Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal tied the knot recently. They had an intimate wedding ceremony on June 23 followed by a star-studded reception in Mumbai. Their wedding came amidst rumours of disagreements among Sonakshi’s family with her interfaith marriage. However, the couple has shared a note about love, laughter and togetherness. They also shared new swoon-worthy photos.

Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal exude royalty in new photos from their wedding. Sonakshi can be seen dressed in a red bridal saree. Meanwhile, Zaheer wore a white sherwani. The loved-up pictures are sure to melt hearts.

The caption reads, “Whattttt a day!!!! The love, the laughter, the togetherness, the excitement, the warmth, the support from every one of our friends, families and teams… it was like the universe came together for two people in love to give them exactly what they’ve always hoped, wished and prayed for. If this is not divine intervention… we dont know what is. We are both truly blessed to have each other and so much love protecting us.”

Check it out here:

The election of the Speaker, due tomorrow, might be slanted in favour of the government the way the numbers are stacked up, but Union Home Minister Amit Shah is not letting grass grow under his feet. Mr Shah held a meeting of MPs and party leaders of the ruling alliance this evening and asked them to reach parliament by 10.30 tomorrow morning. Attendance is mandatory.

The election of the Speaker — a first in Independent India — will take place at 11 am. Till date, a Speaker has been chosen by consensus.

But the Opposition, energised by their numbers in the Lok Sabha, has refused to accept the government’s brush-off on the issue of the Pro Tem Speaker and the Deputy Speaker’s post.

The Opposition initially expected Mr Suresh to be the Pro Tem Speaker — a post that goes to the seniormost member of the House. Then the government made it clear that they are not considering a Deputy Speaker post, or the Opposition’s claim to it, for now.

With 10 minutes to go before the deadline today, the Congress filed papers fielding Mr Suresh against the BJP’s choice — Rajasthan MP Om Birla, who was the Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha as well.

The numbers, as they stand now, does not favour the Opposition. The Speaker is elected by a simple majority of MPs present and voting. The NDA can expect 293 votes to the Opposition bloc’s 232.

To that end, Mr Shah held a meeting which was attended by Bihar allies Chirag Paswan, JItam Ram Manjhi and a few others.

Most Opposition parties, too, have issued whips to ensure there is no absenteeism. A meeting will be held at the house of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge this evening, which the Trinamool Congress, initially miffed about not being consulted for the big step, will attend.

Union minister Kiren Rijiju, who handles the Parliamentary Affairs portfolio, issued a last appeal for a consensus candidate.  

“For the last two days, we have been in contact with main Opposition parties, talked to their floor leaders regarding the post of Speaker. Since the Independence, there has not been an election for Speaker post. We want speaker to be elected unopposed and through consensus,”he told reporters.
.
The Congress and its leaders had joined the NDA meeting, he said, but wanted an immediate decision on the deputy Speaker.

“We appealed to them to support the Speaker candidate but they demanded Deputy Speaker post. We said it is not right to conduct election for both Speaker and Deputy Speaker posts together. We want Speaker with consensus and then we will talk about Deputy Speaker,” he said.

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi has alleged that though Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks of constructive support from the Opposition, he “does not want any constructive cooperation”.

As example, he said Union minister Rajnath Singh – tasked to build consensus on the Speaker post – did not call Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, which is “an insult to our leader”.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi’s remarks after taking his oath as a Lok Sabha member sparked a massive political controversy today. Following his oath – that he took in Urdu – he expressed solidarity with the conflict-affected region of Palestine, praised his state, Telangana, and raised the AIMIM’s slogan for Muslims.

The epilogue by the five-time Hyderabad MP led to strong reactions from members of the treasury benches, prompting the chair to strike it off from the official record.

BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, the presiding officer at the time, assured members that any statements beyond the formal oath would not be recorded. Pro tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab also confirmed that only the oath or affirmation was being officially noted.

Mr Owaisi, however, defended his remarks while talking to reporters outside Parliament: “Other members are also saying different things. I said ‘Jai Bheem, Jai Meem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine’. How is it wrong? Tell me the provision of Constitution. You should also listen to what others said. I said what I had to. Read what Mahatma Gandhi had said about Palestine.”

When he was asked the reason for mentioning Palestine, Mr Owaisi explained, “They are oppressed people”.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje has written to the Home Minister’s office objecting to his speech and seeking action in the matter. She also requested the pro tem Speaker to ask Mr Owaisi to take the oath once again.

In a similar incident in Rajya Sabha earlier this year, AAP’s Swati Maliwal was instructed by the  Chairman to retake the oath as she raised a slogan while reading out the oath.

Mr Owaisi was among the remaining MPs who took their oath today, following a total of 262 newly elected MPs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who did so on Monday, the inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also took oath today, holding up a copy of the Constitution in his hand.

The new controversy coincides with an ongoing row about naming the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The BJP’s efforts to reach a consensus over the reappointment of Om Birla as the Speaker failed this morning as the INDIA bloc decided to nominate eight-time MP K Suresh for the post.

This will be the first time that elections are held for the Speaker of the lower house, as traditionally the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker have been elected by consensus between the ruling party and the opposition.