Page 2 - Opposition Parties

Kharge calls for fresh elections on ballot papers, says all polls 'illegal'

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday demanded dissolving the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, saying that all the elections were illegal and even Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Ministers of all the states were illegal. He said fresh polls should be conducted on ballot papers. "Today, the entire country is being run on illegal elections. Modi is an illegal Prime Minister, Shah is an illegal minister, and all the chief ministers who have been elected anywhere are illegal. All of them should be dissolved, elections should be held, and elections should be conducted through ballot papers," he told reporters here. Kharge alleged that the EVMs were being misused and said that "their own people" are saying this. He alleged that the ongoing SIR of the electoral roll has many irregularities and is undermining democracy, pointing out that the government is making many mistakes in the process. He said the opposition would continue to hold agitations across

INDIA bloc plans 'Save Democracy' protests over 'vote chori' allegations

Senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi during the bloc's coordination meeting, in New Delhi on Wednesday photo: pti

Opposition to march to EC on October 6, demands return to ballot paper

INDIA bloc on Wednesday finalised a joint action plan over the SIR row, including holding rallies and 'save democracy marches', with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asserting that all parties agreed that elections should be held through ballot papers instead of EVMs. The opposition grouping made the assertion after a three-and-a-half hour meeting of its leaders, including Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and NCP(SP) MP Supriya Sule. At a joint briefing by INDIA bloc leaders after their meeting, Kharge said the leaders have decided on a joint action plan. Kharge said the parties have decided that involving young people and NGOs, "save democracy" marches will be taken out from October 2-8 and demonstrations will be held before the district magistrate's office. On October 6, all opposition MPs will march to the Election Commission, he said. The Leaders of ..

Election Commission's SIR response faces pushback from Opposition parties

Parties plan nationwide protests, seek to form a unified front to reject EC's statement on SIR, escalating their demands for CEC's resignation

INDIA bloc likely to meet on September 30 over EC row, SIR concerns

Opposition INDIA bloc parties are likely to meet in New Delhi on September 30 to discuss concerns over the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, besides other issues, sources said. The proposed meeting comes amid increased coordination among opposition parties over the Election Commission following reports of differences within the poll panel over aspects of the SIR exercise. The parties have been in touch with each other on the issue and are discussing a joint response, sources added. The CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML)-Liberation have demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and an immediate halt to the SIR, while the Congress has also stepped up its attack on Kumar. The Congress Working Committee is scheduled to meet on September 29 to discuss its strategy on the issue. The developments have also brought West Bengal's bitter political rivals, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and the CPI(M), on the same page on the Election

Dipke urges opposition parties to stop participating in 'rigged' elections

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Friday urged opposition parties to stop participating in elections if they believe the electoral process is being rigged, saying their continued participation only legitimises such polls and creates an "illusion" that they are free and fair. In a post on X, Dipke said opposition parties could not simultaneously claim that elections were being rigged and continue to contest them. "Yes, elections are being rigged. But when you continue to participate in rigged elections, you legitimise these elections and help maintain the illusion that they are free and fair," he said. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder questioned whether opposition parties continued to participate because they feared that staying away from elections would lead to their political extinction. "Maybe you keep contesting because you fear that if you don't, you will stop existing. But what kind of existence are you trying to protect when votes are being stolen, your MLAs and MPs are be

Opposition plans fresh notice seeking CEC removal, nationwide protests

INDIA bloc parties plan fresh notices in Parliament seeking CEC Gyanesh Kumar's removal and nationwide protests over alleged irregularities in the Election Commission

Opposition demands CEC's arrest, poll body says 'unanimity' in decisions

Congress, TMC, AAP, and DMK step up attack on Gyanesh Kumar over reported objections within poll panel

'Remove Gyanesh Kumar': Opposition after report flags major rift in ECI

Opposition parties slammed CEC Gyanesh Kumar after an investigation by The Indian Express claimed there is a major rift within the poll panel over decisions related to SIR and electoral rolls

Opposition protests in Parliament, seek Shah's statement on police action

Opposition MPs took out a protest march in Parliament House complex on Wednesday, demanding Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on alleged police excesses on students, discussion on "misappropriation" of Ram temple donations and statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. Carrying placards and raising slogans against the government, the Opposition MPs, including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, marched from the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Prerna Sthal to Makar Dwar. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also participated in the protest and demanded accountability from the government. Taking a swipe at Shah, Kharge asked why hasn't he been coming to the House. "They are disrespecting Parliament. It has been so many days but they don't want to step inside the House. What is the issue in coming to the House and giving a statement?" Kharge told reporters. Are they deaf and dumb, he asked. The MPs carried placards slamming

Congress protests in Parliament over police action on student protesters

Carrying placards and a large banner, the Congress MPs protested in front of the steps of the Makar Dwar of Parliament

Rule 176 and Rule 267: How are the two Rajya Sabha rules different?

