The Congress is likely to get 11 Rajya Sabha seats in the upcoming election cycle with some of its top leaders, including P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh, eyeing another term.
Union ministers Prakash Javedkar and Nirmla Sitharaman and senior Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav and Nationalist Congress Party's Praful Patel on Monday took oath as members of Rajya Sabha.
Seven members of the Rajya Sabha belonging to the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Lok Janshakti Party and an independent Member of Parliament were suspended on Tuesday for the remaining part of the budget session for their unruly behaviour in the House on Monday over the Women's Reservation Bill.The suspended members are Subhash Yadav (RJD), Sabir Ali (LJP), Veerpal Singh Yadav, Nand Kishore Yadav, Amir Alam Khan and Kamal Akhtar (SP) and Ejaz Ali.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju met Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to discuss resolving the persistent deadlock in the Lok Sabha's monsoon session, focusing on the Delimitation Bill and FCRA Bill, though no immediate commitment was secured from the Congress leader.
Even though MLAs are required to show their ballot to respective party whips before casting their vote, all parties have ensured their MLAs are housed in five star hotels closer to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha where voting will take place on June 10.
The ruling NDA coalition in India faces a significant challenge in passing the women's reservation bill in Parliament due to insufficient numbers. The bill requires a two-thirds majority in both houses, and the NDA needs to secure additional support or abstentions from other parties to achieve this.
The Congress is finding it tough to accommodate defeated senior leaders in the Rajya Sabha as it does not have the numerical strength in various assemblies to win the seats.
In a jolt to Rashtriya Lok Dal, its Rajya Sabha member of Parliament Shahid Siddiqui and Anuradha Chowdhury, a former aide of party chief Ajit Singh, on Sunday joined the Samajwadi Party ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
Amendments moved by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left to the President's address against the National Counterterrorism Center was defeated in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda and new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh will witness polling on February 27.
Raees Siddiqui, who owned a bakery at Sakinaka in suburban Andheri, had filed an FIR against Azmi, lawyer S K Dubey and three others alleging that all the five had threatened him to sign a document effecting the transfer of a property to someone else.
Opposition leaders across party lines have condemned the forced removal of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk from the Jantar Mantar protest site in Delhi, accusing the BJP-led central government of undermining democratic freedoms, curbing dissent, and choosing force over dialogue.
A lot is riding on the Rajya sabha polls that are scheduled for Saturday. Major parties are whisking away candidates of other parties, while protecting their own, MLAs are being sent to 'camps' in the final countdown to the polls for 57 seats. Here is a state-by-state look:
The Modi government is learning to deal with the reality that it does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha.
A Constitution amendment bill providing for quota for SCs and STs in government job promotions was on Monday passed by Rajya Sabha with an overwhelming vote of 206 in the 245-member House.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde was on Thursday forced to eat his words and apologise in the Rajya Sabha after he made certain remarks about Samajwadi Party member Jaya Bachchan, triggering uproar.
Senior Samajwadi Party leader and Rajya Sabha member Mohan Singh passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi on Sunday after a prolonged battle with cancer.
Embarrassment apart, it is a reminder to the Narendra Modi government that it is in acute minority in the Upper House
On Tuesday, the government had agreed to refer it to the committee.
Chaudhury Mohammad Aslam, eminent industrialist Rahul Bajaj, K.P.K Kumaran and Amir Alam Khan also took oath.
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 entire party is centred around one man and that is Arvind Kejriwal.' 'Till the time you are in Kejriwal's good books you are powerful. The day you are not with him, you are no one in the party.'
The CPI(M) will attend the INDIA bloc meeting on Monday, with its MP John Brittas expected to raise concerns about allegations made by Congress leaders during the Kerala Assembly elections. The Left party is awaiting a clarification from the Congress regarding claims of a CPI(M)-BJP understanding, which it views as inconsistent with alliance cooperation.
The BJP-led NDA now has nearly 100 members in the 245-member House. If the support of friendly parties like the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (9), Biju Janata Dal (9), Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (6), and several allied nominated members and smaller parties is counted, then the Modi government is unlikely to face any serious numerical challenge there.
Rajya Sabha on Thursday witnessed high drama when two Samajwadi Party members were directed to leave the House for causing disruptions over a quota bill, leading to arguments and counter-arguments before all members of the party walked out.
The Lokpal Bill will come up in Rajya Sabha on Friday and is a "priority" for the government, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said on Thursday.
The Samajwadi Party on Thursday said it will vote against the decision to introduce Foreign Direct Investment in retail sector in the Rajya Sabha, where the United Progressive Alliance does not have majority on its own. "We will vote against FDI in Rajya Sabha if the government brings it there," said SP's leader in the Upper House Ramgopal Yadav.
The BJP has asked for a comment from the Prime Minister on the issue. The Samajwadi Party and AIADMK are also likely to oppose the deal in the upper house.
Though the Bharatiya Janata Party is not overly worried about getting the amended land acquisition bill through in the Upper House, it has nevertheless decided to have a three-day gap between the dates of the sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for the Budget session.
The average asset of a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament is Rs 20.17 crore, says a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms. It also says that 67 per cent of Rajya Sabha MP's are crorepatis.
The government on Wednesday night exuded confidence to get the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, despite not having a clear majority.
The contentious bill will be tables in RS on Wednesday. The BJP hopes to get up to 130 votes in a 240-member upper house.
The anti-corruption Lokpal Bill was brought back to the Rajya Sabha on Friday in an amended form but its consideration was thwarted by Samajwadi Party, an outside supporter of the UPA government, which disrupted proceedings.
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 Uttar Pradesh government has provided financial assistance and other support to the family of a 15-year-old girl found dead in the Ganga river in Ghazipur. A cheque of Rs 5 lakh was handed over, along with assurances of housing and land for agriculture.
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.
The Indian government addressed opposition concerns regarding the West Asia crisis in an all-party meeting, outlining its strategy for ensuring the security of the Indian diaspora, fulfilling energy needs, and maintaining diplomatic relations with key partners. The government also dismissed Pakistan's reported mediation efforts.
A day after the Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail got the approval of the Lok Sabha as the opposition motion seeking immediate withdrawal of the decision was rejected convincingly as the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party walked out, the Rajya Sabha will debate and vote on the issue over the next two days starting Thursday.
Its electoral triumphs in assembly polls, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, have made the BJP the single-largest party in the Rajya Sabha.
The INDIA bloc faces a significant challenge as the Congress and DMK part ways, raising questions about the alliance's future and unity.
