Officials have said the national capital lacked a convention centre big enough to seat so many MPs and adhere to social distancing norms. Additionally, holding a 'virtual session' looks slims as any change in the rules requires a motion to be carried in both the Houses of Parliament.
The mortal remains of former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh were consigned to flames at the Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday amid the chanting of religious hymns. The funeral pyre was lit by his eldest daughter Upinder Singh.
The first two sessions -- held on January 6 and January 24 -- were adjourned by the presiding officer without electing a mayor as the sessions were marred by ruckus and acrimonious exchanges among the members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party.
Among the parties that boycotted the proceedings of the House included the Congress, which was the among the first to walkout, followed by members of the CPI-M, CPI, TMC, NCP, SP, Shiv Sena, RJD, DMK, TRS and AAP.
Still to recover from their electoral rout, defeated Congress members of Parliament and ministers are now faced with the heart-wrenching job of moving out of their official houses, says Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal
Reservation was voiced in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday over the decision to shuffle the timing of Question Hour and Zero Hour from Parliament's next session with Samajwadi Party seeking its reconsideration.
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.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be the deputy leader.
Catch all the action from the Monsoon session of Parliament, LIVE
The CJI is expected to write to the President and the Prime Minister soon about his recommendation.
A notice, uploaded on the apex court website, said the bench will hear the matter on October 4.
Several parties had requested that the session, which was originally scheduled to continue till April 8, be curtailed due to the five assembly elections being held in eight phases till April 29.
The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on Monday and is scheduled to conclude on April 8 wherein the first part of the session will extend up to February 11, said the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Sunday.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday rejected suggestions that the suspension of 13 opposition members was linked to their protests over the recent security breach and recalled that the House had displayed exemplary solidarity and collective resolve when breaches had happened in the past.
'Today, we being the majority pass a law and if the Opposition parties do not like it, they throw files at the Chair, and beat up women marshals.'
Elections are scheduled in five states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa and Punjab.
The standing committees have not been holding their sittings due to the severe second wave of COVID-19.
'There is one negative thing which has happened very quietly. The position of the election commissioner has been downgraded.'
The decision has come days after Bajwa and another Congress Rajya Sabha MP, Shamsher Singh Dullo, sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate into the alleged illegal liquor trade in the state following the hooch tragedy that claimed over 100 lives.
Addressing a press conference, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said efforts are being made since the last few days that a 'formula' or middle path is found with both the Opposition and the government relenting.
"I have a given a notice for discussion on Lokpal in the Rajya Sabha. The Business Advisory Committee will decide on the date for discussion," Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions V Narayanasamy told PTI.
Reacting to a media report in this regard, the deputy chairman said that 'as per rules and practice, in order to have a division, two things are essential'. 'Firstly there should be a demand for division and equally important that there should be order in the House,' he said in a statement.
A day after quitting the Congress, former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro on Tuesday arrived in Kolkata, where he is likely to join the Trinamool Congress, party sources said.
The much-needed amendments will improve road safety, facilitate citizens in their dealings with transport departments, strengthen rural transport, public transport and last-mile connectivity through automation, computerisation and online services.
'It is undemocratic and shows fascist tendencies.'
S P Singh Baghel and B L Verma who made it to the Union council of ministers on Wednesday are two prominent Other Backward Classes leaders from Uttar Pradesh.
Soon after the obituary references and laying of papers, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan moved a motion for Shantanu Sen's suspension. The TMC member had snatched papers from Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and tore those in the House on Thursday. The motion was passed by a voice vote and Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu asked Sen to leave the House.
Gandhi had recently alleged in London that the structures of Indian democracy are under "brutal attack" and there is a full-scale assault on the institutions of the country.
Trinamool Congress's Lok Sabha MP Dinesh Trivedi would get the award for 2016 and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad would get it for 2015, the Lok Sabha secretariat said in a statement.
'We've said that we're glad that our Indian counterparts are taking it seriously and doing that. We want those responsible for these attacks to be held fully accountable, but I won't get ahead of an investigation that isn't complete'
Parliament's Budget session has been a washout since the beginning of its second part on March 13, with the BJP demanding an apology from Gandhi.
Lok Sabha is set to witness a confrontation over Land Acquisition Bill on Tuesday when it is taken up for voting with opposition bent on opposing it even as the government again offered to make changes in the legislation in the "larger interest" of the farming community.
The Opposition has questioned the stringent provisions like criminalisation of a civil wrong in the triple talaq bill.
Proceedings in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were disrupted as Opposition members raised slogans demanding a discussion and a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the fraud-allegation-triggered rout.
People familiar with the proceedings said independent cybersecurity experts from a private consulting firm, technology lawyers, government officials and WhatsApp representatives were asked questions about the Pegasus spyware and the larger issues surrounding surveillance, hacking and remedial measures.
A communication from the Lok Sabha Secretariat said on Thursday that the session would conclude on April 8.
The imapsse continues over issues like bank scams and special status demand for Andhra Pradesh.
The results of the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are also likely to play out during the start of the session.
The Union Budget for 2017 is likely to be presented on February 1. An approval for merging the Railway Budget with the General Budget was accorded by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge used poetry and humour to take swipes at the government on Monday, saying nothing will be accomplished by changing names, and went on to recall how first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's 'inclusive' approach of involving opposition parties had led to the laying of a strong foundation for the Constitution.