Rule 176 and Rule 267 are often at the centre of Parliament disputes. Here's how the two Rajya Sabha rules differ in allowing discussions on urgent public issues

Opposition MPs' delegation to meet Sonam Wangchuk at Medanta Hospital

A delegation of opposition MPs will visit Sonam Wangchuk at Gurugram's Medanta Hospital to persuade him to end his 25-day fast, and assure him that issues relating to the alleged irregularities in competitive examinations and accountability in the education sector will be raised in Parliament, sources said on Tuesday. The delegation will urge the activist, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike for the last 25 days, to end his fast after assuring him that the Opposition will take up the matter inside Parliament, the sources said. Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose and CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas will be among those who meet Wangchuk, according to the sources. Earlier, Wangchuk said he would end his fast if Members of Parliament and leaders of political parties assured him that the issue of accountability in the education sector would be taken up during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. However, following the police crackdown on ...

INDIA bloc meets today amid strains over Congress ties and poll setbacks

With 23 parties confirming attendance, the INDIA bloc will review poll results and Parliament strategy amid tensions with key allies DMK and CPI(M)

Opposition attacks govt on fuel price hike, says it will cause inflation

Opposition parties slammed the Centre over the fuel price hike, warning of rising inflation and economic distress amid surging global crude oil prices

Anti-incumbency rising against BJP in Goa, opposition must unite: GFP chief

Goa Forward Party president Vijai Sardesai has claimed that anti-incumbency is building against the state BJP government and stressed the need for the Opposition parties to come together to defeat it in the 2027 assembly polls. In the 2022 elections to the 40-member Goa assembly, the GFP contested four seats in alliance with the Congress, winning only one, with Sardesai getting elected from his traditional Fatorda constituency. The Congress had won 11 seats. Speaking to reporters in Margao on Tuesday, Sardesai said, "Anti-incumbency sentiment defeated the DMK in Tamil Nadu. A similar sentiment is running high against the BJP government in Goa. To tap this, it is incumbent upon Opposition parties to come together and defeat the BJP." In the just-concluded elections to the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly, Vijay-led TVK emerged as the single largest party by winning 108 seats, while the ruling DMK headed by M K Stalin got 59 seats. Sardesai also said his party has decided to take the h

At Cabinet meet, PM Modi asks ministers to expose Oppn's anti-women stance

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Congress and other parties will have to pay a price for not supporting the bill for the early implementation of the women's reservation and asked Union ministers to expose the opposition's "anti-women" mindset before the people, according to sources. At a Cabinet meeting, the prime minister reaffirmed his government's support and commitment to get the women's reservation implemented in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. The sources also said that the Prime Minister stated that the opposition has committed a big mistake by not voting in favour of early implementation of the women's quota and will have to pay a price for not supporting it. Prime Minister Modi is understood to have told his cabinet colleagues to take the message to the grassroots and every village and expose the opposition's "anti-women" mindset. The sources said Modi told the ministers to put out messages against the opposition's stand on their social media handles. The .

Defeated delimitation bill to defend 'idea of India': Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the opposition parties defeated the delimitation bill in the Parliament on Friday to defend the "idea of India." Addressing a poll rally at Ponneri here, he said the BJP-led government at the Centre brought a new bill on April 16, and said they were trying to pass the women's bill, which he said was passed in 2023. "In the so-called Women's Bill, delimitation was hidden. The idea was to reduce Tamil Nadu's representation in the Union of India... the delimitation move by BJP was to weaken the strength of southern states, small states, north eastern states," he alleged. "We defeated in Parliament, a bill in which delimitation was hidden; we defeated it to defend the idea of India." Rahul added that India that is Bharat, is a union of states, and every single state should have a voice, be free to express itself, and protect its tradition.

Women's Reservation Act will fulfil future resolutions, says PM Modi

Ahead of a special Parliament session, PM Modi termed amendments to fast-track Women's Reservation Act implementation by 2029 as a key reform and urged Opposition support

Suspension of eight Opposition MPs revoked after Parliament rapprochement

Lok Sabha revokes suspension of eight Opposition MPs after government and Opposition reach agreement to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament during the Budget session