Six of the seven Bills listed on the agenda of the Rajya Sabha have already been passed by the Lok Sabha.
The unusual timing of the session has left everyone wondering, even though the main standout feature on the listed agenda is a special discussion on Parliament's journey of 75 years starting from the "Samvidhan Sabha" (Constituent Assembly).
Azad was elected to the Upper House from Jammu and Kashmir, which does not have an assembly currently after it was made a Union Territory with the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.
The government told an all-party meeting Monday that it does not intend to bring any legislative business in Rajya Sabha during the first part of the Budget Session which is till February 11, sources said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday said M Venkaiah Naidu's witty one-liners were 'revered, and never countered', and hailed his highly productive five-year term as vice president of India and Rajya Sabha chairman.
The meeting is believed to be called to chalk out the strategy of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The Rajya Sabha chairman was interacting with the MPs as part of his 'Mission Connect' during which he has been talking to a large number of parliamentarians as well as former presidents and prime ministers, present and former chief justices of India, governors and chief ministers, besides leaders of political parties.
'It is high time that the 'war on terror' is removed from our diplomatic toolbox.' 'Certainly, our parliamentarians have no role in it,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Come February 22, the Rajya Sabha will have new rules and procedures for the Question Hour. With the introduction of change of business rules, it is ensured that union ministers are made more accountable to answer their questions in the Upper House.
The warming up of ties became apparent after the Centre announced the country's highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna to his grandfather and former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.
The Rajya Sabha chairman said this was not the first time that such a suspension has happened. Starting in 1962 till 2010, members were suspended on 11 occasions in furtherance to motions moved by the governments of the day.
While 30 of them were suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session, three were suspended pending the report of the Privileges Committee.
He sought interim stay of the decision of Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.
In his statement, the AAP MP has also alleged that the cancellation was done at the 'dictates of the BJP to further their political motives and vested interest'.
Rajiv Kumar, the 25th chief election commissioner of India, has demitted office after a nearly three-year tenure marked by both electoral successes and allegations of bias from opposition parties. Kumar oversaw the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, among other major elections. During his tenure, he implemented reforms across various aspects of the Election Commission's functioning, including structural, technological, capacity development, communication, international cooperation, and administration. However, he faced criticism from opposition parties and activists on several issues, including the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines, alleged fudging of voter data, and being "lenient" on the ruling BJP. While the Commission responded to the allegations, Kumar often defended himself and the poll authority through poetry. In his farewell address, Kumar expressed concerns about the timing of petitions raising doubts over poll processes and the impact of freebie promises on the fiscal health of the state. He also criticized the practice of showing early trends on counting day by news channels, calling it "nonsense". Kumar's tenure was marked by numerous controversies, with opposition parties and activists alleging bias and irregularities. While the Election Commission defended its actions, the allegations cast a shadow over his time in office.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that individuals affiliated with political parties are not barred from contesting elections for bar bodies. The court dismissed a PIL seeking directions to prevent such candidates, arguing that a diverse range of ideologies is essential in a democracy and that there is no law prohibiting politically active individuals from participating in bar body elections.
The opposition parties had till now been calling for a debate under Rule 267, which entails voting, and a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While nearly 200 members were present in the Lok Sabha chamber, a little over 30 were seated in the visitors' gallery located above the main chamber.
Asserting the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) wants a constructive debate on the NEET issue, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said it is unfortunate that they were not allowed to raise it in the Parliament.
The government on Tuesday introduced in Parliament three redrafted bills to replace the existing criminal laws by including various recommendations made by a parliamentary panel.
Proceedings of both Houses of Parliament were disrupted on Monday as the treasury benches accused top Congress leaders of colluding with billionaire investor George Soros to destabilise the country, triggering protests from opposition members.
The Chinese company has also collected the data base of bureaucrats in key positions, judges, scientists, academicians, journalists, actors, sportspersons, religious figures and activists, he added.
However, the SC allowed him to retain his official bungalow.
Shashi Tharoor has also been retained as the chairman of the panel on Information Technology.
The Congress on Monday appointed the party's Punjab unit chief Navjot Sidhu as chairman of the state election committee.
The Congress leader also lamented the exclusion of current Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge from the committee
The panel may recommend amending at last five articles of the Constitution to enable holding of simultaneous polls in the country.
'We used to discuss how image-conscious Nitish Kumar was and his sophisticated conduct in public life. All this has become a thing of the past.'
Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge has given his resignation to party chief Sonia Gandhi as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha as he is contesting the election for the post of party president.
Actor and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan said she was happy that the House was discussing the most important ambassadors of the country, the film fraternity.
The Congress will reach out to various parties in this regard.
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.
Among the cities that have fully implemented their projects are Agra, Varanasi, Madurai, Coimbatore, Udaipur, Pune, Surat, and Vadodara
The plan involves the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha seating half of their members in their respective chambers, reports Archis Mohan.
"Let's see how fast courts will ac.t now...' the former Union minister said
Any direction or rule of the House cannot subvert the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech granted to members of Parliament, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, asserting that any criticism of the government and its policies can never be equated with the "dignity" of the Council of States.
In an interim relief to Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha, a Delhi court has directed the Rajya Sabha secretariat to not evict him from a Type-7 bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi, which is usually allotted to lawmakers who are former ministers, chief ministers or governors, till the pendency of his application and without following the due process of law.
The members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on Monday paid tribute to the security personnel who laid down their lives while defending the Parliament complex from a terrorist attack on December 13, 2001.
Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Friday appeared to raise questions over Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari's conduct during the debate on Lokpal Bill in the Upper House. "In everyone's life there come moments where one can rise above. This was one such moment last night for the chairman of Rajya Sabha to create history. Alas!" Bedi tweeted.
Rangarajan, 77, who will replace Suresh Tendulkar, gave his resignation to Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari, who has accepted it.
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