Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar Wednesday said he will not tolerate any insult to Parliament and the post of vice president which he holds and expressed deep anguish over a Trinamool Congress MP mimicking him in the Parliament complex and a Congress leader videographing the act.
A political row broke out on Tuesday after Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee derisively mimicked Dhankhar during the opposition's protest on the stairs of Parliament against the MPs' suspension, drawing strong condemnation from the ruling BJP.
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day after repeated disruptions amid uproarious scenes as members of treasury and opposition benches traded charges on the Soros and Adani issues.
Saradha kingpin Sudipta Sen had alleged in his purported letter to the Central Bureau of Investigation that Kunal Ghosh and TMC Rajya Sabha member Srinjay Bose had blackmailed him, and he was forced to pay hefty amounts to them.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Modi should take inspiration from former prime minister Indira Gandhi and stand up to the president of the United States.
The INDIA bloc has 95 MPs in Rajya Sabha of which 45 were suspended on Monday.
As the government prepared to table the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha, its key partner Trinamool Congress on Wednesday indicated that it could act difficult as it had objections to the provision on setting up of Lokayuktas in states
Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said the first priority should be to hold a comprehensive and detailed discussion on the Manipur situation in Parliament, going by the fact that people have been killed and the chief minister himself has admitted that several such incidents have happened in the state.
This takes the number of suspended MPs in the Lok Sabha to 97.
Upset over the 'manner' in which the government got the Women's Reservation Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha, an angry Trinamool Congress on Tuesday accused it of buckling under Left pressure and not trusting its own ally.
Key United Progressive Alliance ally Trinamool Congress on Thursday night termed the developments in the Rajya Sabha while debating the Lokpal Bill as "orchestrated chaos" and a "black day" for democracy.
United Progressive Alliance on Wednesday projected a united picture on the eve of the Presidential poll with all constituents including Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and supporting parties attending a lunch hosted by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
Whether the age-old cry of kendrer banchana will be able to drown out pangs of Sandeshkhali, the EVM will tell.
Several leaders of the opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) have given a privilege notice against leader of the house in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal over his certain remarks against some opposition leaders.
Leaders from 26 opposition parties, in power individually or in alliance in Delhi and 10 states, are meeting in Bengaluru to discuss strategy to take on the Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday said a fair enquiry is being conducted regarding the stampede which took place at New Delhi railway station last month and said the government is implementing a slew of measures to avoid such incidents in the future.
Interacting with the Indian diaspora in Kuala Lumpur, Banerjee said, "We have been in talks with them (Pakistan) for decades, despite changes in various paradigms and governments. But one thing remains constant, the conflict with Pakistan."
Communist Party of India - Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury on Friday blamed the Congress-ed government and its allies for the chaos in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday night, which led to the adjournment of the House sine die without the passage of the Lokpal Bill. He lashed out at the Congress and its ally Trinamool congress for "engineering" a situation which made it impossible to transact any business.
While 30 of them were suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session, three were suspended pending the report of the Privileges Committee.
Trinamool Congress on Thursday said it will support the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha if it is brought without the clause about appointing Lokayuktas in the states.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien was suspended from the Rajya Sabha on Thursday for the remainder of the winter session of Parliament and the matter referred to the privileges committee as he did not leave the House even after repeated directions from Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Now, the total number of MPs suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session of Parliament stands at 14 -- 13 from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday called up Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee after which the key United Progressive Alliance ally decided to attend a meeting of the ruling coalition in Delhi on July 14.
An FIR has been filed against Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Kunal Ghosh, Saradha Group chairman Sudipta Sen and six others for non-payment of salaries to employees of a television channel run by the chit fund company.
A meeting of the Trinamool Congress parliamentary party has been convened in New Delhi on August six to finalise party's stand on the vice-presidential election slated for August seven.
With this, the total number of MPs suspended for unruly behaviour from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha stands at an unprecedented 146 since December 14.
Soon after the suspension of 33 opposition Lok Sabha MPs, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said all democratic norms have been thrown into the dustbin by this "autocratic" government and it has shown zero accountability towards Parliament.
The controversy over a Trinamool Congress member of Parliament mimicking Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar took political centrestage on Wednesday with the issue playing out both inside and outside Parliament and President Droupadi Murmu joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi in expressing dismay.
Senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh will now occupy front-row seats after their reallocation by the party.
Trinmool Congress MP Srinjoy Bose quit his party as well as his Rajya Sabha seat on Thursday.
Several opposition leaders on Monday wrote to the Rajya Sabha chairman claiming that Leader of Opposition in the House Mallikarjun Kharge was not accorded a seat commensurate with his position during the swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu.
Insisting that the decision to introduce Foreign Direct Investment in retail requires vigorous Parliamentary sanction, the Trinamool Congress on Wednesday accused the government of indulging in 'hoodwinking tactics' to claim that there was need for it.
"I have sent my resignation letter (to BJP)," Mitra, who is a senior journalist, said.
Modi is scheduled to reply to the debate on Thursday.
Kalyan Banerjee said that he did not intend to hurt anyone but did not offer any apology for the mimicry act which has been described by Dhankhar as an insult to the post of vice-president, the farmers and his own community.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asserted that she did not threaten junior doctors at state-run hospitals, who have been continuing cease-work for 21 days now to protest against the alleged rape and murder of a woman medic. Addressing a rally organised by the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad, Banerjee had on Wednesday urged the agitating junior doctors of Bengal to urgently consider returning to duty and said she doesn't want to lodge first information reports (FIRs) against the striking doctors in consideration of their future careers.
Trinamool Congress on Thursday demanded a probe by the Centre into the breakdown of two sluicegates of Farakka barrage, saying it has led to flow of excess water to Bangladesh causing severe power and drinking water crisis in West Bengal and neighbouring states.
e of them requires MPs to follow the norms including the Code of Ethics, which mandates them not to take gifts that may interfere with honest and impartial discharge of their official duties.
Elections to 10 Rajya Sabha seats, including those held by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien, will be held on July 24, the Election Commission (EC) said on Tuesday.
India's Parliament is set to begin its Budget session on Friday, with opposition parties poised to demand a discussion on the alleged mismanagement of the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, where 30 pilgrims died in a stampede. The opposition also accused the government of politicising parliamentary committees and pushing its agenda through its majority. The session will start with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both houses of Parliament. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Saturday for the eighth consecutive time.
