M Thambidurai, leader of the All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam in Parliament, was unanimously elected as Lok Sabha's deputy speaker on Wednesday, making him the first leader to occupy the post twice.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sumitra Mahajan will be the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha with senior leaders from all parties, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, moving motions on Thursday proposing her name for the high office.
The 17th Lok Sabha, which was dissolved on June 5, did not have a deputy speaker for its full term, and it was the second consecutive term of the lower house without an LoP.
It was a changed scenario in the new Lok Sabha with the churning brought out by the elections throwing in contrasts.
Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed another low with a member tearing a newspaper and throwing its pieces in the House, drawing strong condemnation from the Chair.
Eight-term member Sumitra Mahajan was on Friday unanimously elected Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha, becoming the second woman presiding officer of the Lower House after her predecessor Meira Kumar.
The much-touted Food Security Bill, which proposes to give the country's three-fourth population the right to highly-subsidised food, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, with the government rejecting apprehensions that it would impinge upon the rights of states.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday came under attack in Lok Sabha from the Opposition which accused the ruling party of fuelling communalism, resulting in uproar in the House during a debate on communal violence.
The Opposition said that the government was 'bull-dozing'.
Thambidurai, 71, was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals on Tuesday and underwent an angiogram, they said without divulging any further details.
Members in the Lok Sabha on Thursday expressed grave concern over hate crimes against Indians in the United States, with opposition parties questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" on the matter and the government saying it was being "viewed seriously".
M Thambidurai of the All India Dravida Munetra Kazhagam is set to be elected unopposed as Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha after all major parties, including Congress, extended support to his andidature.
'Of equal importance was the AIADMK's precarious assembly membership, what with 11 of its MLAs including deputy chief minister OPS facing court cases for disqualification and by-elections due in another 21. To shore up the party's numbers for anticipated eventuality on the 11-MLAs' front, the AIADMK leadership in general and chief minister EPS in particular, were even more focussed on assembly seats than LS seats, just now,' says N Sathiya Moorthy.
At the customary meeting ahead of the session beginning Monday, the opposition raised various issues, including voter roll revision in Bihar, the Pahalgam terror attack and Trump's 'ceasefire' claims.
Modi's inability to make peace with a renewed Opposition will only embolden his coalition partners and it is just a matter of time before they begin asking probing questions besides politely disagreeing with his tactics, predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the Centre had sent multiple advance warnings to the Kerala government about possible floods and landslides in the state, starting as early as July 23, and nine National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were rushed to the state the same day.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has asserted that alliances are formed only at the time of elections and declined to categorically say if his party would align with the BJP for the 2026 Assembly polls. Palaniswami met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday and brought to his attention several issues faced by Tamil Nadu, including the need for funds release, the implementation of the Godavari-Cauvery river linking plan, and a probe into the "TASMAC scam." He said that while the party would decide on an alliance at the time of the election, he did not rule out a tie-up with the BJP.
EPS has had its way on most things, alliance-wise. A week earlier, he reiterated that he would not re-admit OPS and Sasikala Natarajan back in the party. It was a message not just to detractors in the AIADMK. It was even more so for the BJP leadership in Delhi. Even more important for the AIADMK was their demand for accepting EPS as the chief ministerial candidate of any alliance that the party would form, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill to regulate the appointment and service terms of Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners incorporating key amendments like retaining their status at par with Supreme Court judges, upgrading the search committee and inserting a new clause to protect them from court cases while discharging their official duties.
The impending expulsion of Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Mahua Moitra from the Lok Sabha, three bills to replace criminal laws and a proposed law for the appointment of election commissioners are issues set to dominate the Winter Session of Parliament, with the government urging the Opposition to ensure a conducive environment for discussions in the House.
"Chinnamma has given valuable suggestions to Amma regarding party administration and also on governance. Like this, the list of traits of Chinnamma can go on," he said.
"I will approach the Committee of Privileges and court of law against the BJP Lok Sabha members who levelled the false allegation of forgery against me," Chadha said.
Leaders of various opposition parties on Sunday demanded that issues of price rise, 'Agnipath' scheme as well as the alleged misuse of investigative agencies be taken up in Parliament and also raised objections to the list of 'unparliamentary words' at an all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of the Monsoon Session.
Election for the post of Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker will take place on Wednesday and the nomination of candidate is slated for Tuesday.
Legendary athlete P T Usha on Wednesday batted for bringing all competitions under National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and sought more focus on the field of sports medicine and science to help players recover from injuries.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday referred the complaints of four MPs, who accused Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha of proposing their name in a House panel without their consent in violation of rules, to the privileges committee to examine and investigate the matter.
Constituencies that are going to the polls in the first phase, slated for April 19, have just 19 days for campaigning. Contrast that with those going to polls in the 7th phase, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
A weak presence in the Rajya Sabha has forced the NDA to try and rope in 'weak links' in the Opposition ranks to pass key legislation in the Upper House.
From being the third largest party in the outgoing Lok Sabha with 37 seats, the AIADMK has to now contend with single digit tally, pushed to the third spot behind arch rival DMK and Congress despite fighting the polls as part of a "mega alliance" with parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Lok Sabha speaker and the secretariat found themselves embroiled in an angry dispute on Tuesday as members of the Trinamool Congress party and Telugu Desam Party clashed over the contentious Room no 5 on the first floor of Parliament House.
On the first day of winter session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to the Opposition.
The Bill allows stopping of transmission and intercepting messages in case of public emergency, in the interest of the public, to prevent incitement for committing offence.
The plight of Sri Lankan Tamils on Monday found an echo in the Lok Sabha with All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam members seeking to embarrass a visiting Lankan Parliamentary delegation by raising slogans which was denounced by Speaker Meira Kumar.
The government on Tuesday conceded the opposition demand for having 30 members in the Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the 2G spectrum issue, giving up its earlier plan for a 21-member panel to accommodate smaller parties like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, sources said.
Reports of alleged influence by some corporate lobbies on allocation of 2G spectrum, was on Wednesday vociferously raised in both House of Parliament, leading to adjournment of Rajya Sabha twice.
India on Monday strongly condemned the "derogatory" article against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa appearing in the Sri Lankan defence ministry website, as the controversy rocked Parliament with an agitated All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam demanding a resolution to denounce it.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 by voice vote following a walkout by opposition members over the Manipur issue.
Asserting that there was no split in the party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader from Sasikala camp M Thambidurai on Thursday requested the Election Commission "not to entertain" the dissenting cadres, who have staked claim to AIADMK symbol and sought fresh election to the general secretary's post.
Some members held placards of news reports about unemployment figures.
Amid furore created by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam members in Parliament for the second day running, the government on Tuesday admitted that a Supreme Court collegium during the United Progressive Alliance rule had recommended extension of a judge in Tamil Nadu who was under corruption cloud.
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