The Congress on Tuesday claimed that there are "far deeper reasons" for Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation as the vice president than the health reasons cited by him, and said his resignation speaks highly of him but poorly of those who got him elected to the post.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma has rejected the opposition's move to impeach Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, calling it an attempt to disrupt House proceedings. Sharma claims there are no valid grounds to impeach Dhankhar, who is also the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The opposition parties submitted a notice to move a motion for removing Dhankhar for allegedly conducting the Upper House in a partisan manner. However, Sharma defended Dhankhar's conduct and asserted that he has been impartial in his role as chairman.
After much delay, the landmark Lokpal Bill was on Tuesday passed by the Rajya Sabha, marking a step closer to enactment of a new law under which an anti-corruption ombudsman would be set up.
Several leaders of the opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) have given a privilege notice against leader of the house in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal over his certain remarks against some opposition leaders.
Electoral fortunes of 1,302 candidates, including over half a dozen ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, will be sealed on Tuesday with 3.70 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 122 assembly segments in the second and final phase of the Bihar polls.
A committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met to select the next chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi attended the meeting as leaders of the opposition in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha respectively. The post has been vacant since Justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra completed his tenure on June 1. The committee, which selects the NHRC chief, is headed by the prime minister and includes the Lok Sabha Speaker, home minister, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, and deputy chairperson of Rajya Sabha.
"This is a tribute to our daughter," said Nirbhaya's father, who was present in the RS to watch the proceedings.
'The central learning of the day was that if the BJP leadership can cajole, coax and convince regional parties to vote for bills, it would not be a stretch to see the same votes cast in favour of the land bill,' a senior Congress leader from a northern state told Rediff.com
While 30 of them were suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session, three were suspended pending the report of the Privileges Committee.
Tejashwi Yadav and Prashant Kishore claim that a group of senior Janata Dal-United leaders and retired bureaucrats, locally dubbed the 'Bhunja Party', manages the state administration on Nitish Kumar's behalf.
The House had to be adjourned twice in the afternoon amid din over the issue and finally for the day, minutes after it reassembled at 3 pm.
Congress members alleged breach of propriety and constitutional norms in the consultations Goa Governor Mridula Sinha held with Jaitley.
Kharge claimed that the wording as well as the tone and tenor of the remarks made by the Home minister "are clearly satirical and made in a very bad taste".
Moitra was seen in a red saree with zari butis and traditional gold jewellery, while husband Misra was dressed in a classic white traditional dhoti and kurta with a distinct Odiya bomkai borers.
The Congress party announced its intention to challenge the constitutionality of the recently passed Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the Supreme Court. AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh stated that the party will "very soon" file a petition, citing concerns about the bill's impact on constitutional principles. Ramesh highlighted the Congress's ongoing legal challenges against other legislation, including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), amendments to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, and changes to the Conduct of Election Rules. He emphasized the party's commitment to defending the Constitution's principles, provisions, and practices.
Opposition INDIA Bloc leaders are considering an impeachment notice against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over concerns about voter roll revision in Bihar and alleged vote theft. The move comes after the CEC addressed a press conference without addressing the opposition's questions.
Amidst speculation over the NDA seat-sharing deal in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar distributed JD(U) tickets, while the BJP announced its first list of candidates. The INDIA bloc also faces internal challenges as parties prepare for the upcoming elections.
The Chair expunged Swamy's reference to the Constitution of another country that triggered vociferous protests from Congress members.
Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice during Question Hour on Monday as the Congress created uproar saying there were inconsistencies in government statements on the World Trade Organisation though Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asserted there was no contradiction.
If the INDIA bloc and NDA develop consensus then Shiv Sena-UBT will also be part of that process, Raut said.
In a rare legislative action, a private member's Bill seeking to protect the rights of transgenders was passed unanimously by voice vote in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju defends Parliament's inability to discuss the Election Commission's functioning, citing a former speaker's ruling. The Opposition's demand to discuss the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls continues to disrupt the Monsoon session.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has nominated Maharashta Governor Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan as their candidate for Vice-President of India. The announcement was made by BJP President J P Nadda, highlighting Radhakrishnan's extensive public service and cross-party respect.
Kharge alleged that Dhankhar is working as a government spokesperson and acting like a school headmaster, often sermonising experienced opposition leaders and preventing them from speaking in the House.
A corrigendum to the joint parliamentary committee report on the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, was tabled in the Rajya Sabha after Opposition MPs alleged that dissent notes were redacted from the report. BJP MP Medha Vishram Kulkarni tabled the corrigendum, which included the un-redacted dissent notes. The Opposition MPs, led by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, had earlier accused the government of misleading the House by deleting the dissent notes. The government, however, denied the allegations. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar thanked the government for the corrigendum, saying it showed that parliamentary institutions are blossoming. Opposition MPs, however, said it was done under their pressure.
Rajya Sabha on Wednesday unanimously passed a historic bill to operationalise the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh that provides for exchange of territories to settle the 41-year border issue.
When the country has been at war, the Opposition has buried its differences with the government, points out Aditi Phadnis.
INDIA bloc parties are set to raise issues such as the Pahalgam attack, US President Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire, and concerns over electoral roll revisions in Bihar during the Parliament's Monsoon session.
The BSP chief who raised the issue of anti-Dalit violence in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh walked out of the Upper House, prompting protests and an adjournment.
A down-to-the-wire contest is likely in some of the seats in the high-stakes Rajya Sabha elections in seven states, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana, where the fate of candidates including senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal and senior lawyer R K Anand is being decided on Saturday.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge criticizes Home Minister Amit Shah, calling him 'incompetent' and demanding his resignation following a deadly blast in Delhi, citing intelligence failure and lack of accountability.
V Vijayasai Reddy, a Rajya Sabha member from the YSRCP, has announced his decision to quit politics and resign from his parliamentary membership. He stated that agriculture will be his future and that his decision was personal, with no pressure or influence from others. Reddy's announcement comes as the YSRCP faces challenges after its defeat in the 2024 Assembly elections. He thanked YSRCP supremo YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for providing him the Rajya Sabha opportunity and highlighted his working relationship with the ruling TDP and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan.
The National Democratic Alliance's vice presidential candidate C P Radhakrishnan was felicitated at a meeting of the ruling bloc's MPs in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Union ministers. He is expected to file his nomination soon.
BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj said there are many leaders in the Opposition parties who are "capable" of handling the work of the Leader of Opposition but it is up to them to take a decision as it is their "internal matter".
Amid a row over change in stand over voting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday asserted it is a secular regional outfit and maintains equal distance from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance bloc led by the Congress.
For the fifth day in succession, a united opposition led by the Congress party on Friday created turmoil in Rajya Sabha demanding a reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on forcible religious conversions, leading to two adjournments before lunch.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J P Nadda and several other top leaders of the NDA.
Putrajeevak Beej, the medicine from Baba Ramdev's pharmacy, promises the delivery of a male child.
If the party is unable to do well in Gujarat and Karnataka polls, it could lose this status in the subsequent binneial elections to the upper House.
Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said the first priority should be to hold a comprehensive and detailed discussion on the Manipur situation in Parliament, going by the fact that people have been killed and the chief minister himself has admitted that several such incidents have happened in the state.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances