The Budget session of Parliament will begin on February 21 and the General Budget will be presented to Lok Sabha on February 28.
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi's reaction to President Droupadi Murmu's address to the Joint session of the Parliament on Friday stoked a controversy.
At a meeting of the business advisory committee of Lok Sabha, which has floor leaders of all parties besides the government representatives and is chaired by the Speaker, most political parties favoured curtailment of the session, which started on September 14 and was scheduled to conclude on October 1.
Sources close to the top BJP leadership tell me that Tharoor has already had secret meetings with the BJP's top brass and is waiting patiently to make his next move, reports Ramesh Menon.
With the second phase of Parliament's Budget session set to start next week, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday held a strategy meeting with senior leaders at a time when the Opposition is expected to raise the coal scam and 2G spectrum issues.
'With one more year remaining in the term, and 58 average sitting days a year, the 17th Lok Sabha is unlikely to sit for more than 331 days.' 'This could make it the shortest full-term Lok Sabha since 1952.'
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has congratulated both the previous UPA government and the current dispensation for the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Sibal expressed confidence that the extradition will shed light on the involvement of individuals within Pakistan's establishment in the attacks. Rana is being questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy behind the deadly 2008 terror strikes. Sibal highlighted the efforts of the UPA government in establishing the NIA and pursuing Rana's extradition, and also acknowledged the current government's success in bringing him back to India. The interrogation is expected to focus on Rana's potential ties to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and his role in the Mumbai attacks.
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 session will see 18 sittings without any weekend break or holiday, they said. The dates and other details of this first-of-its-kind session will be announced soon.
It also saw the suspension of 100 members in a span of four days for unruly conduct and a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack.
Day 3 of the second part of the budget session of Parliament.
The Budget session of Parliament is likely to conclude on Thursday, a day ahead of schedule.
The recent surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are expected to grab limelight during the month-long session. Some parties have alleged that the government is trying to politicise it.
Infighting within West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) came to the fore after a video of an alleged verbal spat between party MPs and screenshots of heated exchanges from its official WhatsApp group for parliamentarians went viral. The incident reportedly involved a public altercation at the Election Commission headquarters, followed by a heated exchange on the party's WhatsApp group, leading to accusations of misconduct and leaked screenshots. The controversy has triggered calls for action against the party chief whip, Kalyan Banerjee, who is accused of misbehavior and tarnishing the party's image.
On the eve of the budget session of Parliament, the government on Sunday reached out to the opposition
Senior government officials say that barring the National Housing Bank Amendment Bill, no major Bill -- not even the Banking Bill which the Cabinet has cleared -- will make it to Parliament by May 22, the last day of this Budget session.
The first two days of the session will be devoted to swearing-in of the newly elected MPs while the Lok Sabha speaker will be elected on June 19.
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The BJP won 37.70 per cent of votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections while the Congress vote share declined to 19.67 per cent.
Amid a row over change in stand over voting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday asserted it is a secular regional outfit and maintains equal distance from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance bloc led by the Congress.
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'Indian players in the digital market should not be dominated by global players, and they should not dominate the smaller players -- these discussions are on.'
India is planning to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act 2023 to specify the use of funds currently earmarked at 5,600 crore for exploring critical mineral mines overseas, according to a top official. The proposed amendments also aim to introduce a tailings policy and modify the royalty structure to facilitate the extraction of critical minerals from waste materials, the official added.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking initiation of breach of privilege proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for making "blatant lies and vilification campaign" during his speech in the House. Dubey alleged that Gandhi used his parliamentary privilege to spread canards without authenticating his charges and distorted historical facts during his speech. Gandhi had claimed that mobile phones were not made in India but only assembled here, China has captured the Indian territory, and India had sent Foreign Minister S Jaishankar to the US to get an invite for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for US President Donald Trump's swearing-in ceremony. He also made allegations related to the electoral rolls for the Maharashtra Assembly polls and the law for the appointment of the elections commissioner. Dubey accused Gandhi of misusing the Constitution's Article 105, which accords privileges to parliamentarians for their comments made inside the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. He urged the Speaker to initiate proceedings against Gandhi, alleging that Parliament's records and proceedings are a testimony to his irresponsible attitude.
Gandhi, who is usually flanked by senior party colleagues, was also greeted by both President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
The prime minister, who spoke in the Upper House as it bid farewell to 53 retiring MPs, noted that Rajya Sabha members are representatives of the states and the interest of their state should be a priority for them.
The government has set up a search committee under Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to shortlist names for the appointment of the next chief election commissioner, sources said on Monday, citing an order.
Aam Aadmi Party's Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Monday went to the Civil Lines police station and alleged that a member of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's personal staff misbehaved with her, police officials said.
For the first time, large display screens and consoles for participation from galleries, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, special cables between the two Houses and polycarbonate separators will be in place.
Opposition MPs, some of whom have given their dissent, slammed the exercise as undemocratic, claiming that they were given little time to study the final report and frame their dissent notes.
The border forces of India and Bangladesh will hold their bi-annual talks next week in New Delhi, with issues such as border fence construction and attacks on BSF personnel and civilians by Bangladeshi miscreants figuring among the discussion points. The 55th Director General-Level Border Coordination Conference between BSF and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) will be organised at the Border Security Force (BSF) headquarters in New Delhi between February 17-20. The conference will be the first top-level meeting between the two sides after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August last year. Discussions will be held on prevention of attacks on BSF personnel and Indian civilians by Bangladesh-based miscreants/nationals, how to prevent trans-border crimes, construction of a single-row fence, action against Indian Insurgent Groups in Bangladesh, issues related to border infrastructure, joint efforts for effective implementation of the Coordinated Border Management Plan, Confidence Building Measures and other issues.
The main focus of the government is to get various demands of grants for the financial year 2021-22 passed along with the Finance Bill which carries various tax proposals.
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