The bill to amend the 49-year-old law to guard against claims of succession or transfer of properties left by people who migrated to Pakistan and China was passed amid a walkout by the entire Opposition.
The BJP is still short of the halfway mark of 123 in the 245-member House, but can now muster a 'working' majority with help of allies, friendly parties, some Independents and nominated members.
The numbers, however, appear to be in favour of the ruling dispensation to get these bills passed from Rajya Sabha, while the lower house has already cleared them despite a key NDA member Shiromani Akali Dal vehemently opposing them.
Amar Singh built an extensive network for the party, and was often spotted with celebrities, from the Bachchans to Anil Ambani to Subrata Roy.
The first leg of the Budget session concluded with debates over the India-US trade deal and a former army chief's memoir, and will reassemble on March 9.
The Rajya Sabha today bid a touching farewell to its members who were retiring after serving their six-year term, including Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptulla and Leader of the Opposition Jaswant Singh
The BJP has released its first list of candidates for the West Bengal assembly polls, featuring Suvendu Adhikari against Mamata Banerjee in a high-stakes electoral battle. The Left Front has also announced its initial list of candidates, setting the stage for a crucial election.
Bringing the prime minister in the line of fire, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday accused him and his ministers for the "choreographed disturbance" in the Rajya Sabha on the Lokpal issue and insisted that since the government wanted a weak ombudsman and lacked numbers, it ran away from a vote.
Setting aside their confrontation over the CAG report on coal block allocation, opposition and the ruling dispensation on Tuesday got together in a rare show to unanimously elect Congress leader P J Kurien as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman.
The Election Commission's move to transfer West Bengal's chief secretary and DGP soon after the announcement of Assembly poll dates triggered a political slugfest.
The deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Friday afternoon.
Parliament is set to debate the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram and election reforms, with key discussions led by Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah.
Elections for 19 Rajya Sabha seats spread across eight states will be held on Friday with the contest in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan promising to be a close affair between the BJP and the Congress.
Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajparty Party, which support the United Progressive Alliance from outside, on Wednesday created repeated obstructions in Rajya Sabha, prompting an angry Bharatiya Janata Party to allege that the government has decided not to run the House because of its 'number game'.
The Opposition members on Monday strongly raised the issue of religious conversions, and a controversial statement made by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Yogi Adityanath on the Ayodhya issue and a report that government schools have been asked to observe Good Governance Day on Christmas Day, in the Rajya Sabha.
Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Trinamool Congress competed with each other in trying to raise the issue more vociferously
Union minister Smriti Irani will also contest the Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat from where she is already an MP and her term ends on August 18.
The notices given by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Deputy Leader of Congress in the House, Anand Sharma, seek to corner the government on the issue accusing it of "destabilising" a democratically-elected government in Uttarakhand.
'The jail staff told me Kasab was served only jail food and not biryani.' 'They told me that Kasab was beaten regularly after court proceedings.' 'And they filled Kasab's bottle with urine so that whenever he felt thirsty he used to drink urine.'
'Nitish Kumar may be marginalised as an office-holder, but that is not the same thing as the disappearance of Nitish Kumar's politics.'
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirodi Lal Meena moved for leave to introduce the bill to provide for the constitution of the national inspection and investigation committee for preparation of a Uniform Civil Code and its implementation throughout India and for matters connected therewith during the private member's business.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is urging the Indian government to take a more proactive role in mediating the escalating conflict between the US-Israel alliance and Iran, emphasising the impact on India's energy security and regional stability.
Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, Union ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Rajeev Shukla, and Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi and actor Jaya Bachchan were among the 50 new members who took oath in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
'The chair is a referee in a match, whether this side is playing better or that side is playing worse is no concern of the chair.'
The Rajya Sabha on Monday witnessed uproar over the steep Rs 2.35 a litre hike in petrol price and 50 paisa a litre increase in cost of diesel.
The first such situation surfaced on December 18, 1954, when the Opposition moved a resolution for the removal of then Speaker Mavalankar.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated the government is open to discussing electoral reforms in the Rajya Sabha, urging the Opposition not to impose a timeline. Opposition parties staged a walkout after demanding an immediate discussion on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
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.
Home Minister Amit Shah criticized the opposition in Rajya Sabha, linking the division of the 'Vande Mataram' song to the partition of India. He accused Congress and Jawaharlal Nehru of dividing the song for appeasement politics.
The legislature wing of the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra will hold a meeting in Mumbai on January 31, where Deputy Chief Minister late Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra is set to be named as its leader, state minister Chhagan Bhujbal said on Friday.
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.
Kharge further said the local leaders should take ownership of the internal disputes rather than blaming the high command.
Amid unprecedented bedlam, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde moved the Telangana bill in Rajya Sabha for consideration leading to three adjournments within 30 minutes.
The Lokpal Bill will come up in Rajya Sabha on Friday and is a "priority" for the government, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said on Thursday.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has declined to comment on reports claiming he held discussions with CPI(M) members in Dubai. CPI(M) dismisses speculation about Tharoor joining, while Congress denies he is leaving.
BJP-led govt will need regional parties' support in Upper House to get legislation cleared. Archis Mohan reports
Mayawati was outmanoeuvred by the BJP in the race for the Rajya Sabha in Uttar Pradesh just days after she helped the Samajwadi Party snatch two Lok Sbaha seats from the saffron party in bypolls.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut says he is undergoing treatment for serious health issues and has been advised to avoid public interaction.
'The AIADMK and DMK have 75% of the total votes. 25% of the voters do not support the two majors,' says DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raised the issue of the Indo-US trade deal soon after the zero hour ended and alleged that the information about the deal was being received from Washington instead.
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