The President congratulated the people of Jammu and Kashmir for the high voter turnout recorded in the union territory in the recent Lok Sabha elections and lauded the Election Commission for holding the world's biggest democratic exercise.
A BJP MP from Nagaland has alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came "very close" to her and "shouted" at her during a protest outside the Parliament, making her feel "uncomfortable." The incident has led to a war of words between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, with both sides accusing each other of misconduct. The BJP has demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi, while the Congress has denied the allegations.
There are not too many more vibrant democracies in the world than India, the White House has said, applauding the people of India for exercising their right to vote.
The Election Commission of India has invited all national and state political parties to provide suggestions by April 30 on any unresolved issues related to the electoral process. This call for feedback comes amid allegations of electoral roll manipulation, with opposition parties demanding a discussion in Parliament on the issue. The EC has also proposed an interaction with party presidents and senior members to further strengthen electoral processes.
Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the US has called on both countries "not to escalate" the conflict. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to speak with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India as early as today or tomorrow. The US State Department said Washington is reaching out to both India and Pakistan "regarding the Kashmir situation" and telling them "not to escalate the situation."
As the old Parliament building hosted a session one last time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday bid a poignant farewell recalling the country's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru's iconic 'tryst with destiny' speech for continuing to inspire everyone and another predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 'governments may come and go' remark.
Senior leaders of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in India are calling for action against Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sasmit Patra for allegedly creating confusion among lawmakers regarding the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. The controversy arose after Patra, despite the party's announced opposition to the Bill, revealed he had voted in favor of it and stated that MPs could vote according to their conscience. The situation has led to accusations of a possible "deal" between the BJD and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In a letter he wrote to the Chairman, Kharge urged him to not take up any other business in the House and keep the proceedings limited to the discussion on the security breach.
Opposition parties on Thursday continued their attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over inauguration of the new Parliament building and accused him of being 'megalomaniac' and the government of being 'arrogant'.
Thousands of people gathered in Maharashtra's Beed city on Saturday to protest against the brutal murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh as even MLAs from ruling parties demanded the sacking of Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has rejected a privilege notice against Union Home Minister Amit Shah after he cited a 1948 government press release to authenticate his statement that a Congress leader was part of the management of Prime Minister's National Relief Fund. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had moved the notice against Shah for "casting aspersions" on Congress Parliamentary Party head Sonia Gandhi.
Carney defeated former cabinet minister Karina Gould, former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, and Businessman and former Liberal MP Frank Baylis. All four contenders entered the room to much fanfare and addressed the crowd, thanking supporters for injecting energy into the party.
The Supreme Court of India has released an inquiry report into the alleged discovery of a large amount of cash at the residence of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma. The report, which includes photos and videos, was uploaded on the court's website. Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has formed an in-house committee to investigate the matter and has asked the Delhi High Court Chief Justice to not assign any judicial work to Justice Varma. Justice Varma has denied the allegations, claiming they are part of a conspiracy to frame him. The inquiry report, submitted by the Delhi High Court Chief Justice, has been made public and calls for a deeper probe into the incident. The incident has raised concerns about judicial accountability and has prompted the Congress party to call for strong measures to uphold public trust in the judiciary.
A fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, claiming it was a "blatant intrusion" into the rights of a religious denomination to manage its own affairs in the matter of religion. The plea, filed by Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, argues that the amendments would distort the religious character of Waqfs and irreversibly damage the democratic process in their administration. Several other petitions have been filed in the apex court challenging the validity of the bill, including those by Congress MP Mohammad Jawed, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, and AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan.
'It is not as if Hindus are not being touched at all, and only Muslims are.'
This came after Ranaut stoked a controversy by suggesting that the farmers' protests could have led to a Bangladesh-like situation in the country if the top leadership was not strong enough.
