The Shiv Sena (UBT) "boycotted" Rahul Narwekar's election as the Maharashtra assembly Speaker because he had helped run an unconstitutional government during his previous tenure, party leader Aaditya Thackeray said on Monday. Earlier in the day, Narwekar was elected unopposed as the Speaker after the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) decided not to put up a contest. Narwekar, the BJP MLA from Colaba in Mumbai, has served as the Speaker of the 14th Legislative Assembly for two and a half years. During his previous tenure, Narwekar had ruled that the party led by Eknath Shinde was the legitimate and real Shiv Sena after the undivided Sena split. He also held that the faction under Ajit Pawar was the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Speaking to the reporters in Mumbai, Aaditya Thackeray said the Shiv Sena (UBT) boycotted Narwekar's election and the induction of new MLAs during a three-day special session of the assembly. "Everybody knows about the MLAs who escaped to Surat and
Dismissing the BJP's allegations of its leaders colluding with US investor George Soros, the Congress on Monday said the real conspiracy unravelling during the Parliament's Winter session is that the government would even put at stake India's ties with another country just to save Gautam Adani. The opposition party alleged that Gautam Adani has been extended 'M (Modi)' security and to breach that one would have to cross the "dead body" of democracy. "Since Parliament session began, we have been trying to raise issues but there is one issue the prime minister cannot tolerate and when that issue is raised, he loses self control. That one name is Adani. As soon as that name is taken, the PM gets rattled," Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said. "No one has the right to stake our ties with a nation for one person. Those countries that help that industrialist, even if they enter our borders, they are given a clean chit and those countries that get a probe done on
Proceedings of the Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm on Monday as members of the treasury benches accused top Congress leaders of colluding with billionaire investor George Soros to destabilise the country and demanded a discussion on the issue. The Upper House witnessed two adjournments during the pre-lunch session as the claims triggered protests from opposition members. Soon after a brief first adjournment during Zero Hour, Leader of the House J P Nadda said BJP members were agitated over an issue that involved Congress leaders and wanted a discussion. "All our members are agitated over reports against certain leaders of the opposition. Our leaders are keen to hold a discussion on the issue," he said. This prompted several ruling party members to allege that top Congress leadership had links with Soros. They demanded that the issue be discussed in the House as it is connected to national security. Several MPs of the BJP and other NDA allies raised the issue and demanded an .
BJP MLA Rahul Narwekar was on Monday elected unopposed as the speaker of the 15th Maharashtra legislative assembly. Narwekar filed his nomination papers on Sunday and was elected unopposed as the opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) decided not to put up a contest. The BJP leader, who was the speaker in the 14th assembly for two and a half years, was re-elected from the Colaba assembly seat in Mumbai in the November 20 assembly elections. The speaker's election will be followed by a floor test to prove the new government's strength. Governor CP Radhakrishnan will then address the joint session of both Houses of the state legislature. During his tenure as Maharashtra assembly speaker, Narwekar had ruled that the party led by Eknath Shinde was the legitimate and real Shiv Sena after a split in the Bal Thackeray-founded party. He also held that the faction under Ajit Pawar was the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which was founded by Sharad Pawar. In the recently conclu
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi attacked the Central government and said that the BJP-ruled central government has failed in its only task of providing security
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday urged all political parties, including the Congress, to unite against anti-India forces, and raise their voice if they find their leaders working against the country's interest. His remarks come a day after the BJP alleged that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has links to an organisation financed by the George Soros Foundation and which has backed the idea of Kashmir as an independent nation. Addressing reporters here, Rijiju said anybody found to be working with anti-India forces must be countered unitedly by all political parties. "I wish to tell the leaders and workers of the Congress that even if their own party leaders are found to be working in tandem with anti-India forces, they should raise their voice against them," Rijiju said. The minister also said that the government had informed the Congress that discussion on the Constitution will be taken up in the Lok Sabha on December 13-14 and in the Rajya Sabha on ...
Tensions escalated at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border, where police used tear gas to block farmers attempting to march to Delhi
Protesting farmers on Sunday afternoon suspended their foot march to Delhi for the day after some of them suffered injuries in tear gas shelling by Haryana security personnel here along the state's border with Punjab. Farmer leader from Punjab Sarwan Singh Pandher said at least eight farmers were injured and one of them was rushed to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh. "We have called back the 'jatha' (group of 101 farmers)," he told reporters here. Pandher said the farmers would decide their next course of action after a meeting of their forums -- the Samyuka Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. The 'jatha' resumed its foot march from the farmers' Shambhu protest site earlier in the afternoon but was soon halted by multilayered barricading erected by Haryana security personnel. Tear gas shells were lobbed at the protesting farmers and water jets were used as well to disperse them after they reached the ...
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'Hindutva' is a disease which is defaming Hinduism and leading to "lynching and persecution" of minorities especially Muslims, with the BJP using it to strengthen its vote bank, PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti's daughter Iltija on Sunday said. BJP took exception to the remark and demanded an apology for the "derogatory words". "Ram the deity must hang his head in shame & watch helplessly as minor Muslim boys are whacked with chappals only because they refuse to chant his name. Hindutva is a disease thats (sic) afflicted millions of Indians & sullied a Gods name," Iltija wrote on X, reposting a video of an incident where a Muslim man is being beaten. Later, talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in Jammu, Iltija defended her remark and accused the BJP of allowing such a situation to take place in the country. "There is a big difference between Hindutva and Hinduism. Hindutva is about the feeling of hatred, which (Vinayak Damodar) Savarkar (who developed the Hindu ...
