The Opposition on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying his note ban decision was "reckless".
Janata Dal-Secular's H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday took the oath of office at a mega-gathering, attended by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, his mother Sonia and strong regional leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati and Sharad Pawar. The event was planned in such a way that it would serve as a giant display of opposition unity against the Bharatiya Janata Party. Is the BJP watching?
From handling the party organisation, finalising candidates, shooting the breeze with the media to pow-wows with diplomats and liaising with the PMO -- Arun Jaitley is the BJP's chief backroom manager in this election, reports R Rajagopalan.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Saturday accused the Congress and the Centre of "thoroughly mishandling" the Telengana issue that has led to "tension and conflict" in Andhra Pradesh and demanded immediate start of consultations to restore peace and normalcy.
Preparations for Copenhagen is on full swing. Minister Jairam Ramesh met 5 MPs to discuss India's approach.
Rajya Sabha on Monday witnessed two adjournments during the pre-lunch sitting following uproar over Centre sending a team of officials to West Bengal to assess the situation in the state after a spate of violence.
The Congress how could the prime minister make such allegations when the defence minister had not stated this in his reply to debates on the controversy in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha last week and sought to know which court was Modi quoting.
With prices rising, lawmakers of the world's largest democracy are seeking a better pay package.
Opposition leaders will also meet the Election Commission and raise the issue of tallying the paper trail of votes with the electronic voting machine figures as directed by the Supreme Court.
The minister was making statement on three incidents of attacks on Indians in the US.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's decision to skip the funeral of CPI-M veteran Jyoti Basu has snowballed into a major controversy.On Thursday, CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury alleged that Banerjee has 'insulted' the people of West Bengal by not attending the state funeral of the former West Bengal chief minister.It was not the Bengal CM, but Sonia Gandhi's elite Special Protection Group, which made Banerjee stay away from the funeral.
"By not attending (the funeral) and justifying her absence, she has insulted the people of Bengal who turned out in lakhs. Now they will have to decide," he told media persons when asked to comment on the Railway minister's absence at the funeral on Tuesday.
Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday paid tributes to former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu, whom they described as a great patriot and an eminent statesman. Both Ansari and Dr Singh visited the AKG Bhawan, the Communist Party of India - Marxist headquarters at Gole Market in New Delhi, at approximately 11 am and paid floral tributes to the departed leader. They were received by CPI-M Politburo member Sitaram Yechury.
Slamming the Union budget as 'insipid' and lacking in stimulus for growth, the Congress on Saturday said it does not address the main issue of unemployment and describes the mindset of the government.
Slamming Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh's reply in Parliament on farmers' suicide, Deve Gowda said it was the worst statement made by the agriculture minister.
A defeat in UP will, therefore, dent the Modi government's efforts to win more seats in the Rajya Sabha.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Monday asked the Election Commission to convene an all-party meeting to allay their apprehensions about the reliability of electronic voting machines.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Thursday said the government was not sure of mustering majority in the Lok Sabha and hence was shy of having a debate on price rise under rules which entail voting.
The Law Commission has formed subgroups to deliberate on allegations of abuse and arbitrary use of the law.
Politburo member Sitaram Yechury speaks about the party's strategy and alliances
Congress president Sonia Gandhi led the delegation. She said Modi government was 'shutting down' people's voices and bringing legislations which are not acceptable to them.
Naidu, a former BJP ally, said he will meet non-BJP political leader and convince them about the need to fight collectively against the BJP.
Listing out issues over which the Trinamool Congress has differed with its ally Congress so far, the Communist Party of India - Marxist on Thursday asked how the two parties could continue to co-exist in the United progressive Alliance coalition and the government."We can't understand on which issue the Trinamool Congress agrees with the government. First, we want to know how they are co-existing," said CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury.
BJP's K Surendran mocked the new government saying that it was contradictory that Communist ministers, who swear by rationalism and were not ready to take oath in the name of God and instead preferred to take solemn pledge had shown reluctance in taking the "No 13" state car as their official vehicle.
In this year's budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hiked tax on petrol and diesel, raised import duty on gold, levied additional surcharge on super rich and brought a tax on high value cash withdrawals as she sought to spur growth with reduction in corporate tax and sops to housing sector, startups and electric vehicles.
The Budget proposal for creation of electoral trusts for political donations came in for severe criticism by Left parties, with the CPI(M) saying it would be the "fountainhead of all political corruption".
The CBI on Thursday conducted searches in the offices of the wireless planning cell, the department responsible for allocating spectrum, and the office of deputy director general (access services) at the ministry headquarters in New Delhi.
"We intend to talk to individuals and groups who want peace and normalcy in Kashmir Valley," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said before the departure of delegation comprising 30 members from 20 parties.
Latching on to comments by former Coal Secretary P C Parakh, the opposition on Wednesday targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying he cannot escape responsibility in the controversial allocations as held the charge of the Coal Ministry at that time.
SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav joined the protest in the Lok Sabha and, along with Left leaders, demanded suspension of the Question Hour to take up a discussion on the issue. The House was adjourned for about 20 minutes and later parliamentary affairs minister P K Bansal said a structured discussion on the price situation would take place on Wednesday.
The Communist Party of India - Maoist on Thursday rubbished charges leveled by the Communist Party of India Marxist, that the Trinamool Congress was patronising Maoists, saying the Left Front party was trying to keep itself afloat by making such allegations. "There is no need for us to have the CPI-M or the Trinamool Congress as allies," Maoist leader Kishenji said while reacting to the CPI-M's allegations that the outfit was protected by the TC.
While Communist Party of India-Marxist Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said the Interim Budget was nothing but a 'perorative' (lengthy and pompous) document and government had in fact lowered the expenditure on major social structure schemes, CPI leaders Gurudas Dasgupta and D Raja called it a 'lollipop' budget meant for the coming elections.
The police said 10 companies have been deployed outside JNU. One company comprises 70 to 80 personnel.
Cracks were visible in the Opposition unity ahead of Tuesday's meeting convened by Congress to ramp up attack on demonetisation and alleged "personal corruption" of the prime minister, with Left parties and the Janata Dal-United unlikely to attend it.
The apex court also put embargo on filing of any fresh writ petition challenging constitutional validity on abrogation of Article 370.
In a unique initiative, students from IIM-Ahmedabad will work with Communist Party of India - Marxist politburo member Sitaram Yechury and help in planning for the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme this year. They will be involved in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Provisions of the Right to Information Act will be analysed. Students will assess funds spent by the constituency and create a monitoring system.
"It is a huge scam. . . . The CPI-M has been opposing this. The Parliamentary Standing Committee, of which I am the chairman, has also all along opposed it," Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said. He said the public-private participation route, pursued by the Planning Commission, was 'disastrous as finally the burden falls on the people'.
The new political alignments in Orissa are not a sudden development. Low-key consultations between Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik and Communist Party of India - Marxist politburo member Sitaram Yechury had been on even before March 5, though it was on that day the two leaders spoke to each other directly.However, the two leaders decided not to interact for the next few days fearing that their high-profile meetings would alert the BJP.
The two-day Communist Party of India - Marxist politburo meeting, held at the party headquarters in Delhi, ended on Sunday. Politburo member and senior leader Sitaram Yechury, while briefing media persons, said that the party has called for a special central committee meeting on July 11 and 12 to discuss the factional split in the party's Kerala unit.However, sources said that the two-day meet has decided to take action against Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan.
The Communist Party of India on Thursday claimed that the results of the recent assembly polls in several states clearly showed that parties other than the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party had polled 'significant' percentage of votes and it was 'perfectly possible' for a non-Congress anti-communal combine to garner support.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances