An ordinance to amend a law to reduce the salaries of MPs by 30 per cent for one year "to meet the exigencies arising out of COVID-19 pandemic" was promulgated.
The visit by the MPs comes nearly two months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met top leaders of Jammu and Kashmir on June 24.
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.
Scindia, who is now with the BJP and took oath as a member from Madhya Pradesh, greeted his bete noire before taking oath. Scindia and Singh had differences that led to Scindia quitting the Congress. Scindia also greeted Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad.
The suspended Rajya Sabha parliamentarians, who spent the night on the lawns near Mahatma Gandhi's statue in what several old-timers said was the first such overnight protest in the complex, got a surprise visitor in the morning -- Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh who came with tea and snacks.
The session will begin with the address of the President to the joint sitting of the two Houses on Friday morning followed by the presentation of the Union Budget on February 1.
Officials also said that sufficient steps have been taken to control air and noise pollution during the construction work for the new parliament building, which will have separate offices for all MPs and those will be equipped with the latest digital interfaces as a step towards creating 'paperless offices'.
"If the FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report proves that the slogan raised in favour of Pakistan is true, serious action will be taken in this regard. There is no question of protecting those who raised slogans in favour of Pakistan," the Chief Minister told reporters.
A search is on for suitable accommodation for Arvind Kejriwal and his family, Singh had said.
Armed with some documents pointing to large-scale irregularities, the Central Bureau of Investigation will soon register cases to probe the alleged involvement of some Rajya Sabha MPs and central government employees in forging leave travel concession claims for travel on state-run Air India.
An angry Banerjee slammed a minister, a former Trinamool Congress mayor and a few bureaucrats for their "below-par performance".
The government on Thursday listed bills on personal data protection, to amend forest conservation laws and on the contentious ordinance on Delhi services for the monsoon session of Parliament beginning next week.
With 200 MPs out of 785 above the age of 65, there is a serious shadow of COVID-19 looming over the monsoon session Of Parliament.
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.
Kharge said he condemn this attitude of the government to threaten, scare and humiliate
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday assured her counterpart from Delhi Arvind Kejriwal, that her party would support him in his fight against the central ordinance to control appointments and transfer of bureaucrats.
Kejriwal, who was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the same case and later by the CBI which was probing corruption charges, stepped out after spending 155 days in Tihar jail. The AAP supremo, who was earlier granted three-week interim bail in the ED case, was given a resounding welcome by his party leaders and supporters who were drenched in heavy rain. Addressing party workers from the top of an SUV, Kejriwal, sporting a half-sleeve blue shirt, raised 'Inquilab Zindabad' and 'Vande Mataram' slogans.
The Delhi high court on Friday stayed the Centre's eviction notices to two Congress members of Parliament and ex- ministers, Ambika Soni and Kumari Selja.
Convicted Congress leader Rashid Masood on Monday became the first member of Parliament to lose his seat after the Supreme Court struck down a provision that protects a convicted lawmaker from disqualification on the ground of pendency of appeal in higher courts.
Time is running out for a hapless UPA govt over the Telangana bill, and the latest observation by the Rajya Sabha secretariat -- that the bill has financial implications and so must be introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha first -- has only worsened the crisis for the ruling alliance. Anita Katyal reports.
On Monday, when the marshals came wearing the new uniform together with aiguillette, some members commented if 'marshal law was being imposed'.
Daily life was partially affected in West Bengal on Wednesday due to a 12-hour shutdown called by the Bharatiya Janata Party, protesting the police action against demonstrators during a march to the state secretariat.
The Members suspended included K Ashok Kumar, R K Bharathi Mohan, M Chandrakasi, Jayakumar Jayavardhan, K Parasuraman, Dr K Kamraj, P Kumar, M Vasanti, C Mahendram, K Margatham and P Nagarajan.
While the session will begin with the President's address to the joint sitting of the two Houses, the same day the pre-budget economic survey will be tabled.
With several Parliament sessions during UPA-II being largely disrupted, BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Sunday "regretted" that a lot of valuable time was lost in the last five years due to "confrontationist politics" and said the Opposition achieves much more through debates than disturbances.
Insiders say President Kovind has been told he will not be re-nominated, reveals R Rajagopalan.
There will be no Question Hour and private members' bills will not be taken up in the Monsoon session, while the Zero Hour will be restricted.
If a local court in Mumbai allows former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and minister Nawab Malik to cast their votes in the June 10 Rajya Sabha elections, the two leaders will be brought to the Vidhan Bhavan, the state legislature complex in Mumbai, at a specific time to take part in the voting process, an official said on Wednesday.
Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan on Thursday rejected his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras's election as the party president, saying the meeting organised in Patna was 'unconstitutional' and lacked even minimum attendance of its national executive members.
Top Congress leaders from Karnataka led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday held a protest in Delhi against the Centre over alleged injustice to the southern state in devolution of taxes, sparking a fierce slugfest between the party and the Modi government.
Brijesh Merja is the third Congress MLA to have resigned since Wednesday and the eight since March.
Expressing 'pain' over opposition parties boycotting the Constitution Day event organised by the Lok Sabha secretariat on Friday, speaker Om Birla said staying away from such non-partisan events held by Parliament is not good for the health of democracy.
The standing committees have not been holding their sittings due to the severe second wave of COVID-19.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
Food items in Parliament canteen will be dearer from Friday, with the rates being hiked in varying degrees in view of controversies over the items being served there at subsidised rates.
Embattled Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal walked out of the Tihar Jail on Friday evening, hours after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in a money laundering case to enable him to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections, in a huge relief to his party struggling to gain momentum in the absence of its foremost leader.
Countering the Opposition charge of curtailing the Question Hour, the sources in the government said this is not the first time that the Question Hour will not be taken up during a session as it was dispensed with in 2004 and 2009, besides also in 1991 as well as in 1962, 1975 and 1976 for various reasons.
The activities of the two secretariats over the years have increased many folds which involve manpower planning, judicious and prudent financial management, transfer, postings of senior officials, meeting the grievances of the officials and staff, reveals Rup Narayan Das.
Both houses of Parliament were prorogued on Friday, almost a month after being adjourned sine die, ending the possibility of an extension of the Monsoon session in the face of continued stand-off between government and opposition.
The Centre needs to have dialogue with the Opposition instead of letting politics come in the way; it needs to stoop to conquer, says Aditi Phadnis.
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