Opposition

LS adjourned for day amid uproar over Oppn demand for Rahul to speak first

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Monday with opposition parties insisting that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak before the House takes up discussion on the Union Budget. As Krishna Prasad Tennati called Congress' Shashi Tharoor to initiate the debate on the Budget, opposition members dug in their heels and said Gandhi be allowed to speak first. Tennati underlined that the discussion was on the Budget and Tharoor's name had been given by the Congress as its lead speaker. He said he would need to get clarity on whether LoP can be allowed to speak. He also asked Gandhi whether he wanted to speak on the Budget. Tharoor, meanwhile, said he yields to the LoP. As the stalemate continued, Tennati adjourned the House till 2 pm. Earlier, Lok Sabha proceeding were adjourned till 12 noon after Speaker Om Birla slammed opposition members for "planning" disruptions. As the House took up Question Hour, opposition members started raising issues which they

Opposition walks out from Rajya Sabha on Kharge being not allowed to speak

Opposition members of the Rajya Sabha on Monday staged a walkout from the House while raising the issue of LoP Mallikarjun Kharge not being allowed to speak. Congress member Kharge rose during Question Hour to say that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak on the Motion of Thanks. Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, however, did not allow him to raise the issue relating to the Lok Sabha and said "nothing that he says will go on record". Earlier, Kharge raised the issue of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal making a statement last week on the India-US trade deal, outside the House when Parliament was in session. As the Chairman did not allow Kharge to speak, members of the entire Opposition were on their feet, raising their protest. As the Chairman proceeded with the Question Hour, Opposition members continued with their protest and later staged a walkout from the House.

Venezuela's Machado says close ally kidnapped after prison release

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Monday said one of her closest allies was kidnapped hours after being released from prison. The government had released several prominent opposition members from prison on Sunday after lengthy politically motivated detentions. Machado said on social media that Juan Pablo Guanipa was taken around midnight in a residential neighbourhood of the capital, Caracas. "Heavily armed men, dressed in civilian clothes, arrived in four vehicles and violently took him away," she posted on X. "We demand his immediate release." The releases of the opposition figures came as the government of acting President Delcy Rodriguez has faced mounting pressure to free hundreds of people whose detentions months or years ago have been linked to their political activities. The releases also followed a visit to Venezuela of representatives of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. The government's press office did not immediately respond to a request

Venezuela frees several opposition members as prisoner releases continue

Under mounting pressure from the US to free political prisoners, rights group Foro Penal said some 35 political prisoners were released on Sunday and that it was verifying additional cases

Lok Sabha adjourned till 5 pm amid heavy sloganeering by Opposition

BJP MP Dubey said while Rahul Gandhi wants to speak about an unpublished book, he has brought a series of books to expose the Gandhi family

Opposition walks out seeking Indo-US trade deal debate, govt hits back

Members of several opposition parties on Tuesday staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha while demanding a discussion on the Indo-US trade deal, with the government accusing them of venting out their frustration. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raised the issue of the Indo-US trade deal soon after the Zero Hour ended and alleged that the information about the deal was being received from Washington instead. As opposition members started protesting in the house, Leader of the House J P Nadda said the government was ready to discuss the matter and will make a statement on the Indo-US trade deal in Parliament on Tuesday. He said the US President had informed about the reduction in tariffs on Indian goods through a post on social media and also referred to the Prime Minister as a "true friend". Nadda alleged that the Opposition's frustration was coming out, and it had started "seeing bad even in good things" while referring to the trade deal. "I want to assure the house that the governmen

Oppn protests in Parliament after President Murmu mentions VB-G RAM G Act

President Droupadi Murmu's reference to the VB-G RAM G Act in her address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on Wednesday sparked protests from opposition parties which raised slogans demanding a roll back of the law. In her address, the President said the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) would provide guarantee for 125 days of work, and would also stop corruption and leakages. She also asserted that it would provide a new impetus to rural development. While the President's mention of the VB-G RAM G Act was welcomed by treasury benches by thumping of desks, Opposition members raised slogans demanding roll back of the law. President Murmu paused during her address as the opposition raised slogans like "vapas lo" (roll back the Act). The Act is set to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Opposition parties are demanding the withdrawal of the VB-G RAM G Act and restoration of MGNRE

Parliament Winter Session Highlights: Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha adjourned sine die amid Oppn protest

Parliament Winter Session LIVE updates: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues

Oppn sits on overnight protest in Parl against passage of G RAM G bill

Opposition leaders staged a 12-hour overnight protest dharna in Parliament complex on Thursday night, while protesting against the passage of the VB-G RAM G bill that seeks to replace the MGNREGA rural employment programme and said they would take to the streets across the country. Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose accused the Union government of bulldozing the VB- G RAM G bill, as opposition MPs sat on a 12-hour dharna in the Parliament complex. The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill was passed by Parliament amid opposition's protests, with the Rajya Sabha giving it its nod post midnight. Ghose said the manner in which the Modi government has brought in this completely "anti-poor, anti-people, anti-farmer, anti-rural poor" VBGRG bill, and has done away with the MGNREGA. "This is an insult to India's poor, it is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi, it is an insult to Rabindranath Tagore. With just five hours' notice,

Opposition slams plan to rename MGNREGA, says Centre erasing history

Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh said the move reflected a larger pattern. The Indian government is changing the entire history

INDIA bloc on life support, risks being wheeled into ICU: Omar Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Saturday said the opposition INDIA bloc is currently "on life support" and risks being wheeled into the "ICU" due to infighting and a failure to match the BJP's round-the-clock election machine. Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here, Abdullah detailed the organisational and strategic failures of the opposition bloc, contrasting its approach with the BJP's "unparalleled" work ethic. Talking about the INDIA bloc's current health, particularly in the aftermath of the recent Bihar elections, Abdullah said, "We're sort of on life support, but every once in a while, somebody brings out his paddles and gives us a bit of a shock, and we get up again. But then, unfortunately, results like Bihar happen, and we slump down again, and then somebody has to wheel us into the ICU. Abdullah also blamed the INDIA bloc for the return of Nitish Kumar to the BJP-led NDA, saying, "I believe that we pushed ..

