Page 3 - Opposition

Opposition raises questions over ex Vice President Dhankhar's resignation

The opposition on Monday raised questions over Jagdeep Dhankhar's sudden resignation as the vice president, with the Congress saying that clearly, there is "far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye". The Congress also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convince Dhankhar to change his mind. In a sudden move, Dhankhar resigned from his post on Monday evening, citing medical reasons. He has sent his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu and said he is stepping down with immediate effect. "The sudden resignation of the Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is as shocking as it is inexplicable. I was with him alongside a number of other MPs till around 5 PM today and had spoken to him over the phone at 7:30 PM," Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. "No doubt Mr Dhankhar has to give topmost priority to his health. But clearly there is far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye

Anti-SIR protests rock Bihar Assembly on inaugural day of monsoon session

Protests against special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar rocked the state assembly on the inaugural day of the monsoon session on Monday. Members of the CPI(ML) Liberation, a constituent of the INDIA bloc, reached the premises wearing black 'kurtas' as a mark of protest against SIR. "The Election Commission has ordered the exercise to wrongfully delete the names of a large number of voters, hoping that this would help the ruling NDA, which is likely to suffer a heavy defeat in the upcoming assembly polls. We shall be fighting it out from the House to the streets (sadan se sadak tak)," said Mehboob Alam, the legislature party leader of the CPI(ML) Liberation. As proceedings of the House began, many opposition members rose in their seats, raising slogans against SIR and also seeking a response from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was present inside the assembly, on the recent spurt in violent crimes. AIMIM MLA Akhtarul Iman, whose party has expressed the desire

AAP no longer part of INDIA bloc, will fight Bihar polls solo: Sanjay Singh

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) distanced itself from the INDIA bloc on Friday, saying it is not part of the opposition alliance anymore and questioning the Congress party's role in leading it. The remarks made by Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh came ahead of an online meeting of the leaders of the INDIA bloc parties scheduled to be held on Saturday evening to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country. The meeting comes right before the Monsoon session of Parliament, which starts on Monday. It will be held after a long gap since the constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) last deliberated on the country's political situation jointly. "The AAP has cleared its stand. The INDIA bloc was for the (2024) Lok Sabha polls. We fought the Delhi and Haryana Assembly polls on our own. We are going to fight the Bihar election solo. We fought the bypolls in Punjab and Gujarat all by ourselves. The AAP is not part of the INDIA. We will strongly raise issu

Centre to collect signatures of MPs for motion to remove Justice Varma

Prominent opposition parties have given their in-principle approval to support the motion to remove Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma and the process of collecting signatures could begin soon, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday. He said the government is yet to decide whether the motion would be brought in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. For Lok Sabha, signatures of a minimum 100 MPs is required. For the Rajya Sabha, the requirement is the support of at least 50 MPs. He said the signatures will be collected after the government decides on the House where the motion will be brought. The Monsoon session will commence from July 21 and end on August 21. According to the Judges (Inquiry) Act of 1968, once a motion to remove a judge is admitted in any of the houses, the speaker or the chairman, as the case may be, will constitute a three-member committee to investigate the grounds on which the removal (or, in popular term, impeachment) has been sought. The committee con

Vote-bandi will destroy democracy: Cong opposes EC's roll revision in Bihar

Leaders of several INDIA bloc parties met the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and raised concerns over its timing, alleging that over two crore voters of the state may be disenfranchised by this mammoth exercise being done just ahead of assembly elections. The Congress claimed that after the prime minister's 'notebandi' (demonetisation) that "destroyed" the country's economy, EC's 'Vote-bandi' in Bihar will demolish India's democracy. Leaders from 11 parties, including the Congress, RJD, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, NCP-SP and the Samajwadi Party, put forth their objections before Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and other election commissioners to the special scrutiny of the voters' list. The INDIA bloc parties have been vocal in their opposition to the Special Intensive Revision exercise that has already started in Bihar and is to be carried out in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, which ar

Govt buckled under 'pressure': Aaditya on withdrawal of GRs on Hindi

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Monday claimed the Maharashtra government withdrew its decision on the teaching of Hindi as a third language in primary classes due to "pressure" from the opposition and the civil society. Thackeray, along with Leader of Opposition in the legislative council Ambadas Danve, Bhaskar Jadhav and other opposition legislators, staged a symbolic protest on the steps of Vidhan Bhavan here, holding placards reading "Mi Marathi" (I am Marathi). "Pressure triumphed over power," Thackeray told reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan premises where the monsoon session of the state legislature began earlier in the day. Facing mounting opposition to the introduction of Hindi language in Maharashtra schools from classes 1 to 5, the state cabinet on Sunday decided to withdraw two GRs (government orders) on the implementation of the three-language policy. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the GRs have been withdrawn, and announced the formation of a ...

Parliament's Monsoon session from July 21; Oppn demands special session

Govt announces Monsoon session from July 21 to August 12; Opposition says early announcement aims to dodge special session demand over Operation Sindoor and CDS remarks

Oppn parties demand special session of Parliament, write letter to PM

Leaders from 16 opposition parties demanded a special session of Parliament on Operation Sindoor in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as INDIA bloc parties held a meeting on the issue in the national capital on Tuesday. Leaders from several parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party, and Shiv Sena (UBT) were part of the meeting. INDIA bloc MPs have signed a letter addressed to the prime minister raising the demand for a special session of Parliament, opposition leaders said. Congress' Jairam Ramesh and Deependra Hooda, TMC leader Derek O'Brien, SP's Ramgopal Yadav, RJD's Manoj Jha, and Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sanjay Raut attended the meeting. The DMK is also among the signatories, but could not join the meeting as it coincided with Karunanidhi's birth anniversary. National Conference, CPI(M), IUML, CPI, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Kerala Congress, MDMK, CPI(ML) Liberation are also among

