10 members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Parliament, including two union ministers who emerged victorious in the assembly elections, resigned from the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, according to persons familiar with the situation.

Following their meetings with BJP President JP Nadda and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ten MPs tendered their resignations. They went to the speaker’s office with the party president in tow, where nine MPs tendered their resignation. Kirori Lal Meena, the 10th MP, tendered his resignation to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

In Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, state elections were won by 12 MPs, according to a BJP leader.

The ten MPs who have resigned are: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Diya Kumari, Kirori Lal Meena (a member of the Rajya Sabha); Arun Sao and Gomti Sai from Chhattisgarh; and Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel, Rakesh Singh, Uday Pratap Singh, and Riti Pathak from Madhya Pradesh.

Baba Balaknath, a Lok Sabha MP from Rajasthan, and Renuka Singh, a Chhattisgarh native who was elected as the union minister of state for tribal affairs, have not yet tendered their resignations.

The responsibility for agriculture is held by Narendra Singh Tomar, while the state minister for food processing and Jal Shakti is Prahlad Patel.

The fourth minister the BJP fielded in the state elections, Faggan Singh Kulaste, is the minister of state for steel and rural development, however he was unable to win the assembly seat.

These Members of Parliament are expected to tender their resignations, and there have been rumours of a potential reorganisation within the Union Council of Ministers.

In July 2021, the Union Council underwent its most recent major restructuring with the appointment of 43 ministers, comprising 36 new members. The most recent alteration occurred in May when Kiren Rijiju was replaced as law minister by Arjun Ram Meghwal, a minister of state. The position of minister for earth sciences was given to Rijiju.

DMK MP DNV Senthilkumar S expressed regret over the controversial remark made in Parliament yesterday while targeting the Bharatiya Janta Party and said he was withdrawing his statement. He had apologized for his comments on social media. He took to X (formerly twitter) and wrote commenting on the results of the five state elections, he did not use a word in an appropriate way. Not using that term with any intent, he apologized for sending the wrong meaning across.

He said in the Lok Sabha the statement made by him yesterday inadvertently, if it had hurt the sentiments of the members and sections of the people, he would like to withdraw it. He requested the words to be deleted and he regret it. The ruling BJP termed at as disrespect of the Sanatani tradition and objected to this type of language in the parliament. Opposition leaders including Rajiv Shukla Congress MP’s Karti Chidambaram also condemned the statement.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore said they condemned what the DMK MP had said. He said what the Alliance partner is speaking cannot be attatched to Congress. He said the Congress stands for India and respects all religions. He further added this is a planned conspiracy by the BJP to stop the functioning of the parliament and divert its focus from the real issues.  The remarks were deleted from the DMK MP’s speech by Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla.

The third day of the 2023 Winter session started with shouts of Maafi Mango from BJP MPs even before the speaker started the proceedings of the day in Lok Sabha. Union Minister Piyush Goyal sought an apology from DMK MP TR Baalu for Kumar’s comments in the House. He said Baalu should apologise first. He asked how will the House function like this? Goyal asked how can any person say anything in this house and go? He demanded an apology from the DMK MP.

Following intense rain in Andhra Pradesh and flooding in Chennai, Cyclone Michaung made landfall yesterday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the powerful cyclonic storm that developed in the Bay of Bengal subsided into a depression.

After a lot of rain and flooding, Chennai came to a complete stop. The city was one of the worst hit areas by the cyclone, with 17 fatalities connected to rain-related mishaps.

According to Greater Chennai Police, up to ten cases of electrocution and drowning have been reported, and medical attention has been given.

The Tamil Nadu administration, according to DMK MP Kanimozhi, is better equipped to handle the crisis than it was in 2015, when unceasing rains triggered flooding in Chennai.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, said that the Rs 4,000 crore stormwater drain investment was essential in mitigating the effects of the 47-year high rainfall.

According to DR J Radhakrishnan, Commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation, water is being pumped out of numerous flooded low-lying districts and food and other relief supplies are being airdropped into Chennai.

In low-lying locations, 300 boats have been sent by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) along with additional personnel. According to Dr. J. Radhakrishnan, about 5,000 government employees from different districts would assist with the rescue effort.

According to the India Meteorological Department, the cyclone in Andhra Pradesh subsided into a depression and is currently heading north.

Across the next six hours, it is predicted to move northward across Andhra Pradesh and deteriorate even more into a clearly defined low-pressure system.

Chennai’s colleges and schools were told to stay closed today, and the city’s 80% power supply has been restored. Numerous city dwellers struggled with blackouts and lost mobile service.

A number of important routes, including Kamarajal Sarai, Cathedral, Pondy Bazaar, Dams, RK Salai, and Anna Salai Road, are now open for traffic. Roads are being cleared of water logging, according to the Greater Chennai police, but traffic is moving slowly.