West Bengal minister Bachchu Hansda and Tehatta MLA Gouri Sankar Dutta joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday after being denied nominations for the assembly polls by the Trinamool Congress.
'Are we so ready to believe that in this country whose virtues we constantly shout from the rooftops, there is no single person -- other than Modi -- in a minimum of 272 elected MPs with the talent and ability to lead this country?' asks Prem Panicker.
Introducing the 128th Constitution Amendment Bill, which was approved by a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Meghwal recounted the measures initiated by the Narendra Modi government for the empowerment of women over the last nine years.
Besides Defence Minister Singh (Lucknow), Minister of Women and Child Development Irani (Amethi), those in the fray are Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishor (Mohanlalganj) and Minister of State of Consumer Affairs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur).
As the West Bengal chief minister was busy containing the fallout of an internecine feud in her TMC following a rebellion by a redoubtable Suvendu Adhikari, the Centre shot off a fresh letter to her government to immediately relieve three IPS officers for central deputation.
With Thursday's win, the Congress's strength in the Lok Sabha has gone up to 48.
Sources said the reshuffle will also aim at an image makeover for the party hit by school jobs scam probe.
Pawar will not restrict himself to the Rashtrapati Bhavan," the minister from the NCP said.
Conveying good wishes to people of the state and all political parties for the New Year, he however wished that the Congress comes to power.
Parties have decided to take this action against a government that, a senior leader alleged, has been routinely "insulting the constitution."
He was elected to Rajya Sabha on a seat left vacant after TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi joined the BJP before the recent West Bengal assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the government accused the Congress on Thursday of instigating violence in the northeast.
Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said the first priority should be to hold a comprehensive and detailed discussion on the Manipur situation in Parliament, going by the fact that people have been killed and the chief minister himself has admitted that several such incidents have happened in the state.
Opposition parties will hold the next meeting of their 26-member INDIA coalition in Mumbai on August 25 and 26, sources said on Thursday.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey said on Saturday the Lok Sabha Speaker should also probe the 'unsavoury' conduct and remarks of Danish Ali, who was recently at the receiving end of ruling party member Ramesh Bidhuri's derogatory words in the House.
The ethics committee of the Lok Sabha has asked Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra to appear before it on October 31 in relation to the allegations levelled against her by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey, who told the panel on Thursday that it was an "open and shut" case and she should be disqualified.
The deputy chairman said Singh's action was in utter disregard of rules and the authority of the Chair.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has ordered magisterial enquiries into the demolition and also the death of a six month-old child.
One fallout of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification will be reflected in the Opposition's role in Parliament and related institutions.
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Tuesday after repeated stoppages as opposition members continued to protest demanding the revocation of suspension of 12 members.
While the opposition alliance is putting up a united front in Ghosi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand's Dumri, Dhanpur and Boxanagar in Tripura and Uttarakhand's Bageshwar, its constituents are contesting against each other in Dhupguri in West Bengal and Puthuppally in Kerala.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that her party would fight it both "politically and legally"
The Uttar Pradesh authorities on Tuesday agreed to the demand for a second post-mortem of a farmer killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident after his family refused to cremate him, while mortal remains of the three others were consigned to flames at their native places during the day.
The Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday targetted each other in Parliament, leading to clashes and walkouts. The TMC displayed in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha the copies of some red diary, allegedly recovered from Sahara group chief Subrata Roy, and claimed that it contained the name of a BJP leader.
With the Biju Janata Dal backing the National Democratic Alliance's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, the vote share of the ruling dispensation has now crossed 50 percent, virtually paving the way for her election as the first tribal President and the youngest too.
Opposition leaders on Saturday stepped up pressure on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for stringent action against Bharatiya Janata Party's Ramesh Bidhuri over his derogatory remarks against Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali in the House.
Margaret Alva claims she is unable to make phone calls after dialing 'friends in the BJP'
Rejecting the demand for sacking Transport Minister Madan Mitra arrested in Saradha scam case, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday stepped up her attack on Narendra Modi saying "if image is a proof of criminal conspiracy, then the Prime Minister should be arrested for Sahara scam."
The Manipur violence issue rocked both houses of Parliament on the opening day of the Monsoon session on Thursday with opposition members creating uproar, demanding a discussion on the situation in the Northeastern state.
Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday suspended Congress member of Parliament Rajani Ashokrao Patil for the remainder of the current Budget Session for filming House proceedings.
While almost all the members belonging to the ruling National Democratic Alliance took oath by swearing in the name of god, Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar, who was re-elected to the Upper House from Maharashtra, took oath affirming his allegiance to the Constitution of India.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's iftar party on Sunday was a political blockbuster.
A day after its debacle in the Kolkata civic poll, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday announced the formation of its new office bearers committee in West Bengal, axed several members of its old guard and inducted new leaders to strengthen the party in the state.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is arriving in New Delhi on Thursday for a four-day visit during which she is likely to meet senior leaders and attend a Niti Aayog meeting on August 7, sources said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday asserted that ousting the Bharatiya Janata Party from power at the Centre in 2024 will be her 'last fight'.
'If the BJP thinks it is going to overnight transform Bengal into Madhya Pradesh, sorry, that's not going to happen because I have faith in our ethos and culture.'
The Congress-led opposition stepped up its attack on Friday against the government over the Adani row and demanded that there should be a thorough investigation into what they alleged was a 'mega scam' as it involved public money.
The over half-an-hour meeting between the opposition parties and the government, however, remained inconclusive.
With the all-party meetings called by Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla producing no breakthrough to end the deadlock in Parliament, Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Pralhad Joshi accused opposition parties of repeatedly 'insulting' Dhankhar.
