Page 5 - Opposition

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

Assam: Opposition slams govt over attack on Cong MP Rakibul Hussain

A day after Congress MP Rakibul Hussain and his PSOs were attacked by unidentified persons in Assam's Nagaon district, the party on Friday slammed the state government and said it was "murder of democracy" and it will not allow "jungle raj and goonda raj" to prevail here. The Congress MLAs staged a protest march in the Assam Assembly complex holding placards and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits. "The police did not make proper security arrangements despite having prior information. That area had witnessed similar violence earlier also. This was murder of democracy and an attempt to demoralise the Congress workers," Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia told reporters. The Assam government in a way tried to prevent the movement of the people's representatives so that no public opinion could be created on the ground, he alleged. "The CM's statement that he would give additional security when Rakibul Hussain visits Samaguri and Rupahihat next time was very insensitive. He

BJP chief Nadda slams Opposition over deportation row of Indians from US

Congress leader Chidambaram questioned if Jaishankar raised or protested the US deportation SOP with Marco Rubio, given its restrictive measures and long-standing implementation

Union Budget 2025: Budget only for polls and allies, says Opposition

Several Chief Ministers, including Tamil Nadu's M K Stalin and Karnataka's Siddaramaiah, criticised the Budget for ignoring the demands and needs of their states, while favouring only Bihar

'Nothing new, all about Bihar elections': Opposition slams Budget 2025

The Opposition has slammed Budget 2025 as 'all about Bihar elections', calling it biased and neglectful of common people, the middle class, and key states

Akhilesh Yadav, Oppn MPs stage Budget walkout over Maha Kumbh stampede

As soon as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began her Budget speech, Akhilesh Yadav and his party MPs started raising slogans

Political speech, no acknowledgment of issues: Cong on prez's address

The Congress on Friday described President Droupadi Murmu's address to both Houses of Parliament as a "clear-cut political speech" and claimed that it had no acknowledgment of what an ordinary citizen was experiencing day after day. In her address, Murmu said the government had worked with a strong determination to lift the economy out of a state of "policy paralysis" despite global concerns such as the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and war-related uncertainties. Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament, signalling the start of the Budget Session, the president said the BJP-led government's third term was seeing work being done at thrice the speed of previous administrations, citing decisions on issues such as Waqf boards and 'one nation, one election'. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said it was very sad that the Narendra Modi government was making the president read the BJP's pamphlet. "In this 10-year laundry list, the Modi government has exaggerated even the smallest

Cong to raise Maha Kumbh stampede, Ambedkar 'insult' during Budget Session

As Parliament's Budget Session got underway, the Congress on Friday said it will raise issues such as inflation, unemployment, the Maha Kumbh stampede and the alleged insult to B R Ambedkar. It also asserted that the INDIA bloc is united in raising these issues in Parliament. The opposition party made the assertion after its strategic group held a meeting at Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence here. The meeting was attended by Congress general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal and deputy leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari, among others. "The entire INDIA alliance is united. Tomorrow, we will raise issues like inflation, unemployment, the stampede at Kumbh Mela, and the insult to Dr Ambedkar by the Home Minister," Tiwari said after the meeting. Parliament's Budget Session, which began on Friday with President Droupadi Murmu's address to both Houses, is likely to be stormy with opposition parties demanding a discussion on t

PM Modi's 'no foreign interference' jibe at Oppn ahead of Budget session

PM Modi has claimed that, for the first time in 10 years, there has been no foreign interference before the Budget session

Belarus strongman set to win 7th term in election Oppn calls a farce

The smiling face of President Alexander Lukashenko gazed out from campaign posters across Belarus on Sunday as the country held an orchestrated election virtually guaranteed to give the 70-year-old autocrat yet another term on top of his three decades in power. Needed! the posters proclaim beneath a photo of Lukashenko, his hands clasped together. The phrase is what groups of voters responded in campaign videos after supposedly being asked if they wanted him to serve again. But his opponents, many of whom are imprisoned or exiled abroad by his unrelenting crackdown on dissent and free speech, would disagree. They call the election a sham much like the last one in 2020 that triggered months of protests that were unprecedented in the history of the country of 9 million people. The crackdown saw more than 65,000 arrests, with thousands beaten, bringing condemnation and sanctions from the West. His iron-fisted rule since 1994 Lukashenko took office two years after the demise of the .

Govt wants to bulldoze it: Oppn MPs after chaos at JPC meeting on Waqf Bill

JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is expected to submit its report during the Budget session, with the committee's term extended during the winter session of Parliament

Russian court convicts Navalny's lawyers for belonging to 'extremist group'

Prosecutors accused the lawyers of 'using their status' to give letters written by Navalny during his time in prison to his associates, enabling him to continue to lead an 'extremist organisation'

Venezuela's Oppn supporters fight hope, distress after Maduro sworn in

The inauguration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro left his opponents to grapple with with conflicting feelings of hope and disappointment on Saturday, pondering why the self-described socialist leader could not be stopped despite credible evidence that he had lost the election last year. Some described their mood after Friday's ceremony at the legislative palace in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, like an emotional hangover while others said they feel abandoned. Many expressed cautious optimism, finding a measure of comfort in the social media videos released by two opposition leaders popular former lawmaker Mara Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez, the opposition's candidate in the vote who had promised to topple Maduro. In the end, it feels as if the soup got cold, college professor Nelson Perez said. We've been on the subject of not losing hope for a while. ... But then you realize it's more of the same. That realization is hard to process for millions of Venezuelans who, l

Venezuela's Oppn leader defies Maduro to lead protests, claims arrest later

Venezuela opposition leader Mara Corina Machado's aides said she was detained Thursday, followed moments later by official denials of her arrest, in a confusing episode that capped a day of protests seeking to block President Nicols Maduro from clinging to power. It remained unclear what exactly happened after Machado bid farewell to hundreds of supporters, hopped on a motorcycle and raced with her security convoy down a main Caracas avenue. At 3:21 pm local time, Machado's press team said in a social media post that security forces violently intercepted her convoy. Her aides later told The Associated Press that she had been detained, and international condemnation poured in from leaders in Latin America and beyond, demanding her release. But about an hour later, a proof-of-life, 20-second video of Machado emerged online in which she says she was followed after leaving the wonderful rally and had dropped her purse. Her aides later claimed in a social media post that the video messag

Venezuelan Oppn leader Maria Machado arrested after anti-govt protest

Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was arrested Thursday when her motorcycle convoy was fired upon by security forces as it departed an anti-government protest in Caracas, according to aides. Machado emerged from months of hiding earlier Thursday to reappear in public as part of a last-ditch attempt to block President Nicols Maduro from clinging to power. Machado's press team said in a social media post that security forces violently intercepted the convoy as it was leaving eastern Caracas. There were no immediate details on her whereabouts and Maduro's government has yet to comment. They wanted us to fight each other, but Venezuela is united, we are not afraid, Machado shouted to a few hundred protesters from atop a truck in the capital moments before her arrest. The protests are taking place a day before the ruling party-controlled National Assembly is scheduled to swear in Maduro to a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost the presidential ...