Tag: BJP

  • Lok Sabha Live Updates: NDA Vs Opposition On Speaker Post, Om Birla Vs K Suresh| Updates |

    Lok Sabha Speaker Election: Kota MP Om Birla, who previously served as Lok Sabha Speaker of the previous House, submitted his nomination as an NDA candidate on Tuesday. Birla’s name was unanimously agreed upon by all NDA parties, and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh also sought the opposition’s support. The INDIA bloc fielded Congress leader K Suresh as its candidate for the Speaker’s position against Om Birla, accusing the ruling NDA of failing to follow convention in handing over the Dy speaker position to the opposition.

    Congress leader K C Venugopal and DMK’s T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s office, refusing to endorse NDA candidate Birla unless they were offered the position of Deputy Speaker. Venugopal stated that the BJP refused to commit to offering the Deputy Speaker position to the opposition.

    Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Lalan Singh accused the Congress of imposing conditions, adding that the ruling alliance was willing to discuss their demand when the election for Deputy Speaker took place.

    According to sources, over ten sets of nominations were filed in support of Birla’s candidature, including those from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Shah, Singh, and Nadda, as well as BJP allies such as the TDP, JD(U), JD(S), and LJP(R).

    Three nominations were submitted in support of Suresh, a Dalit leader and eight-term MP.

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had clarified on Tuesday that the INDIA bloc will only support the government’s nomination if the opposition is given the deputy speaker’s position. He also said that Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh had yet to respond to the opposition’s request for the post of deputy speaker. Gandhi also accused the BJP of insulting Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. 

    While speaking to reporters outside the Parliament house, Gandhi said, “Today it is written in the newspaper that PM Modi has said that the Opposition should cooperate with the Govt constructively. Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and he asked him to extend support to the Speaker. The entire Opposition said that we would support the Speaker but the convention is that the Deputy Speaker post should be given to the opposition.”

    #WATCH | Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says “Today it is written in the newspaper that PM Modi has said that the Opposition should cooperate with the Govt constructively. Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and he asked him to extend support to the Speaker. The entire… pic.twitter.com/yR5CzlagEx


    — ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2024

    “Rajnath Singh said that he would call back Mallikarjun Kharge but he has not done that yet…PM Modi is asking for cooperation from Opposition but our leader is getting insulted…,” he said.

    Here are the live updates on Lok Sabha speaker’s election: 

    12:30 pm: Congress leader K C Venugopal and DMK’s T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s office, refusing to endorse NDA candidate Birla unless they were offered the position of Deputy Speaker.

    Venugopal stated that the BJP refused to commit to offering the Deputy Speaker position to the opposition.

    12:00 pm: Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Lalan Singh accused the Congress of imposing conditions, saying the ruling alliance was willing to discuss their demand when the election for Deputy Speaker was held.

  • BJP Conspired To End Shivraj Singh’s Political Career, Claims Congress’ Banna Gupta |

    New Delhi: Congress leader and Jharkhand Cabinet Minister Banna Gupta on Wednesday alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party for conspiring against Shivraj Singh Chauhan to end his political career.

    Speaking with ANI, Banna Gupta said, “The Bharatiya Janata Party has conspired against Shivraj Singh Chauhan to end his political career, but it was the public of Madhya Pradesh which made him victorious again by 8 lakh votes.”

    He further added, “When BJP saw his popularity and felt difficult to end his career, they placed him in the Modi 3.0 cabinet and made him in charge of Jharkhand. But BJP’s formulas and tactics will not work in Jharkhand because of their ill deeds.

    “They tried to diminish the constitution, in 2018 they tried to change the SC-ST law and now they were trying to turn the democracy into indentured labour. Their narrative was spotted by everyone in Jharkhand and in the whole nation. This is the reason behind the destruction of their 400-paar agenda and they were left with only 241 seats in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024,” said Banna Gupta.

    The reaction came after BJP’s senior leader and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was made the in-charge and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma co-in-charge of Jharkhand BJP in the run-up to the upcoming state assembly elections.

    Earlier, on June 10, after the swearing-in of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Kalpana Soren as MLA from Gandey assembly constituency, Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta expressed confidence that JMM will form government in Jharkhand again with full majority.

    Banna Gupta said, “Kalpana Soren is a very intelligent, educated woman. She was a housewife but after the way her husband was humiliated, tortured and sent to jail, she came out to fulfil her husband’s responsibility and protect the people. She has won the election from Gandey. In the coming time, our government will be formed again in Jharkhand and it will be with full majority.”

