Congress attacks Sushma on Lalit Modi issue

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, along with party MPs, stage a dharna at the Parliament House on Friday.

The Congress and other Opposition members on Friday continued their protests against the suspension of 25 party MPs.

The Congress and other Opposition members continued their protests against the suspension of MPs from the Lok Sabha, on Friday. They staged a sit in dharna at the Parliament House.

 

As it happened:

3.40 p.m.: Lok Sabha fails to reconvene after lunch for want of quorum. Secretary General says it will meet after some time.

3.11 p.m.: Defence Ministry has started fresh cost negotiations with the US firm Sikorsky for purchase of 16 multi-role naval helicopters, Lok Sabha was told on Friday.

In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said 61 were martyred in 2012 and 54 in 2013. Read more

3.10 p.m.: Both Houses of Parliament today paid homage to the martyrs of freedom struggle on the eve of 73rd anniversary of the Quit India movement.

Government has decided that Aadhaar enrolment of Non-Resident Indians, Persons of Indian Origin and Overseas Citizen of India should be eventually allowed to help them authenticate their identity digitally. Read more

 

3.00 p.m.: Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day due to continued uproar by Congress members. Read more.

12: 05 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2:30 pm.

Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda informs Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the “government has not restarted consultation with any political party or other stake holder” on the bill which had lapsed following the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha. Read more

11: 45 am: CPI(M) protests at Parliament House demanding action against Shivraj Chouhan, Vasundhara Raje and Sushma Swaraj. 

There are only 2 Questions. First, whenever there is wrong doing or stealing- secrecy is maintained. Sushmaji maintained complete secrecy

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) August 7, 2015

No body other than Sushma ji in her entire Ministry knew what about it. After her intervention the UK Govt changed its decision

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) August 7, 2015

Secondly whenever there is a robbery, a financial transfer takes place. Here also a financial transfer took place

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) August 7, 2015

  11: 30 am: Rahul Gandhi takes a dig at Sushma Swaraj for making a speech in Lok Sabha 'when opposition was sitting outside'

 

11: 20 am: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 12 after noisy protests by Congress members who troop into the Well.

 

11: 10 am: "Sushmaji made a very eloquent but hollow speech," says Rahul Gandhi on the Union Minister's statement in Lok Sabha on Lalit Modi issue.

 

11 am: I would have done my best to help the lady but not by breaking the law: Sonia Gandhi on Sushma Swaraj's plea that she had not helped Lalit Modi but his cancer—stricken wife.

 

10: 50 am: Sushma Swaraj is an expert in theatrics, says Cong President Sonia Gandhi.

 

10:45 am: Congress vice-president Rahu Gandhi leads the protest.

 

10:30 am: Congress stages a sit in dharna at the Parliament House

Even as the government indicated that there would be no early adjournment of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the Congress continued its protest against the suspension of its MPs from the Lok Sabha Apprehending that the government would, in the absence of the Opposition try and clear Bills even in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress’s chief whip in the Upper House, Satyavrat Chaturvedi, issued a three-line whip to all party MPs to be present in the House.

Meanwhile, the Congress had termed as ‘emotional blackmail', the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's speech in the Lok Sabha that she had not interceded with the British on former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi’s behalf.