DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran objected to the provision of simultaneous interpretation of Lok Sabha proceedings in Sanskrit, calling it a waste of taxpayers' money fueled by RSS ideology. Speaker Om Birla defended the decision, asserting that Sanskrit is India's primary language and that simultaneous interpretation is available in 22 recognized languages, including Hindi and Sanskrit.
Ahead of the Winter session of Parliament beginning on December 4, the Congress' Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday wrote to Speaker Om Birla, saying the expulsion of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra from Parliament is an 'extremely serious punishment and has very wide ramifications'.
President Droupadi Murmu conferred the coveted Padma awards on 68 eminent personalities, including former Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar, dancer Shobana Chandrakumar, actor Anant Nag, and Vice Chancellor of King George's Medical University Soniya Nityanand. The awards were given in various disciplines and fields, including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, and civil service. The Padma Vibhushan was awarded to Justice (retd) Khehar for public affairs, while nine individuals received the Padma Bhushan. The Padma Shri was awarded to leading immunologist and KGMU VC Nityanand, footballer Inivalappil Mani Vijayan, singer Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, actor Ashok Laxman Saraf, mask maker Reba Kanta Mahanta, and musician Ricky Gyan Kej, among others.
In his first address to National Democratic Alliance MPs in over a year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday emphasised its collective identity as a natural and organic alliance, asserting that its journey since its foundation in 1998 is dotted with successes and has many more achievements in store.
Anguished by repeated protests and a Trinamool Congress member telling her that she was "not the Speaker of Narendra Modi", Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday pulled up some members for their conduct, telling them bluntly that if they failed to maintain the dignity of the Chair, it is a "more serious matter".
The event was also attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
According to sources, several opposition leaders are also considering boycotting the inaugural function on Sunday, alleging that the government has insulted the President.
The Congress said BJP MPs had sticks in their hands and Kharge was threatened and pushed.
Parliament's approval of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, a contentious piece of legislation aimed at reforming Waqf bodies, has sparked strong reactions from the opposition, who allege that the bill was "bulldozed" through Parliament. The bill, considered the government's most consequential legislation in its third term, was passed with comfortable majorities in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha despite opposition claims of a lack of consultation and an intrusion into religious affairs. Other notable bills approved during the session included the Finance Bill, Appropriation Bill, Immigration and Foreigners Bill, and Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill. The session, which saw high productivity, also witnessed debates on issues such as economic distress, delimitation, and the three-language policy. While the government touted its achievements, the opposition criticized the government's approach and vowed to challenge the Waqf bill in court.
There is a proposal from the BJP camp that they would resort to a proportion-based increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats for individual states, based on what they now have. On the face of it, this sounds like a fine argument that those demanding a 'freeze' now cannot oppose without reasons and justification, avers N Sathiya Moorthy.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan feels the House can change the rules regarding recognising the Leader of Opposition in the absence of any party getting the minimum ten per cent of the total strength for the purpose.
Opposition members on Thursday created ruckus in the Lok Sabha over the suicide of a farmer in New Delhi on Wednesday, leading to adjournment of proceedings even as the government said it was ready to discuss the matter.
Several members had moved adjournment motions to raise the issue, but Speaker Meira Kumar said she has not accepted the demand.
This is a major security breach, Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla said.
'You can still smell the smoke in the Lok Sabha.'
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has referred petitions submitted by the Trinamool Congress and the YSR Congress under the anti-defection law against their respective leaders Sisir Adhikari and K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju to the privileges committee.
The Delhi assembly witnessed unprecedented noise and cacophony on Friday as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made a fervent attempt to table the Jan Lokpal Bill.
Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate on Tuesday, with the opposition terming the move 'dictatorial' and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the legislation would not tamper with the powers enjoyed by states.
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.
Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay announced that the opposition parties will meet at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence on Thursday morning to discuss the issue.
Breaking her silence on the 'cash-for-query' allegation against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, party chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that plans were in the works to expel her from Parliament but any such action would help the lawmaker from Krishnanagar ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Opposition alliance INDIA on Thursday boycotted a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Rajya Sabha to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi not making a statement on Manipur violence in Parliament, a senior leader said.
Eight out of 10 ministers under the Nayab Singh Saini government faced defeat in the Haryana assembly polls.
According to a police officer, four-five men reached Owaisi's 34 Ashoka Road residence located in Central Delhi and pasted three posters at the entry gate and wall of the house about 9 pm.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that the President should inaugurate the new Parliament building and not the prime minister.
Besides MPs, parliament staff and media personnel, among other entrants to the building, will also be required to undergo the test for the coronavirus.
Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections, veteran leader Sharad Pawar led faction moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking that both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) be given new poll symbols.
A section of BJP leaders is of the view that the leadership may spring a surprise with its choice for the post by appointing someone from southern India.
Vociferous protests by Opposition members led by the Congress continued in the Lok Sabha.
"I feel no one can reject the contribution of Maharashtra and Marathi people in the history and present of the country. If someone is rejecting it, then I feel it is wrong," Fadnavis said.
The expelled Lok Sabha member from Krishnanagar in West Bengal, in her plea filed in October last year, sought permanent injunction against Dubey, Dehadrai, social media platforms X, search engine Google, YouTube and 15 media houses from making, publishing, circulating per se defamatory, ex facie false and malicious statements against her. She has also sought damages.
Only a misogynistic man can gesture a flying kiss to female parliamentarians, Irani said.
Amit Shah seemingly encouraging AIADMK dissident Sengottaiyan after party boss Edappadi K Palaniswami had removed his one-time mentor from all party posts has not gone down well with party cadres. They are now ready to buy Team EPS' theory that the BJP and Amit Shah are out to liquidate the AIADMK, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
'Oral evidence of Dr Nishikant Dubey, MP, in respect of complaint dated 15 October, 2023 given by him against Smt Mahua Moitra, MP...,' the subject of the Lok Sabha secretariat communication to him read.
Bharat Adivasi Party MLA Jaikrishn Patel was arrested by the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Rajasthan on Sunday for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 20 lakh to drop three questions in the state Assembly. The ACB claims to have audio and video evidence to prove that the MLA had demanded and taken the bribe. The party has said it will take action against the MLA if his involvement is found.
The Supreme Court on Monday sought the responses of Ajit Pawar and his 40 MLAs on a plea moved by the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party challenging Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's decision declaring the group led by the deputy chief minister as the real NCP.
The Rs 3 crore project is expected to be completed within 15 months by Independence Day next year.
What may work for the BJP is the growing resentment against V K Pandian, a bureaucrat-turned-politician who Jay Panda alleges has hijacked the Odisha government.
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