The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the Rajya Sabha elections 2024, setting the stage for polls to fill 37 seats across 10 states on March 16.
Actor Kamal Haasan launched Makkal Needhi Miam at a public meeting in Madurai in 2018.
One Rajya Sabha seat is a small price to pay for all the skills that Kamal Haasan brings to the table, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, along with three other newly elected Rajya Sabha MPs from Tamil Nadu, took oath as members of the House.
Allies DMK and Congress have finalised their seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, resolving earlier tensions over power-sharing demands.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed an uproar on Tuesday over an unparliamentary remark by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, who apologized to the Chair while clarifying that it was meant for the government that was "trying to create a regional divide" in the country. The controversy stemmed from a statement by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who slammed the Tamil Nadu government for its stand on the three-language policy under the National Education Policy (NEP). Kharge's use of a Hindi expression, deemed unparliamentary, sparked outrage from the treasury benches. He subsequently apologized for the remark, stating it was directed at the government's policies and not the Chair.
The BJP leads with 23 percent of its 90 Rajya Sabha members having declared criminal cases against themselves.
The Rajya Sabha elections saw several candidates elected unopposed, including Sharad Pawar and Ramdas Athawale, while Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana prepare for contested elections.
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.
The prime minister is now expected to speak on Thursday in the Rajya Sabha, where the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address has taken place without any disruption.
Will DMK send former PM to the Rajya Sabha next month?
Amid disruptions in the Lok Sabha, opposition parties are protesting the denial of speaking rights to the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, during discussions on the President's address. The Congress party draws parallels to a similar incident in 2004 when then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was prevented from speaking.
The Rajya Sabha is slated for a 12-hour discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address to the joint session of the two Houses of Parliament, which also includes the reply by the prime minister, which is likely next Tuesday.
Opposition parties are demanding a full Parliament discussion on the West Asia conflict, criticising the government's silence and calling for a contingency plan to protect India's energy security and citizens.
Several opposition MPs have submitted a notice to the Lok Sabha Speaker to move a motion for the removal of Madras High Court Judge G R Swaminathan over his order regarding a temple lamp.
The Congress party has accused the government of stifling opposition voices in the Lok Sabha, alleging that opposition leaders are not being allowed to express their views while the government side faces no such restrictions.
P Chidambaram and Rajeev Shukla of the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party's Sumitra Valmiki and Kavita Patidar, former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Misa Bharti and Jayant Chaudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal were among the 41 winners declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.
The Supreme Court has ordered a CBI probe into the Karur stampede, prompting varied reactions from political parties. DMK claims misrepresentation in the petition, while AIADMK sees the decision as a setback for DMK. Other parties express their views on the investigation and its implications.
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 DMK may consider a two-tier campaign, where they keep the focus on Chief Minister Stalin, as a senior statesman with 50-plus years of political experience, and let EPS and the BJP shout in the wilderness. In such a case, the second-tier may project Udhayanidhi as the contender and chosen obstructionist in Vijay's path. The attempt, if any, would be to reduce Vijay to Udhayanidhi's level when the former is aiming at Stalin and Stalin alone in the state's political horizon, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Congress is likely to get 11 Rajya Sabha seats in the upcoming election cycle with some of its top leaders, including P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh, eyeing another term.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member Vasanthi Stanley on Wednesday fainted in the Rajya Sabha while shouting slogans on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue, leading to a chaotic situation in the House.
In apparent signs of thaw after years of bickering stemming out of internal feud in the AIADMK in the past, party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami welcomed Dhinakaran back in to the National Democratic Alliance. The AMMK founder reciprocated with a "heartfelt thanks," yet admitting there was "sibling rivalry" with AIADMK, the party he was once associated with.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday re-nominated sitting MP M Kanimozhi, daughter of party president M Karunanidhi as its candidate for the June 27 Rajya Sabha elections for six seats, hoping to drum up support from other parties to ensure a second term for her.
"This is an insult to India's poor, it is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi, it is an insult to Rabindranath Tagore. With just five hours' notice, this bill was given to us. We were not allowed a proper debate," Ghose said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman criticizes the DMK government in Tamil Nadu, alleging corruption, caste-based crimes, and a rise in drug abuse. She dismisses the DMK's claims about language and Dravidian identity as a distraction from their governance failures.
The front row of Rajya Sabha may have a new look in the monsoon session beginning Monday with the biennial elections throwing up new winners and losers.
Communist Party of India national secretary D Raja was also among the 6 to elected to the Rajya Sabha from TN.
As the deadline for withdrawal of nominations for the Rajya Sabha biennial polls ended on Wednesday evening, legislative secretaries of the respective states announced its elected members. There were no surprises, with most seats assigned to the nominees unopposed.
The House had to be adjourned twice in the afternoon amid din over the issue and finally for the day, minutes after it reassembled at 3 pm.
The election for six Rajya Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu is turning into a high-impact zone.
Besides Karunanidhi, all Union ministers belonging to the party at the Centre were at hand to greet the 38-year-old poet-turned-politician when she became a member of the Upper House.
The deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Friday afternoon.
The present strength of the electoral college is 781 as six seats are vacant in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha. This puts the majority mark at 391. The NDA has 425 MPs, while the opposition camp has the backing of 324.
Ugly scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday as opposition MPs climbed on the officials' table, waved black cloth and threw files when the House began a discussion on farmers' protest against new reform laws.
The Rajya Sabha MP said the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test has prevented access to medical education for so many children and the strength to change that rule of exam could emerge only from education.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi can no longer serve as chancellor of state-run universities, a decision welcomed by the ruling DMK party. The court's judgment stems from a long-standing dispute between the state government and the governor over the assent of 10 bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The DMK alleges that the governor had obstructed the smooth functioning of universities by delaying appointments and other critical matters. The judgment paves the way for the Tamil Nadu government to appoint new chancellors for its universities, effectively removing the governor's influence in higher education.
The BJP regime, which is unable to take on the DMK, the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu is involved in a "cultural invasion," Siva, a Rajya Sabha MP, alleged.
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.
Monday was the fourth consecutive day, proceedings were washed out over the Rafale jet deal and Cauvery issues.
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