BJP's Rahul Narwekar is poised to be elected unopposed as the speaker of the Maharashtra legislative assembly, with the opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) deciding not to put up a contest. Narwekar, who was the speaker in the 14th assembly for two and a half years and gave the key verdicts tied to the Shiv Sena and NCP, was reelected from the Colaba assembly seat in Mumbai. Accompanied by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, Narwekar filed his nomination before the legislature secretary Jitendra Bhole on Sunday. MVA leaders met Fadnavis and urged him to follow the protocol of giving the deputy speaker's post to the opposition. They also sought the post of the leader of the opposition. The speaker's election will be formally announced in the House on Monday. This will be followed by a floor test to prove the new government's strength. Governor CP Radhakrishnan will then address the joint session of both Houses of the state ...
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday hit out at the opposition, accusing it of misleading people about electronic voting machines and not accepting their mandate. Talking to reporters, Shinde said the ruling Mahayuti alliance won the November 20 assembly polls because of its work, and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi must accept the people's mandate and support the government in development works. The Mahayuti combine of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP swept the recently held polls, winning 230 out of 288 seats, while the opposition bloc of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) managed just 46 seats. The opposition parties have alleged irregularities with EVMs for its poll losses and demanded the use of ballot papers. Slamming the opposition, the Shiv Sena chief said, "When you win, there is no EVM scam, but the machine becomes bad when you lose. This is not the right approach." He said the opposition must accept the people's mandate that they have been decisively
The BJP on Sunday accused the Left government in Kerala of "failing" to utilise the central funds in the SDRF and the NDRF for the relief and rehabilitation of Wayanad landslide survivors and carrying out "fake propaganda" against the union government. The saffron party said that the Narendra Modi government has provided sufficient funds to Kerala through the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). "The Pinarayi government is sitting on available funds and blames the Centre," senior BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar alleged in a social media post. In a hard-hitting X post, he said the Centre has allocated over Rs 500 crore for this purpose through SDRF, which already has a balance of approximately Rs 700 crore. "The state has failed to utilise the Rs 700 crore in the calamity fund. People world over have donated to CM Relief fund. This is also not used. This is the hypocrisy of LDF and UDF, and their fake propaganda has
Prolonged violence in Manipur with frequent internet shutdowns, curfews and general strikes is affecting the academic and career pursuits of students pursuing higher education in the northeastern state, many educationists said. With frequent internet shutdowns, students are facing problems in having access to online resources and many recruiters are hesitant to visit campuses in Manipur for placement drive due to curfews and general strikes, they said. Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and also in charge of placement of National Institute of Technology (NIT) Manipur, K H Johnson Singh told PTI "We have witnessed a decline in recruitment drives after violence broke out in the state. At least 40 companies (online mode) came and 70 students have been selected this year. This is much less than what we were used to before the outbreak of violence. We had expected selection of some 100 students and some 50 companies." He said, "Recruiters who prefer offline mode o
Attacking the government over its statement in Parliament on India-China ties, the Congress on Sunday asked whether the Modi government has agreed to a "new normal" over the "old normal" prevailing prior to April 2020 and demanded that Parliament must be given an opportunity to debate the full gamut of the relationship between the two countries. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said a discussion in Parliament on India-China relationship should focus on both strategic and economic policy, especially since our dependence on China has increased economically, even as it unilaterally changed the status quo on our borders over four years back. In a statement, Ramesh said the Congress has studied the recent suo motu statement made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in both Houses of Parliament titled "Recent Developments in India's Relations with China". It is unfortunate, but typical of the Modi government, that MPs were not permitted to seek any ..
Notwithstanding the US' dismissal of BJP's allegations that it is backing attempts to destabilise India, party MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday said he will ask Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi 10 questions in the Lok Sabha on the issue. In a post on X, Dubey alleged that media portal Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Hungarian-American businessman George Soros have colluded with the opposition to ruin India's economy and defame the Modi government. The US on Saturday rejected BJP's allegations that organisations funded by its State Department and elements in the American "deep state" were behind attempts to destabilise India through targeted attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business tycoon Gautam Adani. A spokesperson at the US embassy described the allegations as "disappointing" and asserted that the US government has been a champion of media freedom around the world. Reacting to the US embassy's statement, Dubey said, "Yesterday I read the ...
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has asserted that India will become a USD 30 trillion-economy by 2047. Delivering a lecture at the concluding function of XLRI-School of Management's year-long platinum jubilee celebration here on Saturday, Pradhan said that India, the fastest-growing global economy, is currently in the fifth position and will bag the third spot in the next three years. "The world didn't even count India on the economic front when XLRI came into being 75 years ago. Today, we are the fastest-growing economy and fifth-largest economy in the world, with a size of US 3 trillion. We will be the third-largest economy in the next three years at USD 5 trillion. Our economy will grow to USD 30 trillion by 2047," he said. "We have to be wealth creators, job creators. We have the potential to create millions of jobs. The world is looking at India for digital public infrastructure... 46 per cent of digital transactions in the world take place in our country. We have .
Delhi CM Atishi claimed that the BJP-ruled central government has caused a breakdown of the law and order situation in Delhi, due to which the residents are troubled
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday slammed the BJP after the US rejected the ruling party's allegations that elements in the American "deep state" were behind attempts to destabilise India and said this "attack-dog" behaviour is an embarrassment to India. The US on Saturday rejected the BJP's allegations that organisations funded by the US State Department and elements in the American "deep state" were behind attempts to destabilise India through targeted attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business tycoon Gautam Adani. A spokesperson at the US embassy described the allegations as "disappointing" and asserted that the US government has been a champion of media freedom around the world. The BJP alleged on Thursday that the US deep state colluded with the media portal OCCRP (Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to "damage" India's image. In a post in X, Tharoor said, "It's clear the BJP neither understands democracy n
AAP Chief highlighted that the law and order situation in Delhi has become alarming, incidents of openly firing and stabbing are becoming quite frequent