Page 31 - Opposition Parties

Oppn leaders protest in Parl, demand discussion on India-China faceoff

She said that when facing "a significant national challenge," it has been the tradition to bring Parliament into confidence

Oppn members walk out of RS, accuse NHRC of selectively visiting states

The entire opposition walked out from the Rajya Sabha at the end of the morning session on Tuesday alleging that the NHRC only visits opposition ruled states for investigations while skipping BJP-governed Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Dola Sen of the TMC, while making her Zero Hour submission, said it is unfortunate that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is visiting Bihar and goes to Bengal, but does not visit Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Protesting this, Sen announced a walkout of the TMC from the House. Other opposition parties too followed. Earlier, Manoj Jha of the RJD too wanted to raise the issue, but could not. During the Zero Hour, members raise matters with permission of the Chair.

Results show all sections supporting BJP; rivals exploiting faultlines: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Thursday the results of two state assembly elections and several bypolls highlight people's support to the BJP's vision and commitment to development rising above social "faultlines", which he said were "being exploited" by rival parties for political gains. India's future can be made bright not by raising faultlines but by erasing them, he said in his address to BJP workers at the party's headquarters after the BJP wrote new records in his home state by winning over 155 seats and fetching over 52 per cent of votes. The BJP lost to the Congress in Himachal Pradesh though. While the people of Gujarat have "broken records in breaking new records", the BJP fell behind the Congress by less than one per cent votes in Himachal Pradesh, he noted and said his party's win in Kurhani bypoll in Bihar against the combined might of the grand alliance of the RJD-JD(U)-Congress is an indication of the times to come in the state. In an apparent attack on the

MPs raise issues of conversion, compensation for migrant workers in LS

There is a need to take the issue of religious conversions happening across the country seriously, BJP MP from Jharkhand Sunil Kumar Singh said in Parliament on Thursday and claimed it has led to rise of suicides. Speaking during a session in Lok Sabha to discuss matters under Rule 377, he said conversions are changing the direction of society and the country. "Such organisations specially target people from backward classes. There have been cases that people killed themselves due to religious conversion. As part of a conspiracy, they are encouraged to think that they are not Hindus, they do not believe in Constitution. In Chhattisgarh, which is majority tribal and Dalit area, this is a very serious problem. Thus I request for a strict legislation against religious conversion," Singh said. BJP's Rama Devi spoke on the need for providing compensation for migrant labourers from Bihar in case of death or injury, while her colleague from the Congress raised the issue of aid for farmers

Mamata to chalk out party strategy for winter session of Parliament

Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will meet party MPs here on Wednesday to decide the party strategy for the winter session of Parliament. Banerjee is likely to direct party leaders to raise pro-people issues on the floor of the House, party sources said. The meeting is expected to be held at 3 pm at the residence of senior party MP Saugata Roy Banerjee was part of the G20 meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and then visited Ajmer Sharif on Tuesday along with nephew and party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. The winter session of Parliament commenced Wednesday. The session will have 17 sittings over 23 days before it concludes on December 29.

Winter session: Oppn demands discussion on border issue with China

Matters will be taken up in keeping with House norms: Centre at all-party meet

Opposition demands talks on inflation, EWS during all-party meet: Report

In the all-party meeting on Tuesday, Opposition parties demanded discussions on price rise, unemployment and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota among other issues, sources said. Leaders from all major parties attended the meeting convened by the central government to discuss the legislative agenda and the issues likely to be discussed during the the Winter Session of Parliament that begins on December 7. The government was represented by Union minister and deputy leader of the BJP in Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh and Leader of House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi was also present. During the meeting, Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge demanded a discussion on the appointment of election commissioner in just one day, EWS quota and unemployment. TMC leader Derek O'Brien sought discussions on price rise, unemployment, alleged misuse of agencies and economic blockade of states, sources said. O'Brien a

Opposition parties, leading citizens join Bharat Jodo Yatra in Guwahati

The Bharat Jodo Yatra' of the Assam Congress passed through the state's largest city Guwahati for the second day on Friday, with leaders of several Opposition parties and leading citizens joining the march. The programme started from Chandmari Field and culminated at Bonda ending its Guwahati-phase, a party spokesperson said. All India Congress Committee president Jitendra Singh and state party chief Bhupen Borah were joined by representatives of the CPI, CPI (ML), NCP and the LDP, among others. Prominent intellectual Hiren Gohain, senior advocate Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, academician Abdul Mannan and physician Navanil Barua, among others, also joined the Congress in the Assam leg of the Yatra. The leaders, cutting across party lines, appealed to the people to extend their support to the Congress' endeavour as it is a cry against rising prices and unemployment in the country. The spokesperson said people welcomed the party leaders with flowers and gamochas' (Assamese tradition

Sunak's rise as next UK PM triggers war of words between BJP, opposition

With opposition leaders using the elevation of Rishi Sunak as Britain's next prime minister to lament alleged majoritarianism and divisiveness in India, the BJP on Tuesday cited APJ Abdul Kalam's and Manmohan Singh's rise as the country's president and prime minister to hit out at them. The BJP also rejected any parallel between its leaders' opposition to prime ministership for Sonia Gandhi, who is of Italian origin, after the Congress won the Lok Sabha poll in 2004 and the Britain's ruling party choosing Indian-origin Sunak as its leader, paving the way for him to become the country's next PM. "Can't differentiate between Italy-born Sonia (who refused to take Indian citizenship for several decades after marriage with Rajiv) and UK-born Rishi with Indian ancestry," BJP's foreign affairs department head Vijay Chauthaiwale said responding to a Twitter user. Reactions from BJP leaders came after leaders from various opposition parties, including the Congress, appeared to take a swipe a