'Proud of our armed forces': Opposition leaders hail Operation Sindoor

Opposition backs Indian Army's 'Operation Sindoor'; Congress, Owaisi laud strikes on Pakistan terror camps, stress unity, urge tough stance after Pahalgam attack

To beat Modi, Opposition needs new ideas-not nostalgia and caste math

Stuck in the past, the Opposition is recycling slogans while Modi scripts a new political grammar

Punjab LoP Partap Bajwa booked over claim of '50 bombs reaching' state

Hours after being quizzed over his "50 bombs have reached Punjab" claims, the Punjab Police on Sunday booked Leader of Opposition in state assembly Partap Singh Bajwa on various charges including misleading information that endangers country's sovereignty and unity. The case has been registered at Cyber Crime police station in Mohali, sources said. The FIR was filed against Bajwa under Sections 197(1)(d) (false and misleading information that endangers country's sovereignty and unity) and 353(2) (false statements intend to create enmity and hatred or ill will) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, they sources. Earlier in the day, a two-member team of Punjab Police reached the residence of Bajwa and questioned him over his claims even as Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asked the Congress leader to reveal the source of his information, questioning if he "had direct links with Pakistan". Bajwa said he cooperated with the police team which visited his residence here but refused to divulge his

PM takes dig at opposition parties, says they only promote family interests

In a swipe at opposition parties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said those hankering for power focus solely on promoting their own families, while his government works on the theme of inclusive development. Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of 44 projects worth Rs 3,880 crore here, he said, "Our guiding mantra in serving the nation has always been 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'. With this spirit, we continue to move forward for the betterment of every citizen". He said in contrast, those who are power hungry play political games day and night, driven not by national interest but by a single-minded focus on family-based support and family-centric development. "Those who play games day and night only to grab power, their principle is 'parivar ka saath parivar ka vikas' (family support, family development)," the prime minister said in his Parliamentary constituency. Among the projects inaugurated by Modi were schemes focused on rural development, including

Provision of DPDP Act weakens RTI: Opposition Members of Parliament

It won't restrict disclosure of personal information under RTI: Vaishnaw

S Korean opposition leader opens presidential bid following Yoon's ouster

South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, widely seen as the frontrunner in a presidential by-election triggered by the removal of President Yoon Suk Yeol last week, officially announced a presidential bid on Thursday, vowing to heal a starkly divided nation through economic growth. Lee, who narrowly lost the 2022 election to Yoon, led the liberal Democratic Party's campaign to oust the former president over his December declaration of martial law. Lee recently stepped down as the party's chairman to focus on campaigning for the June 3 election. He is considered the clear frontrunner in party's primary. Kim Dong-yeon, the Democratic governor of Gyeonggi province and a longtime financial policymaker, also told reporters Wednesday that he intends to run for president. Yoon's downfall has left the conservative People Power Party in disarray, with roughly 10 politicians expected to seek the nomination, reflecting a split between Yoon loyalists, who still control the party's ...

Waqf Amendment Bill: Does NDA have enough numbers to pass in both houses?

The Waqf Amendment Bill aims to bring changes to the way Waqf properties are managed in India. The government argues that it will bring more transparency and efficiency

Oppn warns JD(U), TDP over backing Waqf Bill, says 'blame will be on them'

JD(U) and TDP, on whose NDA government majority largely depends, have expressed their support for the bill

Waqf Amendment Bill sparks row in LS, Opposition walks out over debate time

The Waqf Amendment Bill faces fierce Opposition in Lok Sabha, with leaders clashing over debate time, triggering a walkout amid concerns over its impact on Muslim properties

Oppn fumes over MP govt's 'aspirational youth' label for unemployed people

The Madhya Pradesh government's decision to label unemployed youths in the state as "Aakanshi Yuva" (aspirational youths) has invited criticism from the opposition Congress, which accused it of making a mockery of jobless persons. The state's Rojgar Portal used the term "Aakanshi Yuva" while listing the number of unemployed youths in Madhya Pradesh and displayed their numbers as more than 29.37 lakh. Minister of State for Technical Education and Skill Development Gautam Tentwal on Saturday said that the government's thinking behind Aakanshi Yuva is that youths working in government or non-government jobs aspire to get higher positions, and unemployed youngsters aspire for jobs and get registered in the employment office. Defending the government's move, BJP spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi told PTI, "The Bharatiya Janata Party government's efforts in Madhya Pradesh and the country is to provide employment, i.e., self-employment. That is why the state government organised a mega global ..

Naveen Patnaik calls for fair delimitation process in first JAC meet

Patnaik reiterated his party's stance, asserting that population should not be the sole criteria for determining the number of seats in the highest representative body of the country

Delimitation meet: Stalin backs legal fight, Pinarayi, Revanth share views

In the first Joint Action Committee meeting of states hosted by the Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK over the proposed delimitation of Parliamentary seats by the Centre, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday made it clear that the fight is likely to be taken forward to the legal realm as well. In the meeting, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the delimitation of LS seats was hanging like the "sword of Damocles," and alleged the BJP government was going ahead on the issue without any consultation. He said "This sudden move is not driven by Constitutional principles or democratic imperatives," but by narrow political interests. Delimitation, if done after Census will lead to an increase in seats for northern states, a reduction for southern states. Such a cut in seats for the south and, an increase for the north will suit the BJP as it holds greater influence in the north. Addressing the meeting here, CM Stalin, favoured setting up an expert panel to draw up the political and legal ..