NEW DELHI: Indian lawmakers begin taking their oaths Monday as parliament opens after an election setback forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi into a coalition government for the first time in a decade.
Expected in the first session, which will run until July 3, is a preview of Modi’s plans for his third term and the likely formal appointment of Rahul Gandhi as leader of the opposition — a post vacant since 2014.
Modi’s first two terms in office followed landslide wins for his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), allowing his government to drive laws through parliament with only cursory debate.
But now analysts expect the 73-year-old Modi to moderate his Hindu-nationalist agenda to assuage his coalition partners, focusing more on infrastructure, social welfare and economic reforms.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Monday called for a “peaceful and productive” session, but Indian media said they expected lively debate with a far stronger opposition.
“All set to spar,” one headline in the Hindustan Times read Monday.
“Resurgent opposition set to push government,” the Indian Express front page added.
Rahul Gandhi, 54, defied analyst expectations to help his Congress party nearly double its parliamentary numbers, its best result since Modi was swept to power a decade ago.
Gandhi is the scion of a dynasty that dominated Indian politics for decades and is the son, grandson and great-grandson of former prime ministers, beginning with independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru.
Parliamentary regulations require the opposition leader to come from a party that commands at least 10 percent of the lawmakers in the 543-seat lower house.
The post has been vacant for 10 years because two dismal election results for Congress — once India’s dominant party — left it short of that threshold.
The parliamentary session will start with newly elected lawmakers taking their oaths over the first two days.
Many will be watching if two lawmakers elected from behind bars, bitter opponents of Modi, will be allowed to join.
One is Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh, a firebrand preacher arrested last year after a month-long police manhunt in Punjab state.
The second is Sheikh Abdul Rashid, a former state legislator in Indian-administered Kashmir.
It is unclear if either will be granted bail to attend the ceremony in person.
Modi’s decade as premier has seen him cultivate an image as an aggressive champion of the country’s majority Hindu faith, worrying minorities including the country’s 200-million-plus Muslim community.
But his BJP won only 240 seats in this year’s poll, 32 short of a majority in the lower house — its worst showing in a decade.
It has left the BJP reliant on a motley assortment of minor parties to govern.
Modi has kept key posts unchanged in this government and the cabinet remains dominated by the BJP.
That includes BJP loyalists Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S. Jaishankar — the defense, interior, transport, finance and foreign ministers, respectively, staying on in their jobs.
But out of his 71-member government, 11 posts went to coalition allies who extracted them in exchange for their support — including five in the top 30 cabinet posts.
Many will also be eying the election of the speaker, a powerful post overseeing the running of the lower house, with lawmakers slated to vote on Wednesday.
Coalition allies covet the post, but others suggest Modi will put forward a candidate from his BJP.
India’s Modi to lay out third-term plans as parliament meets
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India’s Modi to lay out third-term plans as parliament meets
- Narendra Modi’s first two terms in office followed landslide wins for his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party
- Analysts expect the 73-year-old leader to moderate his Hindu-nationalist agenda to assuage his coalition partners
Trump eyes anti-drug operations in Mexico, Colombia as Venezuela looms -Politico
- The Republican president also told Politico that he could extend anti-drug military operations to Mexico and Colombia
- “They’re weak,” Trump told Politico, referring to Europe’s political leaders
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump continued his threats of land strikes against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers in an interview published on Tuesday as Trump administration officials prepared to brief top US lawmakers amid mounting tensions.
The Republican president also told Politico that he could extend anti-drug military operations to Mexico and Colombia, speaking in a wide-ranging interview that also took aim at Europe, including another call for Ukrainian elections and support for Hungary’s leader.
His comments, in an interview conducted Monday, reiterated much of his world view after releasing a sweeping US strategy roadmap last week seeking to reframe the country’s global role.
That National Security Strategy described a nation focused on reasserting itself in the Western Hemisphere while warning Europe that it must change course or face “erasure.”
“They’re weak,” Trump told Politico, referring to Europe’s political leaders. “They want to be so politically correct.”
“They don’t know what to do,” he added. “Europe doesn’t know what to do.”
In the Americas, Trump repeatedly declined to rule out sending American troops into Venezuela as part of an effort to bring down President Nicolas Maduro, saying he did not want to discuss military strategy: “I don’t want to rule in or out.”
Asked if he would consider using force against targets in other countries where the drug trade is highly active, including Mexico and Colombia, he said: “I would.”
Later on Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected to brief congressional leaders and the heads of Congress’ intelligence panels, sources told Reuters.
The briefing follows a months-long military campaign against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that has come under intense scrutiny following a September 2 decision to launch a second strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean.
“WEAK” EUROPE
A spokesperson for the European Commission, asked about Trump’s comments, defended the bloc’s leaders and said the region remained committed to their union despite challenges such as Russia’s war in Ukraine and Trump’s tariff policies.
“I will refrain from commenting, other than confirming that we are very pleased and grateful to have excellent leaders,” EU Spokesperson Paula Pinho said at a daily briefing for journalists, adding that they were “leading the EU with all the challenges that it is facing, from trade to war in our neighborhood, and who are showing that they can be united.”
In his interview, Trump again said he thought it was time for Ukraine to hold elections as the war nears its four-year mark. Ukraine is expected to share a revised peace plan with the US later on Tuesday, one day after hastily arranged talks with European leaders.
He also said he did not offer a financial lifeline to the government of ally Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who met with Trump last month at the White House.
“No, I didn’t promise him, but he certainly asked for it,” he said.
