Shiela Dikshit, who led the the Congress to a hatrick win, today took oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi for the third consecutive term, inducting a woman in her cabinet while retaining most of the ministers.
A firebrand youth leader, a seasoned politician who became a legislator for the first time, and a veteran physician are among the 12 new faces elected to the fourth Assembly of Delhi. The Congress leads the debutants pack with six MLAs, the Bharatiya Janata Party has five and the Indian National Lok Dal one.
An all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the Mumbai terror strikes on Sunday night saw sharp differences on the issue of a tough anti-terror POTA-like law with BJP making a strong demand for such a law and the United Progressive Alliance opposing it tooth and nail.
Amid indication that prices of compressed natural gas (CNG) may go up in Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said if the hike is allowed, it would compound the problem of the common people who are already hit hard by price rise.
Opposition government's reaction to a website claim that the key Bofors case accused had hatched a conspiracy with the LTTE to assassinate former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Exasperated over naming of popular projects after members of the Nehru-Gandhi family, the BJP on Tuesday asked the ruling party whether the country was devoid of any other great leader. "All new institutions and programmes are named after Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. All limits of sycophancy have been crossed by this government," BJP deputy leader in the Lok Sabha V K Malhotra said.
Talking to rediff.com, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj claimed that her party had not been invited to participate in the all-party meeting called by the chairman to sort out the matter.
Lok Sabha Deputy Leader V K Malhotra said the home minister had projected an alarming picture of the security situation and faulted him for not taking Parliament into confidence in such a crucial matter.
Justice P Anil Kumar, however, permitted the institute to go ahead with its scheduled meeting for Wednesday.
The Speaker ruled that these did not relate to the Union government, nor were they matters of recent occurence.
Lok Sabha adjourned for the day on Wednesday following uproar over the Sethusamudram project.
Information with security agencies also indicate the possibility of a nuclear installation being considered for strike by the LeT module, the defence minister said.
The BJP has accused the government of attempting to destroy evidence of the existence of ancient 'Ram Setu' (bridge) linking India and Sri Lanka through the Sethusamudram ship channel alignment.
In Lok Sabha, Deputy Leader V K Malhotra demanded the suspension of Question Hour as soon as the House met for the day.
Dealing with the validity of OBC quota, the bench said, "Merit cannot be reduced to narrow definitions of performance in an open competitive examination which only provides formal equality of opportunity. Competitive examinations assess basic current competency to allocate educational resources but are not reflective of excellence, capabilities and potential of an individual which are also shaped by lived experiences, subsequent training and individual character."
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Professor Vijay Kumar Malhotra (Bharatiya Janata Party) also wanted the government to make public the report of the Enforcement Directorate on the alleged receipt of payment.
Significantly, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, in the latest issue of its mouthpiece Organiser, had criticised the BJP for ignoring the Hurriyat's visit to Pakistan.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, BJP's Deputy Leader V K Malhotra said a new temple should be constructed since the older temple had been demolished.
The BJP will also seek to raise the issue of the ongoing demolition drive in the national capital.
Demolition drive: BJP demands central intervention
BJP says it doesn't make sense to rollback fuel subsidy while maintaining Central patronage for Haj pilgrimage.
The Opposition has staged a walkout over the issue.
Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned over Bihar governor issue
BJP condemns Bihar governor for the recommendation letter that he sent to the Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. The party said it would escalate the issue in both houses of the parliament.
'We want the prime minister to express public regrets over his attitude,' BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra said.
The walkout came after BJP leader V K Malhotra demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh respond to Justice S N Variava's statement that "someone" called him seeking to get the trial judge in the fodder scam case changed.
The decision could put Parliament and the Judiciary on a collision course.
Ram Gopal Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party heads the UP government, accused BJP of using the incident as an excuse to spread communal tension.
Vajpayee, however, said he was willing to discuss economic ties with Pakistan to his visit to Islamabad.
The BJP has opposed the bill on the ground that issues pertaining to national security were involved.
'The opposition cannot face the defeat in the assembly electionsÂ… So we should be careful,' he said at the parliamentary party meeting.
A case has been registered and teams have been formed to nab the culprits, police said, adding that CCTV cameras in the area are also being scanned.
Ghulam Nabi Azad 'has asked me to convey the decision to the NDA leaders. We will take a decision on it tomorrow at the NDA parliamentary party meeting', BJP leader V K Malhotra said.
The members walked out as soon as Congress member Dhani Rami Shandil put a question to Union Coal Minister Shibu Soren.
NDA leaders have decided not to allow transaction of any business in Parliament till 'tainted' Union ministers are dropped.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday moved several amendments to the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha, including raising the Income Tax exemption limit for senior citizens to Rs 2.5 lakhs and hiking Provident Fund interest rates to 9.5 per cent.
He also said the issue of terrorism figured when his Pakistani counterpart Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali spoke to him over telephone on Monday night.
"If the Central government does not agree, we will oppose the Bill," party spokesman V K Malhotra said.
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