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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Friday met UPA Chairperson and senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi to seek her party’s cooperation in the upcoming session of Parliament, which will commence from June 17.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, along with the Minister of State in his Ministry – Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar met Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence in Delhi.

After the meeting, which lasted for over 20 minutes, Tomar told the media: “We are meeting all the opposition leaders to request for their party’s cooperation and smooth functioning of the Parliament.”

On June 5, Joshi, along with the two ministers of state in his ministry – Meghwal and V. Muraleedharan – met Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, at his residence.

According to Congress sources, the government has convened an all-party meeting in the Parliament on June 16, a day ahead of the start of the Lok Sabha session, where it will seek the cooperation of all political parties to ensure a smooth session.

The first session of the newly-elected Lok Sabha will be convened from June 17 to July 26 and the new government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will present its first Budget on July 5. The 40-day session will have 30 sittings.

Amid intense media gaze, the name of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has been added to four more Cabinet Committees on Thursday after initial exclusion from all but two of these key ministerial panels. He was also given a space in two new panels formed Thursday to spur growth and job creation.

The redrafting of the committees, within a span of just 16 hours from the first announcement, appears to be an attempt to avoid the media’s glare, which was quick to point out that Singh was left out of the key panels, despite being number two in the government as per protocol. This was in stark contrast to Home Minister Amit Shah’s position, who is part of all 10 panels, raising a question over a new pecking order in the government with Shah perceived to be the de facto number two.

By convention, the person who takes oath right after the prime minister (Singh in this case) is usually considered the number two in the government, and presides over the Cabinet and the political affairs committee in the absence of the prime minister.

After the amended composition, Singh will also be a part of Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Investment & Growth as well as Cabinet Committee on Employment & Skill Development.

Earlier among the eight key Cabinet Committees reconstituted by the Centre, Singh was part of only two Committees ie Cabinet Committee on Security and Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. He will now also chair the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs takes all important political decisions in the ruling dispensation. Singh headed the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs in the last government. The panel takes all decisions pertaining to Parliament matters.

Home Minister Amit Shah finds representation in all of them while Prime Minister is on-board six committees barring Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs and Cabinet Committee on Accommodation.

The lone Cabinet Committee having only Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah on board is Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. Union Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman, has been roped-in for six committees ie Cabinet Committee on Accommodation, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Security, Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth, on Employment & Skill Development.

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, is in Cabinet Committee on Accommodation, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Investment & Growth.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister of Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan is in Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and Cabinet Committee on Employment & Skill Development. While Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Minister of Commerce & Industry is on-board five committees ie Cabinet Committee on Employment & Skill Development, Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth, Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and Cabinet Committee on Accommodation.

In a significant development, Chhattisgarh government has urged the Centre to review its decision to order a probe by National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the April 9 killing of local BJP MLA Bheema Mandavi in south Bastar district of Dantewada by Naxals. In a letter written to the Centre recently, the Bhupesh Baghel government argued against a NIA probe into the ghastly incident, saying that the state has already ordered a judicial probe into it; a senior officer in Chhattisgarh home department told this newspaper on Tuesday, requesting not to be quoted. The Chhattisgarh government’s stand opposing NIA probe into the incident has not only raised many eyebrows in the political circle in Chhattisgarh, but also threatened to trigger a confrontation between Centre and state.

Incidentally, the NIA had earlier quietly taken over probe into the sensational murder of the BJP MLA catching Chhattisgarh government off guard. The National Investigation Agency probe into the case came close on the heels of widow of the slain legislator smelling conspiracy in the incident and declaring that she had no faith in the probe by a state government agency. Nearly five weeks after the incident, Ministry of Home Affairs on May 16 directed NIA to enquire into the case. Accordingly, the NIA registered a FIR in the NIA police station in Delhi on May 17 in this connection.

Living in harmony with nature will lead to a better future, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Wednesday on the World Environment Day.

“Our planet and environment is something we all cherish greatly. Today on #WorldEnvironmentDay, we reiterate our commitment to ensure a cleaner planet,” the prime minister tweeted.

Living in harmony with nature will lead to a better future, he said and posted a short video.

In the video, he said planting saplings is not enough and people have to take care of it till it becomes a tree.

Mamata Banerjee’s comments at an Eid celebration on Wednesday carried a sharp political message days after the national election in which the Bengal Chief Minister’s Trinamool Congress suffered a huge drop in its tally against a rising BJP in the state.

“Hindus stand for renunciation (tyaag), Muslims for integrity (imaan), Christians for love (pyaar) and Sikhs for sacrifice (balidan). This is our beloved Hindustan and we will protect it,” Mamata Banerjee told a gathering in Kolkata after celebrating Eid.

“Jo humse takraega wo choor choor ho jaega. (Whoever messes with us will be destroyed). That is our slogan,” she added, speaking in Hindi.

Mamata Banerjee has been on fightback mode after being pummelled by the BJP’s “Jai Shri Ram” chant campaign that picked up during the acrimonious national election battle. The Chief Minister is seen lashing out at groups shouting “Jai Shri Ram” in videos that went viral. The Trinamool’s counter was rival slogans like “Jai Hind” and “Jai Ma Kali”.

“There is nothing to be scared. Muddai Lakh bura chahe to kya hota hai, wahi hota hai jo manzoor-e-khuda hota hai. Sometimes when the sun rises, its rays are very harsh but later it fades away. Don’t be scared, the faster they captured EVMs, the quicker they will go away,” Mamata Banerjee said, cheered by her audience.

