Page 30 - Opposition

Law ought not to be set in motion to silence voices of Oppn: Chidambaram

Robust political discourse is the essence of democracy and the law ought not to be set in motion to silence leading voices of the Opposition, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Friday, a day after Rahul Gandhi was sentenced by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case. The court in Surat sentenced Gandhi to two years jail in the case filed against him over his "Modi surname" remarks. The court also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court. In a tweet without naming anyone, Chidambaram said, "Robust political discourse is the essence of democracy. The law ought not to be set in motion to silence leading voices of the democratic Opposition." "Noisy appreciation of the 'might' of the law must be tempered by calm introspection on the 'plight' of democratic voices," he said. The Congress has said that the conviction of Gandhi was "erroneous and unsustainable" and will be challenged in a higher court. It has expre

Cong plans mass agitation, to meet Prez Murmu to discuss Rahul's conviction

The Congress has decided to take to the streets to protest Rahul Gandhi's conviction and will meet President Droupadi Murmu along with other parties. The main opposition party announced a mass agitation on Thursday immediately after Rahul Gandhi was convicted by a Surat court in a defamation case and said it will not just fight the case legally but also politically. Following the court verdict, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge convened a meeting of senior party leaders and MPs at his residence where it was decided that a protest would be staged at Vijay Chowk on Friday. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party will hold a meeting with other opposition leaders in the morning and would stage a protest march from the Parliament House to Vijay Chowk. The opposition parties have also sought time from President Droupadi Murmu on Friday afternoon to raise the matter with her. Ramesh said the meeting at Kharge's residence lasted around two hours and it was decided that

Sharad Pawar backs Rahul, says jail term attempt to suppress Opposition

NCP supremo Sharad Pawar came out in support of Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, saying his conviction in a criminal defamation case was an attempt to "suppress the voice" of opposition leaders. Pawar also drew parallels between the conviction of Gandhi and NCP leader and former Lok Sabha member from Lakshadweep P P Mohammed Faizal, who was disqualified from the lower house after his conviction in an attempt-to-murder case. "I express my serious concerns at the attempts to curtail fundamental rights, freedom of speech and democratic expression in the country. The repeated attempts to suppress the voice of political parties, leaders and citizens of India is a matter of grave concern," Pawar said. "Today's judgment of Rahul Gandhi underscores the point. NCP MP P P Mohammed Faizal's case is also a similar case in point. I deplore this new trend in our political landscape, which should concern everyone in today's scenario," the Rajya Sabha member said. Faizal was disqualified as member of the

Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amid ruckus by Opposition

Both the houses of Parliament were adjourned till 2 p.m. minutes after the proceeding began on Thursday

Vijayan to go slow on case against 7 Oppn MLAs for Assembly fiasco: Rpt

Of the seven opposition legislators named, two are women and the FIR includes charges which can fetch imprisonment for a decade

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ED-CBI for Opposition leaders, no interpol for Mehul Choksi: Kharge

Mehul Choksi, accused of committing a Rs 11,356.84 crore loan fraud case with the Punjab National Bank (PNB), was delisted by the Interpol from its 'red' notice list

Headlines today about corrupt protesting action against them: PM Modi

PM Modi on Saturday focussed on the key takeaways of his government in the first 75 days of this year while address the India Today Conclave 2023

Parliament logjam can be resolved if Oppn comes forward for talks: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said the current logjam in Parliament can be resolved if the Opposition comes forward for talks and that the government will go "two steps ahead" if it takes "two steps forward". Participating in the India Today Conclave here on Friday, Shah also said there are certain issues which are above politics and even former prime minister Indira Gandhi had refused to discuss domestic politics in a foreign land. "Let the two sides sit before the Speaker and discuss. They should come two steps forward and we will go two steps ahead. Then Parliament will start running. But you just hold a press conference and do nothing, it can't be like that," he said. The home minister said a parliamentary system can't run with only the treasury or only the Opposition as both have to talk to each other. "Despite our initiative, there has been no proposal for talks from the Opposition. So whom will we talk to? They are talking to the media. They created a slogan that there .

Parliament adjourned till March 20 amid protests by treasury benches, oppn

Parliament was adjourned for the day on Friday amid continued protests by both treasury benches and opposition members over Rahul Gandhi's remarks and Adani issue

Oppn-govt logjam over Rahul vs Adani likely to continue in Parliament

The opposition will on Friday press for the demand of a JPC in the Adani-Hindenburg row while the BJP is demanding an apology from the former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on his remarks in London

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Opposition to meet at Kharge's office today to draw up floor strategy in RS

"The Opposition members are simply trying to divert public attention from Rahul Gandhi's remarks because they know that what he said was wrong," Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said

LS, RS face disruptions, oppn to intensify pressure over Adani, Rahul row

Opposition parties sought to build pressure on their demand and embarked on a protest march to Enforcement Directorate (ED) office

Oppn writes to ED for probe against Adani after cops block protest march

Cops cut short protest march to ED office

Adani issue: Oppn writes to ED, says agency can't abdicate its jurisdiction

Leaders of several opposition parties on Wednesday urged the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to initiate an investigation into the Adani Group over allegations of corrupt practices, including money laundering through shell companies. In a letter emailed to the ED Director S K Mishra, the parties told the probe agency that "it cannot turn around and abdicate its jurisdiction". The letter as signed by leaders of the Congress, CPI, CPI-M, JDU, SS (UBT), RJD, DMK, JMM, AAP, IUML, VCK, Kerala Congress and others. Leaders of several opposition parties were stopped by the police at Vijay Chowk here as they took out a protest march from Parliament House to hand over a complaint to the Enforcement Directorate on the Adani issue. In their letter to the ED, the opposition leaders said, "We are acutely aware of how in the recent past, the ED has also zealously pursued cases of alleged political favouritism, including sharing concurrent jurisdiction with SEBI and CBI. We are also aware of the limi

Probe in Adani issue: Opposition stages march from Parliament to ED office

The parties, led by Congress, demanded authorities to hand over the complaint to the probe agency on the Adani issue

Rahul's remarks disrupt Lok Sabha proceedings for second consecutive day

The row over Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi's remarks in Britain seeking intervention of the US and European nations over disappearing democracy in India disrupted the Lok Sabha for the second consecutive day on Tuesday. Soon after the house assembled, BJP members raised slogans seeking an apology from Rahul Gandhi, while the Congress-led opposition waved placards with quotes from speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visits abroad. "Rahul Gandhi maafi mango (Rahul Gandhi apologise)," BJP members shouted repeatedly from their seats. Some ministers, too, were on their feet. Opposition members raised slogans from the aisles and avoided trooping into the well of the house. "BRICS ka 'I' ludak raha hai (The 'I' in BRICS is tottering), read one placard referring to the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa grouping. "Pata nahi pehle janam main kya paap kiya tha, Hindustan main paida hua (Don't know what sin I had committed that I was born in India)," read another .

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Both houses of Parliament adjourned till 2 pm amidst protests by Opposition

Shortly after Parliament reconvened the second leg of the Budget Session, Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm, after the protesting Opposition leaders rushed to the Well of the House leading to a ruckus