'It does not understand economics. The entire focus of this government is skewed.'
Muhammad Yunus proved that he was neither an armchair economist nor a slogan mongering political activist, but a doer destined to do what Mahatma Gandhi said -- to remove every tear from every eye, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
While about 8,000 people are in the long list of invitees, the select list features just a few hundred people, including prominent politicians, leading industrialists, top film stars, sportspersons, bureaucrats and diplomats.
In the wake of the death of the Delhi gangrape victim, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday cancelled the visit of an Indian parliamentary delegation led by her to South Africa and her own trip to Namibia to attend a Commonwealth Speakers' conference.
The Mahagathbandhan's seat-sharing announcement comes a day after the filing of nomination papers for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls was over.
What some of our leaders were up to on the weekend.
Saturday's voting will mark the end to the marathon polling process that began on April 19 month and has already covered 486 Lok Sabha seats in 28 states and Union territories.
Pranab Mukherjee was on Wedneday sworn n as the country's 13th President at an impressive ceremony in the packed and historic Central Hall of Parliament.
Former telecom minister A Raja has urged Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to return the Joint Parliamentary Committee report on the 2G spectrum scandal and resubmit it with his written statement.
Days after he defended Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his "puppy" remarks, Bahujan Samaj Party on Wednesday expelled its Hamirpur MP Vijay Bahadur Singh for making statements which went against the "philosophy and principles" of the party.
In a new low in India's parliamentary history, pepper spray was used in the Lok Sabha resulting in hospitalisation of three MPs following a ruckus over introduction of the Telangana bill after which 18 Seemandhra MPs were suspended
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy on Wednesday condemned Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj'' "act" in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, describing it as ''unfortunate'' and ''not expected''.Swaraj had alleged that Congress President Sonia Gandhi had instructed party members of Parliament to interrupt her speech.
Reflecting escalation of confrontation with the government, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday decided to boycott meetings to be called by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath or Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as it accused Congress President Sonia Gandhi of not allowing the opposition to air their views in Parliament.
The government on Monday achieved a breakthrough in the logjam in Parliament with the opposition agreeing to allow financial business to be taken up on Tuesday.
Almost a fortnight after former bureaucrat K P Ramaiah took voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service, he is ready to take on Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, a former Indian Foreign Service officer, in the Lok Sabha polls from the Sasaram seat in Bihar.
Developmental works being undertaken by India in war-torn northern Sri Lanka and the current political situation came up for discussion when Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar met President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo on Friday. Kumar is in Colombo to attend the 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference. She met Rajapaksa at his official residence and discussed a host of issues that concern the relationship between the two countries.
Rejecting Opposition demand for removal of P C Chacko as Joint Parliamentary Committee chairman, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Thursday asked the panel chief and members to work out an agreeable solution to end the current "impasse" on its report on 2G Spectrum.
Fifteen opposition members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G spectrum scam on Wednesday wrote to the committee secretariat rejecting the panel's draft report in toto, setting the stage for worsening of the confrontation with the government on the issue. The 15 members, who had met Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar last week to express "no-confidence" in panel chief P C Chacko, wrote separate letters stating that they are rejecting the report "in toto".
Senior Congress leaders admit that the JPC issue has boomeranged against the party, reports Renu Mittal.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader S S Ahluwalia has been appointed advisor to Speaker of Lok Sabha to recommend the mode and format of digitalisation of the Parliamentary library.
Ahead of the all-party meeting called by her on Wednesday, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Tuesday said she would appeal to everyone to allow Parliament to function smoothly amid apprehensions that the Opposition could cause disruptions over chopper scam and other issues.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has convened an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday to ensure smooth functioning of the Budget Session of Parliament, which begins on February 21.
Parliament's standing committee on finance, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha, on Thursday finalised its report on the Companies Bill, 2011.
There was no addition to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar's jewellery though their value increased while her wealth rose by over three-and-a-half times since the 2009 general elections with the total value of her assets declared to be more than Rs 36 crore.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday night hosted a dinner for United Progressive Alliance leaders where the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is understood to have insisted that government should avoid voting in Parliament on FDI in retail, making clear its reservation on the issue.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has floored an audience that included her Pakistani counterpart, senior ministers and parliamentarians by delivering a speech in flawless Urdu laced with couplets from Firaq Gorkhpuri, Majrooh Sultanpuri and Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Wednesday justified the sudden adjournment of Parliament, saying there was no option, as it was not running. She said the disturbances created by members of Parliament in the House amounted to betrayal of the people who have elected them.
DMK leader T R Baalu said he had given a notice of breach of parliamentary privilege against Chacko over the leakage of the JPC draft report.
Scripting a new chapter in his illustrious career, Pranab Mukherjee will on Wednesday take over as India's 13th President. Watch the momentous ceremony LIVE on rediff.com
Scripting a new chapter in his illustrious career, Pranab Mukherjee will on Wednesday take over as India's 13th President.
Vadodara Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Balu Shukla has written a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar denying the reported news that he was caught spying in the office of his party's senior leader Sushma Swaraj.
Communist Party of India-Marxist member in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G spectrum allocation Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday supported calling former Telecom Minister A Raja as a witness before the panel saying it will help reaching "closer to the truth".
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday assured Left members that she has sought a "factual note" from Delhi Police on the reported lathi-charge by them on MPs seeking removal of Deputy Chairman P J Kurien who isfacing charges in the Suryanelli rape case.
A Congress member of Parliament on Wednesday withdrew his privilege notice against associates of Anna Hazare alleging hey were using it to gain "cheap publicity" and justify their statements against parliamentarians.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar's secretary A P Pathak was on Friday removed from his post shortly after the Central Bureau of Investigtion searched his premises in an alleged disproportionate assets case during which the agency claimed to have recovered documents of properties worth crores of rupees.
Members in both Houses of Parliament have given Privilege notices against actor Om Puri and civil rights activist Kiran Bedi for using "derogatory and defamatory" language against politicians and the matter is under consideration of the Chair.
The urban development ministry has withdrawn a notice for recovery of about Rs two crore rent dues from Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar for use of a government bungalow.
Parliament was adjourned for the day on Monday after paying tributes to former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, who breathed his last on Friday at the age of 92. Both Houses of Parliament also offered tributes to the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy on its 28th anniversary
With the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left sticking to their demand for a discussion on Foreign Direct Investment in retail under a rule that entails voting, former United Progressive Alliance ally Trinamool Congress on Wednesday said it would take a stand only after Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar took a decision, but ruled out voting in favour of the government.
Devangana Kumar is a New Delhi-based artist and designer whose exhibition Pageants of the Raj: The Work Force is showing at Tao Art Gallery in Mumbai. We bring you snapshots from the exhibition.
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