The DMK parliamentary party appears to be a house divided, reports R Rajagopalan.
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Friday once again passed a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to exempt the state from National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and allow it to admit students to medical courses based on Plus Two exam marks.
According to results officially declared so far by the State Election Commission, of the total 5090 ward member posts in panchayat unions, the ruling AIADMK and its allies have won 1,528 ward member posts while its arch rival DMK and parnters bagged 1,895 posts.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday expressed anguish over not being allowed to learn Hindi in Tamil Nadu as a student and was even mocked on the streets for attempting to learn the language.
Glowing tributes were paid to the departed leader in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, before the Houses were adjourned for the day.
This is the first bill passed by the Lower House of Parliament in the Winter session, which began on Monday.
Parliamentary proceedings were disrupted for the third consecutive day in the Winter Session as opposition parties continued their protests over the Adani issue and violence in Manipur and Sambhal. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned within minutes of convening, despite appeals from the Chair to engage in productive dialogue and refrain from disruption. The opposition members raised slogans demanding action against the perpetrators of violence in Sambhal, and sought discussions on allegations of irregularities against the Adani Group and the violence in Manipur.
The Pal-led committee is currently on a tour of five states to speak to various stakeholders though opposition members have boycotted it.
The government on Tuesday asserted in Lok Sabha that it was ready to discuss issues related to farmers both inside and outside Parliament amid vociferous protests by the Opposition which forced repeated adjournments of both the Houses.
Kharge alleged that Dhankhar is working as a government spokesperson and acting like a school headmaster, often sermonising experienced opposition leaders and preventing them from speaking in the House.
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.
'The southern states will have no voice.' 'Political parties in future need to focus only on one region, the northern region, to win the general election.'
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was left embarrassed on Thursday when suspended Denied Member of Parliament and former Union minister M K Alagiri called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The two Houses would now meet on December 27 as there would be no sitting on December 24 and December 26 in view of Christmas.
The DMK and its allies submitted a list of pending assembly bills with the Raj Bhavan.
Opposition leaders on Saturday stepped up pressure on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for stringent action against Bharatiya Janata Party's Ramesh Bidhuri over his derogatory remarks against Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali in the House.
"My heart is full of pain and anger," he told reporters in his remarks ahead of Parliament's Monsoon Session, amid his criticism by opposition parties for not speaking on the ethnic violence in the north east state.
Despite Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi's call to exercise restraint, members of the ruling party staged demonstrations for the third day on Tuesday, demanding action against the ex-BJP MP.
Samajwadi Party MP R K Chaudhary's demand to replace the Sengol installed next to the Lok Sabha Speaker's chair with a copy of the Constitution triggered a war of words on Thursday, with opposition leaders backing him, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party castigating him for 'disrespecting' Indian and Tamil culture.
Ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday sought cooperation of all parties for the smooth conduct of proceedings with "decency, dignity and discipline", even as the Opposition demanded discussion on the Agnipath scheme, unemployment and farmers' issues.
Ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament, former Congress ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday indicated its support to the UPA's 'game-changer' Food Security Bill even though it has wanted a few changes in it.
Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a notice to move a motion for removing Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for allegedly conducting the House in a partisan manner.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M Karunanidhi on Tuesday chose to keep the cards close to his chest on the issue of which political outfit his party would strike an alliance to fight next year's Lok Sabha polls.
DMK legal wing's secretary R S Bharathi handed over the complaint letter to Police Commissioner Nanjil Kumaran. Bharathi said he was shocked on seeing reports that Vedanti had given a directive to behead the DMK supremo and cut off his tongue.
While nearly 200 members were present in the Lok Sabha chamber, a little over 30 were seated in the visitors' gallery located above the main chamber.
At the meeting attended by 33 parties, the prime minister said suggestions from public representatives, especially from the Opposition, are valuable as they make the discussion rich.
The bench said the report submitted by the special judge indicates that he has 29 cases with him. In many cases, the trial has begun while in many others the trial is yet to begin.
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.
Nachiappan, however, ruled out an alliance with the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, as it was a "replica of the Bharatiya Janata Party".
Oppn members went into the area of treasury benches carrying a black banner, which demanded Shah's resignation, as Speaker Om Birla continued with proceedings of the House.
'Many MPs felt they were going to take out a weapon and shoot us all.'
The reorganisation bill provides for formation of Union territory of Ladakh without legislature and a separate one for Jammu and Kashmir with legislature.
As soon as the House met at 2 pm, papers were laid on the table and two resolutions adopted amid slogan shouting and protest by Congress members.
There are states that could swing either way and change the results of the 2024 general election.
Speaker Om Birla on Thursday drew praise from Lok Sabha members for identifying potential of members and encouraging them to speak on the floor of the House after a first-time woman MP, known for spearheading self-help groups, raised the issue of women unemployment.
The chairman raised the issue of mimicry of the speaker and the chairman by an MP and the videography of the act, saying this was shameful and there has to be a limit.
Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations in its report, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group.
The Supreme Court has sought details from the Allahabad High Court regarding controversial statements made by Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav at a VHP function. The development comes amid calls for action against the judge for his remarks, which have been labeled as hate speech by some. The judge's statements were made at a VHP function on December 8, where he spoke about the Uniform Civil Code and the law working according to the majority. Several individuals and organizations, including lawyer Prashant Bhushan and CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, have called for an inquiry into the judge's conduct and for his removal from judicial duties.
What India needs more than one simultaneous election is better governance both at the central and state level. Yes, we need reforms, but our priority should be to make elections less expensive, make it more democratic, do away with freebies which are actually bribes before elections, allow only those who are educated to contest, and bring in a bill to make it impossible for criminals to contest, advocates Ramesh Menon.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee report on 2G spectrum scam, which was to have been tabled in Lok Sabha on September 30 is further delayed until the Winter Session of Parliament.
