The longest-serving chief minister of any Hindi- speaking state, Nitish Kumar seems to have acquired an aura of indispensability when it comes to the highest seat of power in Bihar.
In its report, the panel asked it to 'enlighten it' whether the term 'central government' or 'Union government' was used at the time of framing of the Constitution.
Bihar is no stranger to being at the centre of a tectonic shift in national politics fuelled by turbulent regional forces.
Altogether 160 MLAs voted in favour of the confidence motion while no vote was cast against the same.
We shall be taking oath at the Raj Bhavan, tomorrow, around 4-4.30 pm, Kumar siad.
Despite the BJP emerging as the largest party in the ruling alliance with 74 seats, 31 more than the JDU, the top leadership of the saffron party, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has emphatically endorsed Kumar as the next chief minister.
'I will study at a private English medium school and become an IAS officer, my aim is clear.'
Shashi Tharoor has also been retained as the chairman of the panel on Information Technology.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien said the situation in Bihar is one of the reasons behind the Parliament session being cut short by the government.
Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari reveal that Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's name is now doing the rounds as President Kovind's likely successor.
Social media needs to be made more accountable and stricter rules in this regard could be brought in if there is political consensus on the matter, Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
The BJP, which has traditionally been considered as the party of upper castes and Vaishyas/Baniyas, seems to be consolidating its base especially among Vaishyas and EBCs.
The seat had fallen vacant following the death of Lok Janshakti Party founder and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
Modi, one of the tallest leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar, had been missing from action for quite some time and was conspicuous by his absence when Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the party's manifesto earlier in the day.
A 14-member council of ministers was sworn in Patna by Governor Phagu Chauhan on Monday and the BJP bagged seven berths.
The Parliament on Tuesday unanimously passed the bill to restore the power of states and union territories to prepare and maintain their own list of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs).
Replying to a query in Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said there was no delay by the Centre in taking action after identification of fraud by the State Bank of India following the forensic report from Ernst & Young.
'By making Rachel Rajeshwari, Tejashwi has done an exemplary thing.'
In the midst of electioneering, the Janata Dal-United candidate from Jagdishpur assembly seat Sushumlata Kushwaha delivered a baby girl, drawing rich praise from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday.
Members of allies, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Lok Janshakti Party, were left out from the cabinet expansion.
Kamat is the second minister in Nitish Kumar's cabinet to succumb to the infection this week.
The authorities in Bihar have registered an FIR against Khan Sir and five teachers for allegedly inciting violence over the controversy surrounding the results of tests conducted by the RRB-NTPC after the recent violent protests in Patna.
Chaudhary sent his resignation immediately after assuming charge at 1 pm, informed sources said.
Speculations were rife over the post with senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh, who was in the state to oversee the party's post-election activities, and chief minister Nitish Kumar keeping off from the issue when asked by the press.
His career as a bureaucrat has been somewhat colourless, which suggests his current elevation is simply a matter of being at the right place at the right time.
LJP candidate from Matihani constituency, Raj Kumar Singh defeated Janata Dal-United's Narendra Kumar Singh aka Bogo Singh by a slender margin of 333 votes.
Addressing a press conference, Paswan said he was happy that the BJP had emerged "much bigger and stronger" in Bihar, and ruled out any possibility of a truck with the opposition Grand Alliance, comprising RJD, Congress and three Left parties, citing "ideological differences".
BJP backed to the hilt Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as its leader in the state and rebuffed a rebellious Chirag Paswan, while acknowledging his Lok Janshakti Party as an ally 'at the Centre'. At a press conference which was attended by top leaders of the JD-U headed by Kumar and the BJP, it was made clear that 'only those who accept the chief ministers leadership will be deemed to be a part of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar'.
Recalling his association with Jaitley, the CM said that "I had very close association with Arun Jailey ji since 1998 when I got the opportunity to work in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government... I am deeply hurt with passing away of Arun Jaitley ji."
BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday said it is not possible to bring petrol and diesel under the GST regime for the next eight to 10 years as it would cause an annual revenue loss of Rs 2 lakh crore to all states. Centre and states collectively collect over Rs 5 lakh crore tax on petroleum products, Modi told the Rajya Sabha while participating in a discussion on the Finance Bill 2021. The statement assumes significance in view of the rise in petrol price for the past over one year which even touched Rs 100 per litre in some states. In the first reduction in rates in over a year, petrol price on Wednesday was cut by 18 paise per litre and diesel by 17 paise a litre as international oil prices tumbled to the lowest since early February.
Paswan's statement came on a day when he was excoriated by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, who called the LJP leader a "vote Katua" (splitter of votes) and accused him of trying to create a confusion by harping on his equations with senior leaders of the saffron party.
Yadav, the elder son of former chief ministers Prasad and Rabri Devi, on Thursday marched to the General Post Office in Patna with his supporters who carried bundles of postcards addressed to the President seeking release of the jailed party supremo.
'In this election, the only thing that is going to matter is which caste aligns with which coalition.'
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said, a hike in GST rates would have hampered consumption amid the economic slowdown. The revenue augmentation panel in the Council meeting recently recommended revisiting and restructuring the GST rate slabs, besides correcting the inverted duty structure. The panel listed 24 items, including mobile phones, footwear, fabrics, LED light, medical equipment, utensils, agri machinery, pharma, and renewable components, which have an inverted duty structure, resulting in refunds of close to Rs 20,000 crore annually.
The senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader had made the allegation in a tweet on Sunday wherein he had also launched a veiled attack on a sitting Congress MLA, who had shot off a letter to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, seeking return of Rs 50 lakh released from his local area development fund.
'It is true that Nitish Kumar had shown reluctance to continue as chief minister after the assembly polls and said the BJP should stake claim for the top post'
'The main characteristic of Bihar politics is that it has always affected Delhi.'
Names of eight-term MLA from Gaya town Prem Kumar and that of Kameshwar Choupal, a Dalit MLC who had laid the foundation stone for the temple at Ayodhya in the 1990s, are also doing the rounds for the post in the political circles.
It is likely to be a stormy affair with divergent views on market borrowing. Centre will likely press states to borrow to make up for the shortfall, but states want either the Centre or the GST Council to do so.
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