Today in Politics: PM Modi to address NDA parliamentary party meeting; state mourning in Jharkhand after Shibu Soren's death
The NDA meeting comes just days before the filing of nominations for the Vice-President's election on August 7. After the Monsoon Session ends on August 21, the election will be held on September 9.
The meeting comes in the middle of a session that has been all but a washout so far, except for a two-day discussion on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, due to a united Opposition's ceaseless protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar by the Election Commission.
Modi is expected to speak on a host of current issues as the Opposition has been raising the heat over the poll body's alleged partisan conduct favouring the government, and the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
The meeting also comes amid rumours that the Centre may reinstate Jammu and Kashmir's statehood. Tuesday will mark six years since the abrogation of Article 370 with the J&K Congress observing it as a 'black day' and sitting on a dharna to press for the restoration of statehood.
Meanwhile, the government is expected to push through some legislative business on Tuesday, amid the Opposition's continuing protests, said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. In the Lok Sabha, at least four Bills will be considered for passage – The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024; The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2024; The National Sports Governance Bill, 2025; and The National
Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
In the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to move a resolution for the continuation of President's Rule in Manipur for another six months with effect on August 13. The Lok Sabha has already passed this resolution. The Upper House will also consider for passage The Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025.
The mortal remains of veteran tribal leader and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) patriarch Shibu Soren reached state capital Ranchi on Monday evening, with thousands of people waiting outside the airport and lining the streets to pay their final respects to the former CM, affectionately known as Dishom Guru.
Soren, 81, who was undergoing treatment at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi for over a month for kidney-related problems, passed away on Monday morning.
On Tuesday, his body will be taken to his native village Nemra in Ramgarh district, where his last rites will be performed there, JMM sources said.
Among those expected to attend the funeral is Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, whose Congress party is a state- and national-level ally of the JMM.
Recommended reading | Pivotal figure in Jharkhand movement, Shibu Soren had a storied career with fleeting stints in power
To coincide with the Karnataka Congress's protest over alleged vote theft, the state BJP chief B Y Vijayendra had announced their own protest against the Congress's 'anti-constitutional attitude'.
While the Congress's protest, which was set to be led by Rahul Gandhi, has been postponed to August 8 on account of Shibu Soren's death, the BJP is now set to continue its protest in Bengaluru.
Vijayendra alleged that the Congress was unable to 'digest Narendra Modi's leadership' at the Centre and that Gandhi was misguiding the people of Karnataka and India with his repeated allegations against the Election Commission.
The Telangana Congress, meanwhile, is going ahead with its protest Presidential assent for the Backward Classes reservation bills passed by the state legislature. Party workers led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy are expected to participate in a three-day protest beginning on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, party MPs will move an adjournment motion in Parliament to demand a debate on the BC quota Bills. On Wednesday, the CM, along with his Cabinet colleagues and other Congress leaders, will stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar. On Thursday, Reddy and other senior leaders will seek an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu to submit a memorandum regarding the pending Bills.
– With PTI inputs
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