Parliament Winter Session LIVE: Lok Sabha discusses Central Excise (Amendment) Bill 2025

Parliament Winter Session LIVE Updates: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues

Sanchar Saathi app downloads jump 10 times on Dec 2; up from 60K to 600K

The government's cyber security and safety app Sanchar Saathi recorded a 10-fold jump in downloads on Tuesday, rising from a daily average of around 60,000 to nearly 6 lakh, DoT sources said on Wednesday. The number of downloads jumped even as Opposition leaders and a section of industry experts criticised the Department of Telecom order to mandatorily pre-install the app on all mobile phones alleging that it is meant for "snooping" and violating privacy of citizens. "There has been very good response to the Sanchar Saathi App from the public suddenly. The download on a single day jumped 10 times to around 6 lakh from an average of 60,000 a day," a DoT source, who did not wished to be named, told PTI. According to official data, 1.5 crore people have already downloaded the app even before the order was issued. The order dated November 28, mandates all mobile phone manufacturers to pre-install Sanchar Saathi app in all handsets to be sold in India as well as in existing devices thro

Govt ready to discuss anything, Oppn should not fix timeline: Rijiju on SIR

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday told Opposition members in the Lok Sabha that the government was willing to discuss any issue and it has invited leaders from various parties for a dialogue to break the ongoing impasse. Rijiju's remarks came amid unrelenting protests by Opposition MPs in the House demanding a debate on the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters' list in nine states and three Union Territories. The minister said there are several important issues, and the proceedings cannot be disrupted over one issue. One issue cannot outweigh others at a time when members of smaller parties also want to discuss matters important to them, he added. Amid slogan shouting by the Opposition members, the Union minister said, "Two to four parties are disrupting the House... In a democracy, people win and lose. They should not vent their anger like this... By doing this, you are losing the trust of the people". Making similar remarks in Rajya Sabha, Rijiju s

'Parliament not a place for drama': PM taunts Oppn ahead of Winter Session

PM Modi also said that Parliament is being used either as a warm-up arena for elections or as an outlet for frustration after defeat

Parliament Winter session: Govt to push reform agenda, Oppn to target SIR

The Winter session of Parliament beginning Monday will see the government push its reforms agenda with a legislation to open up the civil nuclear sector to private players, while the opposition is set to rake up the issue of revision of electoral rolls across 12 states and Union territories. The three-week long session of Parliament comes against the backdrop of the overwhelming victory of the BJP-led NDA in the Bihar Assembly elections which is expected to reflect in the renewed push for reforms after a virtual washout of the Monsoon session. Besides the crucial 'The Atomic Energy Bill, 2025', which seeks to govern the use and regulation of atomic energy in India, the Higher Education Commission of India Bill and eight other draft legislations are also on the agenda for the session which will have 15 sittings. The government already had to step back from its plans to bring a bill to empower the president to make regulations for the Union Territory of Chandigarh directly, after stif

INDIA bloc manifesto pledges one job per household, review on liquor ban

Tejashwi Yadav-led alliance pledges jobs, welfare schemes and prohibition review in Bihar; BJP, JDU term promises unrealistic

Opposition leaders slam Lokpal after it floats tender to buy 7 BMW cars

The opposition on Wednesday hit out at anti-graft ombudsman Lokpal after it floated a tender to procure seven luxurious BMW cars, saying the guardians of integrity are chasing luxury over legitimacy. Senior Congress leader and former home minister P Chidambaram questioned as to when judges of the Supreme Court are provided modest sedans, why do the chairman and six members of the Lokpal require BMW cars. "Why spend public money to acquire these cars? I hope that at least one or two members of the Lokpal have refused, or will refuse, to accept these cars," Chidambaram said on X. Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi also criticised the move and took a swipe at Lokpal. "I chaired the Parliamentary Committee on Lokpal. Dr. L.M. Singhvi first conceived idea of Lokpal in the early 1960s. To see this anti-corruption body now ordering BMWs for its members is tragic irony, the guardians of integrity chasing luxury over legitimacy," Singhvi said on X. In another post, he said, "8,70

Japan's new PM Sanae Takaichi faces early test as coalition talks stall

While the most likely outcome is that the two parties will reach agreement in the coming days, the delay shows the level of reservations Komeito has over Takaichi's right-wing views

Belarus Oppn leader Mikalai Statkevich disappears after defying deportation

Scores of political prisoners pardoned by the authoritarian leader of Belarus sat on a bus waiting to cross the border with Lithuania last month, minutes from freedom. Suddenly, one of them stood up, forced the door open and got off, defiantly refusing to leave his homeland in what he called as a forced deportation. Since that incident on September 11, Mikalai Statkevich hasn't been seen. Human rights activists are demanding that Belarusian authorities reveal what has happened to the 69-year-old opposition politician and former presidential candidate. Statkevich was one of 52 political prisoners pardoned by President Alexander Lukashenko as part of a deal brokered by the United States. Fellow political prisoner Maksim Viniarski, who was travelling with him on the bus, told The Associated Press that Statkevich looked determined ready to fight not only for himself, but for the freedom of all Belarusians. When the emaciated Statkevich bolted from the bus, he left behind his critical