The chairmen of the standing committees have a special status. They can summon any senior officer and convene a meeting at his or her will in any part of the country. The chairman can also take the committee to any state with prior intimation to have an on-the-spot study.
Opposition and members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G on Wednesday demanded the ouster of chairperson P C Chacko for being "highly partisan" and asked Speaker Meira Kumar to replace him with a new chief. The JPC has 30 members, including Chacko.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Monday postponed a debate in the House on the report of the Liberhan Commission, which was scheduled for Tuesday, due to non-availability of Hindi version of the Commission's report on Banri mosque demolition.
Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar on Thursday said that she is trying her best to run the house, as the Bharatiya Janata Party-led opposition stalled the proceedings on alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks.
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.
Two women candidates; Lok Sabha Speakers; Chief Justices; A Chief Election Commissioner; drafters of the Constitution; the RBI's first Indian governor; a farm leader who unsuccessfully contested four times; an iconic Bharata Natyam dancer...
The resignation of rebel Congress Member of Parliament from Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has been accepted, Speaker Meira Kumar announced in the Lok Sabha on Friday. Kumar said Reddy's resignation has been accepted with effect from November 29. "I have to inform the House that I have received a letter dated November 29 from Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, an elected member from Kadapa parliamentary constituency of Andhra Pradesh.
Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and Left parties on Tuesday demanded separate debates with voting on Foreign Direct Investment in retail and related amendments in Foreign Exchange Management Act rules in Lok Sabha, but it was vociferously opposed by the government and rejected by 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.
The much-talked about Lokpal Bill could be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday with the government writing to the Speaker to waive off the two-day period required before introducing a bill.
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.
Fifteen opposition members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G spectrum scam on Wednesday wrote to the committee secretariat rejecting the panel's draft report in toto, setting the stage for worsening of the confrontation with the government on the issue. The 15 members, who had met Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar last week to express "no-confidence" in panel chief P C Chacko, wrote separate letters stating that they are rejecting the report "in toto".
Opposition, including Bharatiya Janata Party, Left and other parties, on Tuesday walked out of the Lok Sabha, charging the government with indulging in one scam after another and saying they would not be party to the passage of the Finance Bill and the Railway Budget.
Senior Congress leaders admit that the JPC issue has boomeranged against the party, reports Renu Mittal.
Even as the government prepared the ground for a fruitful session by reaching out to main opposition BJP on the Land Acquisition Bill, new disclosures in the media might play a spoiler for it.
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.
Despite Speaker Meira Kumar admitting an adjournment motion by the Bharatiya Janata Party on the issue, members including those of BJP, Shiv Sena, Bodoland People's Front and All India United Democratic Front trooped into the Well condemning the violence.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader S S Ahluwalia has been appointed advisor to Speaker of Lok Sabha to recommend the mode and format of digitalisation of the Parliamentary library.
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.
Senior Congress member P C Chacko was on Friday made the chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the 2G spectrum issue, setting in motion the probe into what the opposition is alleging as the biggest scam in independent India.
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.
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.
Parliament's standing committee on finance, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha, on Thursday finalised its report on the Companies Bill, 2011.
Embarrassed over All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam members shouting slogans against a visiting Parliamentary delegation from Sri Lanka, Speaker Meira Kumar on Monday expressed anguish about the incident and offered her "sincere apologies" for it. "She expressed anguish and offered sincere apologies over slogan shouting by some Members of Parliament in the House when the visiting delegation was witnessing the proceedings of the Lok Sabha," a Lok Sabha release said.
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.
A demand by two former speakers for being treated on par with former Presidents and vice presidents in relation to facilities like accommodation and some other perks was on Monday shot down by the government.
Old habits die hard.This adage was proved true in the Lok Sabha today as CPI(M) veteran Basudeb Acharia continued to address Meira Kumar as 'Sir' instead of 'Madam Speaker'.
Controversial Samajwadi Party member Yashvir Singh on Thursday sought to bring down the curtain on the issue of snatching a copy of the quota bill in the Lok Sabha from Minister V Narayanasamy by expressing regret.
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 on Tuesday strongly condemned Team Anna for "lowering the dignity" of Parliament after a resolution was moved over which members cutting across party line slammed the activists for using derogatory language against members of Parliament.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday night hosted a dinner for United Progressive Alliance leaders where the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is understood to have insisted that government should avoid voting in Parliament on FDI in retail, making clear its reservation on the issue.
Leader of Opposition L K Advani on Sunday turned 83 with President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh being among the first to wish him on the occasion.
Even as Bharatiya Janata Party MPs are boycotting the Joint Parliamentary Committee looking into the 2G spectrum scam, the panel's chairman P C Chacko has ruled out summoning of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
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.
As soon as Speaker Meira Kumar concluded her reference on International Women's Day, SP members began raising slogans demanding dismissal of the Uttar Pradesh government, complaining that it was showing "dictatorial tendencies".
DMK leader T R Baalu said he had given a notice of breach of parliamentary privilege against Chacko over the leakage of the JPC draft report.
A spirited opposition on Wednesday forced adjournment of Parliament till 2 pm the issue of coal block allocation with members making a vociferous demand for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Scripting a new chapter in his illustrious career, Pranab Mukherjee will on Wednesday take over as India's 13th President. Watch the momentous ceremony LIVE on rediff.com
Scripting a new chapter in his illustrious career, Pranab Mukherjee will on Wednesday take over as India's 13th President.
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