allegations in Parliament.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi asserted that the Congress will protect the Constitution and the reservation system at all costs and foil "conspiracies" of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G scam is set to get a fresh extension with the Lok Sabha on Monday unanimously adopting a resolution to this effect.
Communist Party of India - Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat on Sunday stated that the Left parties would not compromise on the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam.The CPI-M leader underlined the urgent need for an alternative economic policy as the people were reeling under scorching prices for the 'wrong policies adopted by the United Progressive Alliance'.
Indicted in the draft JPC report, former Telecom Minister A Raja on Monday hit back maintaining that "every major decision", including entry fee and non auction of spectrum, was taken after consulting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee.
"The decision of whether or not to grant you permission to depose before the Joint Parliamentary Committee will be taken on the basis of the members' opinion."
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Saturday said Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar not favouring formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe allegations against the Adani group will not lead to cracks in opposition unity.
Coca-Cola India has written a letter to the joint parliamentary committee, probing allegations of pesticides in beverages, seeking permission to depose before it.
The Supreme Court's verdict on the Rafale deal spurred a war of words between the BJP and the Congress.
Amid demands for calling Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram as witnesses before the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G, Bharatiya Janata Party members in the panel on Thursday once again abstained from its proceedings. During the last meeting of the JPC on October 11, the BJP members had stayed away after accusing JPC Chairman P Chacko of failing to finalise the list of witnesses and include the prime minister and Chidambaram in it.
The Congress also alleged that Facebook was acting as an ally of the ruling BJP and pushing its agenda.
Bharatiya Janata Party and Communist Party of India on Monday came together to take on the government over JPC report on 2G scam, alleging that the "fraud" and "fabricated" document was tabled in Lok Sabha in violation of rules which has set a "bad precedent".
There is still no clarity from the government side on the number of members of the JPC as to whether there will be 21 or 31. If it is 21, the Lok Sabha will have 14 members and the Rajya Sabha 7. If it is 31, the Lok Sabha will get 21 berths, including that of chairman, and the Rajya Sabha will get 10.
Congress support to Janata Dal-United in Bihar Assembly on Wednesday lends a new dimension to the much-delayed meeting of the JPC on 2G scam to be held next week to discuss adoption of the controversial draft report that gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
Notwithstanding strong demand by Bharatiya Janata Party members for calling Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the Joint Parliamentary Committee examining 2G spectrum allocation scam is unlikely to call him or any other minister as witnesses.
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