Twenty suspended Rajya Sabha members on Wednesday started a 50-hour relay protest inside the Parliament complex, with sources saying the Opposition declined the chairman's offer that they express regret over their members' behaviour in the House to get the suspension revoked.
A five-member delegation of TMC MPs, comprising Derek O'Brien, Satabdi Roy, Prasun Banerjee, Pratima Mondal and Md Nadimul Haque, also met the farmers there to support their protest against the new farm laws.
Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, had also denied the meeting, saying that he had recently gone to Mehta's residence in Delhi regarding a case related to "post-poll violence" in the state but "could not meet him in person".
Another all-party meeting will attempt to resolve political concerns about the Land Reforms Bill.
While the Congress demanded immediate sacking of Chief Minister N Biren Singh, the Samajwadi Party and a few others sought imposition of President's rule in the state that has witnessed sporadic violence in since May 3.
The over half-an-hour meeting between the opposition parties and the government, however, remained inconclusive.
With just over a month to go for assembly elections in Goa, political observers feel the Congress may upset the Bharatiya Janata Party's plans for retaining power in the coastal state, but appear less enthused about the Trinamool Congress, whose entry has added colour to the poll campaign.
A day after a Bharatiya Janata Party delegation met President Ram Nath Kovind seeking dismissal of the Mamata Banerjee government over the "political murder" of a party MLA, the West Bengal chief minister wrote a latter to him claiming the saffron party might have presented "distorted facts".
They also demanded that if any discrepancy is found during VVPAT verification, 100 per cent counting of the paper slips of VVPATs of all polling stations of that particular assembly segment should be done and compared with the electronic voting machine (EVM) results.
In the Upper House of Parliament, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu did not allow adjournment notices moved by opposition members on the issue of price rise, prompting members of the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Left parties, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Shiv Sena to create an uproar.
Earlier, the party's members of Parliament had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for removing Mehta over his reported meeting with West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari.
Claiming that the police had no role in the death of Student's Federation of India student Sudipta Gupta, Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Derek O'Brien said on Wednesdaa that CCTV footage suggested that it was an accident.
On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Modi had announced the decision to withdraw Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes with the ultimate aim of reducing corruption and black money in the economy.
The Centre has issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the BBC documentary 'India: The Modi Question', sources said.
Former chief minister of Goa and Congress veteran Luizinho Faleiro, resigned as an MLA and a primary member of the party on Monday claiming the state party unit is run by a 'coterie' of leaders even as he praised Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee saying the country needs a leader like her to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The proceedings of the House were almost washed out as it could not take up any legislative business.
In a far-reaching verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and the election commissioners will be done by the President on the recommendation of a committee, comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the CJI, to maintain the "purity" of the electoral process.
Alleging that there had been politicisation and criminalisation of government officers in the state, the BJP leader, who was on a two-day visit, said the TMC government had stopped sending crime statistics to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) after 2018.
The parties that have submitted the notice include the Congress, All India Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, National Conference, Dravida Munnetra Kazagham and the Aam Aadmi Party.
The actor-turned politician resigned from the Upper House citing health reasons.
Mamata Banerjee's sights are not on the next month's Presidential election. She is focusing on another election that will take place in 2024.
If the BJP wins Bengal, would Kishor's indiscretions have played a significant role in that victory? Victory for the TMC would be another badge of honour in his CV, but defeat would raise an unsavoury question: Which party was Kishor actually working for? asks Payal Singh Mohanka.
The tumultuous Winter session of Parliament ended on Wednesday a day before schedule with proceedings in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha marred by repeated disruptions by the opposition over which the government and the Congress traded charges and the presiding officers expressed their anguish at the conduct of some MPs.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said they will pose three questions a day to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue.
Rajya Sabha witnessed unruly scenes on Sunday as Opposition members stormed the well and reached the deputy chairman's seat to protest against the farm bills debated and passed by the Upper House through voice vote.
There will be no Question Hour and private members' bills will not be taken up in the Monsoon session, while the Zero Hour will be restricted.
The Election Commission on Wednesday ruled out any change in the schedule of the West Bengal assembly polls and told the Trinamool Congress that its suggestion to club the last three of the eight phases is "not feasible".
Reacting to the development, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked whether or not there is any parliamentary system in the country.v
The National Judicial Commission Bill, 2022, was introduced after the majority of voice votes were in its favour.
Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Tuesday after repeated stoppages as opposition members continued to protest demanding the revocation of suspension of 12 members.
A day after Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Pal allegedly threatened to kill Communist Party of India-Marxist workers and have their women raped, his wife Nandini Pal on Tuesday apologised for her husband's controversial comment and said there was another part of the story.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O' Brien met the agitating farmers at the Singhu border in the afternoon.
Violence has always been a fact of life in Bengal's politics; it is just that the faces have changed, the contesting ideologies have changed, says Saisuresh Sivawamy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not present at the all-party meeting convened by the government.
Several MPs came to the Upper House wearing masks and demanded curtailment of the ongoing Budget session, which is due to end on April 3, in view of the novel coronavirus scare, but the government seemed unwilling.
Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala also said, "Saheb knows his qualities very well". He also shared a copy of the news report.
The session, which began on June 17, was scheduled to end on July 26.
The government has readied a big legislative agenda for the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning Monday even as the Opposition is raring to corner the ruling dispensation over a host of issues, including handling of the second wave of COVID-19, rise in fuel prices and farmers' stir.
Students of the elite Indian Institute of Management in Kolkata are vying for an internship with the ruling Trinamool Congress to be a part of the party's Lok Sabha war-room.
Union minister Smriti Irani will also contest the Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat from where she is already an MP and her term ends on August 18.
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