Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday admitted a no-confidence motion moved by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi against the Narendra Modi government after a head count of over 50 MPs as required under the rules.
Leaders of various opposition parties on Sunday demanded that issues of price rise, 'Agnipath' scheme as well as the alleged misuse of investigative agencies be taken up in Parliament and also raised objections to the list of 'unparliamentary words' at an all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of the Monsoon Session.
Most politicians and even non-politicians have been honoured because of what they were purported to be electorally worth for the ruling party of their time, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
Derek O'Brien of Trinamool Congress came near the podium and tried to show the rule book to the Deputy Chairman. An attempt was also made to snatch the microphone and the marshals tried to prevent it.
With assembly elections only two years away, in 2016, the DMK may not have the luxury of time on its side. If the slow pace of reforms that the party has indulged itself in, in the past decade and more is any indicator, the committed 25 percent vote-share would either be frittered away, or lost, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
With no political backing on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue, the government has only been posturing for a resolution, reports Renu Mittal
The application, filed through advocate AP Singh, said, "The Acts were passed hastily without adequate discussion... Inherent weaknesses of the agricultural sector cannot be addressed by way of monetization of farmers."
Facing isolation in Rajya Sabha over its stand against the Judicial Appointments Bill, Congress on Monday said it was "not opposed" to the amendments but would take a decision in the matter only after "examining" the changes.
President Droupadi Murmu said the nation will benefit from Dhankhar's long and rich experience in public life and extended her best wishes for a productive and successful tenure.
Turmoil in Parliament over Telangana and other issues took a toll on the proceedings for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday, resulting in transaction of no substantial business in both Houses.
The Budget session of Parliament concluded on Wednesday with passage of record official business in recent years but the government failed to ensure passage of the controversial Land Acquisition Bill as also key reform measure of GST amid stiff resistance from opposition.
The delegation comprised DMK leaders R S Bharathi, T K S Elangovan and Tiruchi N Siva.
In his maiden rally in Kashmir Valley after quitting the Congress last month, he said only a government with a two-thirds majority in Parliament can ensure the restoration of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
A cross-gender staff deployment -- female officers where male MPs were protesting and male officers where female MPs were protesting -- was made. But this did not deter the MPs belonging to a cross-section of opposition parties -- from the Congress to the Left to the TMC and to the DMK.
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.
Deriving from Narendra Modi's continuing charisma, the proposed scheme, if and when implemented, can cut both ways. That is to say, if Modi can win, he can lose. Or, someone else in his place, later on, could lose as much as he could win in his time, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Harivansh, a Janata Dal-United MP, is likely to get the support of 126 members in the Upper House, which has an effective strength of 244 MPs, sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party said.
Ahead of the Winter Session in Parliament, leaders of 11 opposition parties met in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill on protection of rights of transgenders after a motion to refer it to a Select Committee of the Upper House was defeated.
Its passage in the Lok Sabha is all but certain due to the massive majority the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies have, and the Union government is confident of its passage in the Rajya Sabha as well with the support of several non-aligned regional parties which have often joined the treasury benches in the past.
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa Monday announced five of her party nominees for the June 27 biennial election to the six Rajya Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu, giving V Maithreyan a successive term.
'Of equal importance was the AIADMK's precarious assembly membership, what with 11 of its MLAs including deputy chief minister OPS facing court cases for disqualification and by-elections due in another 21. To shore up the party's numbers for anticipated eventuality on the 11-MLAs' front, the AIADMK leadership in general and chief minister EPS in particular, were even more focussed on assembly seats than LS seats, just now,' says N Sathiya Moorthy.
We don't have confidence in the chief minister, the MLAs said.
With the DMK formalising its alliance with the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League, and the AIADMK not allowing the BJP anywhere near it, if the DMDK too goes with the DMK then the only option left for the BJP is to explore going with the PMK. In that case it has to endorse Dr Ramadoss as its chief minister candidate, says R Ramasubramanian.
'We will have a big say in Delhi in 2018 or 2019 (whenever the elections are) in the Lok Sabha.'
While the wrestlers braved tough weather conditions, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu demanded custodial interrogation of WFI President.
However, the tilting factor still remains: Can the rivalling 'Modi brand' of 'soft Hindutva' and 'hard-sell nationalism' garner more votes for the NDA in Tamil Nadu, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
For the Congress to be taken seriously, it has to convince those around it that it could actually double its Lok Sabha seat share from the existing 52, and vote-share by a third more from the stagnating 20 per cent in 2014 and 2019, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Pandemonium over Telangana and some other issues paralysed Parliament for the fourth working day on Monday as members created uproar leading to repeated adjournments of both the Houses.
Dravida Munetra Kazhagam President M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi was on Thursday reelected to Rajya Sabha with Congress support from Tamil Nadu after a contest with actor Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam candidate.
The DMK still wants to look elsewhere for excuses to its electoral debacle, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Tamil Nadu, which boasted of as many as nine ministers in the UPA-II government in 2009, did not get any representation in Modi 2.0 government.
Kanimozhi walked out of Tamil Nadu House alone, put her luggage in the car; no Tamil Nadu government employee assisted her. She then drove to 601, Swarnajayanti Apartments -- meant for MPs -- where she has a regular Rajya Sabha accommodation
With a Central Bureau of Investigation court summoning her to appear before it in Delhi on May 6 in the 2G spectrum scam case, DMK chief M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi on Wednesday reached the national capital.
A major controversy erupted on Wednesday over MPs writing to US President Barack Obama seeking denial of visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi with some MPs denying having signed it.
After 13 years in hibernation, the prospects of passage of the controversial women's reservation bill brightened with sharp divisions coming to the fore among one of the main the opponents of the measure--JD(Uas Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar declared his support.
The body was kept at the leader's Gopalapuram residence till 1 am.
R Rajagopalan, who travelled through Tamil Nadu, says it will be an election of many firsts.
AIADMK leaders said his party was not opposed to the Ram Sethu project, but was against its current alignment.
Cracking the whip on the dissidents, Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam headed by actor Vijaykant has suspended seven of its legislators, who did not vote for the party's nominee in the recent Rajya Sabha biennial polls, for alleged anti-party activities, party sources said on Saturday.
