The much-debated Lokpal Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday amid objections from the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies of the National Democratic Alliance over the exclusion of the prime minister from the purview of the proposed legislation.
While 39 members of the all-important panel are general members, it has 32 permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state and 13 special invitees.
The Telangana movement gathered further steam as Telangana Rashtra Samiti President K Chandrasekhar Rao and party MP and actress Vijayshanti too resigning from Lok Sabha in support of the demand for a separate state. The two faxed their resignation letters to the Speaker on Tuesday morning.
If a minister does not have the freedom of expression, it is anything but democracy. It is a sad day for the very foundations of Indian democracy, former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi tells Neerja Chowdhury
A resident of Saran district, which incidentally has been the karmabhoomi (land of work) of his famous namesake, Yadav claims to have already booked a flight ticket to Delhi where he proposes to file his nomination papers on June 15.
The issue of price rise rocked the Parliament for the fourth day on Friday with an angry Opposition seeking to censure the government in both the Houses.The deadlock remained unresolved as an united Opposition remained adamant on a discussion on price rise under rules which entail voting, despite Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar rejecting notices of adjournment motion on the issue.Virtually no business was transacted during the entire week.
The Congress on Monday claimed that it will play a crucial role in the formation of the next government in Uttar Pradesh and dismissed as personal views Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma's suggestions for a tie-up with the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Union Cabinet committee on accommodation has allotted 6 Krishna Menon Marg -- the prestigious type 8 bungalow -- to the Jagjivan Ram Foundation.
Besides Mukherjee, who is leader of the Lok Sabha, the committee, headed by Speaker Meira Kumar, will have four other members from the Congress, three from Bharatiya Janata Party each from Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Janata Dal (United), Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist Party of India-Marxist.
Joshi was again nominated by his party following which Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has reappointed him as chairman of PAC which is responsible for conducting the financial audit of various departments and ministries.
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.
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.
The Communist Party of India - Marxist on Wednesday threatened to disrupt Parliament proceedings unless Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay apologised for shouting at a Member of Parliament of the Left party."Apologise, otherwise the House will not function," CPI-M's Leader in Lok Sabha Basudev Acharia threatened. The Lok Sabha was adjourned for over three hours on Tuesday when the entire Opposition demanded an apology from the Trinamool chief whip.
The WikiLeaks expose on the alleged 'cash-for-votes' scam in 2008 on Friday disrupted Parliament proceedings, as a united Opposition demanded a clarification from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the matter. The cables published by WikiLeaks alleged that the United Progressive Alliance government had bribed MPs to win the 2008 trust vote after the Left parties withdrew support on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
The alleged house arrest of Mulayam Singh Yadav by the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh generated heat in the Lok Sabha on Monday with Samajwadi Party members disrupting proceedings leading to two adjournments.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned on Thursday following a uproar over the National Democratic Alliance's demand for the resignation of Home Minister P Chidambaram for his alleged role in the 2G scam, and some other issues. As soon as Speaker Meira Kumar called for the Question Hour, NDA members were on their feet demanding the resignation of Chidambaram. They cited a Delhi court order allowing Subramanian Swamy's re-examination as witness in his complaint against the home minister.
The issue of separate Telangana generated heat in the Lok Sabha, which witnessed two brief adjournments on Tuesday as Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Telugu Desam Party and some Congress members vociferously raised the issue.
At a recent meeting of Parliamentary forum on Global Warming and Climate Change under the chairmanship of Speaker Meira Kumar, the idea of battery-operated vehicles was mooted with the aim of curbing vehicular emissions within the premises of Parliament, Lok Sabha sources said.
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.
With an aim of ensuring a smooth monsoon sSession of the Parliament beginning on August 8, an all-party meeting has been called by Speaker Meira Kumar on August 6.
When the House reassembled at noon after the first adjournment, members of Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal-United and Lok Janshakti Party rushed menacingly to the well shouting 'marshal bulao' (call the marshals), prompting Speaker Meira Kumar to immediately adjourn the House till 1400 hours.
Government is likely to face stiff opposition on FDI in retail in the Monsoon session of Parliament beginning on August 8.
A High Powered Committee is being set up to suggest an alternative complex to house the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha amidst apprehensions over the structural stability of the building built in 1927.
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.
The dinner was attended by a select few guests like Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her counterpart in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury, BJD leader Jay Panda and National Security Adviser Shivshanker Menon.
On the ninth anniversary of the terror strike on the "edifice" of the country's democratic polity, Parliament on Monday paid homage to victims of the attack and pledged to resolutely combat the global malaise of terrorism.
The impasse over the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into 2G spectrum allocation disrupted the Question Hour in Parliament for the 22nd day on Monday as both government and the opposition stuck to their positions.
BJP deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde has been appointed Chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), a post vacated by expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh.
Chief of the Indian Olympic Association, Suresh Kalmadi, who returned to India along with members of the Indian Asian games contingent from China late on Sunday night, called on the speaker of Lok Sabha Meira Kumar on Monday told her about the performance of Indians athletes in the recently concluded Asian Games and also sought her seek her permission to make a statement on the CWG scam to clear his position.
Parliament on Wednesday unequivocally condemned the blast outside Delhi High Court and adjourned the proceedings till the government gathered facts and made a statement in both the Houses.
Barack Obama became the second United States president to address the Parliament after Bill Clinton in 2000 on Monday and though the joint session opened to a packed central hall, the buzz, excitement and sheer charisma of Clinton was missing.
In an interview with CNN-IBN, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seemed reluctant to embrace Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as her party's choice for the post of the President of India.
In order to ensure that the Lok Sabha is run smoothly during the winter session which will commence from Tuesday, Speaker Meira Kumar will meet leaders of all parties in the Lok Sabha at 0930 hrs on Tuesday in the Speaker's committee room in Parliament house.
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.
Suresh Kalmadi, lodged in Tihar jail in connection with alleged irregularities in Commonwealth Games, will be able to attend Parliament only if a competent court grants him permission, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said on Friday.
Yet another effort to reach a consensus on the Women's Reservation Bill failed to make any progress with two major political parties staying away from an all-party meeting here today and others opposed to the measure sticking to their guns.
Members in the Lok Sabha, on Tuesday, condemned the "forcible" acquisition of land in Uttar Pradesh and firing on protesting farmers prompting the government to state that a comprehensive bill in this regard would be brought in Parliament at the earliest.
National Democratic Alliance Convenor Sharad Yadav, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, BSP member Dara Singh Chauhan and RJD leader Lalu Prasad claimed that the inclusion of caste in census at the biometric stage amounted to befooling the people.
The chairman of the committee on public undertakings, V Kishore Chandra Deo, said in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar that despite categorical instructions, Goyal did not attend the meeting, sources said.