Ms Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress accuse the BJP of unleashing terror and violence during the polls and rigging EVMs or voting machines.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday pulled up Union Minister Giriraj Singh over his remarks mocking several NDA colleagues for attending iftaar parties. Singh took to Twitter posting pictures of iftaar parties hosted by Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan and opposition leader Jitan Ram Manjhi in Patna and also made a disapproving comment.

Singh said it would have been “beautiful” had the pictures been of Navratri and not an Iftar party. The BJP leader questioned as to why leaders lag behind in their own religion and instead indulge in “pomp and show”. “How beautiful would the picture have emerged, had phalahaar (a fruit feast) been organised during Navaratra with the same fervour with splendid photographs taken. Why do we lag behind in observance of our own karm-dharm (religious customs) in public, while staying ahead in pretension,” he tweeted in Hindi.

In the pictures, the alliance leaders–Nitish Kumar, Paswan, his son Chirag Paswan and Sushil Modi–could be seen having a good time at the iftar party. This triggered a war of words between the Janata Dal-United (JDU) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Reacting to the Singh’s tweet, Shah admonished Singh for attacking the NDA leaders and warned him from making such statements in the future. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar also criticised Singh saying that people like him issue controversial remarks with an aim to remain in news. “Some people speak in such a manner so you people can make news out of their statements,” said the CM.

Hitting back at Giriraj Singh, JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar defended Nitish Kumar for attending the event, saying that the country runs as per the provisions of the Constitution, which gives the right to follow and practice all religions. “The country is governed by the provisions of the Constitution, and it provides an equal right to follow and practice any religion or caste. Bihar is the first state which gives equal respect to everyone. Real citizens are those who follow the Constitution,” said Neeraj Kumar.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reminded residents of the Capital that he still has the capacity to surprise. On Monday, he announced that women would be allowed to travel for free on the Delhi Metro and the city’s public bus system.

The decision, which immediately provoked reactions both positive and critical, echoes earlier policy moves by his Aam Aadmi Party government that created waves, such as halving electricity bills and the odd/even car operation rule to reduce air pollution.

While Kejriwal said that the free transport plan was aimed at improving women’s safety and increasing access to transport, it also reflects AAP’s determination to seize the initiative ahead of the Assembly elections due in 2020.

Kejriwal’s announcement came less than two weeks after the Bharatiya Janata Party swept all of Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha seats. The results concealed another storyline: less than six years after it made a stunning debut in the Delhi state elections to win 67 of the 70 seats, AAP was relegated to third place in the national elections in the Capital with a vote share of 18.1%. At the Lok Sabha level, even the Congress had moved ahead of AAP.

Ahead of the 2020 elections, AAP is putting together a game plan to rally voters and ensure it remains in position to retain Delhi, the only state where it is a significant player.

A group of eminent citizens from the Muslim community have welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remarks on the need to address the welfare of minorities, and offered to engage with him on issues of educational backwardness, skill development and confidence building measures.
Referring to Modi’s speech  on May 26 to NDA MPs at Parliament’s Central Hall, the citizens said in a letter that they were happy to note the PM had “unequivocally” committed himself to work for and serve all sections of society and that bringing the marginalised into the mainstream was essential to realise the dream of turning India into the world’s third largest economy.

The letter said the community would welcome confidence-building measures that assure minorities equal protection under the Constitution and the law.
The letter took note of Modi’s comments where he said, “The way the poor have been cheated, the minorities have been deceived the same way. It would have been good if their education, their health had been in focus. Minorities have been made to live in fear by those who believed in vote-bank politics. I expect from you in 2019 that you would be able to make a hole in that deception. We have to earn their trust.”

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel chairing the meeting of Surguja Development Authority gave administrative sanction of Rs  2.72 crore for 47 development and welfare works for the Chhattisgarh’s northern Surguja region.

The CM also announced constituting Surguja Staff Selection Board to provide employment at the local level, and instructed to provide adequate vehicle facility for the officials deployed at the Naxal infested areas of the region.

In the meeting, CM expressing concern over increasing cases of human trafficking from Jashpur district of the region, instructed the concerned officials to form a cell to probe into the matter.

After he was apprised of problem faced by farmers in withdrawing loans, Baghel immediately suspended the Chief Executive Officer and Manager of the Cooperative bank.    

When he came to know that there were problems faced by citizens on getting caste certificate, the CM instructed the concerned officials to immediately sort out their problems.   

Baghel also expressed dissatisfaction over slow progress of laying Astro Turf in Hockey nursery, Jashpur and instructed officials to complete the work at the earliest.

Two Indian Air Force aircrafts that went missing a decade apart share several eerie coincidences. On Monday, an IAF Antonov AN-32 went missing with 13 personnel on board near Mechuka in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, 10 years after another Antonov AN-32 crashed in the same location with same number of people on board.

The AN-32 went missing from the radar at about 1 pm Monday while it was about 30 km away from Mechuka advanced landing ground, according to sources quoted by The Print.

The wreckage is yet to be found amid a massive search operation launched by the IAF to trace the missing aircraft. Those on board the aircraft included one wing commander, four flight lieutenants, one squadron leader and seven airmen.

In June 2009, according to The Print, an AN-32 aircraft just like the one involved in Monday’s incident, had gone missing with 13 people on board while proceeding to the same location — the Mechuka advanced landing ground.

All 13 on board were killed in the crash after the wreckage of the aircraft was found 25 km from the landing area following a massive search operation.