Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Saturday said Public Accounts Committee chairman Murli Manohar Joshi had no right to submit the draft report on the 2G scam to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as it was 'rejected' by a majority of the committee's members.
In seniority in the BJP leadership team, V K Malhotra, who passed into the ages this week, was next only to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani and Nanaji Deshmukh, notes Sudhir Bisht.
'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.
If the Opposition is bent upon shouting its own agenda on a deaf ruling dispensation, then it becomes binding upon the chair to ensure that the parliamentary affairs aren't reduced to a farce.
Meira Kumar said this while intervening in the discussion on priorities for the UN and its reform, at the second meeting of the Preparatory Committee of Speakers of Parliaments. The meeting was organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union at the United Nations in New York
Kumar is registered in the voters' list at her Delhi address of New Friends Colony and since she is now confined to the Sasaram parliamentary constituency from where she is contesting as a Congress candidate, the Speaker will not be able to cast her vote in the national capital, sources in her election office at Mohania said.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G spectrum scam has deferred its October 3 meeting, in view of the Lok Sabha Speaker's efforts to persuade Bharatiya Janata Party, members who have threatened to quit the panel alleging bias on his part, its chairman P C Chacko said on Saturday.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has threatened to act against 51 members including Union Minister R P N Singh and leaders like Lalu Prasad, Kalyan Singh and Babulal Marandi if they failed to disclose their assets soon.
The much-awaited meeting between nine Congress members of Parliament from Telangana and Lok Sabha Speaker Miera Kumar could not take place, as the legislators ran late for the appointment.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has floored an audience that included her Pakistani counterpart, senior ministers and parliamentarians by delivering a speech in flawless Urdu laced with couplets from Firaq Gorkhpuri, Majrooh Sultanpuri and Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
According to sources, Preneet Kaur, a Congress MP, is believed to have voted in support of the report.
Bihar assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary on Sunday called on Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav, at a time when the state was witnessing a big political churn.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left sticking to their demand for a discussion on Foreign Direct Investment in retail under a rule that entails voting, former United Progressive Alliance ally Trinamool Congress on Wednesday said it would take a stand only after Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar took a decision, but ruled out voting in favour of the government.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Wednesday justified the sudden adjournment of Parliament, saying there was no option, as it was not running. She said the disturbances created by members of Parliament in the House amounted to betrayal of the people who have elected them.
'When Harivansh sits in the chair, you feel your voice will be heard.'
The government had a close shave on the penultimate day of the budget session of the Parliament when the Left demanded a division at the time of introduction of the Pension Regulatory Authority Bill.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Monday said she was hopeful the government and opposition parties find a middle ground over the 2G Spectrum controversy so that the budget session can be held without any interruptions. She addressed mediapersons after a third round of talks in New Delhi with government nominees, independent members of Parliament and leaders of the single member parties to ensure smooth functioning of the Parliament.
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee voiced support for MP Mahua Moitra on Monday, asserting that the party stands behind her in the face of a recommendation for expulsion from Lok Sabha over a 'cash-for-query' controversy.
In a snub to Public Accounts Committee chairman Murli Manohar Joshi, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has returned the controversial draft report filed by him on the 2G Spectrum allocation. "The draft report on the 2G issue has been returned to the PAC Chairman", sources in Parliament's PAC said on Tuesday.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has decided to give first-time Members of Parliament special attention in the House.
Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai spoke about Dr. B R Ambedkar's views on the supremacy of the Constitution and the need for an independent judiciary.
Developmental works being undertaken by India in war-torn northern Sri Lanka and the current political situation came up for discussion when Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar met President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo on Friday. Kumar is in Colombo to attend the 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference. She met Rajapaksa at his official residence and discussed a host of issues that concern the relationship between the two countries.
There had been intense speculation whether Tewari and Shashi Tharoor, both part of the diplomatic delegations that had been sent abroad to convey India's stand, would speak in the Lower House or not during the ongoing debate on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.
The resignation of 12 members of Parliament of various political parties from Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh has not been accepted by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
Faced with frequent disruptions of Question Hour in Lok Sabha, Speaker Meira Kumar said on Friday that she would soon consult all political parties on conducting it in the evening.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has convened an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday to ensure smooth functioning of the Budget Session of Parliament, which begins on February 21.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday pleaded innocence to the 'cash-for-query' allegation levelled against her and told a parliamentary committee that the charge is motivated by animus of advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai after she broke off her personal relations with him, sources said.
According to Indian High Commissioner to Singapore Shilpak Ambule, Zubeen Garg had gone with 17 others on a yacht trip and died while 'swimming in the sea without a life jacket'.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar held talks with leaders of the opposition in her attempt to break the Parliament impasse on the 2G spectrum issue.Leaders of several parties including the Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena, Akali Dal, Samajwadi Party, RJD and the National Conference did not attend the luncheon meeting called by the Speaker to find a solution to the deadlock.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday assured Left members that she has sought a "factual note" from Delhi Police on the reported lathi-charge by them on MPs seeking removal of Deputy Chairman P J Kurien who isfacing charges in the Suryanelli rape case.
Rejecting Opposition demand for removal of P C Chacko as Joint Parliamentary Committee chairman, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Thursday asked the panel chief and members to work out an agreeable solution to end the current "impasse" on its report on 2G Spectrum.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is expected to take a decision on the resignation of 13 members of Parliament from Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh before the Monsoon session of Parliament that begins on August 1.
A day after a chaotic meeting of the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, its Chairperson Murli Manohar Joshi along with National Democratic Alliance, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Biju Janata Dal and Left members are exploring the possibility of submitting the draft report on 2G scam to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar before its term expires on Ffriday.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Saturday said people were 'rightly angry' over the gangrape of a paramedic student and called for 'very stringent' laws to ensure safety of women.
A foundation in the name of former Deputy Prime Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram and father of Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has been allotted a bungalow in the prime Lutyen's Delhi for 25 years.
The BJP could ask at least a dozen of its 92 Rajya Sabha MPs, particularly those who have served more than one term, to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday sought to bring the curtain down on the turf war between the Public Accounts Committee and the Joint Parliamentary Committee, asking the two bodies to work in close cooperation and harmony with each other.
The Lok Sabha's Privileges Committee, headed by BJP member Sunil Kumar Singh, took up other issues on the agenda as Bidhuri, who was campaigning for the party in poll-bound Rajasthan, kept away.
Ahead of the all-party meeting called by her on Wednesday, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Tuesday said she would appeal to everyone to allow Parliament to function smoothly amid apprehensions that the Opposition could cause disruptions over chopper scam and other issues.
The Congress party launched a scathing attack on the central government regarding the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, demanding accountability from Home Minister Amit Shah and clarification on the number of Indian jets downed during the operation.
