A privilege notice was given to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Friday by 20 opposition members against VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi who is alleged to have said that “there are 1-2 terrorists in parliament”. The controversial remark was made on Thursday, Janata Dal-United leader K.C. Tyagi told IANS. Tyagi is one of the 20 members who gave the notice. “The remarks of Sadhvi Prachi is against the dignity of parliament. We have
Facing Opposition heat on ‘Lalitgate’, Government on Monday made it clear that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is ready to make a statement in Parliament on allegations against her on facilitating Lalit Modi’s travel documents. Talking to reporters after an all party meeting called by him on the eve on Monsoon beginning tomorrow, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters that Swaraj was keen to make a statement on
Four Opposition MPs have accused the Smriti Irani – headed HRD ministry of undermining higher education institutions’ autonomy and sought President Pranab Mukherjee’s intervention to check “lasting damage” to some of the IITs and central universities. The Congress’s Rajeev Shukla, Janata Dal United’s K.C. Tyagi, NCP’s D.P. Tripathi and the CPI’s D. Raja have voiced the concerns against the backdrop of controversies over the ministry’s alleged meddling in some IITs
Congress on Saturday made overtures to Shiromani Akali Dal, the BJP’s ruling partner in Punjab, in its fight against NDA’s land bill saying it should “open its eyes” and keep the politics aside in the interest of farmers. Former Union minister and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh told reporters here today that several political parties including SP, BSP, CPI(M), CPI, TMC, NCP, DMK, JD(U) and NDA constituent Shiv Sena were
After much controversy and procedural wrangles, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 (Mines Bill) , was passed by the Rajya Sabha Friday with all parties, barring Congress and the Left, supporting it. JD-U members walked out before the voting saying they did not want to be part of the procedure. The Bill was passed by 117 members voting in favour and 69 against it, after Mines
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will prove his majority on March 11 in the state assembly, 17 days after he took oath of office, a JD-U leader said on Tuesday. The Janata Dal (United) (JD-U) legislature party meeting will be held on March 10 at the official residence of Nitish Kumar, said the leader. While nearly a dozen rebel party MLAs will back former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, Nitish
Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti has stoked a controversy by allegedly making an inflammatory speech and using an expletive in an election rally here, drawing severe flak from opposition which accused BJP of pursuing divisive politics and demanded that she be sacked. The remarks left the Narendra Modi government embarrassed as it faced the opposition’s ire in Parliament following which Jyoti expressed “deep regret” over her actions and said she
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Monday alleged that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi are on the list of people who have stashed black money in safe havens abroad. “I have written letter to the Finance Ministry and the Commission on black money that Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have black money stashed abroad. But no action has been taken. At least eight former
On a mission to help BJP find foothold in Kerala, BJP chief Amit Shah today raked up the issue of “communal appeasement” to attack Congress’ UDF and CPI(M)-led LDF, alleging they were only pursuing vote bank politics and “neglecting” the state’s development. Addressing a special convention of party functionaries right from grass roots level on his maiden visit to the state after taking charge as BJP president, he said this
Opposition leaders Saturday criticised the Shiv Sena over its controversial editorial on rape cases in its mouthpiece ‘Saamna’. Expressing shock over the article, Uttar Pradesh Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi demanded an apology from the Shiv Sena, saying that nothing can be more wrong than going against a woman’s dignity. “A very shameful comment has been published in ‘Saamna’, and the way the Shiv Sena has said that it has
Manish Tiwari a leader of Indian National Congress while expressing his views on Supreme court collegium matter said, “At different points in time we have experimented with different systems of judicial appointments”. He told that, “There was a time when there was certain kind of preponderance of the executives, and then it was replaced by a preponderance of judiciary. There were question marks raised over the efficacy of both these
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday won the confidence motion at a special session of Bihar Assembly to prove his majority with support of Independents and Congress MLAs. As expected, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) government in Bihar survived after winning a trust vote in the Bihar Assembly on Wednesday, bagging the support of 126 MLAs with only 24 voting against it. The BJP, with which the JD-U had ended its alliance