    He further said that the focus of the JMM government was to give jobs to the youth.”Whether it is the Surgeon pension scheme, Old pension scheme, or Jal Samriddhi Yojana we have done a lot of public-centric work. Our focus is on employment to the youth and we have prepared a lot of schemes to provide them jobs,” he added. 

  • Meet Bhartruhari Mahtab, New Pro-Tem Speaker Of Lok Sabha |

    New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday appointed BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as pro tem Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. The appointment of Mehtab was done by President Murmu as a pro-tem Speaker under Article 95(1) of the Constitution.

    Suresh Kodikunnil, Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu, Radha Mohan Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Sudip Bandyopadhyay were appointed to aid the Speaker Protem during the oath-taking of the newly-elected members.

    According to Article 94 of the Constitution, the office of the speaker becomes vacant immediately before the first meeting of the new Lok Sabha. In that case, the President appoints a Member of the House as Speaker pro tem to perform the duties of the Speaker.

    The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha is scheduled to begin on June 24 while the Rajya Sabha session will begin on June 27. 

    Who Is Bhartruhari Mahtab?
    Bhartruhari Mahtab switched from Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to BJP just a few days before the Lok Sabha elections. He secured a seat from the Cuttack Parliamentary constituency and defeated BJD Santrupt Misra. Mahtab represented the same constituency earlier as a BJD leader and now as a BJP candidate.

    In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Mahtab, contested from as BJD leader and won against BJP leader Prakash Misra. In 201, he was honoured with the Parliamentarian Award. He is the son of Dr Harekrushna Mahatab, who served as the Chief Minister of Odisha two times.

  • Haryana Congress Leader Kiran Choudhry, Her Daughter Shruti Join BJP |

    NEW DELHI: In a big jolt to Congress ahead of the assembly polls in the state, the party’s prominent Haryana leaders, Kiran Choudhry and her daughter Shruti Choudhry, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday. Both the leaders joined the BJP in a ceremony at the party headquarters in New Delhi in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, former CM and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, and the BJP’s National General Secretary, Tarun Chugh.

    After joining the BJP, Kiran Choudhry said, “Today I took this decision because of Prime Minister, who has pledged a developed India by 2047. I have full faith that India will shine in the world. The public welfare work done by the Prime Minister has led to the formation of a BJP government in Delhi for the third time. I have worked a lot with Khattar ji. There used to be a lot of bitterness between us. But the way he worked has been my source of inspiration.”

    “The way he (Khattar) has worked honestly for the welfare of the people is commendable. Today we will take the BJP flag and in the coming times we will form a BJP government in Haryana for the third time,” the sitting MLA and former Haryana minister added. Notably, Kiran Choudhry is the daughter-in-law of former Haryana chief minister Bansi Lal.

    Her daughter, Shruti, who also joined the BJP, said that they will work to strengthen the county and the state. “The Prime Minister has taken historic decisions for our country. Due to this, India’s reputation has shined even more in the whole world. I have come here taking inspiration from Khattar ji. It is a matter of pride for us that Modi ji and Khattar ji have worked with Chaudhary Bansi Lal ji. The way Bansi Lal worked hard, we are joining the BJP with the same hard work. Today we are joining BJP so that we can strengthen the country and the state,” Shruti Choudhry said.

    Yesterday, the former MP from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituency has tendered her resignation as a Primary Member of Congress and also from the post of the Working President of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee. Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that it is a historic day that two prominent Congress leaders joined the BJP.

    “Today is a very historic day…Today, two prominent personalities are in the party, who have worked in Congress for many years…I have known Kiran ji since the time we worked with Bansi Lal ji…Kiran ji and I used to sit face to face in the assembly, ” Khattar said. Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini said, “Today, senior Congress leaders Kiran Chaudhary and Shruti Chaudhary decided to join the BJP, I welcome them. We will work to strengthen Haryana.”

  • Amit Shah Chairs High-Level Meeting In Delhi To Review Manipur Security Situation |

    New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday chaired a high-level meeting in the national capital to review the security situation in Manipur.

    Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Intelligence Bureau Chief Tapan Deka, Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Army Chief (Designate) Lt General Upendra Dwivedi, GoC Three Core HS Sahi, Security Advisor to Manipur Kuldiep Singh, Manipur Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi, Manipur DGP Rajiv Singh and Assam Rifles DG Pradeep Chandran Nair joined the meeting at the Ministry of Home Affairs in North Block, Delhi.

