The Commonwealth Games mess rocked Parliament for the second day on Tuesday as opposition National Democratic Alliance stalled the Question Hour in both the Houses and demanded resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the wake Comptroller and Auditor General observations against her.
A Bharatiya Janata Party MP on Wednesday dubbed the opposition members protesting in Rajya Sabha as 'Omicrons,' alleging they were a threat to democracy, and asked them to get the 'Modi vaccine' for protection against the new coronavirus variant.
Amid a raging row over the screening of 'My Name is Khan', Shiv Sena Members of Parliament today decided to return their security to protest Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's threat to remove security cover provided to the party's executive chief Uddhav Thackeray.
The inauguration new parliament building will take place in two phases.
Observing that the sanctity of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution should be maintained, the Supreme Court on Monday directed Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide the cross-petitions filed by the rival factions of the Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs by December 31.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the BJP of a "conspiracy to save Home Minister Amit Shah's skin" following a clash in Parliament over allegations of disrespect towards B.R. Ambedkar. She alleged that BJP MPs instigated the violence and pushed opposition members, including Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, to prevent them from entering Parliament. Gandhi also challenged BJP MPs to say "Jai Bhim" and accused them of having "violent intentions" and insulting the legacy of Ambedkar.
Several opposition MPs on Wednesday demanded an explanation from Home Minister Amit Shah after two visitors jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery and opened canisters that emitted coloured smoke, triggering panic among the members.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to name the committee's chairperson soon.
Parliament proceedings were adjourned amid ruckus and sloganeering by the Opposition members over the Adani issue.
'A country cannot be run on lines that everyone should be in agreement and those who disagree should be silenced.' 'If this is how they look at democracy, then I can only wish good luck to the future of parliamentary democracy in India.'
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has recognised Rahul Shewale as the Shiv Sena leader in the Lower House of Parliament.
Shinde, participating in a discussion on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, took a jibe at the opposition coalition Indian National Develomental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) describing it as a 'destructive alliance' and said the next elections will be fought on the issue of scams of the United Progressive Alliance and schemes of the National Democratic Alliance.
The priority now is to work out a comprehensive plan for government formation.
Apart from the 18 members of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), including the Bharatiya Janata Party, seven non-National Democratic Alliance parties will attend the ceremony, going by their stated position on the issue which has snowballed into another political flashpoint between the ruling and opposition camps.
There was no official word on the agenda of the session which will be held days after the G20 Summit in the national capital on September 9 and 10.
The opposition on Sunday asked the Centre to allow discussions in the Parliament on the United States prosecutors' bribery charges against the Adani Group even as Union minister Kiren Rijiju made it clear that the matters to be taken up in the two Houses will be decided by their authorised committees with the consent of the respective Chair.
The BJP can win two Rajya Sabha seats with the number of MLAs it has, while the ruling allies Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP in Maharashtra can win a seat each.
A special court in Mumbai on Monday extended Shiv Sena member of Parliament Sanjay Raut's judicial custody by another 14 days in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a Mumbai 'chawl'.
Proceedings in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were disrupted as Opposition members raised slogans demanding a discussion and a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the fraud-allegation-triggered rout.
There were some tense moments as BJP members, carrying placards, marched towards the opposition members near the Gandhi statue in Parliament premises to condemn their 'undemocratic actions' inside the House.
"We will definitely contest it in court. The Shinde faction left the Shiv Sena, then how can they claim that their group is the original party, and not the one led by Uddhav Thackeray. The Thackeray name is synonymous with the Shiv Sena," the Rajya Sabha member said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday asserted that West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee should be allowed to lead the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
Matondkar had last year resigned from the Congress party, a key ally of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.
National Democratic Alliance nominee Om Birla was elected as Lok Sabha speaker on Wednesday after a motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was adopted through voice vote, capping intense debate on the issue with the opposition in a rare move proposing its own candidate.
'Eknath Shinde and 40 other traitors have become slaves of Delhi (Centre) to finish off the Shiv Sena'
The Sena further accused the BJP of "putting locks" on the old Parliament where the Prime Minister had taken oath in 2014.
Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said, "All airlines have come together banning him (Gaikwad), but it is our fundamental right (to travel by air)."
An organisation where workers function in different directions never succeeds, BJP sources quoted Shah as telling a party gathering in Mumbai on Tuesday. Shah has also asked the Maharashtra BJP to undertake 'Ghar Chalo Abhiyan' to reach out to every household in the state and called for strengthening the party's booth-level network, a party leader said.
Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who has been banned from flying by several airlines after he assaulted an Air India staffer on March 23, reached Delhi on Wednesday via a chartered flight, according to sources.
Modi will inaugurate the new Parliament building on May 28 following an invitation by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
A meeting of the joint committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Friday witnessed fireworks with members vociferously opposing certain provisions of the draft legislation, leading to a brief walkout by opposition members.
'Not just 12 MPs, but 22 former Shiv Sena MLAs as well as four MLAs who are still in Uddhav Thackeray's camp will be switching to our side gradually.'
Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm after opposition members held protest in Parliament seeking a discussion on the issue.
"Gandhi's disqualification is illegal and the case is also bogus. I am sure that a higher court in Gujarat will do justice to Gandhi," said Raut, whose party is an ally of the Congress in Maharashtra.
Kharge alleged that Dhankhar is working as a government spokesperson and acting like a school headmaster, often sermonising experienced opposition leaders and preventing them from speaking in the House.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday mocked Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray for "handing over the remote control" of the party to the Congress as he took poll battle to Mumbai with less than a week left for voting in Maharashtra.
The Haryana victory will be a morale booster for the Bharatiya Janata Party and increase its bargaining power in the Mahayuti's seat-sharing talks for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, according to political analysts.
The joint Opposition including the Congress, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Trinamool Congress, the Left, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the Aam Aadmi Party did not join the Question Hour of the session when the House reassembled after its first adjournment till noon.
With the all-party meetings called by Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla producing no breakthrough to end the deadlock in Parliament, Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Pralhad Joshi accused opposition parties of repeatedly 'insulting' Dhankhar.
