The less charitable in the party say he owes his appointment Sonia Gandhi -- the family wanted someone who wouldn't talk back and would not exert himself too much, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Former PM Manmohan Singh and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also paid their tributes.
Veteran actor Mohan Joshi, Dasmodar Ganesh Bapat, who is working towards eradication of leprosy, and L Subadani Devi, Manipur-based weaver, were among those presented with Padma Shri.
Both Houses have been witnessing a ruckus over the Rafale fighter jet deal and Cauvery river issue, among other matters.
The first sitting of the 16th Lok Sabha on Wednesday will be adjourned for the day after paying tributes to Union minister Gopinath Munde who died in a road mishap on Tuesday.
A 10-time Lok Sabha MP, Chatterjee was a central committee member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, which he had joined in 1968. He was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009.
Exasperated by continued protests, a peeved Lok Sabha speaker on Friday directed her officials to note down the names of Congress members crowding the well.
"There will be some challenges" in the switchover to GST in the short term, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has warned.
Members of Parliament on Sunday bid adieu to outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee.
As soon as the House met for the day, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, without specifying the subjects, said she has disallowed all notices of adjournment of question hour.
A total of 13 motions were moved in support of Birla.
The Opposition accused the government of bringing a populist budget.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has written to all MPs appealing to them to maintain discipline and decorum of the House and refrain from rushing to the well.
The resolution asserted that the House "is of the firm and considered view that there cannot be any compromise on unity, integrity and national security.
Mann, who is often criticised by political opponents for "excessive drinking," hopes to shun liquor for the rest of his life.
Finance Minister Arun Jailtey's time table on Budget day.
With Congress raising the pitch on the issue of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Monday said she was ready to discuss the issue with the party if approached.
Upping the ante on the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition issue, Congress and its allies on Monday said they will write to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan seeking an immediate decision in the matter.
The Budget session of the 16th Lok Sabha will begin in the second week of July, revealed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday.
Sources said the Cabinet at its meeting on Thursday is expected to finalise the schedule for the session, the first after the Narendra Modi government has taken over.
Issues including the Rafale deal, construction of Ram Temple and Cauvery river water caused disruptions in the House.
The Lok Sabha session was on Wednesday brought to a sudden end, two days before the scheduled culmination of the session during which the budgetary exercise was the highlight.
He also said his opponents may hate him, call him 'Pappu' but he has no anger, hatred against the PM and the BJP.
Recent attacks on religious places led to a verbal clash in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
So strong and caustic was the PM's reprimand, sources say that Singh broke down as the former looked on. But Singh denied it.
The controversial Land Ordinance was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday by Union Minister of State for Skill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
In a bid to break the logjam in Parliament over demonetisation, the government on Wednesday reached out to the opposition with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar holding talks with Congress and TMC leaders.
PM Modi offered a glass of water to Aam AAP member Bhagwant Mann, who was protesting in Lok Sabha against the CBI raids on Delhi government secretariat.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will also hold a meeting with leaders of all political parties on Wednesday evening to seek their cooperation in proper functioning of the House.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said the session has been "more productive and satisfactory" than the previous Budget Session and last year's monsoon session.
Passage of the long-pending Goods and Services Tax bill and a unanimous resolution on Kashmir were the highlights of the "highly productive" Monsoon session of Parliament which was adjourned sine die on Friday after 20 sittings.
The MP said that while travelling in the flight, he noticed "carelessness and substandard" service of Air India and requested for a complaint book, but despite his frequent requests he was not provided the complaint book, instead the staffer misbehaved with him.
"There is a need for complete overall of the security system in the Parliament complex on a priority basis," a senior Home ministry official said.
TDP's Kesineni Srinivas would move his motion as his party was the first to raise it
It's been 15 straight days that opposition parties have created a ruckus, forcing adjournment of proceedings.
The Speaker of Lok Sabha in a two-page letter said that people had great expectations from MPs and had reposed their faith in them.
An Indian parliamentary delegation, led by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, dissociated itself from the 'Bali Declaration'.
The ongoing row over the UPSC issue saw disruption of Parliamentary proceedings on Tuesday as opposition parties demanded a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a joint parliamentary committee to look into the matter besides a discussion on it.
The enquiry committee has been asked to file its report by August 3 and Mann has been asked to make a statement on Tuesday at 10:30 am.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances