Many alliance leaders supported West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee’s willingness to lead the INDIA bloc. 

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and former Union minister Lalu Prasad Yadav also supported Mamata Banerjee, saying that the leadership should be entrusted to her, adding that any objections from the Congress are inconsequential.

When asked about the Congress’ reservation to accept her as the opposition bloc leader, Lalu Prasad said that the Congress’s opposition will not make any difference and she should be allowed to lead the INDIA bloc.

Previously, Lalu Prasad’s son and senior RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had said he had no objection to any senior leader of the INDIA bloc, including Banerjee, leading the coalition, but emphasized that the decision must be reached through consensus.

Furthermore, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said Mamata Banerjee’s offer to lead the INDIA alliance is important, recognising her past contributions. The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said that whatever stand is taken, the INDIA alliance will make the decision collectively. She added that the proposal put forth by Mamata Banerjee that she is ready to lead the bloc is an important suggestion, and that they believe that her contribution in history has been significant.

Earlier on Friday, Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee expressed dissatisfaction with the functioning of the opposition INDIA bloc and indicated her willingness to lead it if given the opportunity. The West Bengal Chief Minister said that she was capable of handling both the responsibilities of leading the opposition front and continuing her role as the chief minister of West Bengal.

Additionally, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule also expressed that they would be happy if TMC chief Mamata Banerjee takes on a greater role within the opposition alliance. She said that the West Bengal chief minister is an integral part of the INDIA alliance.

Meanwhile, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh slammed the INDIA bloc for lacking coherence and being burdened by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Both the House of the Parliament was adjourned hours ahead of the scheduled close after a raucous stand-off between the ruling BJP and a bloc of opposition MPs over allegations of links between Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and media houses and think-tanks funded by businessman George Soros.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were suspended for the day, but not before Speaker Om Birla warned MPs of dishonouring the House. The speaker said that India is the largest democracy in the world and it fulfills the hopes and aspirations of over a billion people.   He added that they have to maintain dignity, mentioning that he has seen things happening that are not good.

He maintained that be it members from the opposition or the ruling party, everyone should maintain dignity and work in such a way that a positive message goes out of this temple of democracy.

He stated that agreements and disagreements are part of a healthy democracy, and urged both sides to sit across the table and resolve their differences amicably.

Notably, Om Birla’s reprimand came after opposition MPs, who are demanding discussions on various issues, including the BJP’s Soros-Sonia Gandhi allegations, refused to allow the start of Question Hour.

Meanwhile, in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress-led INDIA bloc has moved a vote of no-confidence in Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar, alleging partisan functioning of the House.

Reportedly, the notice with over 50 signatures from the Congress, Bengal’s ruling Trinamool, the Aam Aadmi Party of Arvind Kejriwal, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, Tamil Nadu’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal of Lalu Yadav was submitted to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

The notice was submitted after chaos in both Houses as BJP MPs and those from the opposition clashed over various issues, including alleged links between Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and businessman George Soros – prompted Parliament to adjourn for the day.

The BJP MPs accused their rivals of not allowing Parliament to function but the opposition hit back by declaring they were not being allowed to raise important issues, like violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal over the survey of a mosque and farmers’ Minimum Support Price protests.

The Centre has appointed Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Sanjay Malhotra will take charge from Wednesday for three years, the Centre said in a statement. He will take on the prestigious role for a period of three years.

He is a 1990-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Rajasthan cadre. Malhotra is a Computer Science graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and has a Master’s in Public Policy from Princeton University, US. In his 33 years career, Sanjay Malhotra has worked in several sectors including power, finance and taxation, information technology, and mines.

Before being appointed as Revenue Secretary, he was Secretary in the Department of Financial Services. As per the information on the Department of Revenue Website, Sanjay Malhotra has extensive experience in finance and taxation at the state as well as the central government. Reportedly, Sanjay Malhotra played an instrumental role in tax policy formulation for direct and indirect taxes.

Sanjay Malhotra succeeds Shaktikanta Das, whose tenure will end on December 10, Tuesday. He was appointed the 25th Governor of the RBI on December 12, 2018, after the abrupt exit of his predecessor Urjit Patel. Shaktikanta Das was granted an extension after completing his three-year term in office.

After taking charge of the RBI, Saktikanta Das provided confidence to the market shaken by the sudden resignation of Urjit Patel amid a tussle between the RBI and the government over the issue of surplus transfer. 

Shaktikanta Das, who is a retired 1980-batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, served as the economic affairs secretary, revenue secretary and fertiliser secretary. Furthermore, he is also India’s Alternate Governor in the World Bank, ADB, NDB & AIIB. 

Additionally, in the Tamil Nadu government, he has also served as the principal secretary (industries), special commissioner (revenue), and secretary (revenue).