New Delhi: With the image of his government in tatters, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will present the last Report Card of UPA-II on May 22 in which he is expected to list the positives such as Direct Benefit Transfer and FDI in retail in a bid to boost the sagging morale of Congressmen with elections less than a year away.
Battered by series of scams and the recent sacking of Cabinet Ministers PK Bansal and Ashwani Kumar, the Prime Minister's task to present a positive picture is not easy.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi and leaders of UPA constituents will be present at a dinner in which Singh will present the Report Card on the fourth anniversary of UPA-II. Sonia is expected to showcase her backing for the Prime Minister in the backdrop of reports that the two had sharp differences, which has been denied by the party.
The Prime Minister is expected to unveil plans on the occasion on the way ahead for the much-talked about National Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill, seen by the party as game changers in the next Lok Sabha elections....
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12:58 PM, May 19, 2013
New Delhi: Holding the opposition's "disruptionary tactics" responsible for not allowing passage of the Food Security and Land Acquisition Bills in Parliament's Budget Session, the Congress on Saturday expressed its willingness for a special session if the other parties were agreed. Congress spokesperson PC Chacko also said that the party will take "disruptionary tactics" of the opposition to the people, alleging they had displayed "least inclination" towards passing pro-people legislations...
11:22 PM, May 18, 2013
Thiruvananthapuram: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the opposition parties for stalling the Food Security Bill in Parliament, and asserted the UPA government was determined to enact the legislation for the benefit of people. "I am sad that the opposition is acting against the interests of the poor Indian...I can understand politics. But I cannot understand political parties hurting the poor of the country," Rahul...
07:14 PM, May 18, 2013
New Delhi: BJP on Friday made clear its reservation over the Food Security Bill being keenly pushed by the government, saying it is a "half-hearted attempt", and hit back at Rahul Gandhi for saying opposition was stalling it. Till now BJP had said it was disrupting Parliament in the second phase of the Budget session due to more pressing matter of resignation of two Union ministers - PK Bansal and...
10:11 PM, May 17, 2013
New Delhi: Congress top brass, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi, on Friday deliberated on the way ahead on the issue of Food Security Bill. All options were considered, was the response of party sources who said no decision has been taken about the future course of action on the ambitious legislation as also on the Land Acquisition Bill. Food Minister KV Thomas was specially invited...
09:28 PM, May 17, 2013
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod for the issue of an ordinance to pave the way for an elected body of the apex medical regulator. The term of the Medical Council of India's Board of Governors has ended, rendering the apex medical regulator headless. Sources said the Cabinet gave its approval to the note for the draft ordinance in this regard which is likely to be...
09:40 PM, May 16, 2013
Los Angeles: In her bad girl days, Angelina Jolie's body was a billboard for tattoos that said such things as "Billy Bob." Now she's sharing intimate details of her anatomy to help women at risk, going public with her preventive double mastectomy to greatly reduce her high odds of breast cancer. It's the latest peak in Jolie's turn-around from hedonist to humanitarian, party girl to inspirational poster girl. The way...
01:17 PM, May 15, 2013
New Delhi: "Special session is an option, monsoon session is an option, ordinance is an option - what is not an option is the non-passage of these two bills," Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said while talking about the government's plan of getting its ambitious food and land bills through. Ramesh preferred that the bills should be passed "the democratic way" through debate in Parliament while ordinances should be the...
03:32 PM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: With the crucial Food Security Bill and Land Acquisition Bill still pending, sources say the government is mulling a Special Session of Parliament to get the bills passed. Reports also say the government is looking at the option of introducing an ordinance instead too. But the government had earlier denied any such move. Sources say that the Food Ministry is opposed to bringing an ordinance. The government may...
11:14 AM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is committed to enacting the Food Security Bill after considering all opinions, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday. "The Food Security Bill is a very important legislation for the government. The UPA is committed to make this law after considering all opinions," he told reporters here. Corruption, he said, was a major issue in the country and all sections of society...
04:59 PM, May 08, 2013
New Delhi: Parliament was adjourned sine die at 12.56 pm on Wednesday, two days before scheduled end of the Budget session. The decision was reportedly taken after the Congress's victory in Karnataka elections. The adjournment would mean that crucial bills like the Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill won't be passed. It was yet another day of uproar and unruly scenes in Lok Sabha as opposition MPs rushed...
12:56 PM, May 08, 2013
AAP is doing what politicians have forgotten to do As the summer kicks in, people's representatives are often seen scurrying for their cool drawing ...
06:20 AM, May 08, 2013
Miami: Nine more wealthy families and individuals have pledged to give at least half of their fortunes to charity as part of a philanthropic campaign by two of the world's richest men, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. The Giving Pledge, which was launched by Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, and investor Buffett in 2010, said on Tuesday that billionaires joining the campaign included New York-based real estate magnate Stephen Ross....
05:46 AM, May 08, 2013
The Samajwadi Party chief slammed the Congress for presenting the Food Security Bill, saying, "The House is not in order. Presenting the Food Security Bill at this time is not appropriate." ...
07:29 PM, May 07, 2013
Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said important bills such as Food Security Bill and Land Acquisition Bill needed to be passed in Parliament. ...
07:25 PM, May 07, 2013
New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday hugged Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj in the Central Hall of Parliament. The two exchanged pleasantries and spoke for a few minutes. The meeting between the two came days after Sushma had attacked Sonia for destroying spirit of democracy. Last Friday, Swaraj had accused Sonia of instigating her MPs to disrupt her speech in the Lok Sabha. Sonia, who has been under attack from...
06:58 PM, May 07, 2013
New Delhi: 1:00 pm: As the Lok Sabha resumed, uproar continued in the House with BJP MPs demanding Manmohan Singh's resignation. The Lok Sabha has now been adjourned for the day and the Food Security Bill may again be taken up on Wednesday. 12:40 pm: The Congress Core Group is meeting in Parliament to chalk out a strategy to end Parliament deadlock. 12:17 pm: Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Parliamentary...
11:21 AM, May 07, 2013
New Delhi: Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Monday sought to blame the opposition for disruption in Parliament, saying they were "bursting debates" and "killing arguments" in the House as he backed the Food Security Bill in its present form. Sen, an eminent economist, said the essence of democracy is to have arguments and there is a need for skillful presentations of what the issues are. At a press conference along...
09:02 AM, May 07, 2013
New Delhi: The Opposition is in no mood to relent saying it will not let Parliament function without the resignations of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. On Monday, there was uproar in the Lok Sabha with the BJP, its allies and the Left storming the well of the House even as the National Food Security Bill was taken up for discussion....
08:54 AM, May 07, 2013
