Current Affairs And Politics News

AIADMK members who created a ruckus soon after the Question Hour in the Assembly were evicted en masse from the House following which Speaker M Appavu ordered their eviction.

Speaking to the media outside the assembly, AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami said he tried to raise the murder of a police constable near Usilampatti on Thursday and the Speaker did not allow him.

Soon after the Question Hour, Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami sought to raise a particular issue before the House but Speaker dissuaded saying the LoP could take up the matter only after obtaining prior permission from the Chair. However, the main opposition MLAs objected to the Speaker's decision and insisted that Palaniswami be allowed to speak. 

While, Leader of the House, Duraimurugan then pointed out that Deputy Chief Minister Udhaynidhi Stalin was waiting to address the discussion on grant demands for his departments, and urged the Speaker to restore order. The Chief Minister stated that he was ready to answer questions from the opposition, provided the AIADMK MLAs followed the Assembly's rules. 

As soon as Udhayanidhi stood up, AIADMK members started creating a ruckus. The Speaker asked the AIADMK MLAs to sit down, warning that he would take action if they did not comply. When they continued to chant slogans, the Speaker ordered the Assembly marshals to evict them for disrupting the House proceedings.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister (CM) MK Stalin moved a resolution against the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 proposed by the central government in the state Assembly and said that the bill would badly affect the minority Muslim community.

CM MK Stalin, who moved the resolution, said the Indian Constitution guarantees all religious groups the right to practice and preserve their faith, and it is the duty of a democratically-elected government to uphold these rights. He expressed strong opposition to the proposed amendments to the Waqf Act, 1954, stating that they would severely impact Muslim minorities. CM Stalin further noted that the Centre is trying to amend the Waqf Bill, which will ‘hinder the Waqf Board's power’. The resolution, passed amidst protest and walk out by the BJP members, was supported by all other parties including the principal opposition AIADMK and BJP’s ally, the PMK. 

Speaking in defence of the Bill, BJP leader Vanathi Srinivasan said the Centre had decided to amend the Waqf Act following numerous complaints regarding irregularities in the management of Waqf properties across various states. She maintained that the Bill aims to protect the interests of the ‘backward sections’ of the Muslim community and to ensure better representation for women. 

While, Tamil Nadu Law Minister, S. Regupathy, countered her claims, stating that the views of certain JPC members were ignored during discussions. He further described the Waqf Amendment Bill as an ‘economic assault’ on the Muslim community. 

The Assembly concluded by reiterating its demand that the Union government fully withdraw the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to address key challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties. The government has formed a Joint Parliamentary Committee to examine the Bill in consultation with experts and stakeholders.

After the CBI conducted raids on the residence of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Congress leader Sachin Pilot accused the BJP of using political animosity as a motive for the action. 

In a social media post, Pilot criticized the tactics employed to harass opposition leaders and undermine democratic values, highlighting previous actions by the ED at Baghel's residence. He expressed concerns about the impartiality of central institutions and called for an end to such practices.

Yogi Adityanath has accused the Congress-led INDIA bloc of colluding with billionaire George Soros to manipulate the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He claims that this partnership aims to destabilize India, leading to significant political clashes in the Lok Sabha as the BJP demands accountability for these alleged actions.

These accusations have led to heightened tensions in the Lok Sabha, with the BJP seeking to hold the Congress accountable for what they describe as collusion with foreign interests to influence Indian politics.

Rajya Sabha (RS) proceedings were adjourned for the day after BJP MPs created a ruckus over the issue of reservation to Muslims in public contracts in Karnataka.

RS today began with loud protests from the Treasury Benches demanding an explanation from Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge regarding the party’s position on reservations for Muslims amid uproar over a four per cent reservation for minorities in Karnataka. Then the House was adjourned till 2 pm. This comes a day after Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar, talked about the bill that provided four per cent reservation to minorities and other backward classes in public contracts in the state in an event, purportedly saying that the ‘constitution will be changing.’

When the proceedings resumed in the post-lunch session, after the laying of listed papers, Deputy Chairman Harivansh gave the floor to Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge who rejected the allegations that a Congress leader talked about changing the Constitution. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said, ‘Nobody can change the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar. Nobody can finish the reservation. To protect it, we did Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. They (points at NDA MPs) break India.’

Reacting to this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, ‘A very senior and responsible leader from the Congress party, who holds a constitutional post, has stated that they are going to change the Constitution of India to provide reservations in contracts for the Muslim community. We cannot take this statement lightly. This is an assault on the Constitution of India.’ Leader of the House JP Nadda, also reacted to this and asserted Congress was giving reservation to Muslims in public contracts. This led to uproar from both sides prompting Harivansh to adjourn the house for 15 minutes.

When the house reassembled for the second time in the post-lunch session after a short adjournment, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri moved the amendments made LS in the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, be taken into consideration amid slogan shouting by the Opposition and the motion was adopted by a voice vote. As the uproar continued, Deputy Chairman Harivansh adjourned the house for the day. 

War of words between the ruling and opposition MLAs over Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar allegedly ‘insulting’ the national anthem rocked the assembly.

As the proceedings began, opposition members trooped into the Well with placards and raised slogans, demanding an unconditional apology’ from Nitish Kumar. Protests took place inside the assembly premises as well as inside the House. Some members also demanded the resignation of the CM, alleging that he insulted the national anthem. 

While, Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav urged them to raise the issue during Zero Hour, Opposition legislators continued their protest, refusing to back down. Amid the protest, Minister Vijay Chaudhary attempted to present the government's stance on the matter, but the uproar from the Opposition benches made it impossible for the House to function smoothly. The chaos forced the Speaker to adjourn the House until 2 pm. 

Speaking to media outside the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for ‘disrespecting’ the national anthem. Yadav said, ‘Respected Nitish Kumar ji is senior to me and the Chief Minister of Bihar, and I hold him in high regard. But the way he disrespected the national anthem yesterday has left us deeply ashamed’. While, former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi also attacked CM and said, ‘If Nitish Kumar has lost his mind, he should step down from the CM's chair and make his son the Chief Minister instead...Nitish Kumar must come to the Assembly and offer a public apology’.

This comes a day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s unusual behaviour during an inaugural ceremony of Sepak Takraw World Cup 2025 at the Pataliputra Sports Complex. 

Lok Sabha (LS) was adjourned for the day as opposition members protested in the House wearing T-shirts with slogans on the issue of delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies. DMK members were wearing white T-shirts with slogans 'Fair Delimitation, Tamil Nadu will fight, Tamil Nadu will win.’ 

When the proceedings of the House began today, LS Speaker Om Birla objected to the DMK members wearing T-shirts with slogans written on them, saying ‘House functions with rules and procedures. Members have to maintain the dignity and honour of the House. But some MPs are not following the rules and violating the dignity which is not acceptable’. Birla adjourned proceedings till noon and requested those members wearing slogan-bearing T-shirts to leave and return in appropriate dress.

Similar scenes were witnessed when the House reconvened at 12 noon and TDP member Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was in the chair, adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm. Tenneti also requested the Opposition members to come back to the House in ‘proper shape’. He said, ‘We have a discussion on agriculture. Such an important topic of the country you are not allowing the discussion to take place. I request you to cooperate and let the proceedings go on’. When they did not comply, Tenneti adjourned the House for the day.

Speaking to reporters, Siva emphasised Tamil Nadu's stance on the issue. ‘Tamil Nadu is insisting on fair delimitation. Around 7 states will be affected by this but there has been no response from the government yet. That is why we are continuing our protest demanding fair delimitation’. DMK members have been trying to raise the issue of delimitation in the LS, but Speaker had rejected their pleas contending that the issue is nowhere on the government radar as the census of population was yet to be conducted.

Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha (LS) Rahul Gandhi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his address on Maha Kumbh in Lok Sabha. He criticized PM Modi for not expressing the condolences to people who lost their lives in the stampede in January during the recently concluded Maha Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking to the media outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi said, ‘I wanted to support what the PM said, Kumbh is our tradition, history, and culture. There was one thing the PM did not pay condolences to people who lost their lives in Kumbh’. ‘Those who went to Kumbh also want employment, he should also speak on employment’.  LoP further took a swipe at LS speaker Om Birla after he was not given permission to speak. He said, ‘LoP should be given permission to speak, but I guess it is a new India’.

Earlier, PM Modi addressed the LS on Maha Kumbh during the ongoing Parliament budget session. PM had praised Maha Kumbh 2025 as a milestone for the country, attributing its success to the people of India, Uttar Pradesh, and Prayagraj. In a pointed remark aimed at the opposition, PM Modi stated that the success of the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj had silenced the doubts and fears raised by certain critics regarding India's capabilities.

A stampede during the Mauni Amavasya bathing ritual at the Mahakumbh mela claimed at least 30 lives and left 60 others injured. PM Narendra Modi had also expressed his condolences on social media, calling the accident ‘extremely sad’. 

Opposition parties including Congress and the TMC, staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha (RS) in protest of disallowing discussion on the Election Commission's alleged lapses in issuing multiple duplicate voter ID cards and delimitation.

Opposition MPs from the Trinamool Congress, Congress and Left parties gave notices under rule 267 that calls for setting aside business of the day to take up discussion on the issue being raised through them. TMC and Congress MPs sought to raise the duplicate voter ID card issue, While, the Tamil parties wanted to discuss the impact of the ensuing delimitation exercise on southern states. Opposition MPs raised slogans and pressed for a discussion. However, Deputy Chairman Harivansh disallowed the adjournment notices moved by the Opposition parties’ MPs. Amid din, the Harivansh urged the protesting members to go back to their seats and allow the House to function. Later, the members of opposition parties walked out from the House. 

As many as 10 MPs gave notices under rule 267. Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Mausam B Noo, Sushmita Dev (TMC) and Pramod Tiwari (Congress) have demanded a discussion over the alleged lapse of Election Commission in issuance of multiple duplicate Electronic Electoral Photo Identity Card across the states. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's P Wilson and V Sivadasan of the Communist Party of India-Marxist demanded one on concerns regarding the upcoming delimitation exercise to southern states.

While, Bharatiya Janata Party's Samik Bhattacharya wanted to discuss increased instances of atrocities against SCs, STs and OBCs in West Bengal. Communist Party of India's P Santhosh Kumar sought to raise the issue of the impact of a deal by Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio with Elon Musk's Starlink for providing satellite broadband internet in India. Sanjay Singh of Aam Aadmi Party demanded a discussion on the increase in crimes and deteriorating law and order situation in Delhi, Haris Beeran of the Indian Union Muslim League wanted one on the issue of increased instances of drug addiction amongst youth and students in Kerala.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has replaced the rupee symbol with the Tamil letter for 'Ru' in the state budget logo. The development comes in the context of the MK Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government's opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the three-language policy. 

Tamil Nadu finance minister Thangam Thennarasu is scheduled to table the budget for 2025-26 on Friday. The logo carried 'ru', the first letter of the Tamil word 'Rubaai', which denotes the Indian currency in the vernacular language. The logo also had the caption ‘everything for all’, indicating at what the ruling DMK claims is its inclusive model of governance. It is worth noting that for the first time a state has changed the symbol of '₹'. 

Meanwhile, the BJP has strongly objected to this decision of the Stalin government. Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai said, ‘The DMK Government's State Budget for 2025-26 replaces the Rupee Symbol designed by a Tamilian, which was adopted by the whole of Bharat and incorporated into our Currency.’ ‘Thiru Udhay Kumar, who designed the symbol, is the son of a former DMK MLA. How stupid can you become, Thiru @mkstalin?’, he added. 

BJP IT cell chief also slammed the decision and said Chief minister MK Stalin is insulting Tamilians by dropping the ₹ sign from the Tamil Nadu Budget 2025-26 document. Just how ridiculous can one get?’. The Tamil Nadu government has not yet issued any official statement regarding this change.