Even his critics say Thaawar Chand Gehlot is a man of delivery. 'If a task is assigned, he wins it over with political sagacity,' they say.
It is not in the Lok Sabha, where the BJP has a clear majority, but the Rajya Sabha that the Opposition has ganged up to checkmate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious plans.
The finance minister could not take the oath earlier in Parliament due to his ill-health.
The 71-year-old leader from Madhya Pradesh has almost four decades of legislative experience.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was on Monday named as the Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, while Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad was declared the Leader of the Opposition.
As vice president and ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankar is inheriting a troubled legacy. Although the government faces no real numerical challenges in the Upper House, political and legal challenges are there aplenty.
Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, Union ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Rajeev Shukla, and Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi and actor Jaya Bachchan were among the 50 new members who took oath in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The members, whose terms are ending, include union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan, J P Nadda, Thaawarchand Gehlot and Ramdas Athawale.
'The BJP must have decided to replace Nitish with a green signal from JD-U leaders close to him.'
As polling begins on Friday for the remaining 25 Rajya Sabha seats in six states, here's a list of some of the bigwigs who are seeking to be elected to the Upper House of Parliament.
The Modi government is learning to deal with the reality that it does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha.
The opposition on Wednesday scuttled the introduction of the controversial Communal Violence Prevention Bill in the Rajya Sabha, contending that Parliament does not have the competence to legislate this law, as it will violate the spirit of Federalism.
Angry members of the Congress and other opposition parties forced adjournments of the proceedings as they questioned the NOTA provision for these elections.
Procedural wrangles over voting for taking up a discussion on the alleged interference of the government in preparing Central Bureau of Investigation report on the coalgate scam led to a brief adjournment in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
As Rajya Sabha bade farewell to 53 retiring members, the House saw voices against the alleged "encroachment" by judiciary on the rights of legislature
The government on Tuesday faced embarrassment in the Rajya Sabha when the opposition scuttled its move to withdraw three bills, including one on raising the FDI cap in insurance sector to 49 per cent, which are expected to be introduced in Lok Sabha for replacement of Ordinances.
The Congress and the Left parties might move court to challenge LS speaker's ruling on Aadhaar as money Bill.
According our source in New Delhi, it took Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All India Dravida Munetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa's early-hour phone call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi eased the tension about the unanimous resolution on the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP is still short of the halfway mark of 123 in the 245-member House, but can now muster a 'working' majority with help of allies, friendly parties, some Independents and nominated members.
Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajparty Party, which support the United Progressive Alliance from outside, on Wednesday created repeated obstructions in Rajya Sabha, prompting an angry Bharatiya Janata Party to allege that the government has decided not to run the House because of its 'number game'.
Bringing the prime minister in the line of fire, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday accused him and his ministers for the "choreographed disturbance" in the Rajya Sabha on the Lokpal issue and insisted that since the government wanted a weak ombudsman and lacked numbers, it ran away from a vote.
The Opposition members on Monday strongly raised the issue of religious conversions, and a controversial statement made by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Yogi Adityanath on the Ayodhya issue and a report that government schools have been asked to observe Good Governance Day on Christmas Day, in the Rajya Sabha.
The Rajya Sabha on Monday witnessed uproar over the steep Rs 2.35 a litre hike in petrol price and 50 paisa a litre increase in cost of diesel.
'The chair is a referee in a match, whether this side is playing better or that side is playing worse is no concern of the chair.'
The election to the post is mostly decided by consensus, but opposition leaders complain that the Narendra Modi government was yet to reach out to them, reports Archis Mohan.
The bill to amend the 49-year-old law to guard against claims of succession or transfer of properties left by people who migrated to Pakistan and China was passed amid a walkout by the entire Opposition.
Opposition on Thursday forced deferment of consideration of the contentious Mines and Minerals Bill in Rajya Sabha till on Friday.
Amid unprecedented bedlam, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde moved the Telangana bill in Rajya Sabha for consideration leading to three adjournments within 30 minutes.
The Congress party has accused the BJP government of disrespecting opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge by seating them in the third row during the Republic Day parade. BJP leaders have responded by questioning Rahul Gandhi's attendance at other important events.
Vice Chairman Harivansh regretted that 78 hours of business were lost due to disruptions and that the House functioned for only 27 hours.
Mayawati was outmanoeuvred by the BJP in the race for the Rajya Sabha in Uttar Pradesh just days after she helped the Samajwadi Party snatch two Lok Sbaha seats from the saffron party in bypolls.
The GST will replace more than a dozen levies central and state levies, including central excise duty, service tax and central sales tax as well as VAT on sale of goods and entry tax, to make movement of goods seamless across 1.3 billion market.
BJP-led govt will need regional parties' support in Upper House to get legislation cleared. Archis Mohan reports
'This man has aged, but does not know the difference between words spoken on the streets from those of spoken in Parliament.' 'He does not allow his hair to turn gray, so he hasn't learned or matured.' Rashme Sehgal reports on how Subramanian Swamy has riled the Congress yet again.
Congress forced four adjournments of the proceedings in the RS over what it called as 'biggest scam of this century'.
Select committees of the House have already submitted their reports
Amid noisy scenes, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017 for discussion and passage, but pandemonium broke out in the Upper House with the opposition creating an uproar and the BJP countering it vociferously.
Agitated by repeated disruptions, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Tuesday wondered whether members wish the House to become a 'federation of anarchists', a remark which drew sharp reaction with the Bharatiya Janata Party demanding its withdrawal and the government asking for expunging it.
The much anticipated Telangana Bill was not taken up in the Rajya Sabha, which witnessed high drama and repeated adjournments throughout Wednesday.
While almost all the members belonging to the ruling National Democratic Alliance took oath by swearing in the name of god, Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar, who was re-elected to the Upper House from Maharashtra, took oath affirming his allegiance to the Constitution of India.
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