    The meeting comes a day after Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uike called on the Home Minister at his office and learned to be briefed about the situations in the north-eastern state.

    The meeting was held at the Ministry of Home Affairs as fresh violence was reported in the northern state.

    The northeastern state has been witnessing ethnic violence since May 3 last year following clashes during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) to protest against the demand for the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe category.

    In fresh violence, several houses belonging to both Meitei and Kuki communities were burned by unknown miscreants in Kotlen following the murder of a person earlier this month, the Manipur Police said.

    Around 600 people from Manipur’s Jiribam area are now taking shelter in Assam’s Cachar district following fresh violence reported in Manipur’s Jiribam area.

    The Cachar district police have heightened security along the bordering areas.

  • BJP, Congress Gear Up For Assembly Elections; Parties Field Candidates For July 10 Bypolls |

    New Delhi: As states are set to conduct by-polls for their assembly seats, on Monday BJP announced the name of the state election in-charge for Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir. Saffron party appointed Bhupender Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw as State election in charge and co-in-charge for Maharashtra while Dharmendra Pradhan and Biplab Kumar Dev were appointed as election in charge and co-in-charge for Haryana. 

    BJP released a list of appointed candidates on microblogging site X which also consists the names of Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Hemanta Biswas Sharma as State election in charge and co-in-charge for Jharkhand while  Kiran Reddy was appointed as election in charge for Jammu and Kashmir.

    States are going for by-polls on June 10, the party announced the name of its candidate on Monday. AAP fielded Mohinder Bhagat for by-election to the Jalandhar West Assembly constituency in Punjab while BJP nominated Sheetal Angural for the same constituency.  BJP also announced the names of the candidates contesting for by-polls from the West Bengal assembly constituency — Manas Kumar Ghosh from Raiganj, Manoj Kumar Biswas from Ranaghat Dakshin (SC), Binay Kumar Biswas from Bagda (SC) and Kalyan Chaubey Bhattacharya from Maniktala constituency.

    The Congress party has also approved the names of Dr Pushpendra Verma and Hardeep Singh Bawa to contest in by-polls from Harmirpur and Nalagarh Assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh while Lakhpat Butola and Qazi Nizamuddin are going to contest in by-polls from Badrinath and Manglaur Assembly constituencies in Uttarakhand.

  • Suresh Gopi Clarifies ‘Mother Of India’ Reference About Indira Gandhi |

    Thiruvananthapuram: A day after his reference to former prime minister Indira Gandhi as “mother of India” received widespread attention, Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Sunday clarified that he called the late leader the mother of the Congress party in the country and his remarks were misinterpreted by the media.

    The actor-turned-politician said he was a person talking from the heart and he firmly believed that there was nothing wrong in what he said about Indira Gandhi.

    While addressing the media here, the BJP leader asked the reporters whether they don’t understand the “contextual meaning of language”.

    “What did I say? As far as the Congress is concerned…whether anyone likes it or not… K Karunakaran is the father of the Congress party in Kerala. In India, its mother is Indira Gandhi. I said this from my heart,” Suresh Gopi said.

    The minister of state for petroleum and tourism, however, continued to lavish praises on Indira Gandhi on Sunday as well.

    “Indira Gandhi is the real architect of India post independence and until her demise. I have to make these attributions anyway. I cannot forget a person who had worked sincerely for the country only because she belonged to the political rival party,” he added.

    While visiting the memorial of late Congress Chief Minister K Karunakaran in Thrissur on Saturday, Gopi had described Indira Gandhi as the “mother of India” and Karunakaran as a “courageous administrator”.

    The BJP leader had also said that he considered Karunakaran and Marxist veteran E K Nayanar his “political gurus”.

    Gopi said as he viewed Indira Gandhi as “bharathathinte mathavu” (mother of India), Karunakaran was the “father of the Congress party in the state” for him.

    He explained that describing Karunakaran as the “father” of the Congress in Kerala was not a disrespect to the founders or co-founders of the grand old party in the state.

    Gopi won the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat recently, opening the BJP’s electoral account in Kerala.

    Thrissur had witnessed a three-way contest for the Lok Sabha polls, with major candidates from the Congress, BJP, and CPI locked in a neck-and-neck battle.

