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BJP's 'Mission 360': Is the NDA 6 MPs short of a two-thirds majority?

India Today – Top Stories

1h ago

BJP's 'Mission 360': Is the NDA 6 MPs short of a two-thirds majority?

Summary

Ahead of Parliament's Monsoon Session beginning July 20, the BJP has stepped up what party insiders describe as its 'Mission 360' as the Narendra Modi government prepares to revive the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill on women's reservation and delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies while linking the two. The Bill failed to secure the required two-thirds majority during Parliament's three-day special session in April, prompting the ruling alliance to intensify efforts to shore up support before making another attempt. According to political sources, the BJP believes the changing political landscape could improve the government's prospects this time. While the ruling party has begun an extensive outreach exercise to strengthen its numbers in Parliament, the Congress and other Opposition parties have also stepped up consultations ahead of the session. Despite recent political churn involving the Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar's camp, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is still believed to be around six MPs short of the two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment. Against this backdrop, the BJP has convened an all-party meeting on July 19, with political observers closely watching whether the government seeks to build broader support for the proposed legislation. The BJP has stepped up its internal consultations ahead of the Monsoon Session. A senior BJP leader claimed that the DMK's political position may differ from that of the Congress on key issues. The DMK has reportedly distanced itself from the Congress in Parliament, even deciding to sit separately in the House, raising the BJP's expectations of issue-based support. If it secures the support of the 20 MPs of the NCPI, who broke away from the Trinamool Congress, and the 22 MPs of the DMK, the tally could rise to around 335.

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BJPs Mission Is the NDA MPs short of a twothirds majority

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Decision to hit Brazil with 25% tariffs becoming ‘election gift’ to President Lula, predecessor Bolsonaro tells US

(Bloomberg) — The US decision to hit Brazil with 25% tariffs renews a trade fight with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government just months ahead of elections, potentially influencing the outcome of a highly polarized race. While the Trump administration cited unfair trade practices for imposing tariffs on certain Brazilian goods from July 22, the impact may end up political with presidential elections due in October. Lula , as Brazil’s president is known, has successfully rallied public opinion behind him when faced with earlier US trade pressure. He is set to face off with right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who flew to the US earlier this month to testify against the trade penalties then under consideration, saying they’d only help the leftist leader’s re-election bid. “The proposed tariffs would reward the very offenders they are meant to punish,” Bolsonaro wrote in his submission to the Office of the US Trade Representative. Those appeals from the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro , an ally of Donald Trump, appear to have been set aside during the US investigation. Brazilian business groups have already started criticizing the measure, warning it could deal a significant blow to the country’s exporters. The yearlong inquiry “found a number of Brazil’s practices to be unreasonable and discriminatory, restricting the competitive position of American farmers, workers, innovators, and exporters,” the Office of the US Trade Representative said in a post on X late Wednesday. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the action was necessary “to address these unfair trade practices to ensure American workers and companies can compete on a level playing field.” The US remains open to negotiations to address the issues identified, he said in a statement. On Monday, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice barred Flávio Bolsonaro from visiting his father for 90 days, effectively preventing any visits until after the first round of October’s election. Stay updated with the latest Trending , India , World and US news.

General U.S. News47m ago

Mafia law gives Italian families right to break free from a life of crime

Wives and children offered new identities to try to stop gangsters recruiting down the generations Children and young adults raised in mafia families will be given a chance to break away from organised crime under new legislation in Italy that aims to stop the inter-generational recruitment of gangsters. In an unprecedented effort to sever the family chain, the Italian state will offer children aged under 25 and other close relatives of mafia bosses a chance to start over: a new home in another city, a new school and, if necessary, a new identity. On Wednesday, the ‘free to choose’ bill won final approval in the senate. “Today, parliament is translating into law a dream that for years seemed impossible,” said Chiara Colosimo, the president of the parliamentary anti-mafia commission. About 400 children born into mafia families are expected to enter the programme each year, according to Colosimo. In many Italian mafia clans, power is passed from one generation to the next. While hereditary succession is not a fixed rule in Sicily’s Cosa Nostra or in the Neapolitan Camorra, it is deeply embedded in the culture of the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, one of the world’s most powerful criminal organisations, where the son of a boss is often expected to inherit his father’s position as the head of the clan. These blood ties have long made the ’Ndrangheta exceptionally difficult to penetrate and largely resistant to the system of pentiti – former mafia members who choose to cooperate with the authorities. For many, confessing the crimes of their clan would mean betraying not only fellow gangsters, but their own fathers, grandfathers and uncles. Despite sweeping arrests and a succession of maxi trials involving hundreds of defendants, the organisation has proved remarkably resilient. If the mother remains involved with the clan, children are placed with vetted foster families or, where necessary, in protected care homes, where they receive education and psychological support. “Today, we don’t just celebrate the approval of a law; today, we celebrate the victory of freedom,” said Luigi Ciotti, an anti-mafia priest and campaigner who voiced “enormous joy for a law protecting those who leave mafia environments”. “It is the right law,” said Salvatore Vella, the chief prosecutor in Gela, Sicily, one of the island’s historic criminal strongholds. “It recognises that defeating the mafia is not just about policing, but also about culture and the social environment.” Of course, challenges remain. “I worry it risks remaining largely on paper,” Vella said, warning that the new law placed responsibility for providing safe housing, financial support and, where necessary, new identities on the state’s beleaguered central protection service. “Without additional funding, staff and specialist support, I fear it will struggle to deliver, especially when Italy’s local social services are already overstretched.”

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BJP's 'Mission 360': Is the NDA 6 MPs short of a two-thirds majority?

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