In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the Union law ministry rejected the petitioner's claim that the two election commissioners were hastily appointed on March 14 to "pre-empt" the orders of the top court the next day, when the matters challenging the 2023 law were listed for hearing on interim relief.
Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra was expelled on Friday from the Lok Sabha after the House adopted the report of its Ethics Committee that held her guilty of accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest.
'The entire electorate of Wayanad is joyful. Rahulji is with us and we are with him wherever he is.'
The Opposition claimed that Singh "cannot be a standalone carrier", with the Congress's leader in LoK Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, saying the question will now arise who were the real culprits behind the last year Pulwama attack. Taking a swipe at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Bharatiya Janata Party's ideological mentor, Chowdhury said had police officer Davinder Singh been "Davinder Khan", the reaction of the "troll regiment of the RSS" would have been different.
Birla did not name Moitra and urged members not to cast aspersions on the chair as it amounted to disrespect of the House.
Gaurav Gogoi, T N Prathapan, Dean Kuriakose, Manicka Tagore, Rajmohan Unnithan, Benny Behanan and Gurjeet Singh Aujla are the seven who have been suspended.
While Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke about the consensus, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said there is no need for a separate discussion in Parliament on the Pegasus issue during the budget session.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday grilled arrested West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his alleged associate Arpita Mukherjee who were arrested in connection with the school jobs scam, sources said.
What India needs more than one simultaneous election is better governance both at the central and state level. Yes, we need reforms, but our priority should be to make elections less expensive, make it more democratic, do away with freebies which are actually bribes before elections, allow only those who are educated to contest, and bring in a bill to make it impossible for criminals to contest, advocates Ramesh Menon.
Some of them also flagged a lack of consultation before finalising the reports.
There have been media reports of Banerjee meeting Rahul Gandhi at his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday morning. A leading Bengali daily had reported the meeting.
Speaking with reporters, Gandhi said, "This (school) is India's future. Hate and violence has destroyed it. Nobody has benefited from this. Violence and hate are enemies of development."
Criticising the move, the opposition led by the Congress said that Question Hour is the 'golden hour of the House'. Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said the argument and rationale that has been put forth by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi is far from convincing.
Banerjee also said that no reason was cited for the tableau's rejection, a decision, which she said had 'pained' people.
The BJP accused Congress members of bringing "shame" to Lok Sabha with their "unruly" conduct in the House.
The Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution there.
The Congress, which is not very keen on having an alliance with the TMC, called it 'an untrustworthy ally', which is trying to grow at its expense.
A bill to link electoral rolls with the Aadhaar ecosystem to weed out duplication was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections has begun across states and Union Territories, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told PTI.
FHe is the only one among 17 ministers from the outgoing council of ministers who lost the Lok Sabha polls to be reappointed minister.
This is the first bill passed by the Lower House of Parliament in the Winter session, which began on Monday.
The bench said it was not questioning the credentials of the election commissioners appointed but the procedure.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday assured at the all-party meeting that the government is ready to discuss all issues.
The results of the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are also likely to play out during the start of the session.
Sixteen former ministers of the United Progressive Alliance government are staying unauthorised in government bungalows for over a month now and have been served eviction notices, the Lok Sabha was told on Wednesday.
Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury while making these points however, spoke out against any need for change in the top leadership of the party, stating that both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi have been 'trying wholeheartedly'.
As the Congress vehemently opposed the scrapping of the Constitutional provision that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, some party leaders raised voices of dissent and supported the government move.
Top leaders of Opposition parties will brainstorm at a meeting in Patna on Friday to chalk out a roadmap for the formation of an anti-Bharatiya Janata Party front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, with sources saying that they would look to avoid the prickly leadership question and emphasise on common ground.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice while the opposition parties staged a walkout in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, voicing their protest against the increase in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas LPG.
As the government came under attack from the Opposition during the debate on the recent communal riots in the national capital that have claimed over 50 lives, the BJP members alleged that the violence was a pre-planned conspiracy and the home minister and authorities took pro-active steps to control the situation.
While the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress alleged that the killings were a fallout of the TMC's infighting, the ruling party pointed fingers at the grand old party of India.
Sources said senior leaders of the party have been told to reach out to other leaders of the alliance and talks with some parties have begun.
This was a rare instance when Gandhi raised an issue during the Zero Hour.
In a major security breach on the anniversary of the deadly 2001 Parliament terror attack, two persons on Wednesday jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery, shouted slogans and released yellow smoke from canisters that triggered panic and chaos in the House.
Belligerent Congress members trooped into the Well during the Question Hour and raised slogans, even as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan went ahead with the proceedings.
Proceedings in both Houses of Parliament remain disrupted from day one of the Monsoon session with the opposition parties demanding a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Manipur violence before a discussion.
The opposition parties are seeking the President's intervention in the matter, claiming that violence in the BJP-ruled northeastern state is continuing unabated.
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has recently written to all opposition parties including the Congress, calling on everyone to come together and put up a united fight against saffron forces.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury raised the Karnataka issue and accused the ruling party of 'poaching' its MLAs in the state.
Wearing black clothes, Congress leaders hit the streets on Friday to protest against price rise and unemployment with a host of them, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, being detained by police amid dramatic standoffs outside Parliament and the All India Congress Committee headquarters in New Delhi.
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