Maharashtra legislative assembly was stalled for the second consecutive day on Friday with members across party lines demanding that the two police officers who came to Vidhan Bhawan on Wednesday to arrest the MLAs, accused of thrashing a policeman, be suspended immediately.
The privileges enjoyed by MPs and MLAs are "tethered intrinsically" to the functioning of the legislature collectively, the Supreme Court said on Monday while holding that lawmakers taking bribe to vote or make a speech in the house are not immune from prosecution.
Singh, considered close to RJD president Lalu Prasad and his family, was charged with raising slogans against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on February 13, during a heated exchange in the House.
Cutting across parties, members of the state legislative assembly on Friday unanimously resolved to dismiss the notice under the RTI Act as "breach of privilege".
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
Fresh clashes broke out between people belonging to Zomi and Hmar tribes in Manipur's Churachandpur district, hours after a peace settlement was reached between the apex bodies of the two communities. The Zomi Students' Federation imposed a shutdown in the district after a group of men tried to take down a flag of a Zomi militant outfit. Several persons were injured in the clashes. Meanwhile, MLAs and tribal organisations appealed for peace, urging the administration to take necessary measures to restore law and order.
After dissidence in Karnataka, a section of Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar have revolted against their party leader and Deputy Chief Minister S K Modi for his reported statement intending to cover sharecroppers under the Kisan Credit Card Scheme.
Indications are that the polls could be held sometime in October-November.
The race for the Maharashtra Chief Minister post has intensified following the Mahayuti coalition's landslide victory in the state assembly polls. The Shiv Sena has backed Eknath Shinde for the top job, citing the Bihar model, while the BJP has thrown its weight behind Devendra Fadnavis, emphasizing his leadership qualities and understanding of the state. The BJP's preference for Fadnavis stems from its dominance in the alliance with 132 seats, compared to Shiv Sena's 57 seats. Amidst these developments, both parties have held meetings to discuss the matter, while Fadnavis and other BJP leaders have denied any dispute over the CM's post.
The resolution 'earnestly' appealed to the Centre to withdraw and not carry out the whole exercise of NRC and NPR 'in the interest of the nation, particularly when the economy is witnessing the worst-ever downslide and unemployment is witnessing a terrifying growth, and with the threat of the corona pandemic looming large'.
All the Congress Members of Legislative Assembly, who created a ruckus in the Gujarat assembly on Tuesday over the water crisis facing many parts of the state, were suspended by Speaker Vaju Vala for a day. Leader of Opposition Shankarsinh Vaghela raised the issue of water scarcity in Kutch, Saurashtra and North Gujarat region and demanded the suspension of Question Hour to discuss the issue.
Candidates from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) opposition alliance in Maharashtra have decided to seek verification of the EVM-Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) units in their segments, following their defeat in the recent assembly polls. The move comes after several losing candidates, including those from the Shiv Sena (UBT), alleged that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) might have been tampered with. The MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP, lost to the Mahayuti coalition, which includes the Shiv Sena, BJP, and NCP. The MVA candidates are seeking verification based on a Supreme Court ruling that allows for checking the burnt memory/microcontroller in 5% of EVMs after the announcement of results.
The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party has issued a whip to all MLAs asking them to remain present for a key meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, while the rival group headed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has also called a separate meeting of party legislators in Mumbai.
MPs and MLAs taking bribes to vote or make a speech in the house are not immune from prosecution, the Supreme Court said on Monday in a landmark, unanimous verdict that overrules its 1998 judgment protecting such lawmakers.
The Telangana government is examining the issue of increasing the salaries of the members of legislative assembly and the council in view of their "grossly inadequate" pay structure.
The Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly was adjourned on Tuesday with out transacting any business as members of Telangana Rashtra Samiti stalled the proceedings demanding that the House should adopt a resolution on formation of a spereate Telangana state.
The Tamil Nadu assembly on Thursday once again unanimously adopted the bill to ban online gambling, weeks after state Governor R N Ravi had returned it to the government for its reconsideration.
The National Judicial Commission Bill, 2022, was introduced after the majority of voice votes were in its favour.
Sessions Judge and the Designated POTA Judge, Shailendra Kumar Saxena, observed that the law is same for one.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the Congress of making attempts to snatch reservations meant for tribals and hand them over to its 'vote bank'.
Locals have witnessed real estate prices skyrocket from a historic low of Rs 6,000 per square yard (in 2020) during Jagan Mohan Reddy's regime to around Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 per square yard after elections.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has once again knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Maharashtra assembly speaker to expeditiously adjudicate the disqualification petitions filed against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other Sena MLAs, who had tied up with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form a new government in June 2022, in a time-bound manner.
Their lists show that a significant number of contenders are closely related to the current ministers, legislators or MPs, including their sons or daughters, wives and brothers or sisters.
Polling on three graduates and two teachers constituencies of the council was held on January 30 and counting of votes by ballot began on Thursday evening and was completed on Friday.
Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Members of Legislative Assembly, including M K Stalin, the leader of its Legislature Wing, were on Monday suspended for two days from the Tamil Nadu Assembly for unruly behaviour in the House. Stalin and party MLAs Govi Chezhiyan, Thangam Thennarasu and Moideen Khan had to be physically removed by Marshals after they squatted in front of the Chair of Speaker P Dhanapal.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar head Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday separately visited the memorial of the state's first chief minister Y B Chavan in Karad and paid tributes to him on his death anniversary.
The polls were deferred due to the spread of coronavirus.
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP is just two short of the Sena's tally in the Upper House of the state legislature.
The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party on Wednesday termed the list of candidates released by its alliance partner Samajwadi Party for the Uttar Pradesh legislative council elections as "disappointing".
While Joon was a Congress rebel, Kadyan fought as an Independent after the BJP denied him ticket.
The 12 suspended members are -- Sanjay Kute, Ashish Shelar, Abhimanyu Pawar, Girish Mahajan, Atul Bhatkhalkar, Parag Alavani, Harish Pimpale, Yogesh Sagar, Jay Kumar Rawat, Narayan kuche, Ram Satpute and Bunty Bhangdia.
A notification in this regard was issued on Thursday evening which further said that these six MLAs ceased to be members of Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly with effect from February 29.
Counting began at 8 am under multi-tier security cover. At first, postal ballots will be counted and then EVMs opened.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the bill in the Upper House of Parliament. He said the proposed legislation is aimed at providing effective and corruption-free governance in the national capital.
The Congress in Maharashtra is making all efforts to woo the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena to back United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee for the presidential poll on Thursday.
National People's Party (NPP) president Conrad K Sangma on Monday said his party will have eight ministers in the next Meghalaya government headed by him, while its allies will get four ministerial berths.
Maharashtra will witness a triangular contest for the post of the Speaker of Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena and the Congress putting up candidates. Haribhau Bagde of the BJP, Vijay Auti of Shiv Sena and Varsha Gaikwad of the Congress have filed nominations for the post. The deadline for withdrawal is 10 am on Wednesday.
Former Army Chief Gen V K Singh has pleaded that Jammu and Kashmir assembly drop breach of privilege proceedings against him over his alleged remarks that army had paid bribes to politicians in the state, contending he has not spoken anything that was not available in the public domain.
Karnataka Assembly election will be held in a single phase on May 5 and counting of votes will be on May 8, the Election Commission said on Wednesday.
An analysis of the affidavits of all the 90 winning candidates by the Association for Democratic Reforms and Haryana Election Watch show a slight rise in the number of crorepati MLAs, from 93 percent in 2019 to 96 percent this time.