In a setback to Sikkim High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to quash some of the charges framed against him by a Rajya Sabha-appointed panel looking into allegations of corrupt practices and misconduct against him.
Both Houses of Parliament will mark the 60th anniversary of their first sitting by holding a special sittings on Sunday.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's iftar party on Sunday was a political blockbuster.
Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were among a host of leaders who on Thursday condoled the death of artist M F Husain, describing him as a "legend" whose passing away is a "national loss".
Vice President M Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a host of dignitaries on Sunday condoled the passing away of Sathya Sai Baba, saying he was a spiritual leader who inspired millions to lead a moral and meaningful life.
The nation on Wednesday paid rich tribute to Dr B R Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, on his 119th birth anniversary. President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari and Congress president Sonia Gandhi were present at a function held in Delhi.Several functions are being organised in different parts of the country to mark the occasion.Dr Ambedkar spent his life fighting untouchability and the Indian caste system.
Samajwadi Party disrupted the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha for the second day on Tuesday demanding implementation of Ranganath Misra Commission report, leading to adjournment of the House till noon.
Voting in the Rajya Sabha on the Women's Reservation Bill was deferred by a day on Monday.
Three MPs, including former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, came on wheelchairs.
Fauzia Ansari, mother of the 31-year-old engineering and management graduate from Mumbai, who was sentenced to jail for three years, requested the Pakistan government to show mercy on him and send him back.
Come February 22, the Rajya Sabha will have new rules and procedures for the Question Hour. With the introduction of change of business rules, it is ensured that union ministers are made more accountable to answer their questions in the Upper House.
Former President Pranab Mukherjee, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi paid tributes to Pandit Nehru at his memorial Shanti Van in the nation's capital.
The Infosys Prize comprises a special gold medallion, a citation expounding the laureate's work and Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) as prize money.
With more than 50 Rajya Sabha members favouring impeachment of Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran, a petition in this regard is likely to be submitted to the House Chairman Mohammed Hamid Ansari early next week. A signature campaign is underway and more than 50 Rajya Sabha members from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Left parties and Samajwadi Party, among others, are understood to have signed the petition, sources said.
President Prathibha Patil will inaugurate a two-day conference of Governors on September 16. The main issues that will be discussed are internal security and terrorism.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to downplay the comments of Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on austerity on Twitter saying "it was a joke".
The United Progressive Alliance government's austerity drive is expected to be extended to all Members of Parliament following an all party meeting, according to sources.Vice President Hamid Ansari will call an all-party meeting to decide on the issue once Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar returns from Rome. The chairman of the Rajya Sahba and the Lok Sabha speaker are expected to hold a discussion on the austerity drive.
Rangarajan, 77, who will replace Suresh Tendulkar, gave his resignation to Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari, who has accepted it.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said in Rajya Sabha that "action has already started" for getting back black money belonging to Indians from Swiss banks.
Shiv Sena on Wednesday stalled the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha briefly to demand an immediate discussion on the Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary dispute, leading to adjournment of the House for 15 minutes.
With the global financial crisis affecting Indians in the Gulf region, Vice President Hamid Ansari has said the Indian government was mulling steps to ensure the welfare of expatriates reeling under the meltdown.
The jury members included Ashish Dhawan, senior managing director, ChrysCapital, Keki Dadiseth, managing director, Omnicom, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman and managing director, Biocon, Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman and managing director, Aditya Birla Group and S Ramadorai, chief executive, TCS.
President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and several other leaders greeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who turned 75 on Wednesday.
The awards are traditionally given away by the Prime Minister but since Singh is hospitalised, a decision was taken that the conferment would be done by the Vice President in his place, government sources said.
The Uttar Pradesh government may be spending nearly Rs 1500 crore on memorials and parks, but it has not been able to provide clean drinking water to even 10 per cent of its 18 crore population. According to him, "Around half the women in 15-50 age group and 85 per cent of children under 3 years of age suffer from anaemia and nearly 50 per cent of UP's children are stunted and underweight."
The beginning of the month-long session will coincide with the vice presidential election, in which the victory of United Progressive Alliance-Left nominee Hamid Ansari appears to be certain.
Parliament on Thursday remembered those killed in the terror strike in Mumbai on this day last year with the Lok Sabha resolving to unitedly fight and defeat the forces of terrorism which pose the 'gravest threat to humanity.'
"Implementation of the Sachar report must take women's issues into notice," NCM Chaiman Hamid Ansari said.
Rajya Sabha was briefly adjourned on Tuesday following an uproar by AIADMK over Telecom Minister A Raja's role in Second Generation or 2G spectrum allocation that allegedly led to heavy loss of revenue to the government.
As soon as the House assembled for the day, SP members were up on their feet shouting slogans but Chairman Hamid Ansari asked the members to settle down as obituary references had to be made. The SP members raised slogans demanding arrest of Raj Thackeray and protection of the Constitution.
The BJP decided to register its protest against the manner in which, it says, he used an old rule to punish All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member of Parliament Dr V Maithreyan on Thursday
"Baalu must resign. He and the Prime Minister's Office have misused powers for personal gains," Dr Maitreyan said. On Thursday, Dr Maitreyan was asked to leave the Rajya Sabha by Chairman Hamid Ansari after he sought the prime minister's response to charges against his Cabinet colleague Baalu favouring his sons' firms.
Business in Rajya Sabha was on Thursday deadlocked with the opposition objecting to All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader V Maitreyan being asked to leave the House after he sought the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's response to charges against his cabinet colleague T R Baalu for favouring his sons' firms.
Nishad had campaigned for the Rashtriya Janata Dal in the assembly elections in Bihar in 2005 despite being a member of the BJP, which had prompted party member Sushma Swaraj to file a disqualification petition against him in December that year. Ansari disagreed with Nishad's contention that he had tendered his resignation from the primary membership of the party on 18 October, 2005 'in an agitated mental condition', which he later withdrew by a letter dated 17 Nov '05.
Vinod Rai, a 1972 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, took oath on Monday as the country's new Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Rai, who replaced V N Kaul, was administered the oath of office by President Pratibha Patil at a brief function at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram were among the dignitaries present at the ceremony.
Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, governor of Riyadh and third in line to the throne, has over the last five days in Delhi, Agra and Mumbai reaffirmed the message that terrorism in the name of Islam is not Islamic and that the entire region must be united against jihad.
The Crown Prince, who arrived on a three-day official visit, will be accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Wednesday, following which he will lay wreath at Mahatma Gandhi' memorial at the Raj Ghat.
Vice President Hamid Ansari's wife Salma says she has a "problem" with the Women's Reservation Bill and feels that it will not be of much help unless awareness is created among women at the grassroot level.
Speaking about whether the Congress was prepared for a snap poll, Gandhi said, "the party is always prepared".
Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh and his party colleague Ram Gopal Yadav along with eight other new members of Parliament were administered oath by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Wednesday.
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