Opposition slams FM Sitharaman's remark that rupee has not weakened

Opposition parties on Sunday slammed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's remark that rupee has not weakened but it is the dollar that has strengthened, saying she cannot hide the failure of her government in handling the economy. The ruling BJP defended the finance minister's statement, noting that the dollar has appreciated against most currencies. It also said that if rupee depreciates against all currencies "like it happened during UPA in 2013", it is called rupee getting weaker, which is not the case now. The Congress alleged that the people were paying the price for the government's "incompetence and wrong policies". For how long will RSS-BJP work to weaken India by misleading the public from reality? Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said. Referring to India being ranked 107 out of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2022, Gandhi tweeted: Now the Prime Minister and his ministers will say, 'Hunger is not increasing in India, but people are not feeling hungry in other ...

All opposition leaders will sit together in Delhi soon, says Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said that the leaders of opposition parties will soon sit together in Delhi to make a strategy against the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections

Opposition unity 'core' for 2024 LS polls as Nitish and Lalu meet Sonia

The meeting came soon after several opposition leaders had come together to pay tribute to former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal in Haryana.

Don't want anything for myself, just keen on uniting oppn parties: Nitish

Dismissing all speculations over his candidature in Lok Sabha polls from Phulpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said "he is only interested in uniting opposition parties ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls". Kumar also asserted that his efforts should reap benefits for the younger generation, "for people like (his deputy) Tejashwi Yadav". "These are mere speculations and there is no basis for such talks. I don't know the source of such reports. I am only interested in uniting all opposition parties ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections," said the CM when asked if he had plans to enter the Lok Sabha contest from UP. "I don't want anything for myselfwhatever I am doing, it is for the younger generationfor people like Tejashwi Yadav," he added. Speculations about Kumar eyeing the Phulpur seat became rife after JD(U)'s national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh on Saturday said that party workers and leaders in three constituencies

Mamata's decision to postpone north Bengal visit attracts opposition jibes

During her two-day visit, the CM was supposed to attend three programmes at Uttarkanya which is considered as the mini-secretariat in north Bengal, Bagdogra and Bagha Jatin Park at Siliguri

Maha Oppn slams Shinde govt after Gujarat bags Vedanta-Foxconn project

As Indian conglomerate Vedanta and Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn jointly inked a pact to set up a semiconductor and display manufacturing unit in Gujarat, the opposition in Maharashtra on Tuesday slammed the Eknath Shinde-led government for "losing" out on the Rs 1,54,000-crore project. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the main opposition outfit, accused the neighbouring state, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of snatching morsel from Maharashtra's mouth. State NCP president and former minister Jayant Patil said with the project slipping away from the hands of Maharashtra, the state has lost an investment potential of Rs one lakh crore. Taking an aim at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose government is being supported by the BJP, Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), when it was in power, had "very strongly" pursued this project. It was almost decided that the plant will come up in Maharashtra, said Thackeray, who ..

Delhi: Nitish Kumar's meeting with Rahul Gandhi goes on for nearly an hour

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who reached the national capital to confer with opposition leaders on taking on the BJP together, had a nearly one-hour-long meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

JD(U) alleges undeclared emergency in country, Nitish calls for Oppn unity

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Saturday called for Opposition unity to take on the BJP, saying parties need to bury their differences for the welfare of people looking for an "alternative". In his address to the Janata Dal (United) national executive, Kumar claimed his only goal is to work for uniting opposition parties, sources said. The party later authorised him to work for the opposition unity. The meeting also passed a resolution which alleged there is an "undeclared emergency" in the country under the BJP government which is "trying to silence" opposition voices by "misusing" probe agencies. The BJP government at the Centre is labelling the democratic right of dissent as "treason", it alleged. The resolution said the country is looking for an alternative to the BJP and asked all opposition parties to sink their differences and unite. It also accused the BJP of stoking "communal frenzy" in the country. "Minorities are being targeted. Intolerance and extremism have increas

Bihar CM Nitish to visit Delhi from Sept 5, likely to meet Oppn leaders

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to visit Delhi from September 5 and meet several Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi of the Congress, in his bid to bring them together to fight the BJP. Janata Dal (United) sources said Kumar is expected to meet Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and the Left leaders among others. The JD(U) is holding its two-day meeting of national executive and national council meeting on Saturday and Sunday.

If considered by Oppn, Nitish might be 'strong candidate' for PM: Tejashwi

Amid the buzz that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar could emerge as a prime ministerial candidate, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday said if considered by the Opposition, the JD(U) leader might be a "strong candidate" as he enjoys "immense goodwill" on the ground. In an interview with PTI, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Yadav also said the BJP's narrative that "jungle raj" will be back with the return of the Mahagathbandhan government was a "tired discourse" and a "classic case" of "crying wolf". The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader said the coming to power of the Mahagathbandhan government with the JD(U), the RJD, the Congress and other parties uniting "augurs well for opposition unity". "It signals that most of the Opposition parties recognise the larger challenge before the country the hegemony of the BJP, where on the back of money, media, and (administrative) machinery power, they are determined to stamp out all diversity from the Indian society as well as from the political

Oppn raises slogans against Shinde govt before start of assembly session

Just before the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature began, the opposition parties raised slogans against the Eknath Shinde-led state government on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan