Consultations on the next Presidential candidate gained momentum today with the Left parties indicating their support to a Congress candidate while Bharatiya Janata Party began lobbying for its nominee and Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
The reaction came a day after Gandhi obliquely attacked the Left, saying that "elements" opposing the nuclear agreement were not only "enemies" of the Congress, but also of the nation's progress and development.
Consensus eluded an all-party meeting called on FDI issue on Monday even as Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party provided comfort to the government by not insisting on voting and Trinamool Congress springing a surprise by speaking in a similar tone.
Fissures in the opposition over Foreign Direct Investment in retail came to government's aid Thursday as the opening day of Parliament's winter session was washed out and Trinamool Congress' move for a no-confidence motion flopped.
The return of the Communist Party of India - Marxist-led Left Front in Tripura and the victory of the Forward Bloc in Nalhati in West Bengal reflects the "re-emergence" of the Left parties, said senior CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury.
Faced with a deadlock over the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill due to stiff opposition from the Left parties, the government is contemplating to bring a separate Bill on pension funds for private sector employees.
As India's negotiation with International Atomic Energy Agency is in its concluding stage, the Communist Party of India on Wednesday said the Left parties are determined not to allow the government to go ahead with the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.
The Left has already made it clear that its top leaders Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury, A B Bardhan, D Raja, Abani Roy and Debabrata Biswas will be their nominees in the committee, which is expected to be a political one.
So long as no females were allowed to pray there, the strength of emotion kept the issue burning. As more and more women do this, the matter will fade.
The Left party leaders are scheduled to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Dr Singh in a bid to evolve a consensus on the issue.
The insurance Bill seeks to increase the cap on shareholding of foreign investors
Upping the ante, two Members of Legislative Assembly of principal opposition in the assembly Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, whose meeting with Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has left party founder and actor Vijaykanth red faced, on Tuesday dared him to sack them from the organisation. "We went and met the chief minister to discuss the problems of the people. If they (DMDK leaders) feel it is a mistake, let them dismiss us," Radhapuram MLA C Michael Rayappan said.
The opposition has been protesting over various issues, including the Punjab National Bank scam, since Monday when Parliament had reconvened after a month-long recess in the Budget session.
A visibly upset Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the House till noon. It was not immediately clear whether the paper torn was picked from the table of the Secretary General.
Senior Congress leaders say Sharad Pawar's 'clean chit' to Modi in the Rafale deal is the most recent example of regional parties succumbing to pressure. The Congress is also convinced that Mayawati is being arm-twisted.
The Congress on Sunday night sought to downplay the remarks of its president Sonia Gandhi at a public meeting in Haryana that the opponents of India-United States nuclear deal were enemies of development. The party said the comments were not directed at the Left parties.
Government's direct cash transfer scheme is "anti-poor" as it would actually cut subsidies due to the high inflation rate and not cover the rising prices of foodgrains, the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Wednesday said opposing the move.
Dravida Munetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Friday slammed Left parties for reportedly trying to project Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa as a candidate for the prime minister's post, saying that the move "is nothing but opportunistic slavery".
The NDA made it clear that this does not mean that Shekhawat had opted out of the race in favour of Kalam.
Left leaders said the statement makes it very clear that the government will not operationalise the deal till the committee's findings are known
This alliance is for personal survival, not ideology-based support. This alliance is for power, not for the people. This alliance is for personal ambitions, not people's aspirations," the PM charged.
Former Union Minister Deepa Dasmunsi was on Friday made the Congress candidate from Bhabanipur seat in West Bengal to take on Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee in the assembly elections.
Yechury could play the role Harkishan Singh Surjeet had played in 1996 and 2004 to unify the opposition, writes Archis Mohan.
A bandh called by the National Democratic Alliance, Left parties and the Samajwadi Party to protest against diesel price hike, Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail and cap on subsidised LPG on Thursday evoked mixed response as protestors disrupted road and rail traffic in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha but it had little impact in Mumbai.
10 central trade unions have called a nationwide shutdown against 'anti-worker policies' of the central government. Apart from being successful in Bengal, Kerala and NE states, the bandh has also got support from Cong leader Rahul Gandhi and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Friday said her government was making all efforts to uphold the rights of the state on the Cauvery water-sharing issue and hoped it would get justice from the Supreme Court.
Tough opposition from Left parties notwithstanding, the government has opened a window of opportunity for foreign companies for managing pension funds of central and state government employees.
"The government seems to have lost its will to carry out the CMP and more and more it is functioning only to benefit a section of our people," Bardhan lamented.
The Assam government announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and a job for the next of the kin of the deceased.
Despite the Congress having nearly four times as many members in the Rajya Sabha as the TMC (48 to 13), Derek O'Brien has been informally leading the coordination of Opposition parties, rallying other parties to demand a discussion on electoral reforms and to protest the government's disinvestment plans, report Rahul Jacob and Archis Mohan.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist raised quite a few eyebrows breaking ranks with the Left parties and pledging its support to United Progressive Alliance's Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee.
Left parties and the Telugu Desam Party on Monday demanded cancellation of allocation of all the 142 coal blocks and a thorough enquiry into the matter and attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his remarks against the CAG.
A spirited opposition on Wednesday forced adjournment of Parliament till 2 pm the issue of coal block allocation with members making a vociferous demand for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Union ministers fanned out across the country to highlight the crackdown on black money to mark the first anniversary of demonetisation on Wednesday which the Bharatiya Janata Party celebrated as "Anti Black Money Day" while the Congress-led Opposition observed it as "Black Day" with street protests.
According to sources in Congress, "The Communist Party of India-Marxist will have their nominee as Vice President in August when the elections are due."
The events and the political line-up are eerily reminiscent of 1987 when the then finance minister, V P Singh, quit the Rajiv Gandhi government, launched a movement against corruption that was supported by both the Left parties and the Bharatiya Janata Party and eventually went on to become the prime minister in 1989.
The Left parties on Thursday came down heavily on the government for deciding on a series of second- generation of reforms, saying they would fight to defeat these policy measures when they are brought in Parliament.
A key meeting of senior United Progressive Alliance government ministers and political parties, including the Congress and its Left allies, failed to secure a political consensus on the showpiece Special Economic Zones initiative.
Asked about reports about candidature of actor Amitabh Bachchan for the post of President, Amar Singh said he or Samajwadi Party never announced that Amitabh would be the candidate for the post.
The incident reportedly took place at Salem during the actor-politician's visit to participate in a consultative meeting there for the May 16 Tamil Nadu assembly polls.
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