The Monsoon session of Parliament saw the passage of several key bills in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, despite repeated disruptions and adjournments.
Pm Modi made a surprise visit to the new parliament building and inspected various works as well as interacted with construction workers.
"The Central Public Works Department has asked Tata Projects Ltd to start the construction work of the new parliament building on January 15 as it is considered auspicious to commence such a project on the day of first dawn after 'Makar Sankranti'," the official sources said.
Officials aware of the procedure to appoint and remove Supreme Court and high court judges pointed out that while defending his case before lawmakers in any of the House, Justice Varma can announce that he is quitting and his verbal statement will be considered as his resignation.
The Election Commission has defended its Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu in the Supreme Court, refuting allegations of mass deletion of genuine voters as exaggerated and politically motivated.
As soon as Lok Sabha assembled, opposition members stormed into the well holding placards and shouting slogans. They demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the alleged stock manipulation by the Adani Group.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is likely to announce the formation of an inquiry committee to probe the charges against Allahabad High Court Judge Yashwant Varma. A notice signed by 152 MPs was submitted to Birla on July 21.
Home Minister Amit Shah criticized the opposition in Rajya Sabha, linking the division of the 'Vande Mataram' song to the partition of India. He accused Congress and Jawaharlal Nehru of dividing the song for appeasement politics.
The move comes as the intra-party feud reached climax in the ruling NCP which has been witnessing months long tussle between two factions, one led by 68-year-old Oli and Party's chairman and another led by 66-year-old 'Prachanda', also the executive chair of the party and former premier.
BJP MP and actor Ravi Kishan has been awarded the Sansad Ratna for his outstanding performance in the Lok Sabha, becoming the first actor-turned-politician to receive the honour.
There was no official word on the agenda of the session which will be held days after the G20 Summit in the national capital on September 9 and 10.
Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm after opposition members held protest in Parliament seeking a discussion on the issue.
Opposition members continue to protest in both Houses over various issues.
Amidst repeated disruptions in Rajya Sabha by Congress members over Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's remarks, Bharatiya Janata Party MPs of the Upper House on Friday gathered before Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament House complex praying for "wisdom" to the protesting members.
Looking at the history of women representation in Lok Sabha, the percentage remained about 5 till the 1970s and it was only in 2009 that it could reach a double-digit figure.
The deadly stampede at the Maha Kumbh, leading to the deaths of at least 30 people, resonated in both Houses of Parliament on Monday, with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and other Opposition leaders demanding a list of the deceased.
Parliament remained paralysed for the sixth day in a row on Monday due to protests from rival sides.
'Many are saying that some significant announcement regarding Jammu and Kashmir or even separate statehoods might come; that possibility cannot be ruled out given today's date.'
Several Congress MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, staged a protest in Parliament premises on Tuesday, demanding justice for Hindus and Christians facing atrocities in Bangladesh. The MPs protested with handbags which had 'Stand with minorities of Bangladesh' written on it. They raised slogans urging the government to ensure justice for minorities in Bangladesh. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi was seen carrying a cream-coloured handbag to Parliament on which it was written "Bangladesh ke Hindu aur Isaiyon ke saath khade ho" (stand with the Hindus and Christians of Bangladesh). This comes a day after she expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine, carrying a handbag with 'Palestine' emblazoned on it.
The PM urged parliamentarians to must make full use of this session
The 21-month-long Emergency also saw the government amend the Constitution several times, including to keep the elections to the offices of President, Vice President, Prime Minister and Speaker beyond the scrutiny of courts and insert the words 'socialist', 'secular' and 'integrity' in the Preamble.
A complaint was filed against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, for her 'poor thing' remark on President Droupadi Murmu. The complaint, filed by a lawyer, seeks registration of an FIR against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for allegedly disrespecting the country's highest constitutional authority. The court will hear the matter on February 10.
Important legislations like the Goods and Service Tax Bill, Land Acquisition bill, the Real Estate Regulation and Development Bill and Negotiable Instruments Arbitration Bill will be taken up.
Students at Tezpur University in Assam have shut down the institution, protesting against Vice Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh over allegations of corruption and financial irregularities. The shutdown has led to the cancellation of end-term examinations and has garnered support from teachers and non-teaching staff.
Kate Forbes, the second highest minister in Scottish government has chosen family over politics. The realisation that she must spend more time with her baby came to her in an orphanage in Pune.
Ram Prasad tried to enter the Parliament House complex by showing a letter purportedly written by Member of Parliament M M Agarwal.
Parliament on Monday passed The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, to repeal the three contentious agri laws against which farmers have been protesting for over a year, with its passage in Rajya Sabha.
The Trinamool Congress and the Communist Party of India on Tuesday said they will skip the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building even as the war of words over the prime minister and not the President scheduled to do the honours on May 28 continued between the government and the Congress.
Two people, a man and a woman, have been arrested on suspicion of the racially aggravated rape of a British Sikh woman in Oldbury, in the West Midlands region of England last month.
The revamp, which was announced in September last year, envisages a new triangular Parliament building, with seating capacity for 900 to 1,200 MPs, that is targeted to be constructed by August, 2022 when the country will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day.
Tuesday was the 12th day in a row that Parliament did not functioned and the current stalemate has entered the third week.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sougata Roy has demanded the removal of Kalyan Banerjee as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha after a spat with fellow MP Mahua Moitra. Roy accused Banerjee of "uncivilised" behaviour on multiple occasions and cited incidents of Banerjee breaking a bottle and throwing it at the chairman of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting and making inappropriate remarks about Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. The spat between Moitra and Banerjee reportedly occurred on April 4 when a TMC delegation met the Election Commission over duplicate voter ID numbers. Banerjee was tasked with collecting signatures from TMC MPs on a memorandum to be submitted to the Election Commission, and Moitra alleged that she was not included in the signatories, leading to a heated exchange. Roy, who was present at the time, said he saw Moitra crying and complaining about Banerjee's behaviour. Roy believes that Banerjee's actions warrant his removal as chief whip and left the decision to Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee. The incident has also been highlighted in leaked WhatsApp messages, where Banerjee engaged in heated exchanges with another TMC MP, Kirti Azad, leading to further accusations of uncivilised behaviour.
It was also the only session in the 17th Lok Sabha when the lower house did not lose any time due to adjournments, according to data compiled by a think tank.
The Question Hour in Lok Sabha has been disrupted every day since March 13.
'Even today illegal foreign immigrants live in Assam and their names might be on the voters list. This we can get rid of only by doing SIR.'
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.
Besides the not-so-hidden unease between Modi and Adityanath, Modi chose to address the Lok Sabha to ensure that he could personally claim all the kudos, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Stepping up the heat on Justice Yashwant Varma, parliamentarians on Monday submitted notices to the presiding officers of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for the removal of the Allahabad high court judge from whose residence in New Delhi burnt wads of currency notes were found.
'This type of comprehensive legislation has never been introduced before in Parliament's history.' 'A bill that simultaneously affects ministers, chief ministers, and the prime minister represents completely uncharted Constitutional territory.' 'Throughout our nation's legislative history, the established policy has consistently held that public office holders should face punishment only after receiving conviction from a competent court of law. Without this safeguard, we risk systematic destabilisation, and our federal structure would face complete collapse.' 'Any central government could potentially deploy this legislation against state governments they oppose politically. This represents the most frightening prospect and dangerous possibility that these bills create.'
