To govern effectively, to legislate successfully, Modi must reach out to the Opposition. As long as he does not and he is showing no signs that he accepts the reality, the drift his fans are anguishing over will remain, cautions Aakar Patel.
Sushmita Dev said it would have been better if there were more women MPs in the panel.
'The message is not clear whether we are wanted.' 'All this could adversely impact our strategy in India and also investments.'
The Lok Sabha witnessed chaotic scenes as opposition members protested the introduction of three draft laws, leading to torn bills, sloganeering, and adjournments.
In a letter to Dhankhar, Ramesh said sending the Bill to the joint committee of both Houses means "devaluation and denigration" of the status and functions of the standing committee.
Opposition parties allege the Modi government is attempting to turn India into a 'dictatorship' with the introduction of three Bills that seek to provide for removal of the prime minister, chief ministers and ministers arrested on serious charges, and vowed to oppose it 'tooth and nail'.
The report is likely to recommend that India adopt the German model of 'constructive no-confidence' which stipulates that the unseating of a government must be immediately followed by the formation of a new one, which will serve out the remainder of the legislative term.
'A brief statement was made by the Army on the sensitive issue. But no questions were taken,' a member said.
Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal's health has become critical after 27 days of a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border protest site. Doctors attending to him have warned that he is at risk of cardiac arrest and multi-organ failure. Dallewal, 70, began his hunger strike on November 26 to pressure the Centre to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP on crops. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have issued a statement saying that Dallewal's immunity has become very weak due to the continuous hunger strike, putting him at risk of infection. Former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi met Dallewal at the protest site on Saturday evening and conveyed the concerns expressed by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding his health and well-being. The statement also said that candle marches will be taken out across the country on December 24 in support of Dallewal's hunger strike. On December 26, when Dallewal's fast will complete one month, symbolic hunger strikes will be held at tehsil and district levels.
Mishra said the department-related parliamentary standing committee on home affairs in its 146th report had recommended that there is a need for a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system of the country.
A parliamentary committee scrutinising three bills to replace existing criminal laws did not adopt its draft report as scheduled on Friday, taking into account the submission of some opposition members that they needed more time to study it.
In a relief to industry, the government has accepted a parliamentary panel's recommendation on allowing cartels to opt for the settlement scheme under the Competition Amendment Bill, according to official sources. The proposed Bill seeks to introduce a clause for settlement and commitment that offers any enterprise against which an inquiry has been initiated to file an application for settlement. The Parliamentary Committee on Finance had suggested including cartels in the scope for settlement "as a pragmatic recourse to the whole process".
A Parliamentary Committee will discuss the controversial issue of net neutrality on Thursday at a meeting where officials of telecom companies like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea are expected to present their views.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday underlined the government's resolve to take all political parties on board in moving an impeachment motion against Justice Yashwant Varma, saying corruption in the judiciary cannot be approached through a 'political prism'.
Government sources on Tuesday said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has begun consultations as part of efforts to get leaders of different parties on board for the impeachment motion against Varma following his indictment by a three-member probe committee constituted by the Supreme Court.
The Law Commission on Friday told a parliamentary panel that there was a need to define as to what amounts to "lynching" in the proposed Bharat Nyay Sanhita, sources said.
"What the RTI Act did was to make available to citizens any information that could be provided, that the government was obliged to provide to a Member of Parliament (MP). In theory, that channel remains open to us," says prominent economist and RTI activist Reetika Khera about how Indian citizens could still have access to information that they want
The famous 'tareekh pe tareekh' dialogue from the Hindi movie Damini captures where we are now.
In 2019, an all-party meeting was held in Delhi and it was attended by 19 political parties to discuss critical reforms in governance. One of the subjects of the discussions was simultaneous elections
'Non-BJP state governments and their leaders, navigating today's political landscape, know well they have no clue what awaits around the corner.' 'The chances of charges pressed and oneself getting parked in custody play out on an uneven playing field,' points out Shyam G Menon.
A parliamentary panel has observed that mere medical insanity cannot be a ground for the acquittal of an accused and legal insanity is required to be proved for claiming a valid defence.
