Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday led the Rajya Sabha in felicitating Hamid Ansari on his second term as vice president and chairman of the House, saying his re-election was a tribute to his qualities. When the House met for the day, the prime minister stood up to felicitate and congratulate Ansari, who took oath as the vice president for his second term on Saturday.
The meeting held on the eve of the resumption of the Budget session was convened by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari and attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with senior members from various parties.
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.
Proceedings in the Rajya Sabha were washed out for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday after uproar over issues of FDI in retail and quota for SCs/STs in promotions in government jobs.
Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and actress of yesteryear Rekha are among four eminent persons who have been recommended for nomination as members of Rajya Sabha.
The Left parties have decided to back the annulment motion and efforts are on to mobilise members of Parliament across party lines. If the motion is accepted by the Rajya Sabha, it will be sent to the Lok Sabha, probably in the monsoon session, reports Shivam Vij
'The unregulated marketing has to stop. People are getting recommendations for this from gym trainers, from marriage counsellors -- that is simply unacceptable.' ''There are many ways to lose weight -- eat less, fast, exercise, eat healthy. That is how you lose weight.'
The government on Tuesday defended Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien, who has been under attack in connection with the Suryanelli rape issue, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath pointing out that police inquiries and courts have cleared him of all charges.
V Srinivasan collapsed at his residence in Kozhikode at 12.30 am on Friday.
Speaking to the reporters on Wednesday, Minister J P Dalal said that they have called all the MLAs to make the new MLAs understand on the polling procedure.
The Budget session of Parliament will be held from January 28 to April 2, featuring the President's address, the Economic Survey, and the presentation of the general Budget.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday faced an embarrassing situation in the Rajya Sabha when he laid a corrected version of a statement made in the House last week on the purchase of MiG fighter aircraft, triggering protests from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Singh claimed the ICCR chairmanship is not an office of profit and in the past, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and P V Narasimha Rao had occupied this post when they were external affairs ministers.
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.
Political parties in West Bengal react to the Election Commission's reshuffle of senior administrative and police officials ahead of upcoming elections, with TMC criticising the move and BJP and CPI(M) welcoming it.
For renomination to the Rajya Sabha, Nadda will have to look for a seat outside his home state of Himachal Pradesh as the Congress is in power there.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Uttarakhand B S Koshiyari withdrew his resignation from Rajya Sabha on Friday in keeping with the directive of the party's central leadership.
Embarrassment apart, it is a reminder to the Narendra Modi government that it is in acute minority in the Upper House
Here are the famous faces who turned up to vote.
Several members of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) were detained after attempting to march towards the Ministry of Education to protest alleged institutional neglect in higher education.
'The jail staff told me Kasab was served only jail food and not biryani.' 'They told me that Kasab was beaten regularly after court proceedings.' 'And they filled Kasab's bottle with urine so that whenever he felt thirsty he used to drink urine.'
As soon as the House resumed at noon, Joshi said, "In protest against the action of their party's former president (Rahul Gandhi) and in your honour and in honour of the Constitution, we would participate in the Question Hour while remaining standing in silence. We request for your permission".
Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta high court could be the first judge in the country to be removed, with the Rajya Sabha on Thursday overwhelmingly approving impeachment motion against him.
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee has warned of a significant increase in cooking gas and fuel prices by the BJP-led central government following the West Bengal assembly elections. He accused the BJP of neglecting the fuel crisis and challenged them to pledge no price hikes for the next five years.
He added that opposition parties were assured that their concerns regarding the impact of the West Asia situation on India and the safety of Indian citizens were addressed in detail.
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee alleges the BJP-led government may increase fuel prices after the West Bengal assembly elections, accusing them of neglecting the common man and withholding funds from the state.
'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.'
Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's nomination to the Rajya Sabha drew mixed reaction with most members of the upper House on Friday, welcoming the decision even as the Opposition felt this could be a move by the Congress to divert attention from the problems afflicting the party.
With disruptions continuing, the productivity of Rajya Sabha fell to 13.70 per cent during the second week of the ongoing monsoon session from 32.20 per cent during the first week, resulting in an overall productivity of 21.60 per cent for the first two weeks.
Megastar Chiranjeevi is likely to get elevated soon to the Rajya Sabha from a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. His candidature is almost certain for one of the four seats that the ruling Congress can win in the biennial elections to the Upper House of Parliament from the state, slated for March 30. The Congress, as part of his Praja Rajyam Party's merger deal last year, promised to induct Chiranjeevi into the Union Cabinet by nominating him to Rajya Sabha.
Opposition leaders are set to decide on giving notice for a resolution to remove the Lok Sabha Speaker after a meeting with Om Birla, following disputes over speaking rights and MP suspensions.
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:
Opposition parties are demanding the resignation of Maharashtra State Women's Commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar due to her alleged connections with a self-proclaimed numerologist, Ashok Kharat, who has been arrested for rape and exploitation.
Chairman of the Upper House Venkaiah Naidu Naidu clarified that the Triple Talaq Bill will not be taken up on Friday as a consensus has not yet been evolved on the issue.
He will be the first former Chief Justice of India to be nominated to Rajya Sabha. Former Chief Justice Ranganath Misra was also a Rajya Sabha member but he was elected on a Congress party ticket.
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.
The first phase of the session yielded a total of seven sittings of the Lok Sabha and eight sittings of the Rajya Sabha, the ministry said.
The Trinamool Congress MP said he is unable to bear various incidents that are happening in West Bengal.
Continuing dynasty politics, Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad on Friday nominated his daughter Misa Bharti to Rajya Sabha, reports MI I Khan.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is urging the Indian government to take a more proactive role in mediating the escalating conflict between the US-Israel alliance and Iran, emphasising the impact on India's energy security and regional stability.
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