Shouldn't the government's nominees for the Rajya Sabha have shown some interest in public affairs, some evidence that they have an understanding of national issues, asks Sherna Gandhy.
The Register of Interest contains information about financial and business interests of MPs to ascertain conflict of interest. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
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.
Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill to regulate the appointment and service terms of Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners incorporating key amendments like retaining their status at par with Supreme Court judges, upgrading the search committee and inserting a new clause to protect them from court cases while discharging their official duties.
Trinamool Congress has named Derek O'Brien as its chief whip in the Rajya Sabha. The party, which is a key constituent of the United Progressive Alliance government, has sent a communication in this regard to the Rajya Sabha secretariat, sources said in New Delhi on Thursday.
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.
'At the start of the session, (Prime Minister) bows down at the door of Parliament. This is theatrics'
Rajya Sabha failed to transact any business for the seventh consecutive day as Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday stepped up attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and demanded Law Minister Ashwani Kumar's sacking in the wake of Supreme Court observations on the coal issue.
Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, has been unanimously elected as the leader of the NCP legislature party in Maharashtra and is set to become the state's first woman Deputy Chief Minister.
Sources close to Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi allege that the sex CD is part of a political conspiracy to tarnish him and ensure that he is not a candidate for ministership in the reshuffle. Renu Mittal reports
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.
Samrat Choudhary's appointment as Bihar's Chief Minister marks a significant milestone for the BJP, ushering in a new era of leadership in the state's political landscape.
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.
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'.
Trinamool Congress, which had earlier been ambiguous on the rule under which the debate on Foreign Direct Investment should take place, on Tuesday moved a motion in Rajya Sabha seeking discussion with voting. "This House disapproves the entry of FDI in multi-brand retail," read the motion moved by Trinamool members D Bandopadhyay and Vivek Gupta under Rule 168, which entails voting.
The numbers, however, appear to be in favour of the ruling dispensation to get these bills passed from Rajya Sabha, while the lower house has already cleared them despite a key NDA member Shiromani Akali Dal vehemently opposing them.
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.
Setting aside their confrontation over the CAG report on coal block allocation, opposition and the ruling dispensation on Tuesday got together in a rare show to unanimously elect Congress leader P J Kurien as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman.
Government sources have clarified that a passport has never been considered proof of citizenship in India, a stance consistent for the past 12 years and rooted in the Passport Act 1967. This clarification, reiterated by the Ministry of External Affairs, has drawn criticism from opposition leaders and public figures.
The Bihar cabinet has expanded significantly with 32 new ministers taking oath, including Nishant Kumar, son of JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar. The expansion includes representatives from all five NDA constituents in the state.
The election is scheduled for February 13. Their names have reportedly been cleared by the coalition government of the NC and the Congress.
Digvijaya Singh is no longer in Rahul's close circle of advisers. His move to the Upper House was to ensure that the senior leader does not meddle in Madhya Pradesh politics in the run up to the crucial Lok Sabha polls. Anita Katyal reports
The election for six Rajya Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu is turning into a high-impact zone.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day following a dispute between the government and the opposition regarding Rahul Gandhi's request to speak before the Union Budget discussion commenced.
The notices given by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Deputy Leader of Congress in the House, Anand Sharma, seek to corner the government on the issue accusing it of "destabilising" a democratically-elected government in Uttarakhand.
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.
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.
Acrimonious scenes were on Monday witnessed in the Rajya Sabha as members from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Lok Janshakti Party and Nationalist Congress Party clashed over the issue of reported low Muslim representation in admissions to private schools in Delhi. The sharp exchanges during Zero Hour also led to a heated argument between Ram Vilas Paswan, who raised the issue and BJP members, who alleged that Paswan was casting aspersions on P J Kurien (in the Chair).
The decision was taken keeping in mind the party norm that no CPI-M leader can represent the party in the Upper House for more than two terms.
The elections for the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha election is expected some time next week. The vacancy arose because the term of K Rehman Khan has ended. The Bharatiya Janata Party will take the contest seriously; much like it did for the Presidential and vice-presidential polls and may ask the Telugu Desam Party or the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to contest.
Singh asked Shah not to act with 'political motives' while being a home minister.
Mamata Banerjee is actively trying to prevent further defections from the TMC after a significant split, personally contacting rebel MLAs and deploying MPs for damage control. The crisis, stemming from a challenge to Abhishek Banerjee's influence, sees rebels trying to maintain Mamata's symbolic leadership while consolidating their own position, marking a critical period for the party's future.
Former Union minister Dinesh Trivedi has been appointed as India's next High Commissioner to Bangladesh, signalling efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
Bharthi S Pradhan, editor of Film Street Journal, and a long time Rekha-watcher sheds, light on the enigmatic actress and how she will handle her new role, in this revealing interview.
Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan has ignited a political controversy by labelling Operation Blue Star a 'black day' and referring to those killed as 'martyrs', while criticising former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and likening the military action to an invasion.
The biennial election to the two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand, which was countermanded over allegations of use of money-power and horse-trading, will now be held afresh on May 3, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday. The three-member commission decided the fresh dates in its meeting held today and a notification for the same would be issued on April 16, starting the process for filing of nominations.
Announcing the party decision, Bihar JD-U president Vashishtha Narayan said, ""It was a necessary step because being leader if a person indulges in anti-party activities it has to be condemned unanimously."
In a total anti-climax, the Rajya Sabha on Thursday adjourned abruptly without passing the Lokpal Bill in the midst of uproar after government sought more time for considering enormous number of amendments.
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.
BJP-led govt will need regional parties' support in Upper House to get legislation cleared. Archis Mohan reports