The panel said that vacant posts in the CBI are not being filled up at the required pace and recommended that "every effort should be made to fill up vacancies at the earliest".
The Supreme Court on Tuesday referred to a Constitution bench of at least five judges a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the colonial-era provision of sedition under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Opposition MPs, some of whom have given their dissent, slammed the exercise as undemocratic, claiming that they were given little time to study the final report and frame their dissent notes.
Panel chairman Thakur is believed to have informed Dev that the issue was not on the agenda for the meeting.
It is being suggested that apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, should share their APIs with each other to ensure there is interoperability, just as it exists across email services.
A 39-member parliamentary panel has been constituted to examine the two bills proposing simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The panel, chaired by BJP leader Bhratruhari Mahtab, will include prominent members from various political parties, including the BJP, Congress, SP, TMC, and DMK. The panel is expected to submit its report to the Lok Sabha by the first day of the last week of the next session. The government has decided to increase the committee's strength to include more political parties, highlighting the significance of this proposal to reform the election process in India.
At the customary meeting ahead of the session beginning Monday, the opposition raised various issues, including voter roll revision in Bihar, the Pahalgam terror attack and Trump's 'ceasefire' claims.
Last week, Twitter had blocked Union Information and Technology Minister Prasad from accessing his account which ratcheted up tensions with the government as it came under renewed attack for not following local laws.
Seeking to allay fears that existing Waqf properties will be subject to scrutiny after the amended Waqf law comes into force, a parliamentary panel on Tuesday recommended that no cases will be reopened against such properties on a retrospective basis, provided the asset is not in dispute or belongs to the government.
The Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament, will debate the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday. The bill has been met with strong opposition from several parties who claim it is unconstitutional. The government, however, insists the bill aims to improve the management of Waqf properties in India by bringing transparency and efficiency.
Opposition members hit out at the government for the introduction of the bill in a 'hurry' and 'without any consultation with stakeholders'.
Parliamentary standing committee on labour, led by Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, has said in its report that it is unjustifiable for owners to pay workers' wages during natural calamities.
A parliamentary panel on Thursday cleared the much-awaited Electricity Bill that proposes to rationalise electricity tariff and bring about transparency in policy regarding subsidies.
Twitter on Friday said it 'stands prepared' to work with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT on safeguarding citizens' rights online, even as the panel categorically told the microblogging platform that rule of the land is supreme and not the company's policies.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday met top officials of the finance and corporate affairs ministries to review the implementation of various announcements of the Union Budget FY24. "The finance minister underlined the importance of continuous assessment of progress to ensure that various announcements are implemented in a time-bound manner," the finance ministry said in a tweet. Sitharaman also discussed in detail various issues on the digital competition laws with Rajeev Chandrashekhar, the minister of state for entrepreneurship, skill development, electronics and technology.
Congress MP Mohammad Jawed and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi have challenged the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the Supreme Court, arguing that it violates constitutional provisions. The petitions claim the bill imposes arbitrary restrictions on Waqf properties and their management, undermining the religious autonomy of the Muslim community. They also allege that the bill discriminates against Muslims by imposing restrictions not present in the governance of other religious endowments. The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, with the petitioners arguing that it introduces limitations on the creation of Waqfs based on the duration of one's religious practice, mandates inclusion of non-Muslim members in Waqf administrative bodies, and shifts key administrative functions to government officials, thereby diluting the autonomy of Waqf management.
Highlighting the low representation of women in the Central Armed Police Forces, a parliamentary committee has asked the Union home ministry to take steps to encourage them to join the services, besides recommending a reservation for transgenders.
Holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies would need at least five constitutional amendments and a large number of additional EVMs and paper-trail machines costing "thousands of crores of rupees", but will yield a huge long-term saving to the public exchequer, officials said on Friday.
Expressing concern over frequent internet shutdown without any empirical study, a parliamentary panel has pulled up the department of telecommunications for not maintaining the record of incidents and inaction on several of its recommendations.
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