The impending expulsion of Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Mahua Moitra from the Lok Sabha, three bills to replace criminal laws and a proposed law for the appointment of election commissioners are issues set to dominate the Winter Session of Parliament, with the government urging the Opposition to ensure a conducive environment for discussions in the House.
Hectic preparations are underway for the session with several first-time measures because of the COVID-19 pandemic such as testing of all MPs, staggered sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and use of both chambers and galleries to accommodate members while following physical distancing norms, officials said.
A high-level committee on Thursday recommended simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days.
The winter session of Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Tuesday after passing 18 legislations, including amendment bills on amend coal mines allocation and labour laws, in 22 sittings.
Union ministers said Parliament passing over two dozen Bills was evidence of increased productivity of Narendra Modi government 2.0.
Opposition members led by Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge asked the government to clear its stand over the nationality of the minister. Without naming the minister, Sekhar said: "The prime minister has been allowed to lay a list of the ministers after the reshuffle. Go through Wikipedia, then you will find that the name of the gentleman... a minister of state for home affairs is a reportedly a Bangladeshi." Sekhar was also supported by Kharge and other opposition members.
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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.
Gandhi was served a notice to vacate the government bungalow allotted to him by April 22
The Congress on Wednesday said senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was consulted several times before finalising the names in the revamped Jammu and Kashmir unit of the party, rejecting reports that the former Union minister was not on board.
The principal opposition party though appeared content securing 99 of the 543 seats in the 2024 national elections as against its all-time low of 44 in 2014 and then 52 in 2019.
The Rajya Sabha has already given its nod to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023.
Singh, a veteran Congress leader, was a member of the Upper House of Parliament from Assam for almost three decades.
The country's 5,000 MPs, MLAs and MLCs should resolve in this historic year to return to the people the favour they have been doing by relentlessly nurturing democracy over the last 70 years, he said.
The Congress and other opposition parties had opposed the amendments.
With the all-party meetings called by Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla producing no breakthrough to end the deadlock in Parliament, Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Pralhad Joshi accused opposition parties of repeatedly 'insulting' Dhankhar.
'The Galwan crisis involves the security of the nation, can't we spend eight hours on that?' 'Why are you scared? Why are you running away from that?
Fernandes was hospitalised in July after suffering a fall while doing yoga at his house.
Amid a stalemate between the government and the Opposition over the issue, the House failed to transact any significant business and was adjourned for the day.
The women's reservation bill is back in focus ahead of Parliament's winter session, with several opposition parties, including the Janata Dal-United, which had once opposed the move, demanding that it be introduced and passed in this session.
The 15th Lok Sabha will go down in the history as the most disrupted in Independent India so far including the pepper spray incident which marked a new low in parliamentary conduct.
'I gave enough evidence and proof to punish corrupt officials.' 'But my own government has not filed any FIR against such officials.'
The ruling BJP has issued a whip to its MPs, asking them to ensure their presence in the House.
The BJP councillors retaliated by raising slogans against AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal as AAP members returned fire by sloganeering against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The political crisis arose in Himachal Pradesh during the recently held polling for the Rajya Sabha elections as nine MLAs, including six Congress rebels and three independents, voted in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan.
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.
According to sources, Preneet Kaur, a Congress MP, is believed to have voted in support of the report.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday approved the bill giving primacy to Delhi's Lieutenant Governor (L-G) over the elected government after high drama in the House that saw uproar by the opposition and a walkout by MPs of parties like the BJD, SP, Congress and the YSRC.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to allow him to speak in the house over his democracy remarks made in London, sources said on Monday.
Rajya Sabha witnessed unruly scenes on Sunday as Opposition members stormed the well and reached the deputy chairman's seat to protest against the farm bills debated and passed by the Upper House through voice vote.
In the all-party meeting on Tuesday, Opposition parties demanded discussions on price rise, unemployment and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota among other issues, sources said.
Indian Parliament's new building will have a triangular shape to reflect the importance of triangles being a sacred geometry in various religions, while its interiors will have three national symbols as their main themes -- Lotus, Peacock and Banyan Tree.
The Monsoon Session of the Parliament is scheduled to commence on Monday and is slated to conclude on October 1. There will be no question hour and private members' business during the monsoon session.
"The conduct of opposition leaders in the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday was shameful, irresponsible and utter disrespect to parliamentary rules and dignity," Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SV N Bhatti sought Tankha's response in four weeks on the plea of Chouhan and BJP state president VD Sharma and former minister Bhupendra Singh who have challenged the October 25 order of the Madhya Pradesh high court refusing to quash the defamation case.
Verma said Kamal Nath and his son Nakul Nath are both not crossing over to the BJP and asserted that the latter will contest the Lok Sabha polls, likely to be held in April-May, from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh as the Congress candidate.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu also made a fervent appeal to the leaders of various parties at an all-party meeting to ensure smooth and effective functioning of the House during the Budget Session.
The first part of the session will conclude on February 11. After a month-long recess, the part two of the session would begin from March 14 and conclude on April 8.
Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Jaswant Singh made a demand for a probe by a House Committee into the Rs 7,800 crore (Rs 78 billion) fraud.
The government's agenda also includes the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021.
