Page 4 - Opposition

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 ..

Opposition raises concerns over mounting debt in Haryana assembly

Opposition Congress and INLD MLAs in Haryana on Thursday expressed concern over the mounting debt as they also raised issues related to health, education and drug menace in the State Assembly. Participating in the discussion on the state budget in the State Assembly, Congress MLA from Kaithal, Aditya Surjewala said while the budget talks about making the state future-capable, in reality it lacks vision. He claimed there were a few proposals in the budget like the one to set up a flower market in Gurugram which were "recycled schemes" announced earlier. The construction of an international-level Aravalli Jungle Safari on 10,000 acres of land in Gurugram and Nuh districts is also an old scheme, Surjewala said. Surjewala and many other Congress members expressed deep concern over mounting debt. "The state is under deep debt. In 2014-15, the debt stood at Rs 60,293 crore which rose to Rs 3.92 lakh crore now, a 600 per cent increase. On average there is an increase of Rs 73 crore debt

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm over Oppn MPs wearing T-shirts with slogans

Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed repeated adjournments as several members came to the House wearing T-shirts with slogans on the issue of delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla objected to the DMK members wearing T-shirts with slogans written on them, and said such actions were against the rules of procedure of the House. Birla adjourned the proceedings till noon. Similar scenes were witnessed when the House reconvened at 12 noon and TDP member Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was in the chair, adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm. Tenneti also cited rules and said the behaviour of members was unacceptable. DMK members were wearing white T-shirts with slogans '#fairdelimitation Tamil Nadu will fight, Tamil Nadu will win' written on them. "House functions with rules and procedures. Members have to maintain the dignity and honour of the House. But some MPs are not following the rules and violating the dignity which is not acceptable," Birla sa

Opposition walks out of Rajya Sahba amid uproar over duplicate voter ID

Opposition parties, including the Congress and the TMC, on Monday walked out of the Rajya Sabha after their demand for a discussion on the Election Commission's alleged lapses in issuing multiple duplicate voter ID cards and delimitation was disallowed. Opposition MPs from the Trinamool Congress, Congress and Left parties gave notices under rule 267 that calls for setting aside business of the day to take up discussion on the issue being raised through them. But Deputy Chairman Harivansh said they could not be accepted as they were not in conformity with the rulings of the chair on such notices. While TMC and Congress MPs sought to raise the duplicate voter ID card issue, Tamil parties wanted to discuss the impact of the ensuing delimitation exercise on southern states. Opposition MPs raised slogans and pressed for a discussion. However, they staged a walkout after Harivansh asserted that their notices have not been accepted and nothing that they said was going on record. As many

No control over police, says J-K CM as Opposition walks out of House

Asserting that the lathi charge on the protesting daily wage employees of the Jal Shakti department should not have happened, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said he does not hold control over the police. As the House assembled for the day, opposition members highlighted the massive protests by the daily wagers demanding release of wages and regularisation of jobs, and criticised the lathi charge on them. The BJP members staged a walkout as a ruckus erupted, when the BJP and National Conference members engaged in a verbal duel over the matter. Intervening, Abdullah said, "You (BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa) have asked a question, please wait for the answer." "As far as the police's treatment of the protesters is concerned, I would like to remind Randhawa Sahab, who is making a noise about this issue, that unfortunately, neither you nor I have control over the police," he said. The Chief Minister further said that instead of creating a ruckus inside the House, i

Speaker urges smooth functioning of Question Hour as Budget session resumes

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present a statement of Manipur's estimated receipts and expenditures for the year 2025-26

BJP walks out of J-K Assembly after Speaker expunges oppn leader's remarks

All 28 BJP members on Wednesday walked out from the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly after Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather announced expunging of "derogatory remarks" of the Leader of Opposition on the July 13, 1931 "martyrs". Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma made the remarks against the "martyrs" in response to the speech of PDP legislator Waheed-ur-Rehman Para, who demanded restoration of the public holidays on July 13 and the December 5 in honour of National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. CPI(M) member M Y Tarigami and Congress leader Nizamuddin Bhat also joined the chorus and demanded expunging of the remarks against the 1931 "martyrs" and an apology from the Leader of the Opposition. Later, the Speaker announced expunging of the "derogatory remarks" following which the entire 28 members of the BJP staged a walkout. July 13 was observed as a public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir to commemorate the 22 men who fell to the bullets of Dogra Maharaja's soldiers outside Srinaga

Cong slams govt for low consumption, inequality; urges rural income boost

Flagging issues of low consumption expenditure and inequality, the Congress on Friday said the way out of this quagmire is to shift the focus of policymaking from cronyism to bottom-up empowerment and that it must begin with kickstarting rural incomes. In a statement, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh cited the Indus Valley Annual Report 2025, an examination of India's economic landscape and start-up ecosystem by the noted VC firm Blume Ventures, to attack the government. The report offers a granular look into the Indian economy, he noted. Flagging India's consumption story and inequality, Ramesh said India's per capita consumption expenditure is only USD 1,493 -- less than a third of China's. India's consumption of several key lifestyle goods (e.g. two-wheelers, air conditioners, footwear, FMCG, etc.) is alarmingly low. India accounted for 7 per cent of global AC units sold, whereas China accounted for 55 per cent, Ramesh said. He said India's ...

Opposition's intolerance towards 'sanatan' is attack on culture: Naqvi

Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday took a swipe at the opposition over its criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and said its intolerance against 'sanatan' has turned into an "attack on Indian culture" Naqvi also said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the BJP is repeatedly hoisting the flag of victories, whereas the Congress leadership "is busy in drafting the dossier of defeats". Reacting to the Samajwadi Party's criticism of Modi and Adityanath over the management of the Maha Kumbh, Naqvi said people will have to be cautious of the "craze of communal intolerance" towards Sanatan and the conspiracy of attack on good governance. During inauguration of a 'Kisan Mela' organised on the occasion of Shivratri in Shiv Mandir premises at Rathonda in Rampur, Naqvi took a dig at the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, saying the two Opposition parties are "confused" and transformed into a "laboratory of liars a

Oppn flags under-utilisation of funds, crime in Delhi at panel meet on MHA

Opposition members in the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs have questioned the under-utilisation of funds and the alleged high rate of crime against women and children in the national capital. Headed by BJP MP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, the committee met on Thursday and Friday to examine the demands for grants for 2025-26 of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). According to a source, MPs from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) raised in the meeting the issue of the Nirbhaya Fund being underutilised and said almost two-thirds of the fund had not been used. The MHA uses the Nirbhaya Fund to implement projects that make cities safer for women. The TMC MPs also said the government should give an explanation on the increase in the allocation for border infrastructure and management which has been allocated Rs 5,597.25 crore in this Budget, an increase of Rs 1,840.74 crore from Rs 3,756.51 crore allocated last year. They alleged that the Census activities were slow and the budgeta