Opposition parties on Thursday suspended their dharna against the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs at the Mahatma Gandhi statue inside the Parliament complex in view of the death of Chief of Defence staff General Bipin Rawat and 12 others in a chopper crash a day ago.
Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Congress of twisting facts and distorting his comments on B.R. Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha, saying the opposition party launched a malicious campaign after a parliamentary discussion "established" the Congress as being "anti-Ambedkar and anti-reservation." Shah defended his remarks, stating his address was clear and without confusion, and that his party would explore all legal options against the Congress for misrepresenting his comments. He also accused the Congress of insulting V.D. Savarkar, crushing constitutional values by imposing Emergency, and humiliating soldiers who laid down their lives.
Telugu Desam Party MP Venugopal Reddy, who was involved in a fracas over Telangana bill in the Lok Sabha today, termed as a "lie" the allegation that he was carrying a knife inside the House and claimed that he was assulated by 10 members.
In the event that like in the 17th Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi again gets locked out of the House, the Congress needs a second-in-command who will keep the momentum going inside Parliament, notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
According to our Delhi correspondent, following the fallout with the Dravida Munetra Kazhagam, Congress president Sonia Gandhi told outgoing Fertiliser Minister M K Alagiri that she was taken by surprise after the DMK withdrew support from the United Progressive Alliance chairperson.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned twice in the post-lunch period on Thursday as a war of words broke out between the treasury and opposition benches, triggered by Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi's spat with the Bharatiya Janata Party's Ravneet Singh Bittu.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla recognised Rahul Gandhi as the leader of opposition on Wednesday, a day after the Congress communicated its decision to name him for the position to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
On instructions from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior Union ministers were asked to brief Congress MPs on the allocation of coal blocks and the CAG report.
Questions are being raised on the future of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as differences among its constituents come to the fore and several parties call for serious introspection by the Congress after a string of debilitating electoral losses.
Around 25 BJP MLAs led by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari then walked out of the assembly, claiming that several party legislators were roughed up by TMC MLAs inside the House.
A metal detector was on Monday installed in front of Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari's office in Parliament after he wondered why he is exempt from usual checks that all others are subjected to.
The umbrella body of over 40 farmer unions said at a press conference that two days before the session begins, a "chetavani patra" (warning letter) will be given to all the opposition MPs to protest the laws inside the House.
For the first time, large display screens and consoles for participation from galleries, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, special cables between the two Houses and polycarbonate separators will be in place.
Australia's intelligence agencies have uncovered a plot by the Islamic State militants to launch a "Mumbai-style" terror attack on the parliament with Prime Minister Tony Abbott and other top officials being the prime targets.
Asserting the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) wants a constructive debate on the NEET issue, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said it is unfortunate that they were not allowed to raise it in the Parliament.
Congress MPs staged a protest in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament complex demanding an apology from the government for Irani's confrontation with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday.
Proceedings in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were disrupted as Opposition members raised slogans demanding a discussion and a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the fraud-allegation-triggered rout.
"I am not allowed to speak in the Rajya Sabha often. Should I say it is because I am a Dalit?" he asked.
Prime Minister Khan, who had effectively lost his majority in the 342-member National Assembly, made a brief address to the nation after a stormy parliament session was adjourned by Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri.
The row over Bharatiya Janata Party MP Anurag Thakur's remarks in Lok Sabha escalated on Wednesday with the Congress submitting a notice to move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for posting on 'X' a video that allegedly also contained expunged portions of Thakur's speech.
He indicated his conviction will remain firm even if that "uprising" ultimately puts the party he faithfully served for 13 years in the dock.
The suspended Rajya Sabha parliamentarians, who spent the night on the lawns near Mahatma Gandhi's statue in what several old-timers said was the first such overnight protest in the complex, got a surprise visitor in the morning -- Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh who came with tea and snacks.
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
According to plans, the new structure will be more energy efficient, fitted with all modern amenities like multilevel parking facility, centralised air conditioning systems and solar panels, reports Arnab Dutta/Business Standard.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge used poetry and humour to take swipes at the government on Monday, saying nothing will be accomplished by changing names, and went on to recall how first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's 'inclusive' approach of involving opposition parties had led to the laying of a strong foundation for the Constitution.
Birla informed the House that four persons have been arrested - two from inside the House, and two from outside Parliament in connection with the incident.
Quoting Shakespeare, he noted: "As Shakespeare said of the earlier Queen Elizabeth, she was a pattern to all princes living."
Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, former defence minister AK Antony, senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma also took part in the protest sporting black bands.
Several MPs came to the Upper House wearing masks and demanded curtailment of the ongoing Budget session, which is due to end on April 3, in view of the novel coronavirus scare, but the government seemed unwilling.
'He fears that the youth tide has gone against him and he will be swept away in the next assembly election in the state.'
Corruption and bribery of members of the legislature erode the foundation of Indian parliamentary democracy, the Supreme Court said on Monday.
BJP President Amit Shah has authorised Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu to liaise with M Thambidurai and TTV Dinakaran from the Sasikala camp, just in case it turns against the BJP after the income tax raids on its health minister C Vijayabaskar.
A major fire broke out in the AC plant of the Parliament complex on Sunday afternoon.
Sitharaman, India's first full-time woman finance minister, had in July 2019 ditched the colonial legacy of a Budget briefcase for the traditional 'bahi-khata' to carry Union Budget papers.
The two women MPs -- Jothimani and Ramya Haridas -- have filed a complaint with the Speaker Om Birla.
Videos on social media showed protesters climbing a statue of Hasina's father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a 1971 Liberation War hero, in Dhaka and smashing it with hammers.
INDIA bloc leaders will protest at Jantar Mantar Friday against suspension of MPs and nationwide protests will also be held in all district headquarters against the government's "immoral and illegal" behaviour of this government, the Leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha said.
Sri Lanka's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would resign on Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced late on Saturday night, hours after thousands of protesters stormed the former's official residence, blaming his government for an unprecedented economic crisis that has brought the country to its knees.
The session, which is likely to have around 20 sittings, would conclude ahead of Christmas.
No sooner had the House paid its respects to the nine persons who laid down their lives 17 years back when terrorist attacked the Parliament House complex and the listed papers presented, members belonging to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam trooped into the well of the House shouting slogans.
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