External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday said that all procedures were followed by the United Progressive Alliance government in the controversial VVIP chopper deal. "I don't think it is right to politicise the issue. It is a matter of national interest. All procedures were strictly followed by the government," he told n journalists accompanying him on a two-day visit to Bangladesh.
Even as the Central Bureau of Investigation has decided to send a team to Italy to gather details on the VVIP chopper scam, evidence regarding links with the Emaar-MGF is slowly coming to light, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Political needs of the Congress largely drove the reshuffle of ministers
The Communist Party of India Marxist-led ruling Left Front seems confident about retaining power in the poll-bound state of Tripura. The north-eastern state, which will go to polls on Thursday, is the only state ruled by the Left Front now.
To put it starkly, the Congress, and with it, the United Progressive Alliance, is sleepwalking into a minefield by blundering on land and Aadhaar, says Praful Bidwai
Joining the Himachal assembly poll campaign, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday played to the hilt the Congress' 'aam admi' plank by accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of blocking legislations benefiting the people at large and stressed that the United Progressive Alliance had taken strict action against corruption.
Union Minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Monday ruled out quitting the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre over the hanging of Afzal Guru, an issue on which Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had made some strong statements. "Why should we leave the government? We have got a job to do. You don't leave, I have no such idea," Abdullah said.
The Union Cabinet is likely to be reshuffled on Sunday. Speculation has been rife about a possible reshuffle in the wake of the exit of Trinamool Congress ministers and Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam representatives A Raja and Dayanidhi Maran in the last two years.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader M Venkaiah Naidu Sunday said that there was a possibility of early elections in the country.
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi's inflexibility has left the Congress searching for a new leader. But not in the way you think.
Amid a show of strength, United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday filed his nomination papers for the July 19 Presidential elections in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and a host of leaders.
After a bitter separation with the Congress, the Trinamool Congress is mulling moving an adjournment motion under rule 184 that entails voting in the Winter Session of Parliament against the "anti-people" policies of the United Progressive Alliance government.
With less than a year left for the general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party top brass on Tuesday deliberated upon its strategy in run up to the polls during which it intends to highlight the "failures" of the government as well as the scams that afflicted the United Progressive Alliance's nine-year tenure in power.
United Progressive Alliance's Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee said in Kolkata on Saturday night that if necessary, he would definitely talk to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, seeking her support to his candidature.
Stating that she shared the concerns of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi regarding Sri Lankan Tamils issue, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi has told him that she "shall take up the matter" with the external affairs minister.
Shiv Sena's executive president Uddhav Thackeray has clarified that backing United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee for the coveted post of President of India does not mean his political outfit is supporting the ruling Congress party.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is expected to file on June 28 his nomination papers for the Presidential election.
Troubled with a variety of mind-boggling scams and executive over reach have troubled the trauma of a shaken Congress led United Progressive Alliance-II government as the Supreme Court has also virtually cut its wings by passing a detailed order asserting that the government's right arm Central Bureau of Investigation can't be allowed to be caged but free to fly without any hindrance as was exposed in the blatant interference by the Prime Minister's Office.
Two Lok Sabha Members of Parliament of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha on Saturday formally withdrew support from the United Progressive Alliance government, slamming it for anti-people decisions like FDI in multi brand retail, inflation and "creating a record in corruption". A delegation of JVM MPs and seniors leaders, led by party chief Babulal Marandi, met President Pranab Mukherjee and submitted a letter withdrawing support from the government.
Amid division in National Democratic Alliance over opposing United Progressive Alliance Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said he favoured a consensus on the issue of candidature for which efforts were on within the Opposition alliance.
Cautioning the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government against making any 'hasty' announcements in the name of reforms, key ally Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam on Friday said decisions should be based on "consultations". "My opinion is that hasty decisions and announcements in the name of economic reforms should be avoided. They should be taken after deep consultations and keeping in mind the future prospects of the country," DMK president M Karunanidhi said.
"We have enough human resource and a diplomat told me that 21st century's Saudia Arabia, with its rich human resource, is India," the Nerhu-Gandhi scion said in his eight-minute speech.
A Trinamool Congress minister on Saturday said ally Congress was free to quit the Mamata Banerjee ministry government in West Bengal.
While the leadership of the biggest Opposition party, the Congress, has not reacted, even non-Congress and (now) anti-BJP parties like the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have voiced no view on Banerjee's appeal, reports Aditi Phadnis.
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Saturday said the resignations of Union ministers Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Kumar Bansal would not pose any danger to the United Progressive Alliance government.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar on Thursday met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and assured her of support to any candidate that the United Progressive Alliance puts forth. "I told her (Gandhi) that whoever UPA nominates, we will support," Pawar told reporters after his 30-minute meeting with the Congress chief to discuss the issue of Presidential election.
Was a Mumbai tycoon behind Wednesday's political drama? A Rediff Correspondent discusses the conspiracy theories making the rounds.
India on Thursday unleashed a second wave of reforms deciding to open the pension sector to foreign investment and raising the foreign direct investment cap in insurance to 49 per cent, undeterred by opposition to its decisions on FDI in retail and threats to block these legislations.
Former Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party official spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain on Sunday said his party would disclose its strategy on Presidential elections only after the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition announces name of its candidate.
United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday undertook an aerial survey of the flood-affected Kurnool and Mahabubnagar districts of Andhra Pradesh.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday described as 'immoral and unethical' the decision by the 'minority' government at the Centre to hike FDI in insurance and pension sectors, and called on all United Progressive Alliance partners to quit the government in protest.
In an exclusive interview with IBNLokmat, Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar has blamed the United Progressive Alliance for the spiralling prices of food items.
Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will be the chief guest at India's Republic Day parade this year. An official release stated that the King and Queen of Bhutan will pay a state visit to India from January 23 to 30. The King has been invited by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The current complex pricing of diesel will give rise to bribery and law-breaking.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday alleged that instead of coming clear on whether expenses for United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi's travel and treatment were paid from public exchequer and what was the amount spent, Congress is diverting attention by saying the opposition is raising issues about her health.
United Progressive Alliance's second largest partner Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday demanded reconsideration of the decision to allow FDI in the multi-brand retail sector and said it would back any opposition-sponsored resolution that may be brought on the issue in Parliament.
The Congress on Monday took potshots at West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee over her move to stage a demonstration at the Jantar Mantar in new Delhi against the Centre's new reforms, saying that the United Progressive Alliance government is determined and has made a commitment to push economic reforms for the betterment of the country.
In 2017, a consortium led by Russian state oil company Rosneft agreed to buy Essar Oil for $12.9 billion in India's biggest foreign acquisition of a homegrown company. Rosneft's buyout of Essar's assets was meant to herald a wave of energy investments in India - over six decades after Esso, Caltex and Shell invested in India's refining sector in the 1950s. But the government has tripped up in its efforts to sell Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), formerly Burmah Shell, a blue chip public sector company. Bidders include a couple of global funds and resources firm Vedanta.
It requires Rs 90,000 crore (Rs 900-billion) investment, of which one-third (Rs 30,000 crore or Rs 300 billion) should be private equity.
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