He said Verma can be asked 'to go' only if she is found to have facilitated any wrongdoing and not because of some 'noises'.
Opposition parties forced early adjournments in both Houses of parliament as they continued to press for a debate on demonetisation under any rule that entailed voting, a demand that the government has refused to accept. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi led a walkout by the Opposition over no obituary references being made for the seven Army personnel who lost their lives in the terror attack on an Army base in Nagrota, Jammu and Kashmir.
He was deliberately reducing Ansari to his Muslim identity by linking his career as a diplomat in the Arab world and educationist and his reflections on intolerance with his religion.
"The day news of the SP-BSP top leadership meeting came out, the BJP government used the CBI and raids were conducted in an old mining scam and the news of quizzing Akhilesh Yadav was deliberately spread. Is it not an action to defame the SP-BSP alliance?" Mayawati said.
In a forceful statement in the Lok Sabha, Swaraj rejected allegations that she misled the country.
Opposition does not stall legislative agenda; Upper House passes two bills.
Parliament proceedings were washed out for the fifth straight day, as members from parties including the Telugu Desam Party and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, continued their protests on various issues.
The opposition on Wednesday lambasted the government in the Lok Sabha for making "tall promises" which were "difficult to achieve" to garner votes and asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led ruling dispensation to explain how they would fulfill the aspirations of the people.
As part of efforts to curb pollution, the Centre is in the final stage of completing the Rs 10 crore pilot project under which 10 refurbished electric buses will be handed over to select State Transport Corporations by March 2016.
Hitting back over Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramaniam Swamy's allegation questioning his nationality, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "throwing mud" on him through his "cronies" and dared the government to "jail" him if he is guilty.
Congress vice-president Rahul also slammed Sushma, calling her speech eloquent but hollow.
Accusing the Congress party of "failing to keep national interests over its political agenda", Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said the chief opposition party stood "isolated" in disrupting the Parliament at a time when MPs of other parties condemned the Gurdaspur terror attack and stood in solidarity.
Consensus building is likely to be the biggest casualty.
The bill was taken up for consideration in the Lok Sabha after the Speaker rejected Opposition demands to refer the key reform measure to a parliamentary Standing Committee.
Thursday was the penultimate day of the Budget Session of Parliament. The second half of the session which began on March 5 has been a washout with no legislative business being transacted due to stalling of proceedings by the opposition.
The contentious Land bill passed the Lok Sabha test after the government carried out nine amendments.
A united opposition on Monday cornered the government in Parliament, accusing it of focusing on issues like religious conversions instead of fulfilling promises of bringing back black money and creating jobs.
Hectic activity, apparently over drafting of a resolution on the release of 26/11 Mumbai attack accused Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, was witnessed in Lok Sabha on Friday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj joined the House to condemn it.Hectic activity, apparently over drafting of a resolution on the release of 26/11 Mumbai attack accused Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, was witnessed in Lok Sabha on Friday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj joined the House to condemn it.
Caste assertions, including from the upper castes, could have the Sangh Parivar stumble yet again in its efforts to construct a Hindu rashtra.
On Tuesday, police in Suri in West Bengal's Birbhum district used batons to disperse a rally where 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans were raised.
The government favours a probe into the alleged bribery charges against some of its MPs.
A total of 16 bills, including the GST Bill, Lokpal (Amendment) Bill, Factories (Amendment) Bill and the Anti-Hijacking Bill are pending in Parliament -- five in Lok Sabha and 11 in the Rajya Sabha.
Combative Congress members, upset over the National Herald case, on Tuesday paralysed Parliament protesting against alleged "vendetta politics" leading to repeated adjournments in the Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha.
The government on Tuesday said it may reconvene Parliament's Monsoon Session to get key legislations, including the pending GST bill, passed, maintaining it has an "open mind" on amendments to reform measures even as it began consultations with leaders of opposition parties.
"We are actually shocked. The prime minister did not even take into confidence chief ministers of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, who are directly affected. Here is another show of arrogance of this government," Gandhi told media persons.
"Sushma Swaraj is a great asset to the nation. There is a no allegation at all. Still they want her to resign," he said.
The Budget session of Parliament concluded on Wednesday with passage of record official business in recent years but the government failed to ensure passage of the controversial Land Acquisition Bill as also key reform measure of GST amid stiff resistance from opposition.
Let's see which other lawmakers chose funky ways to get to Parliament:
The issue of imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand echoed in Parliament on Monday with Congress members in both Houses storming the Well and party leader Mallikarjun Kharge staging a dharna in the Lok Sabha.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance were ranged against each other both inside and outside the Parliament on the opening day of the budget session on Monday.
A united Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Thursday pitched for referring the triple talaq bill to a 'joint select committee' of Parliament, claiming its provisions were unconstitutional.
The winter session of Parliament witnessed another round of protests by the opposition as they demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's apology over his remarks.
Polling in Madhya Pradesh was marred by complaints of faulty EVMs and voter verifiable paper audit trail machines.
The issue of alleged bugging at Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's residence rocked Parliament on Wednesday with Congress alleging that the methods used in Gujarat to keep tabs on ministers and MPs were being employed at the Centre, a charge stoutly rejected by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
M Thambidurai, leader of the All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam in Parliament, was unanimously elected as Lok Sabha's deputy speaker on Wednesday, making him the first leader to occupy the post twice.
Already facing severe criticism over its poor show in the elections and now fighting for the Leader of Opposition's post in Lok Sabha, the Gandhis, the first family of Indian politics, is now facing new battles with the BJP in the form of notices being served to the family in the National Herald case. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports on the growing confrontations between the government and the shaken up family.
In remarks that could fuel a fresh controversy, senior Congress leader Kamal Nath on Sunday said that Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's decision on the issue of Leader of Opposition in Lower House could be "flavoured" by the Bharatiya Janata Party and Narendra Modi.
The opposition battled it out with the Centre over farmer issues, the suspension of 6 MPs and the privileges of MPs.
Members from parties like the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Left parties and the Rashtriya Janata Dal created uproar in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha as soon as the Houses met for the day.
The suspension of 25 Congress members on Friday again led to protests by MPs from the Left, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal, who raised slogans and staged a walkout of the Lok Sabha proceedings.