Page 17 - Opposition Parties

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

Opposition parties slam govt on Adani group role in ministry panel

Opposition parties on Tuesday attacked the Modi government for "appointing" Janardhan Chaudhary as a member of the Centre's Expert Appraisal Committees (EAC) under the Environment Ministry, alleging he is an employee of the Adani group. Chaudhary was appointed in September to the all-important panel, which has to clear several power projects, including some of the Adani Group, according to media reports. "Adani Pradhan Sevak appointed Adani employee Janardhan Choudhury as a member of EAC under Environment Ministry. This committee has to approve 6 Adani projects (10,300 MW)," the Kerala Congress claimed on its official X account. It also said that recently Adani's 1500 MW Satara plant was approved by him. "Eej of doing bujiness," the party said. Reports claimed that a key advisor to Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL)Chaudhary, is now a member of one of the Centre's Expert Appraisal Committees (EAC) before which the company's hydro project proposals come up for clearance. The EAC

Who gets what position is not decided by the individual: Sachin Pilot

Former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot speaks on posing Congress as a strong Opposition to the BJP ahead of Rajasthan Assembly elections

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Centre asks Apple for proof of 'state-sponsored attack' amid hacking row

Apple threat notification: This comes after the Centre said that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has initiated an investigation into the incident

Notice sent to Apple, CERT-In has started probe: IT Secy on hacking issue

CERT-In has started its probe in the Apple threat notification issue raised by opposition MPs, and a notice has been sent to the company, IT Secretary S Krishnan said on Thursday. He hoped that Apple would cooperate with the investigation by CERT-In on the issue. "CERT-In has started its probe... they (Apple) will cooperate in this probe," Krishnan told reporters on the sidelines of an event related to the Meity-NSF research collaboration. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team or CERT-In is the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents as and when they occur. Asked if a notice has been sent to Apple, the IT Secretary answered in the affirmative. Several opposition leaders on Tuesday claimed they have received an alert from Apple warning them of "state-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise" their iPhones and alleged hacking by the government, a charge IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw rejected but assured a thorough probe. Those who received such