The Congress on Monday promised that a government led by it will conduct a nationwide caste census and implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies at the earliest, including adequate representation for women belonging to the OBC community.
The meeting of the 14-member all-important panel of the opposition will take place at the residence of Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar in New Delhi on September 13 evening.
Shehbaz, 72, who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), received 201 votes, 32 more than what was required to become leader of the House in the 336-member Parliament.
Under the stewardship of the then TMC national general secretary Mukul Roy and North 24 Parganas TMC district president Jyotipriyo Mullick, he joined the party and quickly ascended in power, becoming a close associate of Mullick.
Kumar had recently dumped the 'Mahagathbandhan', of which the Rashtriya Janata Dal was a key constituent, and returned to the NDA fold to form the government with support of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Nationalist Congress Party leader was speaking in the assembly on a resolution moved by Speaker Rahul Narvekar urging the government to formulate a new women's policy.
The BJP-led NDA now has nearly 100 members in the 245-member House. If the support of friendly parties like the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (9), Biju Janata Dal (9), Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (6), and several allied nominated members and smaller parties is counted, then the Modi government is unlikely to face any serious numerical challenge there.
Modi said he is seeking a third term not to enjoy power but to work for the nation. "If I had thought of my home, it would not have been possible to build homes for crores of people," he said.
The resolution asserted that the House "is of the firm and considered view that there cannot be any compromise on unity, integrity and national security.
Inaugurating the solidarity rally, Venugopal, a Rajya Sabha MP, strongly condemned the war unleashed by Israel in Gaza and their attacks against hospitals and refugee camps there.
The NCERT has dropped references to the demand for a separate Sikh nation of Khalistan from the class 12 political science textbook following objections from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), according to top education ministry officials.
They said they will raise issues related to rising prices, unemployment, corruption and caste census.
Kishor posted a tweet 'thanking' Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for their 'formal and unequivocal' rejection of the NRC. He also reassured the people of Bihar that the CAA and NRC will not be implemented in the state. However, JD-U's ally BJP got rankled by Kishor's move and made contrary claims.
The notices given by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Deputy Leader of Congress in the House, Anand Sharma, seek to corner the government on the issue accusing it of "destabilising" a democratically-elected government in Uttarakhand.
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday announced walking out of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and said it would lead a separate front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
We will do whatever we can for the justice of the Marathi-speaking population in Karnataka, said Fadnavis.
Sharp differences broke out among Team Anna, the government and the Opposition on Friday over the wording of the resolution for the debate in both Houses of Parliament on various drafts of the Lokpal Bill
The opposition parties had till now been calling for a debate under Rule 267, which entails voting, and a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At least five Chinese nationals were among the six persons killed on Tuesday when an explosive-packed vehicle rammed into their bus in Pakistan's troubled northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, officials said.
On one hand, South Indian states have been complaining about denial of a proportionate portion of the sharable funds from the Centre, based on population. On the other hand, they stand to lose Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats that again are based on population, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Those responsible for protecting MPs have failed in their constitutional duties, said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
He said Parliament in the past decades has debated a number of government decisions, which had caused tensions and social conflict, but it was now deadlocked by rival parties over a 'constructive decision' like demonetisation.
Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party president Jayant Patil on Sunday said his party has moved a disqualification petition against Ajit Pawar and eight others who took oath as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led state government.
The BJP cannot afford to alienate the OBCs, who have explicitly voiced their opposition to the Maratha quota.
The resolution, moved by Bharatiya Janata Party's Nishikant Dubey, as well as an amendment to include people who have migrated from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir for rehabilitation, was adopted by a voice vote.
The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, which was passed by a voice vote after a short debate, also allows the Centre to take possession of a telecom network in case of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety.
Stalin, moving the resolution, said without giving any reasons, Ravi had returned the Bills, mentioning "I withhold Assent" to them.
It also saw the suspension of 100 members in a span of four days for unruly conduct and a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack.
Appealing with "folded hands" for an end to the three-month-long cycle of violence in Manipur, Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday urged the warring Kuki and Meitei communities to hold talks, even as the Lok Sabha adopted a resolution calling for the restoration of peace in the northeastern state.
'We demand immediate release of all public representatives of mainstream political parties and innocent citizens,' the resolution said.
He said the people are looking for an alternative and the Congress' victories in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka elections are clear proof of this.
The over half-an-hour meeting between the opposition parties and the government, however, remained inconclusive.
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.
Indian diplomatic sources said that India abstained from voting on the resolution in line with its traditional approach that it does not mix humanitarian issues with political issues.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said the Congress and other opposition parties have brought the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government in the Lok Sabha at a 'wrong time and in a wrong manner'.
'When the chief minister saw how Manoj Jarange Patil had successfully held the state government hostage to his whims, Eknath Shinde knew he had a very clear chance of enamouring himself to these Maratha agitators by accepting Patil's demands.'
Banerjee, who was speaking on a resolution in the assembly against the 'excesses' of the central probe agencies, urged the prime minister to ensure that the agenda of the union government and the interests of his party do not get mixed up.
'After having changed chief ministers in Uttarakhand, Tripura, why are they not doing it in Manipur?'
The first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee under Mallikarjun Kharge's presidency will be held in Hyderabad on Saturday during which the party's top brass will deliberate on evolving a strategy for upcoming assembly polls in five states and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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