Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Indian opposition lawmakers rally against Modi government

Share
NEW DELHI -

More than 100 Indian opposition lawmakers, including members of the Congress party, staged a protest march Thursday after the end of a parliamentary budget session that was marred by shouting and disruptions to proceedings amid a standoff with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

The demonstrators carried big national flags and chanted slogans warning that India's democracy is in danger, and accused Modi's administration of "misusing" government-run investigation agencies to intimidate opposition leaders.

They were blocked by police after walking a short distance from the Parliament building and forced to disperse. The opposition leaders from more than a dozen parties ended the protest with a news conference.

Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress party chief, criticized the disqualification of his party's leader, Rahul Gandhi, as a member of Parliament less than 24 hours after his conviction by a court in a defamation case.

Gandhi is expected to lead the opposition's challenge against Modi in the 2024 national elections. Gandhi challenged his conviction in an appeals court on Monday.

The court has suspended a two-year prison sentence for Gandhi following his appeal against a criminal conviction for mocking the prime minister's surname.

"The parliamentary budget session was a washout with the government getting the budget for 2023-24 approved within 12 minutes without a proper debate," said Kharge.

Law Minister Kiran Rijiju blamed the opposition for disrupting the parliamentary proceedings.

Meanwhile, Modi said his party would be voted to victory for a third straight five-year term "in next year's national elections given its popularity among people."

He told his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party workers celebrating the party's foundation day that Indian people backed the BJP for bringing in a new political culture, while opposition parties were mostly run by political families.

Gandhi said last month he was being targeted because he has raised serious questions about Modi's relationship with Gautam Adani, who heads the Adani Group.

Gandhi said the objective of his expulsion from Parliament was to prevent him from speaking in the legislature about his allegation of an infusion of an unaccounted $3 billion into shell companies owned by the Adani Group, headed by Gautam Adani.

India's top court recently ordered an expert committee to investigate any regulatory failures related to the Adani Group.

The investigation was prompted by allegations made by U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research in a report that accused Adani companies of engaging in market manipulation and other fraudulent practices.

Shares in the group's flagship, Adani Enterprises, and other affiliated companies have lost tens of billions of dollars in market value since Hindenburg issued its report.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.

The brother of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Scarborough over the weekend has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, say police.

The Royal Canadian Mint has introduced its latest Gold Maple Leaf bullion coin – made entirely from gold sourced from a single mine in northern Ontario

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.