  • ‘Stopped At 241 By Lord Ram’: RSS Leader Indresh Kumar Says BJP’s Arrogance Reflected In Poll Results |

    Jaipur: In hard-hitting remarks on the outcome of the Lok sabha polls, RSS leader Indresh Kumar on Thursday slammed the ruling BJP for ‘arrogance’ and the opposition INDIA bloc for being ‘anti-Ram’.

    Speaking at the ‘Ramrath Ayodhya Yatra Darshan Poojan Samaroh’ at Kanota near Jaipur, the RSS national executive member did not mention the rivals by name but suggested that the poll outcome reflected their attitudes.

    “The party which did the bhakti (of lord Ram) but became arrogant was stopped at 241 but it was made the biggest party,” he said, in an apparent reference to Narendra Modi-led BJP which got 240 seats in the Lok Sabha seats.

    “And those who had no faith in Ram, they together were stopped at 234,” he said, apparently referring to the INDIA bloc.

    “See the ‘Vidhan’ of Ram Rajya in democracy; those who did ‘Bhakti (worshipped) of Ram but gradually turned arrogant, that party emerged as the biggest party, but the vote and power that should have been given was stopped by God due to their arrogance,” he said.

    “Those who opposed Ram, none of them was given power. Even all of them together were made number two. God’s justice is true and enjoyable,” he said.

    “Those who worship Ram should be humble and those who oppose Ram, the Lord himself dealt with them,” he said.

    He said Lord Ram does not discriminate and does not punish. “Ram does not make anyone lament. Ram gives justice to everyone. He gives and will keep on giving. Lord Ram was always just and will remain so,” he said.

    Kumar also said Lord Ram protected people and did good to Ravana too.

    The remark came days after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that a true ‘sevak’ does not have arrogance and serves the people by maintaining ‘dignity’.

  • Pema Khandu Sworn In As Arunachal Pradesh CM For Third Consecutive Term |

    Itanagar: BJP leader Pema Khandu took oath as the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh for the third consecutive term on Thursday.

    Khandu, the MLA of Mukto, was sworn in by Governor KT Parnaik in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, among others.

    Eleven other MLAs were also sworn in as ministers at the function held in the Dorjee Khandu State Convention Centre. Among them were Deputy CM Chowna Mein, former assembly speaker PD Sona, BJP state president Biyuram Wahge, and Dasanglu Pul, the widow of former CM Kalikho Pul.

    While Dasanglu Pul is the lone woman minister, the new cabinet has eight fresh faces.

    The portfolios would be allocated later in the day, following which the first cabinet meeting of the new government would be held, officials said.

    The BJP returned to power in this northeastern state for the third time in a row, winning 46 seats in the 60-member assembly.

  • VK Pandian Withdraws From Active Politics After BJD’s Defeat, Says ‘Sorry If Campaign Narrative Against Me…’ |

    Senior BJD leader V K Pandian, a close aide to Odisha’s outgoing chief minister Naveen Patnaik, announced on Sunday that he is withdrawing from active politics following the regional party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The former bureaucrat who switched to politics said in a video message, “Now I consciously decide to withdraw myself from active politics. I am sorry if I have hurt anyone in this journey. I am sorry if this campaign narrative against me has had a part to play the Biju Janata Dal’s loss. My apologies to the entire Biju Parivaar including all the ‘karmis’ for this.”

    Pandian claimed that the only reason he entered politics was to support Patnaik, which is why he chose not to run for office. After winning 78 seats in the 147-member assembly, the BJP overthrew the BJD’s 24-year rule in Odisha. Although the Congress won 14 seats and the CPI (M) one, the Patnaik-led party secured 51 seats. The BJP secured 20 seats in the state’s Lok Sabha, while the Congress won one, leaving the BJD without a single seat. “I will always keep Odisha in core of my heart and my Guru Naveen Babu in my breath,” he added.

    Earlier on Saturday, BJD leader and former Odisha chief minister said that criticism of his aide V K Pandian for the party’s disaster was “unfortunate” and that he performed a “great job.” This was Patnaik’s first remarks about Pandian following the shocking election defeat.


    Patnaik said, “He (Pandian) is a person of integrity and honesty and should be remembered for that,” in the face of intense anger from party leaders and members who held the Tamil Nadu-born bureaucrats responsible for the party’s dismal election performance.

    Nonetheless, the five-term chief minister reaffirmed in the same sentence that Pandian was not to be his successor and that the people of Odisha would select their own leader.