Counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections has begun across states and Union Territories, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told PTI.
The Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution there.
West Bengal minister Jakir Hossain was seriously injured after unidentified attackers hurled a crude bomb at him on Nimtita railway station in Murshidabad district on Wednesday night, police said.
The BJP accused Congress members of bringing "shame" to Lok Sabha with their "unruly" conduct in the House.
This is the first bill passed by the Lower House of Parliament in the Winter session, which began on Monday.
The bypoll on September 5 is also a litmus test for all three political outfits, with the BJP hoping to check its erosion in its vote share and retain the seat, the TMC aiming to wrest the tribal-dominated assembly segment and the CPI(M)-Congress alliance hoping to regain its traditional seat.
The opposition parties are seeking the President's intervention in the matter, claiming that violence in the BJP-ruled northeastern state is continuing unabated.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday warned members against referring to anyone's caste and religion in the House after a Congress MP alleged that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made certain remarks about his proficiency in Hindi because he belonged to a lower caste.
The winter session of Parliament normally starts from last week of November or first week of December.
The Opposition also seems to be in a disarray as far as floor coordination is concerned with no meeting held to discuss the strategy to corner the government on key issues.
As many as 11 Lok Sabha MPs of the Congress have written to Speaker Om Birla against the "unethical conduct" of BJP parliamentarians Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Subrat Pathak and Bhola Singh of sharing a distorted and fake video of Rahul Gandhi that could pose a threat to the country's social fabric and demanded swift intervention.
Replying to the debate on the bill, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that funds are needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and "charity should begin from home".
Mukherjee's mortal remains were brought to his residence, 10, Rajaji Marg, earlier on Tuesday from the army hospital where he breathed his last on Monday.
Minister of State for Home R P N Singh on Friday defended fellow Congressman Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, saying the minister of state for railways has said that the protests in Murshidabad were peaceful.
This was a rare instance when Gandhi raised an issue during the Zero Hour.
FHe is the only one among 17 ministers from the outgoing council of ministers who lost the Lok Sabha polls to be reappointed minister.
Sixteen former ministers of the United Progressive Alliance government are staying unauthorised in government bungalows for over a month now and have been served eviction notices, the Lok Sabha was told on Wednesday.
In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the Union law ministry rejected the petitioner's claim that the two election commissioners were hastily appointed on March 14 to "pre-empt" the orders of the top court the next day, when the matters challenging the 2023 law were listed for hearing on interim relief.
Sources said senior leaders of the party have been told to reach out to other leaders of the alliance and talks with some parties have begun.
Meanwhile, the government accused the Congress on Thursday of instigating violence in the northeast.
Kharge termed the high-level committee constituted by the Centre to examine the feasibility of 'One Nation, One Election' a 'gimmick' and alleged the Modi government wants to slowly replace democracy in India with dictatorship.
Thirty-five of the 77 Union ministers have failed to file annual details of their assets and liabilities before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh even over a month after the passage of the deadline.
TMC sources said their leaders Derek O' Brien and Sudip Bandyopadhyay are unlikely to attend the interaction.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice while the opposition parties staged a walkout in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, voicing their protest against the increase in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas LPG.
In a historic transition, the Parliament moved into a swanky new complex on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging MPs to forget all past bitterness and start a new chapter and the introduction of the women's reservation bill taking centre stage.
"This is a big scam. The country is being looted. Please allow us to speak," Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.
Proceedings in both Houses of Parliament remain disrupted from day one of the Monsoon session with the opposition parties demanding a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Manipur violence before a discussion.
The West Bengal chief minister said such "insult" was unacceptable.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday attacked the Congress, saying it skipped the meeting convened to select the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) as he is a Dalit and this reflected the anti-Scheduled Castes mindset of the main opposition party.
Expressing 'pain' over opposition parties boycotting the Constitution Day event organised by the Lok Sabha secretariat on Friday, speaker Om Birla said staying away from such non-partisan events held by Parliament is not good for the health of democracy.
A high-level committee to explore the feasibility of conducting simultaneous elections, headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, held its first meeting in New Delhi on Saturday and decided to invite political parties and the Law Commission to seek their views on holding synchronised polls in the country, a statement said.
Chakraborty, an ardent trade unionist and a former Rajya Sabha member, was admitted to the hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19 on July 30.
Sources said the process was stuck since Rahul Gandhi is not willing to contest the election for the post of Congress president, although all the efforts to convince him are still going on.
The National Commission for Women has summoned Udit Raj over his "sycophancy" remark against the president.
West Bengal Congress spokesperson Kaustav Bagchi was granted bail by a court in Kolkata on Saturday evening, hours after being arrested for his alleged comments against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested senior Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal from his residence in Bolpur for allegedly not cooperating in its probe into a cattle smuggling case, an official said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday grilled arrested West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his alleged associate Arpita Mukherjee who were arrested in connection with the school jobs scam, sources said.
Amid protests by Opposition members seeking a debate on price rise, the Lok Sabha on Friday passed the Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022, which seeks to extend the application of domestic laws to research stations set up by India in the Antarctic region.
The Opposition claimed that Singh "cannot be a standalone carrier", with the Congress's leader in LoK Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, saying the question will now arise who were the real culprits behind the last year Pulwama attack. Taking a swipe at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Bharatiya Janata Party's ideological mentor, Chowdhury said had police officer Davinder Singh been "Davinder Khan", the reaction of the "troll regiment of the RSS" would have been different.
The government on Monday said that matters regarding Chinese intrusion can't be discussed in Parliament as it concerns the security of the country.
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