There appears to be a surprising reaction from the Supreme Court on the actions, activities and decisions of the Narendra Modi government.
With just a day left for the budget session of Parliament to wind up, the government finally scored a goal when it passed the Judicial Commission and Constitution Amendement Bills in the Lok Sabha, hurriedly obtained the President's signature in a matter of hours and by late evening brought the Constitution amendment part of the Bill to the Rajya Sabha for consideration.
The Lok Sabha speaker and the secretariat found themselves embroiled in an angry dispute on Tuesday as members of the Trinamool Congress party and Telugu Desam Party clashed over the contentious Room no 5 on the first floor of Parliament House.
The government is making behind-the-scenes offers to other parties in a bid to break them but as long as the Congress is firm on the decision, there is little that the government can achieve on the Insurance Bill.
All India Congress Committee general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi has created a flutter by saying that the "party leadership should not only speak, but also have the courage to listen".
Some analysts believe that it suits Prime Minister Narendra Modi at this stage to debunk the image of Sonia Gandhi as a woman who declined the prime ministership of the country with great personal sacrifice, just as it would suit him to portray Rahul as a coward who was afraid his mother would be killed -- claims made by former Union minister Natwar Singh in his yet-to-be-released book. Rediff.com contributor Renu Mital reports.
According to sources, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has not appreciated senior leader and one of her main confidantes A K Antony stating publicly that there is a perception that the Congress lost because it was seen to be too much pro-Muslim and this led to a Hindu consolidation in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The divide between 'teams' of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's and that of vice president Rahul Gandhi is increasing by leaps and bounds, according to party sources. There appears to be no common ground between the two sides, with both blaming the other for the state of affairs in the party. Renu Mittal reports
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to keep tabs on ministers who do not attend the weekly meetings on Monday convened by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for the spokespersons of the Bharatiya Janata Party and it is a wing of the parliamentary party. Renu Mittal reports
The Prime Ministers Office is upset that the Congress party was deliberately playing up the Saeed-Vaidik meeting in Parliament to detract attention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with the Chinese president. Rediff.com contributor Renu Mittal reports
Congress Vice president Rahul Gandhi's decision to use the same team he used in the Lok Sabha polls for the upcoming assembly elections has not gone down well with many in the party. Rediff.com contributor Renu Mittal reports
The Congress feels there was no articulation of a bold vision of a statement of intent in the Budget, no articulation of a direction in which the economy has to go, and it lacks imagination. Renu Mittal reports.
Thomas Blom Hansen, director of Centre for South Asia and Reliance-Dhirubhai Ambani Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University, believes that Modi wants to make India a dominant power in South Asia and that well not give concessions to Pakistan or anyone.
Armed with a list of issues to target the Narendra Modi government in the forthcoming Budget session of Parliament, the Congress is making one last attempt to gain the leader of opposition status.
AK Antony's statement of the Congress appearing to no longer being secular and playing minority politics just might be one of the reasons for the party's poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections. Renu Mittal reports how the Congress may be adopting a new approach.
Senior Congress leaders from Haryana have asked for the resignation of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda before the assembly elections in the state slated to be held by October this year.
The prime minister's office will play the principal role in decision-making.
In his attempt to revive a beleaguered Congress, Rahul Gandhi is trying to bring in new leadership in the form of Rajeev Gowda and BK Hari Prasad, whose names have been nominated for the Rajya Sabha, says Renu Mittal.
Bonhomie prevailed on day two of the 16th Lok Sabha, but one veteran leader was left out in the cold.