Page 17 - Opposition Parties

Parl security breach: Opposition demands discussion on issue in both houses

Leaders of various opposition parties on Thursday held a meeting and demanded that the issue of breach in Parliament security be taken up seriously and discussed in both houses. The leaders met in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. Several Congress MPs, including Kharge, have given notices for adjournment in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to discuss the issue while setting aside all other business of the House. While Congress MP and whip Manickam Tagore has given an adjournment notice in Lok Sabha, party MP and whip in Rajya Sabha Naseer Hussain gave a similar adjournment notice under Rule 267 for discussing the issue. Another Party MP Jebi Mather also gave a notice under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha to discuss the issue. Some parties are also contemplating meeting President Droupadi Murmu on the security issue and seek her intervention as it involves the security of all MPs. In his adjournment notice, Hussain said two unauthorised visitors

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amid Opposition protests over security breach

Lok Sabha proceedings on Thursday were adjourned till 2 pm following vociferous protests by Opposition members demanding a statement from the government on the security breach in the House. Speaker Om Birla said the responsibility of the security matters of the Lok Sabha is with the House's secretariat. However, the Opposition members continued with their demand for a statement from the government. As the protests continued, Birla adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm. At least two questions and their supplementaries were taken up during Question Hour which went on for about 15 minutes. In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack on Wednesday, two persons -- Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D -- jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow gas from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by the MPs.

Oppn raises concern over Parliament security at all-party meet with Speaker

Opposition leaders Wednesday raised concern over the "major security breach" in Parliament and demanded a probe into the matter as well as the implementation of strict measures in the new building like that in the old one. Two persons jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow gas from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by MPs. Around the same time, a man and a woman also sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting slogans "tanashahi nahi chalegi" outside the Parliament premises. All four have been detained by security forces. Some TMC MPs compared the incident with the expulsion of their party colleague Mahua Moitra and demanded action against the BJP MPs who allegedly helped the accused get passes to enter Parliament. Two persons involved in the incident have been identified as Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan. Sharma had come to the visitor's gallery as a guest of Mysuru Lok Sabha member Prathap Simha. At an

Winter Session: Sitharaman hits back on Oppn's charge on MGNREGA fund delay

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitahraman on Tuesday in the Lok Sabha said the economy is moving in the right direction, and India has become the fastest-growing major economy in the world. Replying to a debate on Supplementary Demands for Grants, Finance Minister Sitharaman said fiscal prudence is the top priority of the government without compromising on social welfare. The House later approved the Supplementary Demands for Grants, allowing the government to spend an additional over Rs 1.29 lakh crore, of which Rs 58,378 crore would be the cash outgo in the current fiscal. The remaining Rs 70,968 crore will be matched by the savings and receipts. "Our economy is moving in the right direction...Macroeconomic fundamentals are fine. We have become the fastest-growing economy. Q2 growth of 7.6 per cent is the highest in the world," she said. Responding to issues raised by the Opposition members on BSNL, the minister further said the government has earmarked Rs 11,850 crore capital infusio

Shah targets Oppn over massive cash seizure from premises of Congress MP

Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday hit out at the opposition over the seizure of a large amount of cash from premises linked to a Congress MP, saying it is now clear that their "propaganda" about probe agencies being misused was driven by the fear that their corruption will be exposed. In a statement, the senior BJP leader questioned the "silence" of INDIA bloc leaders, saying he can understand why the Congress is keeping mum but wondered why parties like the TMC, DMK, JD(U) and the RJD were doing the same. The Income Tax has seized over Rs 300 crore in cash from several premises of a business group linked to Congress MP from Jharkhand Dhiraj Prasad Sahu. The Congress has distanced itself from him, claiming that the party has nothing to do with his business, even as the BJP has latched onto the issue to press ahead with its charge of corruption against opposition parties. Shah said this must be the highest amount of money seized from a parliamentarian since independence. "It can be

INDIA bloc to work on 'Main Nahin, Hum' motto at next strategy meet

Evolving a "core positive agenda", seat sharing and a programme to hold joint rallies are among the main challenges before the opposition INDIA bloc that will be taken up at its next meeting in the national capital. The parties intend to move forward with the unity theme - "Main Nahin, Hum" (We, Not Me) - as a counter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the meeting which is likely to be held around December 18-19, a senior leader of the Congress said. The meeting is being held in the backdrop of the Congress' poor show in the just concluded assembly elections, where it suffered humiliating defeats in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, while the BJP asserted that people have affirmed their faith in "Modi's guarantees" and will re-elect his government in 2024. The challenge before the opposition parties now is to come out with an alternative positive agenda to counter the BJP in the next general elections, the leader said. Sources said during the meeting, the parties would

BJP will be left with few MPs if same move applied: SP chief on Moitra row

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said if the method used to expel opposition MPs from the Parliament is applied on the ruling party, it will leave them with only a handful MPs in both Houses. Yadav's statement came hours after Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra was expelled from the Lok Sabha after the House adopted the report of its Ethics Committee that held her guilty of accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest. The Samajwadi Party (SP) chief took to X to express his resentment on Moitra's expulsion. In a post in Hindi, Yadav advised the BJP to hire a "salaahkar" or consultant for activities that involved taking away membership of Opposition leaders so that the ministers, MPs and MLAs of the ruling party could spend their time for public welfare instead of activities pertaining to conspiracies. He added that the basis on which the membership of the Opposition MPs is being taken away, if the same is implemented on the

