Political News

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed a bill to add $10.8 billion to the federal trust funds providing highway and transit funds to prevent them from running dry next month and to buy more time for Congress to draft a new highway bill next year. Critics say the legislation relies on budget gimmicks. The measure’s financing provisions are:

Bangalore, July 22 (ANI): Even as parents’ continued to protest over the rape of a six-year-old girl in Bangalore, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday controversially distanced himself from the event when he asked the media if it is the only news they had that they could report on. He also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of the politicizing the issue. Wherever we can invoke the gunda act we will do that,” added the Karnataka CM. Earlier today, the BJP staged a protest in Bangalore against the recent rape of a six-year-old girl inside her school premises.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A gridlocked Congress failed to do the big things: overhauling the nation’s immigration system, reforming the loophole-cluttered tax code and stiffening background checks on gun buyers. Now it’s time to see whether it can just do the basics.

New Delhi, July 22 (ANI): The government today cried foul against the opposition Congress party, for casting aspersions against the Speaker over the contentious issue of Leader of Opposition (LoP) post in the Lok Sabha. Speaking to the mediapersons, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said: “Congress leaders’ reactions are outrageous; To cast apprehension against the speaker shows desperation of the Congress. If people did not give them even 55 seats, what can we do?.” Meanwhile, when the LoP question was thrown at the Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, she said: “I have got the letter on LoP issue.

New Delhi/Guwahati, July 22 (ANI): The political crisis in the state of Assam has given rise to rumours of personal ambition being responsible for state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma quitting from the Tarun Gogoi led government. Media reports quoted AICC spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi as saying, “Not once, but on several occasions, he has mentioned that he wants to become the Chief Minister. The party will not weaken because of this.” Assam Tribune quoted a source from the Congress, who said, “Conceding that Himanta Biswa Sarma is a mass leader, the sources said that he had issued a statement about 15 days back, reposing confidence in the AICC.

Chandigarh, July 21 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday accused the Congress of dividing the Sikh community by creating a separate body to oversee their Gurdwaras in Haryana. The Haryana Government on July 11 passed a bill in the state assembly to create an independent committee, Haryana Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) to monitor Sikh Gurdwaras in the state. The Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Bill, 2014 got the assent of the Haryana governor on Monday (July 14). After a meeting with leaders of regional Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Chandigarh, Badal said the Congress is attacking the Sikh community.

New Delhi, July 21 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson M.J. Akbar on Monday expressed shock over former Supreme Court (SC) judge Justice (retired) Maarkandey Katju’s statement on corruption in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by Manmohan Singh. “What Justice Katju has said first confirms something that we all knew that the previous government of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh was possibly the most corrupt in the history of this country.

New Delhi, July 21 (ANI): Congress leader Manish Tewari said here on Monday that the split between Indian National Congress (INC) and the National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir can be attributed to the electoral dynamics presently prevailing in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. “Well as things stand today both the National Conference and Indian national Congress continue to run a government in Jammu and Kashmir. So therefore keeping in mind the dynamics of that electoral situation the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Indian National Congress may have come to certain conclusions and these are inevitable facts of political life which everybody has to take in their stride,” said Tewari.