When asked about the UPA government's apprehension about the possibility of Left parties taking stern action -- like withdrawing support to government on the issue of price rise -- Prakash Karat, general secretary of the CPI (M), in an exclusive interview with rediff.com, ruled out any such possibility.
Among them is the situation in Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir.
The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which will replace an ordinance promulgated for handling the transfers and postings of senior officers in the city government, was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday amid a walkout by opposition parties.
A report card titled '10 Years of Progress and Growth' highlighting achievements of the government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said 'average GDP growth rate during the period of UPA government (2004-05 to 2013-14) has been 7.7 per cent despite two global slowdown in this period'.
On the third anniversary of UPA 2 the government lacks energy. Sonia Gandhi can no longer afford to continue with the fiction that someone else can do the job and should take over from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Initiating the discussion on demands for grants of Home Ministry, BJP member Anurag Thakur demanded a White Paper on government's initiative to deal with naxalism, which has become a big threat to the nation.
Yadav was earlier called for questioning on March 4 but he had not appeared before the CBI sleuths, following which a fresh date was given for Saturday, they said.
Pawar made the announcement at the 25th anniversary of the party, founded by him and P A Sangma in 1999.
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday ruled out the possibility of joining the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will present a report card to the 'aam aadmi' on the 'successful completion' of six years of the United Progressive Alliance's stint at the Centre at a massive media conference on June 24. The occasion will commemorate the sixth anniversary of the UPA regime at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
The SP is not thinking of opposing the central coalition because Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 'has not given us any personal cause to take a hardline stand', general secretary Amar Singh said.
A meeting of the United Progressive Alliance leaders with the Left Front leaders is expected after April 23, in which a number of matters including the Supreme Court verdict on the Other Backward Classes quota issue, are likely to come up. This would be the first UPA-Left meeting after the apex court judgment, which has seen division in the ruling alliance on the creamy layer issue.The meeting could also be an occasion for consultations over the Women's Reservation Bill.
Even as speculation over the assurances given to the Samajwadi Party and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha for their support to the United Progressive Alliance refuses to die down, senior Congress leader Pranab Mukjerjee on Saturday said that he was not aware any promises made to the parties.He claimed that both the SP and the JMM were part of the UPA from 2004 and their letters of support were not withdrawn. "Can you tell me, when they have left us (UPA)," he asked.
Attacking the Congress and United Progressive Alliance on price rise at a massive BJP rally in Bengaluru, Narendra Modi tells the crowd that Congress is worried sick about the BJP's growing popularity. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Party sources said United Progressive Allinace chairperson Sonia Gandhi is likely to reach Delhi on Wednesday from Himachal Pradesh and is expected to meet some leaders who are part of the decision-making process in Karnataka.
Soren also claimed that his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma indulged in "purchase" of Jharkhand MLAs.
The minister asserted that India has taken major action against terrorism under the Modi government and referred to the surgical strikes carried out across the Line of Control (LoC) in 2016 and the Balakot air strike in 2019.
At an event at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in south Mumbai, Modi first flagged off the the CSMT-Solapur Vande Bharat Express and later another semi high-speed train linking the financial capital to Sainagar Shirdi temple town in Ahmednagar district.
CPI-M has rejected all arguments of the government so far to sign the IAEA safeguards agreement. The party has firmly said that it believes once the IAEA phase is over, the deal will be on an 'auto-pilot' and even if India, a non-member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), does not approach the forum, the US would pressurise it to approve the deal.
The beleaguered United Progressive Alliance got a boost on Saturday with the Rashtriya Lok Dal, led by Ajit Singh, deciding to join the coalition at the Centre and fight the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in alliance with the Congress. Ajit Singh, whose RLD has five members in the Lok Sabha, met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday evening and expressed his willingness to join UPA. His decision was welcomed by the Congress president.
Hamid Ansari was on Friday declared the United Progressive Alliance-Left candidate for the vice president's poll.
The United Progressive Alliance government will move the Women's Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha in the coming session, Union Minister for Law and Justice M Veerappa Moily said on Monday. The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and other parties have assured their "unconditional" support to the bill, which has prompted the government to introduce it for consideration and passing in Lok Sabha, Moily told media-persons in Karnataka.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has justified the Narendra Modi government's move to raise the rail fare by 14.2 per cent, saying it was a result of the policies undertaken by the previous United Progressive Alliance government. In an exclusive interview to CNN IBN, Prasad blamed the UPA II government for leaving Indian Railways in shambles, adding that his government never knew that the railways was bleeding, thanks to the Congress-led regime.
The support of a majority of his own party MPs to the legislation notwithstanding, JD (U) president Sharad Yadav on Tuesday accused the UPA of forcing through the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha and said constitutional amendments should only be passed after evolving a consensus.
The failed alliance with Congress for the May 30 civic polls in West Bengal notwithstanding, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said her party did not want any rift with the United Progressive Alliance government.
Sonia made the announcement while addressing a press conference at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence at 7, Race Course Road.
From the voter-level, traditionally anti-BJP, anti-Hindutva minorities and other secular voters would have an option, especially in the face of the mounting anti-incumbency against the ruling party -- as it happened in the 2001 assembly polls, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The CPM will review its decision to support the UPA only if the govt operationalised the N-deal, leader Nilotpal Basu said. The CPI(M) also downplayed the apparent differences between the party's Bengal leaders and General Secretary Prakash Karat.
In less than a week after bailing out the UPA-II during cut motions in Lok Sabha, Bahujan Samaj Party on Saturday announced programmes to "expose" the Congress-led coalition on May 22 when it completes one year in office.
"This also shows that the ruling dispensation's exasperation (baukhlahat) and desperation (hataasha). But the people of the country are smart enough and they (the BJP) will be held to account (hisab kar diya jaaega) at the appropriate time", said the close aide of the Bihar CM, who had quit the NDA last year and has since become a strong votary of opposition unity.
Attacking the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for its "utter failure" to check rising prices, the CPI(M) on Friday said the Centre's "faulty approach" in blaming states, without taking effective steps to tackle the real issues, would not solve the problem.
"The economic environment in the country has suddenly become dismal. The UPA blamed the Left Front for the paralysis in economic decision making during UPA-I. However, there is no such compulsion during UPA-II."
Political observers say that neither Mulayam Singh Yadav nor Mayawati have any intention of toppling the UPA government, as neither stand to gain from it. Sharat Pradhan reports
The decision by SP, with 21 members in Lok Sabha, and RJD with four will, however, have no impact on the stability of the UPA government. The SP and the RJD were outside supporters of the government.
How many marks will Prime Minister Manmohan Singh give to the performance of the United Progressive Alliance's second term? This is the question being asked in political circles ahead of Dr Singh's first press conference in Delhi on Monday since taking over as PM for the second time. When the UPA-I had completed one year in May 2005, Dr Singh gave six out of ten marks to its performance, but said he was not satisfied with it.
There is a lack of connect between the Congress president and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in UPA-2. But Sonia Gandhi has ensured that the government does not waver from her pet policies -- NREGA, RTI etc, notes Neerja Chowdhury.
The UPA's old schemes are unravelling while the new ones are still to take off, says Sunita Moga
As per a letter sent to the MLAs by the assembly secretariat, the chief minister has expressed his willingness to move a motion of confidence to prove his majority.
"The basic purpose of the whole deal is to cap, reduce and eliminate our nuclear weapons programme," he said.
She lashed out at the BJP and Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, for "threatening" Trinamool Congress leaders with arrests by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate.