Chief ministers from Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Punjab, Jharkhand, and Kerala will be skipping the Niti Aayog meeting
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, 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
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responds by saying it was not feasible to mention every state in the Budget
The revised final results of the exam will be announced taking into account marks of a physics question, which the NTA said had two correct answers
The Congress hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday over his remarks criticising the opposition, alleging that it was he who "suppressed the voice" of the country for 10 years and for which people "punished" him in the Lok Sabha polls. Talking to reporters ahead of the start of a Parliament session, Modi said in the first session of this Lok Sabha, "an undemocratic attempt was made to scuttle the voice of the government that had been ordered by 140 crore Indians to serve". "For two-and-a-half hours, attempts were made to scuttle the voice of the prime minister and such a thing has no place in democratic traditions. They (opposition) has no remorse over it," he said. Hitting back at Modi over his remarks, Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said the person who "throttled the country and suppressed its voice" for 10 years, today looked "very weak and was seen weeping" when the opposition raised its voice. The prime minister started the Monsoon sessi
PM Modi says Budget will be crucial for Amrit Kaal, accuses Opposition parties of 'scuttling his voice' in last Parliament session
The Trinamool Congress, fresh from its victory in the Lok Sabha polls, is gearing up for its Martyrs' Day rally on Sunday, aiming to highlight its role in strengthening nationwide opposition unity and countering the BJP in West Bengal. According to TMC sources, the party leadership, which is part of the national opposition alliance INDIA bloc, is expected to outline its strategy for the national stage. Abhishek Banerjee, TMC's national general secretary, is slated to join the rally after a brief hiatus due to medical reasons. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will also take part in the rally, senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh posted on X. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the Martyrs' Day rally would commemorate the TMC's electoral victories in the state. "Tomorrow marks another 21st July! This day holds deep significance in Bengal's history. On this day in 1993, the repressive CPI(M) regime brutally took the lives of 13 of our comrades. It remains a poignant milestone for us, ..
The Centre has significantly strengthened the authority of the lieutenant governor in Jammu and Kashmir, empowering him to make decisions on crucial matters such as police and all-India services officers and granting sanctions for prosecution in various cases. The opposition slammed the Union government's move and termed it a step towards "disempowering" the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Official sources, however, said the notification does not in any sense alter the balance of powers as enshrined in the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. The Union home ministry gave more powers to the lieutenant governor on Friday by amending the transaction rules framed under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. This Act, passed alongside the abrogation of Article 370, bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The sources said that with the amendments to the transaction rules, the powers of the legislative assembly and the functi
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said it is his duty to raise the issues of people of the country with full devotion and added he will not stop until people get their rights and justice. In a post on his WhatsApp channel, the Congress leader said the Leader of Opposition is not just a post and shared a video of his meetings with different citizen groups. "For me, Leader of the Opposition is not just a post.? It is my duty to know the problems of the people of this country and raise them with full devotion in Parliament... I will not stop until the people of India get their rights and justice," he said in his post. The video showed a clip of Gandhi taking oath as an MP and his speech in the Lok Sabha on July 1. It also showed a clip of Gandhi interacting with workers at the GTB Nagar labour chowk, his meeting with victims of the Hathras stampede and a meeting with loco pilots of the Indian Railways. It also showed a clip of the Congress leader from his
The Congress and the INDIA bloc will raise the need for peace in Manipur with full force in Parliament to put pressure on the government to end this tragedy, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday, days after his visit to the violence-hit state. He also reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should personally visit Manipur, listen to the problems of the people of the state and appeal for peace. Gandhi made the remarks in a post in Hindi on X as he shared a video of his interactions with the people of Manipur during his day-long visit to the violence-hit state on Monday. "I have visited Manipur three times since violence broke out there, but unfortunately there is no improvement in the situation -- even today the state is divided into two parts. Houses are burning, innocent lives are in danger and thousands of families are forced to live in relief camps," the former Congress chief said. The prime minister should personally visit Manipur, listen to
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday hit out at Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar over his criticism of Congress leader P Chidambaram's remarks on the new criminal laws, and said it was not the opposition that insults parliamentary procedures on a daily basis. Sibal's remarks came a day after Dhankhar lashed out at Chidambaram over his comment that the three new criminal laws were "drafted by part-timers", terming it as "inexcusable" and urging him to withdraw his "derogatory, defamatory and insulting" observation. Dhankhar had said he was "shocked beyond words" when he read Chidambaram's interview to a leading national daily wherein he had said that "the new laws were drafted by part-timers". In a post on X, Sibal said Sunday, "Dhankar: Criticised Chidambaram's statement that part-timers drafted the three criminal laws was an 'inexcusable insult to the wisdom of Parliament'. We are all part-timers Dhankar ji!" "And who insults parliamentary procedures on a daily basis? Not us!" said
Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes his first remarks on Manipur in Rajya Sabha today, assures Parliament of decline in violence and schools reopening
A crucial meeting of INDIA bloc legislators began here on Wednesday, amid speculations of a change of guard in the state, MLAs of the alliance said. The meeting has been convened by former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, who is also the executive president of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). Soren was released from jail on June 28 after nearly five months, as the high court granted him bail in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. "A change of guard in the state is possible... This meeting is crucial. All the legislators of the ruling alliance assembled here at 11 am," a party source told PTI. The speculations were fuelled by the sudden cancellation of all important programmes of Chief Minister Champai Soren, including distribution of appointment letters to 1,500 selected teachers on Wednesday. On Tuesday, too, all public programmes of Champai Soren, who had taken oath as the 12th CM of Jharkhand on February 2 after Hemant Soren's arrest, stood ...
Shah rejected criticism that the three new criminal laws were draconian and repressive
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi criticises Modi government's Hindu stance, Agniveer scheme, and misuse of agencies such as the ED in Lok Sabha
Opposition members on Monday demanded a separate one-day discussion on the NEET paper leak issue in the Lok Sabha and staged a walkout after they sought a clear assurance from the government on the issue. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of irregularities in NEET soon after the Lok Sabha assembled for the day, prompting Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to assert that a separate discussion cannot be held till the House finishes with the motion of thanks on the president's address. "We wanted a one day discussion on NEET. It is an important issue. More than two crore students have been affected. Paper leaks have happened on 70 occasions. We would be happy if you allow a separate discussion on the issue," Gandhi said. Singh, deputy leader of the Lok Sabha, said the House has certain rules and procedures and also on healthy tradition, which are a strength of this House "In my decades-long tenure as a parliamentarian, never has any other issue been taken up during the ..
The three new criminal laws, passed in Parliament last December, have faced intense criticism from Opposition leaders
Several INDIA bloc MPs staged a protest in Parliament premises on Monday against the alleged misuse of probe agencies by the government to "target" Opposition leaders. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and several leaders of the INDIA bloc, including those from the TMC and AAP, participated in the protest on the steps leading to the Makar Dwar in Parliament. The Opposition leaders carried placards which read "stop misusing agencies to silence opposition" and "BJP mein jao bhrashtachar ka licence pao (Join the BJP and get a licence for corruption)". Some AAP MPs also displayed posters of Delhi Chief Mijister Arvind Kejriwal standing behind bars. The Opposition protest comes days after a court here sent Kejriwal to judicial custody till July 12 in a corruption case related to the alleged excise scam. He was formally arrested by the CBI last week. Previously, he was arrested by the ED in a money-laundering case linked to the policy. He was recently granted bail by a .
Opposition leaders on Thursday dismissed the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament as a "script given by the government" that was "full of lies" and also castigated the government over the repeated mention of the 1975 Emergency. They said there is an "undeclared emergency" in the country and the Constitution is being attacked under the Modi government. In her address, President Droupadi Murmu described the imposition of Emergency in 1975 as the "biggest and darkest chapter" of a direct attack on the Constitution and said the country emerged victorious over unconstitutional forces. Speaking to reporters after the President's address, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav punched holes in the government's claim of India being the fifth-largest economy in the world. "The story that is being told about India becoming the fifth-largest economy... has it made our farmers prosperous? If we are the fifth-largest economy, then why are so many youths unemployed? Why is th