Oppn leaders question LS panel report recommending Moitra's expulsion

Opposition INDIA bloc leaders on Friday questioned the Lok Sabha Ethics Panel recommendation for expelling Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, and accused the BJP-led government of doing "vendetta politics". The report was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday amid an uproar by opposition MPs who questioned the procedure followed by the panel and demanded a discussion on the report. "It is a new black day in the new House. A new black chapter is starting today," Congress' leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Danish Ali, who is a member of the ethics panel and was among those who staged a walkout protesting the nature of questions that were asked to Moitra by panel chief Vinod Kumar Sonkar, said the report was incomplete. "We believe the report is incomplete, because the deposition was not completed. Five MPs walked out and the report was adopted in two-and-a-half minutes. We want a discussion on this. The walkout by MPs was because they were ask

Every penny 'looted' will have to be returned: PM Modi 'guarantees'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took a swipe at the opposition on the issue of corruption, asserting it is "Modi's guarantee" that they will have to return every penny "looted" from people. In a post on X, Modi tagged a news report of the Income Tax department recovering Rs 200 crore in cash from various locations of a business group allegedly linked to Congress MP from Jharkhand Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, as he attacked the opposition party. "Countrymen should look at these piles of currency notes and then hear the addresses of its (Congress) leaders on honesty. Every penny looted from people will have to be returned. This is Modi's guarantee," he said in a post with several emojis. The news report also showed a picture of several almirahs stuffed with currency notes. With the Lok Sabha elections approaching, the prime minister has turned up the heat on opposition parties in his X posts of late. In a recent post, he had cited a news clip to take a swipe at opposition leaders and

UP Min Dharmpal Singh says BJP will have thumping mandate in LS polls

Speaking to ANI on Thursday, Singh, the state minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairying, claimed that there wasn't much left of the Opposition alliance

Apple meets watchdog over warning notification matter: Govt official

An Apple cyber security team has met watchdog CERT-In to discuss the issue of warning notifications sent to some opposition leaders, a senior government official said on Thursday. Last month, several opposition leaders claimed they received an alert from Apple warning them of "state-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise" their iPhones and alleged hacking by the government. Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) Rajeev Chandrasekhar had said that Apple has to reply to the notice which needs to be done by their global cyber security team. The Apple team was scheduled to meet Indian cyber security watchdog CERT-In by the end of November. "Apple team met CERT-In. Now CERT-In has to submit its report based on its findings," the official said. He said there is no deadline for the submission of the report and CERT-In will submit the report after their investigation. The Members of Parliament (MPs) who received the warning notification on their .

Oppn parties attack Amit Shah for remarks against Nehru; BJP hits back

Opposition parties on Wednesday attacked Home Minister Amit Shah for his remarks against India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, with Congress leaders saying nobody has the right to insult those who fought against British Rule and offered everything to support the freedom struggle. BJP leaders, however, asserted that whatever Shah said in the Lok Sabha about Nehru is correct, and history has to be told. Shah on Wednesday blamed Nehru's "two major blunders" -- declaring a ceasefire without winning entire Kashmir and taking the issue to the United Nations -- for the sufferings of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The home minister trained his guns at Nehru while replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill. Reacting to Shah's remarks, Congress general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh wrote on X, "Today in the Lok Sabha, the home minister made deliberately provocat

The future of INDIA

The Congress will need to be more accommodative

INDIA defers meet, PM Narendra Modi slams Oppn on 'North-South' split

Another meeting at Congress president's residence to go ahead

Rajasthan Congress meeting to decide on Leader of Opposition in Assembly

Rajasthan Congress MLAs will be convening a meeting on Tuesday in Jaipur to analyse the party's performance in the state Assembly elections and choose a LoP

INDIA bloc leaders strategise for day 2 of winter session of Parliament

Congress MP Manish Tewari on Tuesday gave an Adjournment Motion Notice in the Lok Sabha and demanded a discussion on the death penalty for eight former Indian Navy personnel in Qatar

Rumbles in INDIA bloc as Congress fails to deliver in state elections

On the first day of Parliament, BJP members greeted the PM with slogans of "teesri baar Modi sarkar" as he entered the Lok Sabha

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Assembly election results 2023: Congress and INDIA go back to square one

The meeting follows a hurriedly arranged Congress event last week, held to celebrate the release of a book by party President Mallikarjun Kharge, marking his 60-year political career

Congress' performance in assembly polls to affect INDIA bloc's dynamics

The election results on Sunday in four states are being keenly watched by parties of the INDIA grouping, with the Congress' performance likely to affect the dynamics in the opposition alliance which will now step up preparations to take on the BJP in next year's general elections. While some parties including the TMC, AAP and SP were keen on having early seat-sharing talks, the Congress delayed the deliberations pending the outcome of assembly polls. Sources said this was a deliberate effort on the part of the grand old party, which wanted more bargaining power in seat-sharing, as it was expecting a good outcome in these polls. With results out on Sunday, hectic political activities will begin soon with the focus on holding further talks with regional players to iron out differences, hold seat-sharing talks and unitedly move forward to defeat the BJP in 2024, they said. Leaders of opposition parties have already urged Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to move forward in bringin