Lok Sabha could function for only 45 hours this Budget Session against its scheduled 133.6 hours because of daily disruptions and frequent adjournments, a think tank data has shown.
Why are DIIs holding such a high stake in Zee, which is beset with alleged governance issues? Perhaps they think Zee is a deep-value stock, observes Debashis Basu.
One of the reasons why the TMC decided not to demand a JPC is that the chairperson and most of its members would be from the BJP, he said, adding JPC means putting the issue under the carpet.
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said he is not completely opposed to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the charges against the Adani group, but a Supreme Court committee will be more useful and effective.
The final report was to be submitted in March but it got an extension till the second week of the monsoon session that began September 14.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has seen a reduction in fighter squadrons due to the phasing out of ageing MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27 aircraft. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence acknowledged the "shortage" and highlighted the multi-pronged approach being taken to address it. This includes the induction of indigenous Tejas fighters and the procurement of additional LCA Mk-1A aircraft. The report also addresses concerns over "incidences of spying" within the IAF and details the action taken against those involved.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera sought to know that in an inter-governmental defence deal, where there cannot be any middlemen or corruption, when the beneficiary of any "corruption" has ordered a probe, why has a country, which has lost public money, not ordered one?
While the BJP and the Congress have always supported the bill, opposition by other parties and demands from some for quota for backward classes within the women's quota have been key sticking points.
The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) on Thursday trained its guns on the Adani Group, alleging hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in publicly traded group stocks through Mauritius-based 'opaque' investment funds managed by partners of promoter family, charges the conglomerate denied vehemently.
'Losers who cannot influence people even in their own party keep cribbing that the entire world is controlled by the BJP and RSS'
The demonetisation has caused untold miseries to the ordinary people, Yechury said.
'As someone who has had the opportunity of cross examining Vinod Rai, extensively over three days as part of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, many of us included I had concluded at that point of time that this report rests on the foundation of sand.'
'Somebody was using somebody to make statements that will stir the stock market and lead to a surge.' 'A sudden surge and a sudden crash is always an ideal situation for people to make illicit gains and then siphoning off the money.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the current logjam in Parliament could end if the Opposition and the government sit for a discussion and both move two steps forward.
The prime minister must clear his stand on the Rafale deal after Hollande's remarks, he said.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee said despite the fencing, floodlighting and patrolling by the Border Security Force personnel, Pakistani terrorists managed to sneak into India from across the border.
Tharoor put the blame for the logjam in Parliament on BJP and accused the saffron party of reducing the "temple of democracy to a rubber stamp for its agenda or worse, a notice board to announce its unilateral decisions".
Former Telecom Minister A Raja's written submission before the Joint Parliamentary Committee, in which he had claimed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was in the loop over policy decisions, does not form part of the panel's report on 2G spectrum scam.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday favoured a thorough inquiry into allegations of phone tapping with the help of Pegasus spyware which has led to a logjam in Parliament.
The disqualification of wrestler Vinesh Phogat in the Olympics after being found overweight before the final bout also saw the government and Opposition come to blows in Parliament.
The plenary session in Chhattisgarh's Nava Raipur will start from February 24 and is expected to be attended by around 15,000 delegates.
Moitra brought two birthday caps in the House to press her argument that the businessman being most talked about had "topi-pehnau-ed" the government.
However, the AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the SC committee has limited terms of reference and 'cannot bring out the deep nexus between' the prime minister and the billionaire businessman.
Ramesh stressed that the prime minister should participate in the debate on Manipur.
The provisions in the FRDI bill do not modify current protections for depositors adversely at all, the ministry held, maintaining that these rather provide additional protections in a more transparent manner.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G spectrum allocation has concluded that Attorney General G E Vahanvati was aware of the procedure approved by the Department of Telecommunication on first-come-first served criteria in file notings.
The Union home ministry has recommended the special CAG audit taking note of a May 24 letter by Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena which pointed out 'gross and prima facie financial irregularities' in the 'reconstruction' of the chief minister's official residence, they claimed.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday termed as "very dangerous" External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid's comments questioning the role of the Supreme Court and Election Commission and said the two institutions must take suo motu cognisance of it.
The Congress is planning to call a meeting of Opposition parties in May. It is possible to keep all possibilities open in case Karnataka yields a hung House, leading to a recalibrated Opposition.
The Congress on Friday alleged that Facebook was being used as a weapon by the Bharatiya Janata Party to spread hate and fake news in the country and demanded that a joint parliamentary committee probe be conducted on the issue and laws be enacted to restrict Facebook and WhatsApp.
The Congress has, however, countered this saying someone who is not an MP of Rajya Sabha cannot be called to the House and there cannot be any discussion/reflection on or about an MP of Lok Sabha.
The prolonged delay over electing J P Nadda's successor possibly stems from the RSS leadership wanting a person who is at least equidistant from the Sangh as well as the Modi/BJP edifice, observes BJP-RSS watcher Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Over the last 50 years, the number of sittings of Parliament has been declining and has halved since the 1950s and the 1960s, the report stated.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna's (JVP) broader front National People's Power (NPP), on Sunday consolidated his lead in the Sri Lanka's presidential election.
The joint inspections is to ensure the safety, efficacy, and quality of drugs available in the country
He accused Jaitley of having the ability to spin "two truths or lies" with "fake self-righteousness" and "indignation to defend the indefensible".
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.
In the event of the BJP's poor performance in the assembly polls this year and in early 2025, Modi's hold will get further weakened because he will no longer remain the invincible electoral persona tightly controlling the machine at his disposal, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Ramesh, however, said it was too early to talk about all this right now as the Congress' first priority was the upcoming elections in Karnataka and the string of state polls this year.
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day as amid uproarious scenes with the opposition and treasury benches shouting slogans.
