The increased numbers of the Opposition bloc would mean that their MPs are likely to head several more panels than the four that they did by the end of the term of the 17th Lok Sabha.
Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate on Tuesday, with the opposition terming the move 'dictatorial' and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the legislation would not tamper with the powers enjoyed by states.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in India's Lok Sabha, has accused the Speaker, Om Birla, of running the House in a "non-democratic style" and preventing him from speaking. Gandhi claims that he was not allowed to speak on various issues, including unemployment and the Maha Kumbh festival, despite raising his hand to speak. He also alleges that the Speaker made unsubstantiated remarks about him and adjourned the House without giving him an opportunity to respond. The Speaker, however, has urged members to conduct themselves in accordance with the rules of the House, especially the Leader of the Opposition.
Members belonging to Samajwadi Party, Left and Congress were on their feet as soon as the House met for the day, demanding removal of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
A spirited opposition on Wednesday forced adjournment of Parliament till 2 pm the issue of coal block allocation with members making a vociferous demand for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament, will debate the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday. The bill has been met with strong opposition from several parties who claim it is unconstitutional. The government, however, insists the bill aims to improve the management of Waqf properties in India by bringing transparency and efficiency.
The government may have to move 18 amendments to the Constitution to implement the concept of simultaneous elections as recommended by a high-level committee chaired by former president Ram Nath Kovind.
Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi has stirred controversy by suggesting that members of the "upper castes" should handle the tribal affairs portfolio. Gopi, an actor-turned-politician, argued that true progress in tribal welfare would only be achieved under the leadership of individuals from "upper castes." His comments have been met with widespread criticism, including from CPI state secretary Benoy Viswam and prominent tribal leader C K Janu.
President Murmu reached the new Parliament building in a six-horse buggy accompanied by the Presidential Bodyguards riding horses.
A meeting of the joint committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Friday witnessed fireworks with members vociferously opposing certain provisions of the draft legislation, leading to a brief walkout by opposition members.
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By naming a sworn swayamsevak for vice president, the Modi-Shah duo have sent out a clear and positive message to Nagpur, where the RSS headquarters is located, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Congress party on Monday defended its decision not to accompany the family of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the immersion of his ashes in the Yamuna, stating it was to ensure their privacy. Congress leader Pawan Khera said senior leaders did not accompany the family to gather and immerse the ashes of Dr Singh "out of our deference to the privacy of the family."
Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary Ram Madhav on Wednesday accused the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party of taking support from ex-militants for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and said the two parties want to take the Union territory back to its 'trouble-filled days'.
The Opposition objected to the Governor's decision to invite the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress alliance to form the government.
The opposition National Democratic Alliance stalled the Question Hour in both Houses of Parliament on the Quattrocchi issue and did not allow the Rail Budget to be read out in the Lok Sabha.
'When voting clause by clause on Waqf came up in the JPC, the TDP and JD-U supported the BJP on each and every clause.'
The Lok Sabha had taken up discussion on the Motion of Thanks, moved by Bharatiya Janata Party member Chandra Prakash Joshi, on Tuesday, after three days of disruptions in Parliament.
When the country has been at war, the Opposition has buried its differences with the government, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Divisions persisted within the Bharatiya Janata Party over the continuance of Nitin Gadkari as its president even as its Core Group yet again stood behind him insisting that there was 'no legal or moral wrongdoing' by him in the running of his company.
The highlight of Tuesday's debate on Operation Sindoor was the speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the rebuttal by Congress's Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi coming a close second.
Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar sought views of leaders of various political parties on ways to curb disruptions in the House at a meeting held on Sunday on the eve of the start of the second phase of the Budget session.
Slamming Opposition parties for disrupting parliamentary proceedings, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said as details of the Parliament security breach incident emerge, it is getting "obvious" that the DNA of those who entered the Lok Sabha is inextricably linked to the "Congress-Communist axis".
Ali also shared the screenshot of a purported hate message in Hindi referring to the derogatory remarks made by Bidhuri.
The Parliament was adjourned till 2 pm after Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Congress ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam triggered uproar over the alleged land deals by kin of a leading politician and plight of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Catch all the action from the Upper and Lower House of Parliament.
BJP president JP Nadda said on Sunday that the party does not seek to control the Waqf Board but wants to ensure that those managing it operate within the bounds of law and adhere to established rules. He said the properties and funds of the Waqf Board should be dedicated to promoting education, providing healthcare and employment opportunities for the Muslim community. Nadda also highlighted the BJP's growth and achievements, emphasizing its commitment to national unity and cultural heritage.
A corrigendum to the joint parliamentary committee report on the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, was tabled in the Rajya Sabha after Opposition MPs alleged that dissent notes were redacted from the report. BJP MP Medha Vishram Kulkarni tabled the corrigendum, which included the un-redacted dissent notes. The Opposition MPs, led by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, had earlier accused the government of misleading the House by deleting the dissent notes. The government, however, denied the allegations. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar thanked the government for the corrigendum, saying it showed that parliamentary institutions are blossoming. Opposition MPs, however, said it was done under their pressure.
'The nuns were subjected to abusive language and all types of mental torture.'
Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday issued a three-line whip to all of its Lok Sabha MPs asking them to be present in the House for the passing of the Union Budget 2025-26.
Opposition demand for resignation of External Affairs Minister S M Krishna for his alleged role in a mining scam led to repeated disruptions of both the Houses of Parliament on Friday, forcing their adjournment till Monday.
Dressed in colourful attire, members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday got their group photograph clicked in the old Parliament building, hours before legislative proceedings shift to the new Parliament House.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to name the committee's chairperson soon.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will lead a function in the Central Hall of Parliament on Tuesday to celebrate the country's rich parliamentary legacy and resolve to make India a developed nation by 2047.
'Muslims need to work according to strategy and not fall into the trap of Opposition parties.'
Days after violence erupted over a survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal, an imam of another mosque was fined Rs 2 lakh for allegedly using a loudspeaker at high volume. The incident occurred in the Anar Wali Masjid, prompting authorities to take action. The imam, identified as Tahzeeb, was fined and granted bail, with orders to refrain from similar conduct for six months. The incident comes amid ongoing tensions in Sambhal following the November 24 violence during a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, which resulted in four deaths and several injuries. The incident has become a major political controversy, with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra raising the issue in Parliament.
Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Maneka Gandhi on Saturday took out a leaf from Ramayana to support Team Anna's entry into electoral politics, saying a confident Ravana had dismissed Lord Rama's army as "monkeys and bears" but ended up vanquished.
After Modi is elected the leader of NDA MPs, senior members of the alliance like Telugu Desam Party's N Chandrababu Naidu, Janata Dal-United's Nitish Kumar and Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde will join the prime minister for a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu to present her the list of parliamentarians supporting him, some alliance members said.
Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Ram Jethmalani on Monday created flutters in a local court in New Delhi when he claimed that the money produced in the Lok Sabha during the cash-for-vote scam was "likely to be from the BJP".
After being elected president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in 1999, Najma Heptulla rang up the then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi from Berlin to convey the news but had to hold the phone line for an hour as a staff told her that 'madam is busy'.
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