Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday formally took over as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, occupying the seat hitherto held by senior BJP leader L K Advani.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and Samajwadi Party on Thursday blocked in the Lok Sabha a bill to provide reservation for SCs and STs in government job promotions, delaying the measure which was seen as quid pro quo for Bahujan Samaj Party's support to United Progressive Alliance on Foreign Direct Investment in retail.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned on Wednesday following uproar over fresh poverty estimates released by the Planning Commission, which pegged the poverty line at Rs 28.65 per capita daily consumption in cities. As soon as the House met, National Democratic Alliance convener Sharad Yadav and Communist Party of India leader Prabodh Panda were on their feet, demanding suspension of the Question Hour for a discussion on the latest poverty estimates of the Planning Commission.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Thursday committed yet another faux pas in Lok Sabha by reading out twice a part of his statement on the terrorist attack in Srinagar.
Kumar will launch her campaign from Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat on June 30.
The Parliament was rocked by Telangana issue again on Monday, prompting Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to take the unprecedented step of suspending nine members from Andhra Pradesh for five days, the second time in the same session.
The Telangana Bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha after a voting and a heated debate on Tuesday. To ensure that none of the Members of Parliament use TV coverage to cause chaos and drama, Speaker Meira Kumar stopped the live telecast.
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, IT expert Nandan Nilekani and cricketer Mohd Kaif are among 194 candidates as Congress tonight released the first list of its nominees for Lok Sabha polls that contains several new and young faces.
Kumar, a Dalit, as its candidate for president against NDA's nominee Ram Nath Kovind.
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 Lok Sabha witnessed unruly scenes during Question Hour today as Congress and Telugu Desam Party members raised the Telangana issue and DMK members of Parliament protested holding of Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka.
The urban development ministry has withdrawn a notice for recovery of about Rs two crore rent dues from Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar for use of a government bungalow.
The Lok Sabha will have a sitting on Saturday, despite being a Saturday, notwithstanding strong demands by several members of Parliament, leaders and ministers against it
'Behave yourself, maintain discipline, decorum inside the House.' This was the message Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar had for as many as 302 first-time members of the Lok Sabha.
Five-term Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Meira Kumar on Tuesday became the consensus candidate of the ruling United Progressive Alliance and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee led a UPA delegation to submit Kumar's nomination papers to Lok Sabha Secretary General P D T Achary for the election to the Speaker's post scheduled to be held on Wednesday. Kumar, 64, will be the first woman to head the LS.
Cracking the whip, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday suspended for at least five sittings 12 members from Andhra Pradesh who have been agitating against decision to form Telangana and paralysing the House since the current session began on August 5.
A diplomat-turned-politician, she took the initiative to organise a number of international seminars hosted by Indian Parliament since she took oath as the Speaker on June 3, 2009.
.jpg)
Telangana issue rocked Parliament on Monday with Lok Sabha Speaker Meria Kumar taking the unprecedented step of suspending nine members -- four of Telugu Desam Party and five Congress -- from Andhra Pradesh for creating "grave disorder".
Former telecom minister A Raja has urged Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to return the Joint Parliamentary Committee report on the 2G spectrum scandal and resubmit it with his written statement.
Asked whether an all-party meeting will be called to discuss the issue, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said nothing was scheduled but she will be talking.
Reflecting escalation of confrontation with the government, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday decided to boycott meetings to be called by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath or Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as it accused Congress President Sonia Gandhi of not allowing the opposition to air their views in Parliament.
The 15th Lok Sabha will go down in the history as the most disrupted in Independent India so far including the pepper spray incident which marked a new low in parliamentary conduct.
The controversial report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which gave a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the 2G spectrum scam saying he was "misled" by the then Telecom Minister A Raja, was on Tuesday submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
National Democratic Alliance convenor Sharad Yadav on Thursday took a swipe at Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar claiming she was more "affectionate" towards the Treasury Benches, but showed little mercy towards the Opposition.
With Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar meeting leaders of political parties in Delhi on Thursday -- a routine drill before commencement of a month-long Lok Sabha session -- hectic political activities have begun behind the scenes.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar's secretary A P Pathak was on Friday removed from his post shortly after the Central Bureau of Investigtion searched his premises in an alleged disproportionate assets case during which the agency claimed to have recovered documents of properties worth crores of rupees.
A usually soft-spoken Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday pulled up Janata Dal-United chief Sharad Yadav when he sought to challenge her authority and responded angrily to her remarks.
"Anybody fighting for an ideology and appealing to the voice of conscience cannot be a scapegoat. I am a fighter and I will fight and I am sure that many will join me in this fight," she said in response to a question whether she was being made a scapegoat in the presidential election.
Three bills were introduced in Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid uproar with members from Left parties trooping into the Well to protest against rising prices of onion while other members raised the Telangana issue.
Against the backdrop of the opposition's demand for his removal, Joint Parliamentary Committee Chairman P C Chacko on Friday met Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to explain his position on the issues concerning the controversial draft report on 2G scam. There were indications that the meeting of the JPC, which was cancelled on Thursday because of the death of a Lok Sabha member, could take place on May 2 or May 3 to adopt the report.
The issue of resignation by Congress MPs from Seemandhra continues to hang fire. Their meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, which was scheduled for Tuesday, has been delayed further.
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.
Union Minister M K Alagiri will no longer have to fight shy of Parliament on the ground that he is not well-versed in English or Hindi.
Within an hour of taking over as Speaker, Meira Kumar issued her first directive in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, asking the House reporters to expunge certain exchanges between Janata Dal-United chief Sharad Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad. When Prasad was speaking to congratulate Kumar, he made certain statements which were objected to by Yadav.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances