Page 7 - Opposition

Parliament panel on Waqf meets, Oppn MPs oppose proposed amendments

BJP members of the committee appreciated the proposed amendments, particularly the one that seeks to give representation to Muslim women in Waqf boards

Autumn session of Assam Assembly begins on stormy note, Oppn stages walkout

The autumn session of the Assam Assembly began on a stormy note on Thursday with the entire opposition staging a walkout after the rejection of their three adjournment motions. When their motions were rejected by Speaker Biswajit Daimary, members of Congress, AIUDF, CPI(M) and Raijor Dal went to the Well of the House with placards and shouted slogans in support of their demands. Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia raised the issue of exorbitant charges through smart metres, while Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi wanted to discuss a recent case of the attack on a minor national-level player, and AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam raised the proposal on the restriction of land sale-purchase between two communities. "Electricity is a basic amenity and the public can't be deprived of it. It's also in the concurrent list. The smart metres are charging exorbitant amounts and poor people are suffering. The subject needs urgent attention," Saikia said. Islam said it's the constitutional right of an .

Some trying to destroy brotherhood; be ready to make sacrifices: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said "some forces" are trying to destroy "our brotherhood" by forcibly imposing their views, and urged people to be ready to make sacrifices to protect the Constitution. In his message on the occasion of the 78th Independence Day, Kharge also said it is a matter of concern that constitutional and autonomous institutions have been turned into "puppets" by the government. Democracy and the Constitution are the biggest shields for 140 crore Indians, Kharge said and asserted that "we will protect them till our last breath". "The opposition is like oxygen for democracy. Along with stopping the unconstitutional attitude of the government, it also raises the issues of the public," he said in a video message posted on X. "The dream of our freedom fighters was to maintain unity in diversity. But some forces are trying to destroy our brotherhood by forcibly imposing their views on the country," Kharge alleged. "Therefore, it is important tha

Meghwal accuses Oppn of creating confusion over creamy layer observation

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has accused the opposition of creating confusion among people over the Supreme Court "observation" on creamy layer among SCs and STs, and asserted that the Constitution given by B R Ambedkar has no provision of a creamy layer. In an interview to PTI Videos, he said the the BJP-led NDA government will follow Ambedkar's Constitution and will continue the reservation system for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as provided in it. Meghwal noted that though the opposition is aware that the top court had only made an "observation" on creamy layer, it is trying to create confusion among people. On Saturday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had said that the idea of denying reservation to SCs and STs on account of the creamy layer concept is "condemnable" He also said the government should have brought a legislation in Parliament to nullify the part of the recent Supreme Court judgement that talks about the issue. Meghwal underlined that the top cou

Opposition spreading rumours about 'Ladki Bahin' scheme: Maha CM Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde targeted the opposition parties, accusing them of spreading rumours about his government's flagship 'Ladki Bahin' scheme for women, and asked people to be cautious of such "stepbrothers". Speaking on Friday night in Thane, his home turf, Shinde said his government does not work keeping in mind the elections, but it works for the welfare of people. Assembly elections in Maharashtra are likely to be held in October this year. Months before the elections, his government announced 'Mukhymantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana', which literally means 'Chief Minister's My Beloved Sister Scheme', under which eligible women will be given a financial assistance of Rs 1,500 every month. "Citizens, especially women in the state, should be cautious of the 'savatra bhau' (stepbrothers) who spread all kinds of rumours about the Ladki Bahin scheme. So far, I had only one sister. Now, I have got lakhs of sisters across the state," CM Shinde said at Yeoor here durin

For Russian activist Ilya Yashin, resuming work against Putin a priority

All Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin had with him when he was released from his penal colony in a swap was his toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, his expired passport and the prison garb he was wearing. But he has hit the ground running. Within days of arriving in Germany, Yashin not only bought new clothes, set up a smartphone and reunited with his parents, but also held a news conference, fielded questions from his supporters live on YouTube and held a rally in a Berlin park even if it meant he didn't have time to catch up on sleep. The 41-year-old dissident, released last week in the historic East-West prisoner exchange, admits he doesn't quite know how to be a politician in exile, a role that was forced upon him against his wishes. But in an interview Friday in Berlin with The Associated Press, he said he wanted to continue campaigning against Russia's war in Ukraine, trying to free more political prisoners and advance projects to unite the country's fragmented ...

'Unacceptable tone': Jaya Bachchan demands apology from RS Chair Dhankhar

The Opposition staged a walkout on Friday after Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan accused Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar of using unacceptable' tone

Waqf amendment bill 2024 not anti-Muslim: Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan

Janata Dal (U) leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' on Thursday said the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was aimed at bringing transparency in the functioning of the Waqf Board and not an attempt to interfere with running of mosques. As opposition leaders opposed the introduction of the bill, the JD(U) leader stood up to speak amid uproar by opposition members. "JD(U) is a party here whether it is opposing or supporting, I have to record my view here," Singh said. Defending the bill, he said, "Several members are making it sound as if the amendment in Waqf Board law is anti-Muslim. How is it anti-Muslim?" "Here example of Ayodhya is being given... Can you not differentiate between a temple and an institution? This is not an attempt to interfere with mosques. This law is for the institution, to make it transparent..." he claimed. "How was the Waqf Board formed? It was through a law. Any institution established through law becomes autocratic. Government has the right to bring

Vinesh deserves the vacant Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana: Ex-CM BS Hooda

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that if he had the majority, he would have allocated the vacant Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana to wrestler, Vinesh Phogat

Opposition walkout in Rajya Sabha over Vinesh Phogat's disqualification

The Opposition said they wanted to discuss wrestler Vinesh Phogat's Olympic disqualification. But the government was not ready, alleged Congress Members of Parliament

Tenders for boosting grain storage capacity given via online process: Govt

Tenders for enhancing grain storage capacity are awarded through a transparent, online process that many states governed by INDIA bloc parties have also adopted, Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Prahlad Joshi said on Wednesday. The issues of food storage capacity increase and privatisation of Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns were addressed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, with Joshi responding to questions from Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay. Bandyopadhyay raised concerns about the sufficiency of the storage capacity at FCI godowns and the involvement of a private entity in the sector. He pointed out that sophisticated silo godowns were being set up, primarily in Maharashtra and Gujarat, by the private company and questioned if the government planned to hand over FCI's operations to it. Responding to these questions, Joshi clarified that the overall storage capacity was 837.68 lakh metric tons (LMT) with 650-700 LMT foodgrains typically stored. "To

BJP spreading lies, trying to create fissures in BJD: Odisha's Oppn whip

Opposition chief whip in the Odisha assembly Pramila Mallik alleged that the ruling BJP was spreading lies that several BJD leaders would join the saffron camp, asserting that such an attempt was aimed at creating fissures in the regional party. Her comment comes after BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi had, on August 4, said Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Mohanta joining BJP after resigning from the BJD was just a trailer and many others would follow her suit. Mallik, a former state minister and ex-Speaker of the assembly, also rejected several BJP leaders' remarks that many BJD functionaries were in touch with the saffron camp. A false campaign is being spread by BJP leaders, she said. Several BJP leaders, including former minister and MLA Arabinda Dhali, were accused of spreading lies that many BJD leaders would join the saffron party as they did not have confidence in former chief minister Naveen Patnaik. They (BJP) are spreading lies to disturb our party. No one from our party is interested in

Venezuela's Oppn urges armed forces to withdraw support for Prez Maduro

Venezuela's opposition leaders are calling on the country's armed forces to abandon their support of President Nicols Maduro and stop repressing demonstrators who have come out in force to dispute the leader's claim he prevailed in last Sunday's election. The armed forces are traditionally the arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela and have been key to Maduro's grip on power ever since he took over the so-called Bolivarian revolution in 2013 from his mentor, the late Hugo Chvez. So far, they've shown no signs of ditching Maduro even in the face of credible evidence presented by the opposition that it trounced the self-proclaimed socialist at the polls by a more than 2-to-1 margin. In a message posted Monday on social media, Edmundo Gonzlez who the U.S. and a half dozen countries have recognized as the victor and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado called on rank and file members of the security forces to rethink their loyalty. We appeal to the conscience of the military an

Opposition in Venezuela demands presidential election results be overturned

Thousands of people rallied in the streets of Venezuela's capital Saturday, waving the national flag and singing the national anthem in support of an opposition candidate they believe won the presidential election by a landslide. Authorities have declared President Nicols Maduro the winner of last Sunday's election but have yet to produce voting tallies to prove he won. Instead, the government arrested hundreds of opposition supporters who took to the streets in the days after the disputed poll, and the president and his cadres have threatened to also lock up opposition leader, Mara Corina Machado, and her hand-picked presidential candidate, Edmundo Gonzlez. On Saturday, supporters chanted and sang as Machado arrived at the rally in Caracas. Machado, who has been barred by Maduro's government from running for office for 15 years, had been in hiding since Tuesday, saying her life and freedom are at risk. Masked assailants ransacked the opposition's headquarters on Friday, taking ...

After 'derailment min' jibe, Vaishnaw says focus is on railways, not reels

Ashwini Vaishnaw's strong response came after Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi criticised him for not taking moral responsibility for train accidents and called him the 'derailment minister'

Lok Sabha debate: Opposition MPs express concern over train accidents

Opposition MPs in Lok Sabha on Wednesday expressed concern over the "increase" in number of train accidents in the country, while those of the treasury benches lauded the government's efforts to expand the railway network. Several members also put forth their demands for railway lines in their areas as the Lower House discussed the Demand for Grants for the railways ministry. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP from Aurangabad Abhay Kumar Sinha said the recent train accidents indicate there are many shortcomings in the functioning of the railways that need to be addressed. "Since Independence, only 18 per cent of new railway tracks have been laid. Every year, 275 km expansion has happened, which is very little," he said. "It should be increased, more railway tracks should be laid down, and old tracks should be repaired so that accidents can be stopped," he said. Sinha also said during the tenure of Lalu Prasad as the railways minister, the Indian Railways was earning profits and "the wh

MSP legal guarantee issue rocks Rajya Sabha; Cong-led Oppn stages protest

Opposition parties led by the Congress on Friday created a ruckus and obstructed proceedings in the Rajya Sabha, as they were not satisfied with Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's reply on providing a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) to farmers. The trouble began during Question Hour when Chouhan listed steps taken by the government for the welfare of farmers and spoke about the committee looking into strengthening the MSP system but stopped short of talking about a legal guarantee for crop support prices. Following the minister's remark, Congress MPs, including Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh, protested, saying that Chouhan's reply was incomplete. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar tried to diffuse the situation, saying the minister had given a detailed reply and if the members were not satisfied, they should use available avenues to seek answers. Dhankhar repeatedly asked the members to allow the proceedings to continue and also threatened to name .

Niti Aayog meeting faces boycott from opposition leaders over budget woes

Chief ministers from Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Punjab, Jharkhand, and Kerala will be skipping the Niti Aayog meeting

Oppn indulged in politics during discussion on Union Budget. says Rijiju

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday hit out at opposition leaders, contending they had resorted to abusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the debate on the Union Budget in Parliament instead of speaking on the finer aspects of the document. Addressing a press conference here, he said the manner in which some opposition leaders made their speeches amounted to insulting the House and lowering the dignity of the Budget session. "Let us respect the mandate of the people. They have given the mandate to Prime Minister Modi for the third consecutive term. If anybody tries to insult the verdict of the people, they will be punished in the elections," Rijiju told reporters here. His remarks came a day after the Opposition claimed the Union Budget was "discriminatory" against non-NDA-ruled states and accused the prime minister of running a "shaky and vulnerable" coalition government. During the general discussion on the budget for 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday

INDIA bloc MPs protest in Parliament for discrimination in Union Budget

INDIA bloc MPs, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest in Parliament premises on Wednesday over the alleged discrimination against opposition-ruled states in the Union Budget. Besides Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, several MPs of the Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party, DMK and the Left joined the protest held on the steps leading up to the Makar Dwar of Parliament. Protesting against the budget, Kharge said, "This Budget is anti-people, no one has got justice. They have talked about special package but special status has not been given. This is a deceptive budget and injustice to the people." The MPs raised placards such as 'We want India budget not NDA budget' and 'NDA betrays India in Budget'. "Yesterday, through the budget, the government of India violated all the principles to keep the federal system," Congress general secretary, organisation, K