BJP can’t reconcile to role of Opp: Azad

With the BJP kicking up a row everyday in Parliament, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed on Thursday that the party...

With the BJP kicking up a row everyday in Parliament, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed on Thursday that the party appeared unable to reconcile itself to the role of the Opposition. He said the BJP — when in government — appears to have different standards than when it forms the Opposition.

Azad recalled that whenever the Congress staged a walkout as an Opposition party, ‘‘we used to be given sermons’’. He said: ‘‘We were told so many hours and seconds of the House have been wasted. To the contrary, one can see how many days are being wasted over such small (to press for resignation of Coal Minister Shibu Soren) things.’’ He added: ‘‘Everyday issues are being manufactured.’’ The BJP, according to him, had either not allowed Parliament to function or staged walkouts throughout this week.

Call from PM calms storm over ‘dust’

NEW DELHI: The storm over the word ‘‘dust’’ has blown over. The BJP, which had kicked up a row over the issue on Wednesday, has decided not to precipitate the matter following a call by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee.

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Trouble began in the Lok Sabha when Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, in the course of his reply to the discussion on the budget, said he was ‘‘removing the dust’’ from the Rajiv Gandhi Mission. The BJP alleged that it was a derogatory reference to Jayprakash Narayan and Deen Dayal Upadhyay.

The party first staged a walkout and later convened a meeting of NDA MPs on Thursday to discuss the future strategy on the issue.

Sources in the BJP said Vajpayee told the NDA meeting that the PM had informed him that after the protest by Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani in the House on Wednesday, Chidambaram had said ‘‘sorry’’ for any misunderstanding caused by his statement. Though Advani maintained he did not hear Chidambaram say ‘‘sorry’’, the meeting decided not to press the issue any further.

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‘Unfortunate’: SC slams reports suggesting ‘pilot error’ led to Air India crash

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The Supreme Court Monday issued notice on a plea seeking an independent and expeditious investigation into the June 12, 2025, crash of an Air India Boeing Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, which killed 260 people. The bench also termed as “unfortunate” media reports which indicated that “pilot error” was to blame for the crash, purportedly quoting some preliminary findings by the AAIB.

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