Kalita, whose term in Rajya Sabha was till April 9, 2020, is the second Congress Rajya Sabha member after Sanjay Sinh, a member of the erstwhile Amethi royal family, who has joined the BJP.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis orchestrated a significant victory for the BJP in the recent civic polls, solidifying his position as a key strategist and influential leader within the party.
It also made the EC a party to a petition filed by former Rajya Sabha member Kuldeep Nayar challenging recent amendments to the election procedure.
The Aam Aadmi Party has nominated former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Lovely Professional University founder Ashok Mittal, AAP MLA Raghav Chadha, IIT Delhi faculty Sandeep Pathak and industrialist Sanjeev Arora for the March 31 Rajya Sabha polls.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned briefly on Wednesday after members disrupted proceedings over a reply by Home Minister Shivraj Patil on terrorism emanating from Bangladesh.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP and former Union minister Narayan Rane has dismissed speculation about his retirement, saying his remarks made at a public rally recently were misinterpreted and reaffirming his commitment to active politics.
The Indian government reveals that the United States has deported over 18,000 Indian nationals since 2009, with a focus on human trafficking investigations and concerns over the treatment of deportees.
Kharge further said the local leaders should take ownership of the internal disputes rather than blaming the high command.
The parliamentary affairs minister also said the productivity of Lok Sabha was around 82 per cent and that of Rajya Sabha around 48 per cent.
The Shiv Sena has shifted its 29 members to a hotel in Mumbai, ostensibly for an orientation workshop to make them aware of the functioning of the country's richest civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
The 1977-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer took oath in English after which he greeted the Chairman and other members present in the House.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi on Wednesday submitted her resignation from the Upper House to party chief and her father M Karunanidhi in line with the decision of an all-party meeting to put pressure on the Centre to call for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
After two adjournments on Tuesday, Shekawat tried to break the impasse by counselling members that they should uphold the tradition of allowing the Leader of the Opposition to make his submission.
Banerjee said she had come across media reports claiming that the patriotic slogans were not being permitted in the House.
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.
Ignoring JD-S' request for support, the Congress did not withdraw its second candidate Khan from the fray and issued a whip to all its MLAs asking them to vote for the party's candidates.
Two Rajya Sabha MPs from Gujarat -- BJP president Amit Shah, now Home Minister, and Smriti Irani, who has got the women and child development ministry -- have won the Lok Sabha polls, thus creating two vacancies in the Upper House of Parliament from the state.
The Congress party in India has expressed "grave concern" over the US action in Venezuela, stating that settled principles of international law cannot be violated unilaterally. India has also voiced "deep concern" and called for a peaceful resolution through dialogue.
In apparent signs of thaw after years of bickering stemming out of internal feud in the AIADMK in the past, party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami welcomed Dhinakaran back in to the National Democratic Alliance. The AMMK founder reciprocated with a "heartfelt thanks," yet admitting there was "sibling rivalry" with AIADMK, the party he was once associated with.
The two-time Rajya Sabha MP will be succeeding Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who has been elected to the Lok Sabha.
The marshals wore a blue uniform with a military-style peak cap and stripes on shoulders. In summers, the marshals are likely to wear white uniforms which have a resemblance to the uniform of the Indian Navy.
Home Minister Amit Shah criticized the opposition in Rajya Sabha, linking the division of the 'Vande Mataram' song to the partition of India. He accused Congress and Jawaharlal Nehru of dividing the song for appeasement politics.
The talks about the reunification had already started when Ajit Pawar was alive. In fact, the two parties even contested the civic polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad together.
80-year-old Singh, who is the Leader of the Upper House, was recently elected a member of Rajya Sabha from Assam for the fifth consecutive term.
The passing of bills without Parliament, including the treasury benches, having any real understanding of what they contained through any rigorous process has accelerated through the Modi era, points out Aakar Patel.
According to data collated by think-tank PRS Legislative Research, productivity of Parliament during the session was the 'third lowest' in the 16th Lok Sabha.
Indian Olympic Association welcomed the government's nomination of Sachin Tendulkar for a Rajya Sabha seat, saying the IOA is happy that its long-standing demand to include sportspersons in the Upper House has been accepted.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi of having a 'deeper connection' with a Pakistani national and violating FCRA rules, prompting calls for a national probe.
The real surprise in these results came from Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM. Of the 29 Muslim candidates who got elected to the 227-strong BMC, the Congress and the AIMIM between them bagged 22.
Union Minister Prakash Javdekar on Saturday filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh, which goes to polls on June 19.
'While many politicians speak of development, Dada worked hard for it.' 'He realised that politics wasn't about power or politics -- it was about service to the people.'
According to the returning officer, former chief minister and NC president, Dr Farooq Abdullah polled 27 votes while as Mohammad Shafi Uri got 25 votes in the third and final round of elections, held through Single Transferable Vote System.
Amid the race for mayoral posts across civic bodies in Maharashtra, a new political equation emerged in the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation on Wednesday with five corporators of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena offering support to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, which is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Human Resources Minister Arjun Singh said it was passed by Lok Sabha with 'near consensus' and hoped that the Upper House too will follow suit.
The overall productivity of the House for the first three weeks of the monsoon session has been 22.60 per cent," sources said
India is bidding to become an Olympic host in 2036 and the International Olympic Committee has made it clear that the country will have to considerably improve its current doping record.
After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that the truth would not emerge through existing mechanisms and called for a probe, several opposition leaders including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge backed her demand.
Liquor baron Vijay Mallya's tenure in the Rajya Sabha came to an end on Wednesday with Chairman Hamid Ansari accepting his fresh resignation letter.
Sinh, who has been in the BJP earlier and was elected to Lok Sabha on its ticket in 90s, wields considerable influence in the Amethi region of Uttar Pradesh.
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