The Union finance ministry has rejected a proposal sent by the labour ministry to double the monthly minimum pension amount to Rs 2,000 under the Employee Pension Scheme (EPS). The Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the apex decision-making body of the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), was apprised of the proposal's rejection during a meeting on Saturday. "According to the recommendations made by a highly-empowered monitoring committee constituted by the government, a proposal to increase the minimum pension under EPS from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per month, by providing additional budgetary support, was sent to the ministry of finance.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray will not switch to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar president Jayant Patil asserted on Thursday, seeking to scotch speculation about a possible crossover by his key ally.
Ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament, the government has convened a meeting of floor leaders of political parties in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Saturday.
As per the rules and regulations, members must not do anything that brings disrepute to the Parliament and affects their credibility, and members must utilise their position as Members of Parliament to advance general well-being of the people.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Bharat Rashtra Party and Samajwadi Party, came together in a show of unity on Thursday and accused the Modi government of getting the second half of the budget session washed out, while asserting that if this attitude continues, the country will move towards a "dictatorship".
The draft will be examined, studied and discussed before it is tabled in the assembly on February 6, he said.
Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh on Monday announced a probe into the complaints of at least four MPs that their names were included in a proposed select committee of the house for the Delhi services bill without their consent.
Those responsible for protecting MPs have failed in their constitutional duties, said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Privileges Committee said that 'notwithstanding the overriding effect' with regard to applicability of the Right to Information Act, 2005 vis-a-vis other laws, the right to information accruing to a citizen under the RTI 'cannot abrogate privileges conferred under Constitutional provisions'.
Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his corruption jibe at the Opposition, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday accused him of running a "bhrashtachari bhagao abhiyan" (make the corrupt flee campaign), and said that he must stop his image makeover by posing as an anti-corruption crusader.
B C Khanduri was removed last year as chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on defence.
The Congress on Thursday objected to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar deleting some portions of Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge's speech from official records, saying he used no unparliamentary words and some of the expressions he employed were earlier used even by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
...why are the government is running away from a Joint Parliamentary Committee
Sujay Vikhe Patil, son of senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, joined the BJP in presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP chief Raosaheb Danve.
The House, which was briefly adjourned in the morning, will now meet at 11 am on March 13 after recess.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday claimed to have gathered documentary evidence in the cash for vote scam and has submitted them before the Parliamentary committee probing the matter, its senior leader Arun Jaitley said.
This is the first time that oath-taking of members will take place in the House chamber during the inter-session period so as to maintain norms of physical distancing due to COVID-19, officials said.
The Law Commission said it values the input of all stakeholders and aims to create an "inclusive environment that encourages active engagement".
A number of supporters said on Twitter they had been targeted by racist abuse from other fans at the Birmingham
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee voiced support for MP Mahua Moitra on Monday, asserting that the party stands behind her in the face of a recommendation for expulsion from Lok Sabha over a 'cash-for-query' controversy.
The Centre has not taken any decision on the roll-out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for the whole country, the Ministry of Home Affairs has told a parliamentary panel.
Deriving from Narendra Modi's continuing charisma, the proposed scheme, if and when implemented, can cut both ways. That is to say, if Modi can win, he can lose. Or, someone else in his place, later on, could lose as much as he could win in his time, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said he is not completely opposed to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the charges against the Adani group, but a Supreme Court committee will be more useful and effective.
"I will approach the Committee of Privileges and court of law against the BJP Lok Sabha members who levelled the false allegation of forgery against me," Chadha said.
The Lok Sabha witnessed a heated debate Friday on an Ethics Committee report recommending Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra's expulsion in the cash-for-query issue, with the Opposition demanding she be allowed to speak in the House, and the government contending her views were heard by the panel.
The need for finding options for proper functioning of Parliament is of paramount importance as the frequency of the passage of Budgets and other economic Bills without discussion or debate has only increased in the last few years, notes A K Bhattacharya.
The scandal shook English cricket to its core and led to numerous changes in coaching and administrative personnel at Yorkshire.
Rahul Gandhi said both Rae Bareli and Wayanad "will get two MPs".
Kerala's election discourse operates surreptitiously. Its explicit face focuses on important national and local issues. At the same time, it seeks to secure apt communal equations to ensure votes, notes Shyam G Menon.
'The PM who is first among equals, who has to listen to others, take their point of view into account and who would have to be a good manager'
The Lokpal Bill will come up for scrutiny by the Parliamentary Standing Committee for the first time on September 7.
The plenary session in Chhattisgarh's Nava Raipur will start from February 24 and is expected to be attended by around 15,000 delegates.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday accused Trinamool Congress's Mahua Moitra of taking 'bribes' from a businessman to ask questions in Parliament and urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to constitute an 'inquiry committee' to look into the charges against her.
Tobacco products will henceforth carry larger pictorial warnings covering 85 per cent of the packaging space as a central notification comes into effect from Friday notwithstanding a parliamentary panel's recommendation for a drastic reduction in the size of the visual message.
The Election Commission had pegged the cost of procuring additional Electronic Voting Machines and paper-trail machines for holding synchronised Lok Sabha and assembly polls at nearly Rs 9,300 crore.
The Lok Sabha's Privileges Committee, headed by BJP member Sunil Kumar Singh, took up other issues on the agenda as Bidhuri, who was campaigning for the party in poll-bound Rajasthan, kept away.
Janata Dal-United MP Giridhari Yadav on Friday said he does not upload questions on the Lok Sabha's website himself as he does not know how to operate a computer, as the Lower House decided to expel Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Mahua Moitra over the allegation that she shared her log-in credentials with outsiders and took a bribe for asking questions.
Although the CPI-M has emphasised that the railway panel's post is its top choice, Congress floor managers have already conveyed to the comrades that 'it will be difficult' to fulfil their dreams. The CPI-M is likely to get the chairman's seat in the Standing Committee on coal and steel or energy.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said he would not be able to attend the flag hoisting function in the new Parliament building on Sunday and expressed disappointment over getting the invite 'quite late'.
Sources said senior leaders of the party have been told to reach out to other leaders of the alliance and talks with some parties have begun.
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