The meeting was attended by CMs of Kerala, Punjab and Telangana -- Pinarayi Vijayan, Bhagwant Manna and A Revanth Reddy, Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar, and senior BRS leader KT Ramarao among others.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and some other MPs suspended from Parliament will not be able to attend the meetings of parliamentary committees of which they are a member or chairperson till their suspension is revoked.
Opposition parties have called for a discussion in Parliament on the Maha Kumbh tragedy and the UP government's alleged focus on VIPs rather than the common pilgrims. Union minister Kiren Rijiju has stated that the Business Advisory Committee will decide on the agenda of the Budget Session, which will start from January 31. The Session will commence with President Droupadi Murmu addressing the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Union Budget will be presented on February 1.
The Congress on Tuesday claimed the bill on holding simultaneous polls was against federalism and 'anti-constitutional', and said the voting at its introduction stage in Lok Sabha showed the Bharatiya Janata Party lacks the two-thirds majority required to pass a constitutional amendment.
The committee will inquire into cases of misconduct of members of Lok Sabha, including misuse of parliamentary privileges and facilities by them and submit its report within the month.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said he will back any candidate announced by the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar as Maha Vikas Aghadi's chief ministerial face.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has conceded that he was wrong in opposing India's stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, stating that the country's current position allows it to play a significant role in achieving lasting peace. Tharoor, who had initially criticized India's neutrality, now acknowledges that the policy has positioned India as a mediator, capable of engaging with both Russia and Ukraine.
The reality is that far from being friendless, India is better positioned in the world than at any point post-Cold War, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
In the letter, they said as members of the committee, it is their moral and constitutional responsibility to discuss this matter with utmost urgency and the required sincerity.
The two 'One Nation One Election' (ONOE) bills, including one requiring an amendment in the Constitution, that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday after a fiery debate.
Kodikunnil Suresh, the Opposition's pick for the Lok Sabha speaker who will go up against the Bharatiya Janata Party's Om Birla, is a Congress veteran, an eight-term MP and one whose election in 2009 was declared invalid by the Kerala high court before being restored by the Supreme Court.
A parliamentary committee scrutinising three bills to replace existing criminal laws did not adopt its draft report as scheduled on Friday, taking into account the submission of some opposition members that they needed more time to study it.
The parliamentary panel's meetings have become a virtual battleground between the opposition and the ruling party members, who have been vociferously debating the changes to the Waqf Bill proposed by the government.
Given the possibilities that next year's assembly elections could throw up, Stalin told the state assembly that an interim report had to be submitted by January 2026. The outcomes may well find its way into the DMK's poll manifesto, thus seeking to keep the electoral focus still on the BJP-ruled Centre and Prime Minister Modi, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The opposition leaders are expected to meet at Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge's office in the Parliament complex around 10 am, sources said.
'There is ample evidence to suggest that attacks on the PM's probity and his connections with business houses do not resonate with voters.'
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, headed by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, had called representatives of Facebook to hear their views "on the subject of safeguarding citizens' rights and prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms including special emphasis on women security in the digital space," according to agenda of the meeting.
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.
Parliament's approval of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, a contentious piece of legislation aimed at reforming Waqf bodies, has sparked strong reactions from the opposition, who allege that the bill was "bulldozed" through Parliament. The bill, considered the government's most consequential legislation in its third term, was passed with comfortable majorities in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha despite opposition claims of a lack of consultation and an intrusion into religious affairs. Other notable bills approved during the session included the Finance Bill, Appropriation Bill, Immigration and Foreigners Bill, and Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill. The session, which saw high productivity, also witnessed debates on issues such as economic distress, delimitation, and the three-language policy. While the government touted its achievements, the opposition criticized the government's approach and vowed to challenge the Waqf bill in court.
Sujay Vikhe Patil, son of senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, joined the BJP in presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP chief Raosaheb Danve.
'Has the BJP not announced its candidates in Raebareli?'
There is a proposal from the BJP camp that they would resort to a proportion-based increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for individual states, based on what they now have. On the face of it, this sounds like a fine argument that those demanding a 'freeze' now cannot oppose without reasons and justification, avers N Sathiya Moorthy.
KPCC president and MP, Sudhakaran said that unofficially discussions have begun on who should be the candidate and officially it would start a couple of days later.
The plenary session in Chhattisgarh's Nava Raipur will start from February 24 and is expected to be attended by around 15,000 delegates.
The Mahayuti landslide in Maharashtra will leave the state assembly without a leader of opposition as no party outside the ruling alliance has been able to get the mandatory minimum 29 seats.
The Congress and other opposition parties had opposed the amendments.
Tharoor said people have incurred losses after their money which was invested in LIC, SBI was put by the government "in its friend's account".
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday rejected the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam and hit out at the opposition, saying that the country will not forget and forgive them for the wastage of an entire session of Parliament.Turning down the Opposition demand for a JPC into the 2G spectrum issue, Gandhi said there was no need for a JPC when the Public Accounts Committee and the Central Bureau of Investigation were probing the case.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Bharat Rashtra Party and Samajwadi Party, came together in a show of unity on Thursday and accused the Modi government of getting the second half of the budget session washed out, while asserting that if this attitude continues, the country will move towards a "dictatorship".
Opposition parties of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) boycotted Lok Sabha proceedings on Friday to protest the suspension of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the House.
'After giving my own money to this party, I was insulted.'' 'Neither this party nor its leaders have no respect for women.'
B C Khanduri was removed last year as chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on defence.
The Question Hour in Lok Sabha has been disrupted every day since March 13.
Ahead of the Winter session of Parliament beginning on December 4, the Congress' Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday wrote to Speaker Om Birla, saying the expulsion of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra from Parliament is an 'extremely serious punishment and has very wide ramifications'.
'There is some deep rot that has set in the Congress party. This requires an organisational surgery.'
The standing committees have not been holding their sittings due to the severe second wave of COVID-19.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that in the 'Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK)' series under which the Congress posed questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party had asked him about his "favourite business group's links with the Chinese citizen Chang Chung-Ling (aka Lingo Chang) who has been a director in several Adani Group companies along with Vinod Adani and also made an appearance in the Panama Papers".
Asking the Congress members, who were on their feet, to maintain the decorum of the House and not show placards, Birla said they should let the House function.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court against her expulsion from the Lok Sabha over 'Cash-for-Query' allegations.
Matondkar has been given the ticket after Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora on Thursday said that the city unit of the party had requested the high command to give a Lok Sabha ticket to the actor.
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