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
Principal opposition Congress too staged a walk out saying its members should have been the first ones to speak but were being denied a chance.
The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which will replace an ordinance promulgated for handling the transfers and postings of senior officers in the city government, was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday amid a walkout by opposition parties.
While the DMK depends on a 'silver sieve' of welfare schemes to stay in power, its support is slowly draining away under the weight of poor governance, corruption, and voters who are no longer satisfied with benefits alone and now want basic administration to work, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
National Democratic Alliance nominee Om Birla was elected as Lok Sabha speaker on Wednesday after a motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was adopted through voice vote, capping intense debate on the issue with the opposition in a rare move proposing its own candidate.
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.
Birla told the European Parliament Vice President that every nation and Parliament is sovereign and internal issues of other countries should not be discussed by others.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has begun consultations with its allies on the ruling National Democratic Alliance's candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker's post while the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is considering its options and may force a contest to score political points, sources said on Monday, a day before the filing of nomination for the key position.
The government has deferred the introduction of bills related to 'one nation one election' in the Lok Sabha till after the completion of financial business, sources said.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday constituted a 31-member Select Committee of the lower house to examine the Income Tax Bill. To be headed by Bharatiya Janata Party's Baijayant Panda, the panel is mandated to submit its report by the first day of the next session.
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.
With the Congress gunning for Smriti Irani with a privilege Motion, the BJP hit back by pressing for similar action against Jyotiraditya Scindia.
The poll is witnessing a direct contest between ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy, with the BJP-led alliance having a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Opposition leaders on Saturday stepped up pressure on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for stringent action against Bharatiya Janata Party's Ramesh Bidhuri over his derogatory remarks against Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali in the House.
Rashtriya Janata Dal member of Parliament Uma Shanker Singh on Thursday received a head injury as he fell on the steps near the Speaker's chair in the Lok Sabha and was immediately rushed to hospital by fellow MPs and Parliament staff. Singh received the injury as he was alighting the stairs near the Speaker's podium and fell behind the Lok Sabha reporters' table just below the rostrum
While Rahul loyalists were keen that he be given the post, a leader known to be close to him said, "If he does not become the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, then he should quit politics."
The Thiruvananthapuram MP, who was speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode on Friday, said while he concedes the BJP's dominance, it is also a fact that they have lost many states and them losing the central government is not impossible.
Congress leader K C Venugopal and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's office, refusing to endorse NDA candidate Birla without being offered the Deputy Speaker's position.
Birla said Narwekar will head the committee that will be formed to review the anti-defection law.
Sources said the party has picked up some other leaders who will represent it during the 16-hour debate.
India, Canada relations have nosedived after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations last month linking Indian agents to the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.
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Opposition leaders, including Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, met Speaker Meira Kumar and said if the government does not discuss the issue tomorrow itself, they would move an adjournment motion in the House.
'Dialogue and discussion, not conflict, are the way forward.' 'Internal fighting strengthens our enemies and provides material to divide us.'
As soon as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan took up the Question Hour, members from these parties trooped into the Well holding placards.
After much delay, the landmark Lokpal Bill was on Tuesday passed by the Rajya Sabha, marking a step closer to enactment of a new law under which an anti-corruption ombudsman would be set up.
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.
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.
The resolution asserted that the House "is of the firm and considered view that there cannot be any compromise on unity, integrity and national security.
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.
The Congress accused the BJP-led government of "destroying parliamentary norms" by ignoring the claim of Suresh, a eight-term Lok Sabha member, to the post of the pro-tem Speaker.
The resolution was approved by a voice vote after a verbal duel between the opposition and treasury benches over the legislative competence of Parliament to put a state subject to vote.
'It interferes in administrative matters of institutions, robbing them of their independence in day-to-day affairs and appointments.'
The bill was introduced following a division of votes, with 186 members supporting and 74 opposing it.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday took 'serious note' of certain objectionable remarks made by BJP member Ramesh Bidhuri in the House and warned him of 'strict action' if such behaviour is repeated in the future, officials said.
In a measured but scathing attack, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of committing a 'big sin' by creating a controversy over Vande Mataram and claimed that the government pushed for a debate on the national song as the West Bengal assembly polls were approaching.
"It is a historic day. We are making history today," Law Minister said.
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.
After a week-long washout, Lok Sabha transacted some business on Monday as two bills were introduced and another taken up for consideration even as Congress and some other parties continued their vociferous protests, along with display of placards.
Opposition members, including from the Congress and the TMC, started raising slogans and showing placards to attack the government on the snooping issue as soon as the House met for the day at 11 am.
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