President Droupadi Murmu on Monday administered oath to BJP MP B Mahtab as 'speaker pro-tem' of the newly-constituted 18th Lok Sabha.
The Congress party has alleged that approximately 23 lakh women's names have been removed from the voter list in Bihar, particularly in constituencies with close contests in the 2020 elections. They claim this is a deliberate act of 'vote theft' orchestrated by the ruling party through the Election Commission.
Members from parties, including National Democratic Alliance partner Telugu Desam Party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Trinamool Congress, continued their protests on various issues.
Several petitions were filed in the apex court challenging the Act, contending that it was discriminatory towards the Muslim community and violated their fundamental rights.
The Pal-led committee is currently on a tour of five states to speak to various stakeholders though opposition members have boycotted it.
Soon after the suspension of 33 opposition Lok Sabha MPs, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said all democratic norms have been thrown into the dustbin by this "autocratic" government and it has shown zero accountability towards Parliament.
'Previously, contributing only 25 per cent of material costs, states now face burdens of 40 per cent to 100 per cent of total costs, ensuring poorer states will curb project approvals, directly stifling work demand.'
As many as 95 MPs did not attend even a single meeting of the parliamentary standing committees that reviewed allocations for different ministries post-presentation of the Union Budget for the 2020-21 fiscal, Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said on Monday. Giving an account of the meetings of these panels on the opening day of the Rajya Sabha after the recess, Naidu said, "Ninety-five members, accounting for 39 per cent of the total 244, did not attend any meeting on the demands for grants. Only 28 members had zero attendance last time."
Addressing the newly elected MPs in the Central Hall of Parliament, she said far from taking responsibility for the failure, the prime minister intends to get himself sworn in again on Sunday.
Whether AAP bounces back or fades into political oblivion will depend on its strategy in the coming months.
The Congress in Kerala on Sunday distanced itself from the controversy over Shashi Tharoor's decision to accept the Centre's invite to lead a multi-party delegation abroad, stating that it is for the party high command to comment on the matter.
1581 MPs with criminal background will elect next President of India.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Sunday refused to comment on Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's statement that he would like to see him as the prime minister.
The Indian government has introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to ban online games played with money, aiming to curb addiction, money laundering, and financial fraud. The bill also targets advertisements and financial transactions related to such games.
Infighting within West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) came to the fore after a video of an alleged verbal spat between party MPs and screenshots of heated exchanges from its official WhatsApp group for parliamentarians went viral. The incident reportedly involved a public altercation at the Election Commission headquarters, followed by a heated exchange on the party's WhatsApp group, leading to accusations of misconduct and leaked screenshots. The controversy has triggered calls for action against the party chief whip, Kalyan Banerjee, who is accused of misbehavior and tarnishing the party's image.
According to the 'handbook for Lok Sabha members' uploaded on the Lower House's website, in the application form submitted by MPs for visitors, they need to provide details such as visitor's name in full, age, father's or husband's name, nationality and passport number (for foreigners only) and details of occupation, among other things.
'Work should be done in accordance with Parliament's rules. They don't do it and they have been suspended'
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Congress on Sunday said it was not stopping anyone from being part of diplomatic delegations to be sent to various countries following Operation Sindoor and that its leaders who have been named at the instance of the government must listen to their conscience and contribute to the exercise.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Thursday as opposition members protested wearing T-shirts with slogans on the issue of delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies. The Speaker, Om Birla, objected to the DMK members wearing T-shirts with slogans written on them, saying such actions were against the rules of procedure of the House. He directed the members to go out of the House and come back with proper dress maintaining dignity. The DMK members have been trying to raise the issue of delimitation in the Lok Sabha, but the Speaker had rejected their pleas contending that the issue is nowhere on the government radar as the census of population was yet to be conducted.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is expected to achieve a clear majority in Rajya Sabha after bye-elections for 12 seats scheduled next month, which would help the party get the nod for key legislations such as the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
The MPs who win assembly polls will have to quit one of their seats in the next 14 days.
This has been our history of good governance: Things that were difficult to do and required planning and implementation were first taken up and then abandoned, notes Aaakr Patel.
Aam Aadmi Party MPs boycotted President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on Thursday to protest against the arrest of party convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
Opposition leaders on Tuesday demanded a debate on the Constitution in both Houses of Parliament, stressing it was needed in the light of the recent developments in the country.
Lok Sabha members Hanuman Beniwal, Malook Nagar and Gurjeet Singh Aujla were at the centre of the scene when a group of MPs managed to overpower two persons who jumped into the House chamber and released yellow gas from canisters.
A cross-party delegation led by Congress MP Dr Shashi Tharoor is visiting key American nations to rally global support for India's counter-terror stance under Operation Sindoor, spotlighting regional stability and Pakistan-backed cross-border threats.
Opposition parties have agreed to the agenda of taking up a special discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor on Monday in Lok Sabha and the next day in Rajya Sabha, brightening up the prospect of normalcy returning to Parliament after the virtual washout of first-week proceedings.
'This is purely transactional politics -- there exists no family reunion as such.'
Two Rajya Sabha MPs from Gujarat -- BJP president Amit Shah, now Home Minister, and Smriti Irani, who has got the women and child development ministry -- have won the Lok Sabha polls, thus creating two vacancies in the Upper House of Parliament from the state.
The report was earlier listed in the agenda of the lower house for December 4 but was not tabled.
Congress MPs on Thursday met the LoK Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and raised the issue of alleged ill-treatment of party lawmakers, including some women, by the Delhi police during their protests in the national capital against Rahul Gandhi's questioning by the Enforcement Directorate.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce interim orders on key issues related to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including the power to denotify properties declared as waqf.
Visitors at the public gallery of Lok Sabha on Wednesday said the two protesters who jumped into the House's chamber were sitting quietly and disrupted the proceedings "all of a sudden".
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla criticized former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's remarks about the Waqf (Amendment) Bill being "bulldozed through" the Lower House. Birla said a senior member casting aspersions on the House proceedings was "most unfortunate" and against the dignity of parliamentary democracy. He pointed out that the bill was debated for 13 hours and 53 minutes with several members participating and was passed after multiple divisions.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to name the committee's chairperson soon.
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.
Some Shiv Sena veterans say, "The Sena is eroding on its own, we don't have to quit this party. It breaks our heart to see the end, but it is inevitable." Neeta Kolhatkar on the crisis confronting the Shiv Sena.
Names of Rajya Sabha MPs Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal are missing from the list.
