Rajya Sabha elections in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana were marred by allegations of cross-voting and 'horse trading', leading to suspensions and warnings from the Congress party.
Congress chief whip Jairam Ramesh has filed a privilege notice against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for allegedly making derogatory remarks about a parliamentary committee, claiming he lowered the dignity of Parliament.
Harivansh is likely to be elected as the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman for a third term as the opposition has decided to boycott the election in protest.
Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury, a Rajya Sabha MP, has been served a notice for breach of privilege for bringing a stray into the Parliament complex and allegedly making derogatory remarks against MPs.
Rejecting these notices, the Chairman said, "I have not admitted (the notices) as there are other avenues to raise this matter in the House and some matters are local."
The Lok Sabha is set to debate a motion seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla, a rare event where he will be seated among members as the House considers allegations of partisan conduct.
According to a Rajya Sabha bulletin, nine of the MPs are from the Congress and three from the AAP.
The Rajya Sabha proceeding washed out completely on Wednesday and was adjourned for the day amid continued protest by the Opposition parties led by the Congress over price rise and levy of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on daily essentials.
In the Upper House of Parliament, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu did not allow adjournment notices moved by opposition members on the issue of price rise, prompting members of the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Left parties, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Shiv Sena to create an uproar.
The Congress' chief whip Jairam Ramesh, said, 'Today, too, the INDIA parties demanded the prime minister's presence in the Rajya Sabha to make a statement on Manipur, to be followed by a discussion.'
Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury has filed an adjournment motion in the Rajya Sabha to discuss the government's directive on pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi App in new mobile handsets, citing privacy concerns.
Monday was the fourth consecutive day, proceedings were washed out over the Rafale jet deal and Cauvery issues.
The Upper House witnessed unruly scenes, with almost entire the Opposition in its feet over alleged misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation and demand for discussion on the issue under rule 267 suspending the listed business.
Rajya Sabha's next session will begin from April 23, three days after the second half of the budget session of Lok Sabha commences.
In his notice to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the Congress leader alleged that the home minister had made unfounded allegations against chairperson of Congress parliamentary party with "a premeditated motive to malign her reputation."
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated the government is open to discussing electoral reforms in the Rajya Sabha, urging the Opposition not to impose a timeline. Opposition parties staged a walkout after demanding an immediate discussion on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Proceedings in Rajya Sabha were repeatedly disrupted on Monday before being called off for the day as opposition members protested on the alleged phone-tapping and other issues and demanded discussions on them in the House.
Jagdeep Dhankhar's sudden resignation as Vice President has led to speculation about underlying political tensions and disagreements with the ruling alliance.
Bharatiya Janata Party Vinay Katiyar and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien had a heated argument.
The House witnessed heated exchanges between Congress and Samajwadi Party members.
According to official records, Kishor is enrolled as a voter in West Bengal at 121, Kalighat Road, the address of the Trinamool Congress headquarters in Kolkata's Bhabanipur assembly constituency, which is Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's seat, he said.
The proceedings were washed out over various issues including the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and roster system for reservation in educational institutions.
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Wednesday afternoon without transacting any business amid uproar by treasury and opposition benches over the no-trust notice against the House Chairman and the George Soros issue.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated the government is ready to discuss the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, but cautioned the Opposition against setting timelines. This comes after the Opposition demanded an immediate discussion on the matter, citing concerns over the safety of BLOs and the importance of the issue for democracy.
Uncertainty looms over the Insurance Bill as the Congress looks unlikely to support it in the current session of Parliament which is what the Modi government is looking at as a 'gift' to United States President Barrack Obama who comes to India in January. Renu Mittal/Rediff.com reports
The Opposition members charged the Governor with "unconstitutional" conduct after the Gauhati high court put on hold all his decision including move to advance the winter session of the assembly by a month.
Congress members alleged breach of propriety and constitutional norms in the consultations Goa Governor Mridula Sinha held with Jaitley.
With the Department of Telecom asking mobile phone makers to pre-install Sanchar Saathi application in new handsets, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday described it as a 'snooping app' and alleged that the government is turning the country into a dictatorship.
The BJP had no option but to get Jagdeep Dhankhar out of its way for the sake of the Modi government's stability, reveals Sheela Bhatt, the legendary political journalist.
While members of Samajwadi Party raised the issue of Kasganj violence, the newly-elected Aam Aadmi Party members protested against the sealing drive in Delhi.
Kharge claimed that the wording as well as the tone and tenor of the remarks made by the Home minister "are clearly satirical and made in a very bad taste".
The demand was raised by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh at the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) on Wednesday evening.
The Bill was supported by the members across party lines, however, some suggested to add in its purview hospital sanitary staff, ASHA (accredited social health activist) workers and 'Corona warriors' in emergency services such as police and personnel from other departments.
Rajya Sabha Chair addresses the issue of expunged proceedings being shared on social media amidst ongoing stalemate between the government and opposition regarding a discussion on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar.
Days after his ministry told smartphone makers to preload a state-run cybersecurity app on all new devices, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said users are free to delete the Sanchar Saathi app, and it will remain dormant till they register on it.
The Congress was the only party in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday to demand a discussion on setting up a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe allegations against the Adani group. Other opposition parties gave similar notices on different issues, including violence in Manipur and Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal. The Congress members sought a JPC to investigate the alleged misconduct, including corruption, bribery and financial irregularities of the Adani Group in connivance with other authorities. However, other opposition parties raised different issues, with the AAP seeking a discussion on "increasing crimes in Delhi" and the TMC, DMK, AAP and CPI seeking a discussion on violence in Manipur. The CPI-M, SP and IUML sought a discussion on the recent violence in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh.
Opposition parties in India's Rajya Sabha, including the Congress and the TMC, walked out of the chamber after their demand for a discussion on the Election Commission's alleged lapses in issuing duplicate voter ID cards and delimitation was disallowed. The Deputy Chairman, Harivansh, rejected the notices under Rule 267, citing non-compliance with previous rulings. While TMC and Congress MPs focused on the duplicate voter ID issue, Tamil parties expressed concerns about the impact of delimitation on southern states. Despite raising slogans and pressing for a discussion, the opposition staged a walkout after their notices were rejected and their statements deemed not part of the official record.
Opposition parties in the Indian Parliament walked out of the Rajya Sabha after their demand for an immediate discussion on the alleged mismanagement at the Maha Kumbh, where a stampede led to several deaths, was rejected. The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankhar, declined to suspend the scheduled business of the day to take up the issue, citing his previous rulings regarding notices under Rule 267.
'I don't think it is right to remove him over one lapse. The focus should be on restoring operations, not on removing a key management personnel.'
By getting Jagdeep Dhankhar to resign at short notice, Narendra Modi has sent a message to his own ideological clan that he brooks no one trying to get too big for their boots, observes Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
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