Author: TheStateLine

Patna, Feb 11 (IANS) Political tensions escalated in Bihar on Wednesday as several Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs), led by Leader of the Opposition Rabri Devi, staged a protest against the Nitish Kumar-led government outside the Bihar Legislative Council.The protesting RJD MLCs gathered at the entrance of the Council holding posters bearing slogans accusing the Chief Minister of intimidating opposition members and running a corrupt administration.The posters read: “Chief Minister, come to your senses (Chief Minister hosh mein aao). Stop threatening MLAs. Government of corrupt people, come to your senses.”The protest followed a heated exchange between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Rabri Devi in the Bihar Legislative Council earlier this week.During the...

New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report stating that 18 workers died following a blast at an illegal coal mine in the Thangskai area of East Jaintia Hills district in Meghalaya.The incident reportedly occurred on February 5, and several other workers are feared trapped at unspecified depths inside the mine.Observing that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issues of violation of human rights of the victims, the NHRC has issued notices to the Meghalaya's Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, seeking a detailed report within two weeks.The NHRC has said that the report is expected to include the status of the ongoing rescue operation, compensation provided to the aggrieved families, ...

New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Wednesday praised the Modi government for the Union Budget 2026-27, calling it a 'Sarva Mangalkari' and 'Sarvjan Hitay Sarvjan Sukhaye' budget aimed at inclusive growth and national progress.Participating in the budget discussion in the Lok Sabha, Thakur said the budget reflects the continuation of what he described as a “12-year reform express” that has moved India from “policy paralysis to policy performance”, from “leakage to delivery”, from “megabytes to gigabytes”, from “megawatts to gigawatts”, and from “corruption to confidence”.Taking a swipe at the Congress party and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Thakur said, “Sir (Rahul Gandhi) was talking about the grip. He showed his shortcomings. During their tenure, they did so much corr...

New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde on Wednesday expressed strong support for the Union Budget 2026 while launching a sharp attack on the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, over his criticism of the India-US trade agreement.Speaking during the debate on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, Shinde congratulated Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting the Union Budget for the ninth consecutive time. He said the scale of the Budget reflects the country's economic progress over the past decade."As a youth, I would like to tell today's generations how far the country has come. In 2013-14, the Union Budget was only Rs 16.5 crore, but now, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is Rs 53.5 crore. The victory for the third time means th...

Gandhinagar, Feb 11 (IANS) Preparations have gathered pace at the Gujarat Secretariat ahead of the state Assembly's Budget Session, which will commence on February 16 with the Governor's address.The first day of the session will begin with Governor Acharya Devvrat's speech, followed by obituary references in the House. The state Budget is scheduled to be presented on February 17.Officials said key legislative business and financial proposals will be taken up during the session.In the run-up to the proceedings, a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee will be held on Thursday at the Assembly under the chairmanship of Speaker Shankar Chaudhary.The committee will include the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Finance Minister, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, the government's chief whi...

New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) Former Prime Minister and JD(S) MP H.D. Deve Gowda expressed support for the Union Budget 2026-27 during a discussion in the Rajya Sabha. He praised its overall direction while calling for greater emphasis on employment, inclusive growth and regional priorities. Deve Gowda appreciated the budget's focus on economic reforms, tax simplification and structural changes intended to sustain growth in the face of global challenges.He, however, cautioned that growth by itself is not enough unless employment becomes the central concern of policy.The former PM pointed out that manufacturing and MSMEs can generate substantial jobs only when backed by strong skilling initiatives, local supporting ecosystems, affordable credit and predictable regulations.He asked whether succes...

Lucknow, Feb 11 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh's Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, on Wednesday criticised the state Budget 2026, alleging that it was aimed at "misleading and deceiving the public".Opposition leaders said the budget lacked vision, failed to address unemployment, and did not provide any concrete roadmap for farmers, workers, women, and youth. They also claimed that the government’s previous promises remained unfulfilled.Speaking to reporters, the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Mata Prasad Pandey, said: "Our response is that this is a deficit budget, and a deficit budget is not considered good. A good budget shows higher capital expenditure. Here, revenue expenditure is higher, and capital expenditure is low. Capital expenditure leads to asse...