Opposition leaders, who have been demanding a discussion on the ethnic violence in Manipur under Rule 267 of Rajya Sabha, later staged a walkout in protest.
"This is all about distraction, basic issue is of caste census and participation, in whose hands is the money of the country going. They (BJP) don't want to discuss this issue, they are afraid of it and run away from it," Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament.
The vice president met Leader of the party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, P Chidambaram and Deputy Leader of the party in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, among others and discussed various points regarding the key tax reform legislation.
Sources said the Congress may consider opposing the bill when it is introduced in Parliament. The Aam Aadmi Party, which is in power in Delhi, has been seeking the support of various political parties on the matter.
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge sought to raise the issue of inflation and price rise and demanded a discussion on it. The deputy chairman said it cannot be entertained as the Question Hour was on.
All MPs of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are entitled to vote in the vice presidential election.
Reacting to the development, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked whether or not there is any parliamentary system in the country.v
Equating the accord with the Sharm-el-Sheikh joint statement between India and Pakistan, Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley accused the government of 'spin doctoring' and trying to interpret the agreement differently.
The ceremony to inaugurate the new Parliament building will begin with an early morning havan and a multi-religion prayer on Sunday followed by a formal opening in the Lok Sabha chamber by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and some other MPs suspended from Parliament will not be able to attend the meetings of parliamentary committees of which they are a member or chairperson till their suspension is revoked.
Nadda enjoys warm relations with Modi, who was for a long time in charge of the party's affairs in Himachal Pradesh.
Tabled by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, the legislation will reverse the effect of the Supreme Court verdict in May that gave the Delhi government power over administrative services.
After hectic parleys and much back and forth with the INDIA bloc allies, the Congress also ended up going into the polls with its original plan of largely going solo.
Both the parties were not represented at the opposition meeting that decided on fielding Alva as their consensus candidate, but Pawar had said that he is in touch with both TMC leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as well as AAP convener and Delhi Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move to get reservation for women in legislatures promises to shape the political discourse ahead of key state polls and Lok Sabha elections, and a parliamentary approval to the long-contested proposal will be used by the Bharatiya Janata Party to burnish his credentials as a decisive leader.
The number of no-confidence motions is seen as unprecedented and the Congress bagging the posts of chiefs of Urban Local Bodies is expected to strengthen the party in urban areas.
64 Rajya Sabha MPs have signed the notice for impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice of India Deepak Misra under "five grounds of misbehaviour".
While seven of the suspended MPs belonged to the TMC, six were from the DMK, three from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, two from the Communist Party of India-Marxist and one from the Communist Party of India.
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.
Along with Modi, senior BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar, all ministers in Modi 2.0 Cabinet, took oath as cabinet ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In all, 71 ministers were sworn-in along with Modi, taking the strength of the Union council to 72.
Now, with the INDIA bloc putting up an impressive show in the Lok Sabha polls and managing to stop the BJP juggernaut, opposition leaders will be looking at the senior Pawar for guidance in navigating the political space against the saffron party post-elections.
The Audi car, which hit several vehicles in the Ramdaspeth area in the early hours of Monday, had five occupants, including Sanket Bawankule, who was not at the wheel at the time of the crash, which left two persons injured, according to the police.
Senior leaders P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh are learnt to be the front-runners to take on the mantle of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.
Banerjee said her microphone was stopped after five minutes, while other chief ministers were allowed to speak for longer durations.
The Congress on Thursday raised the issue of Enforcement Directorate action and police gherao of its party office and the residences of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, with Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge saying in the Rajya Sabha that he has been summoned by the ED at a time when Parliament is in session.
"If the FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report proves that the slogan raised in favour of Pakistan is true, serious action will be taken in this regard. There is no question of protecting those who raised slogans in favour of Pakistan," the Chief Minister told reporters.
Rajya Sabha is likely to adjourn sine die after taking up five bills on Wednesday, the sources said on Tuesday. The Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla said, will meet at 6 pm on Wednesday instead of the usual 3 pm.
Any direction or rule of the House cannot subvert the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech granted to members of Parliament, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, asserting that any criticism of the government and its policies can never be equated with the "dignity" of the Council of States.
From putting up a decent performance in the last Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh winning 10 seats stitching an alliance with arch rival Samajwadi Party, Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party drew a blank in the current general elections, dealing a severe blow to its reputation of representing the voice of Dalits in the state.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday claimed no one from the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra has contacted them for support in the upcoming elections to six Rajya Sabha seats from the state.
The disruption by Opposition members drew sharp criticism from Prime Minister Modi who accused them of being unable to digest the fact that a large number of new ministers are women, Dalits, tribals and those from other backward classes
A day after TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu held deliberations with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda, Kumar told PTI that preliminary discussions have taken place for the 'purpose of alliance' for the Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, which are held simultaneously in Andhra Pradesh.
Parliament reconvenes after a day of adjournment following the demise of former MoS external affairs E Ahmed.
Ahead of the Mumbai meeting, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said that a few more political parties were likely to join the opposition INDIA during its upcoming meeting.
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