Sumitra Mahajan on Tuesday took over as the minister of state for petroleum and natural gas.
Veteran doctor and educationist from Karnataka Belle Monappa Hegde and archaeology legend B B Lal were also given the Padma Vibhushan awards.
Sumitra Mahajan, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and one of the most experienced Parliamentarians, looks set to be the next Lok Sabha Speaker. According to sources, the 71-year-old leader from Madhya Pradesh has been sounded by party chief Rajnath Singh about the new assignment.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sumitra Mahajan will be the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha with senior leaders from all parties, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, moving motions on Thursday proposing her name for the high office.
Eight-term member Sumitra Mahajan was on Friday unanimously elected Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha, becoming the second woman presiding officer of the Lower House after her predecessor Meira Kumar.
Mahajan, who turns 76 next week, said there had been speculations whether the party will field someone who has crossed the 75-year age bar.
The panel, headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, had called Patkar to hear her views on the implementation and effectiveness of the land acquisition law enacted by Parliament when the Congress-led UPA government was in power in 2013.
Mahajan is the first woman MP to win a record eight consecutive elections. In 2014, she had defeated her nearest rival, Satyanarayan Patel of the Congress, by a staggering margin of 4,66,901 votes.
Irked by frequent disruptions from senior members, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Tuesday advised them to desist from it as they would present a bad example before the newly elected members of Parliament.
The purchase of a Rs 48.25 lakh swanky Jaguar XE as the new official car for Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has raised eyebrows with the opposition Congress on Friday asking her to reconsider using the luxury vehicle.
With strained government-opposition ties marring the functioning of previous Lok Sabha, new Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Friday said creating 'coordination' among parties will be her top priority and she will be 'gentle but firm' to ensure smooth proceedings.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said that the date of Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya should be celebrated as "Pratishtha Dwadashi" as it marks the "true independence" of India, which faced "parachakra" (enemy attack) for several centuries. Bhagwat said that the Ram temple movement was not started to oppose anyone, but to awaken the "self" (swa) of Bharat so that the country could stand on its own feet and show the path to the world. He also said that the invaders destroyed temples of the country so that the "self" of India also perishes.
Forty years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, 377 tons of hazardous waste has been shifted from the defunct Union Carbide factory for its disposal, an official said.
Polling in Indore, where the Congress is out of race after its candidate withdrew his nomination, is scheduled on May 13.
All the action on the third stting of the 16 Lok Sabha.
A day after his release on interim bail, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging he was on a 'One nation, One leader' mission to impose 'dictatorship' by putting all leaders from opposition behind bars and 'politically finishing off' those in the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, asserted on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will complete his full term if elected to power, refuting the Aam Aadmi Party's claim that Modi wants Shah to succeed him after turning 75 next year.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal mounted a blazing campaign in the hot summer after he was released from the Tihar jail on interim bail on May 10, drawing huge crowds at rallies and roadshows, but it proved insufficient to propel his Aam Aadmi Party past the Bharartiya Janata Party challenge in the national capital.
The BJP's top leadership will drop its MPs found to be facing anti-incumbency, according to its internal surveys -- a pivotal tactic to ensure the party achieves its target of winning 370 seats.
The BJP could ask at least a dozen of its 92 Rajya Sabha MPs, particularly those who have served more than one term, to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
While about 8,000 people are in the long list of invitees, the select list features 506 A-listers, including prominent politicians, leading industrialists, top film stars, sportspersons, diplomats, judges and high priests.
The 'Pran Pratishtha' of the idol of Ram Lalla -- the childhood form of Lord Ram -- will be attended by people from all walks of life, including representatives of major spiritual and religious sects of the country and of various tribal communities and prominent personalities.
Modi, attired in traditional dhoti and gamcha (stole), entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Lord Mahakal temple at around 6 pm.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will deliver the farewell address
What some of our leaders were up to on Monday and Tuesday.
The facility has been made available at 19 places in Parliament, including canteens for MPs and media as well as in the Central Hall.
Watch all the the debates and proceedings.
Proceedings of the lower house are likely to be disrupted over suspension of 6 MPs by the speaker.
Congress leader sought stern action against the BJP MP.
"Is it any surprise that the new Parliament is being consecrated with typically false narratives from WhatsApp University? The BJP-RSS distorians stand exposed yet again with maximum claims, minimum evidence," Congress general secretary communications Ramesh said in his tweet.
Union minister Babul Supriyo on Tuesday tied the knot with his girlfriend Rachna Sharma.
Catch all the action from the Monsoon session of Parliament, LIVE
The govt and the opposition are set for a showdown in Parliament's monsoon session.
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned on Monday amid protests by Opposition members, over the issue of Kerala CM Chandy being reportedly asked not to attend a function.
The govt and the opposition appeared set for a showdown in Parliament's monsoon session.
The president also pitched for simultaneous elections to Parliament and state assemblies, saying there was a need to discuss and build a consensus among all parties on the possibility of holding simultaneous polls.
Bihar lawmaker and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav threw paper confetti at Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Friday.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday met President Pranab Mukherjee in the backdrop of the UPA pitching for Leader of Opposition status for her party in Lok Sabha.
In a five-page written reply to the nine-member committee led by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirit Somaiya, the Sangrur MP stated that he had made no mistake, while citing some of the earlier incidents to buttress his claims.
Anguished by repeated protests and a Trinamool Congress member telling her that she was "not the Speaker of Narendra Modi", Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday pulled up some members for their conduct, telling them bluntly that if they failed to maintain the dignity of the Chair, it is a "more serious matter".
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