'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
The parliament duty group of the CRPF wound up its entire administrative and operational paraphernalia -- vehicles, weapons and commandos -- from the complex on Friday and its commander, a deputy inspector general-rank officer, handed over all the security points in the complex to the incoming CISF group, the sources said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah why he was not giving a statement in Parliament on the security breach issue but was giving interviews to TV channels.
While 30 of them were suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session, three were suspended pending the report of the Privileges Committee.
Aam Aadmi Party's Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Monday went to the Civil Lines police station and alleged that a member of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's personal staff misbehaved with her, police officials said.
There is an imperative need for holding simultaneous elections for various reasons as polls have become expensive and time-consuming, according to the proposed bill being brought to implement the ambitious 'one nation, one election' plan.
Several opposition MPs on Wednesday demanded an explanation from Home Minister Amit Shah after two visitors jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery and opened canisters that emitted coloured smoke, triggering panic among the members.
In the months immediately following the 2024 tragedy, reporting on the landslide per se had been a straightforward affair. On one side was death and destruction. On the other side, survivors and the business of survival. It was black and white. What direction to take was clear. Rehabilitation in comparison, felt like a complex situation. One that is fraught with shades of grey. As grey as human life, explains Shyam G Menon.
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.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet in the National Herald case, accusing Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi of a "criminal conspiracy" to "usurp" properties worth Rs 2,000 crore of its public company AJL by transferring 99 per cent shares for just Rs 50 lakh to their private company Young Indian. The ED has named Sonia Gandhi as accused no 1 and Rahul Gandhi as accused no 2 in the chargesheet, which was filed under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The committee will probe the reasons for the breach in security, identify lapses, and recommend further action.
Kharge alleged that Dhankhar is working as a government spokesperson and acting like a school headmaster, often sermonising experienced opposition leaders and preventing them from speaking in the House.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday read out a resolution condemning the imposition of Emergency and termed the decision by then prime minister Indira Gandhi an attack on the Constitution, triggering a wave of protests by the opposition in the House.
The Congress on Wednesday said the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) constituents did not seek a division of votes in the Speaker's election as they wanted to maintain a spirit of consensus and cooperation.
The Indian Parliament will introduce a constitutional amendment bill on Tuesday that seeks to hold Lok Sabha and state assembly elections simultaneously. The bill, popularly known as "one nation, one election", will be introduced by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and is likely to be referred to a joint committee of both houses for wider consultations. The bill also aims to align elections in the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry, and the NCT of Delhi. The move has been met with mixed reactions, with some supporting the idea of reducing election-related expenses and others expressing concerns about its impact on democratic processes.
One fact is irrefutable: Nepal's recent political history tells us that the route to a return of monarchy cannot go through India despite friends in high places, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
Besides the bills, the government has listed the first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2023-24 for presentation, discussion and voting during the session.
Days ahead of the opening of the new Parliament building, a controversy has erupted as the Congress on Monday accused the government of disrespecting constitutional propriety and demanded that President Droupadi Murmu should do the inauguration instead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The chargesheet, spread over 1,000 pages, was filed before the Patiala House Court in June and the court took its cognisance last month. A supplementary was filed in July.
Opposition MPs in India's Rajya Sabha staged a walkout on Wednesday after being disallowed to seek clarifications on a statement made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on India-China relations. The minister, who had given an identical statement on the issue in the Lok Sabha a day earlier, addressed the Upper House of Parliament on Wednesday on India-China relations and also talked about the recent disengagement in Ladakh. Soon after his statement, opposition MPs wanted to seek some clarifications on the issue. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar did not allow it, resulting in an uproar in the House briefly.
A constitutional amendment bill for holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously is likely to be introduced in Parliament on Tuesday and could be referred to a joint committee of the two Houses.
This takes the number of suspended MPs in the Lok Sabha to 97.
'Gyanendra back on the throne would be bad news for the Nepali people. He may not have learnt from his experience, but we have.'
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday said a wad of currency notes was recovered by security staff from the seat allotted to Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
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