With the Congress-led government taking most of the credit for the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday patted its own back for the success and criticised the United Progressive Alliance for the forcible eviction of protesting Members of Parliament from the House. Despite being in a minority in the Upper House, the Congress-led government and especially party chief Sonia Gandhi earned kudos for passage of the Bill.
Singh, a veteran Congress leader, was a member of the Upper House of Parliament from Assam for almost three decades.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the bill in the Upper House of Parliament. He said the proposed legislation is aimed at providing effective and corruption-free governance in the national capital.
Expressing solidarity with the 12 suspended Rajya Sabha MPs, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said he has decided to suspend hosting of a talk show on Sansad TV until the suspension of the legislators is revoked and a "semblance of bipartisanship restored to the conduct of Parliament".
Finance ministry sources said Mukherjee merely pointed out to the Lok Sabha Secretariat that any change in salaries has to go through a process under the ministry of finance, while Lok Sabha sources expressed ignorance about the finance ministry raising any objection.
Sachin Tendulkar and Rekha's tenures in the Rajya Sabha end this month.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Friday met with some opposition leaders and ministers and urged both sides to further discuss their views on the suspension of 12 members of the House in the wake of the Opposition's demand for its revocation.
Pakistan Peoples Party's firebrand leader Faisal Raza Abidi has accused Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry of misusing his authority to favour his son and asked him to resign, contending that the country was virtually under a "judicial martial law". Asking the chief justice to resign, Abidi, a member of the Senate or upper house of Parliament, demanded a probe against Chaudhry by Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, a distant relative of former premier Yusuf Raza Gilani.
A Pakistani parliamentary panel on Friday criticised the interior ministry for the delay in implementing a new visa agreement with India, with its members passing a resolution that called on the cabinet to ratify the pact at the earliest.
As the stand-off between the government and the Bharatiya Janata Party on the coal block issue continued, answers to Parliamentary questions for the current session related to Coal ministry are missing from the Rajya Sabha website.
PDP leaders were asked to go out of the House after they attempted to tear the constitution.
The Trinamool Congress MP said he is unable to bear various incidents that are happening in West Bengal.
Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance on Thursday stuck to its demand for the Prime Minister's resignation on the coal block allocation issue at a meeting convened by the Rajya Sabha chairman to end the impasse and boycotted a meeting called by the Lok Sabha Speaker on the matter.
Beleaguered President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday summoned Pakistan's National Assembly, lower house of Parliament, on August 11 during which the ruling coalition is likely to bring forward an impeachment motion against him. Musharraf signed a summary convening the Assembly on Monday, officials said without specifying the agenda.
The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party on Wednesday termed the list of candidates released by its alliance partner Samajwadi Party for the Uttar Pradesh legislative council elections as "disappointing".
Deputy leader of BJP in the Rajya Sabha, S S Ahluwalia, maintained that both Houses of Parliament had to be adjourned on Tuesday as the government did not agree to put to vote the discussion on price rise in the Upper House and did not accept adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha.
Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day as the opposition sought govt's clarification on tainted ministers.
The Ethics Committee of Rajya Sabha headed by veteran Congress leader Karan Singh, decided to give Mallya one week time to explain his conduct.
The bills that repeal and replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act will usher in a new era in the criminal justice system, Home Minister Amit Shah said
The Congress has decided to shift its MLAs in Rajasthan to a Udaipur hotel, with party sources saying they fear that the Bharatiya Janata Party will poach them ahead of the June 10 Rajya Sabha elections.
Sources said the Congress may consider opposing the bill when it is introduced in Parliament. The Aam Aadmi Party, which is in power in Delhi, has been seeking the support of various political parties on the matter.
The Parliament on Tuesday unanimously passed the bill to restore the power of states and union territories to prepare and maintain their own list of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs).
Rediff.com lists a few celebs who have donned the role of a politician in the Rajya Sabha.
Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and yesteryear actress Rekha are among four eminent personalities recommended for nomination as members of the Rajya Sabha. The 39-year-old Tendulkar and Rekha will become Members of Parliament under a provision of the constitution that allows the President to nominate 12 members to the Upper House.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday night named 12 candidates, including cash-for-vote scam accused Faggan Singh Kulaste and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley for election to the upper house of Parliament.
The government is keen to get the GST Bill approved during the Monsoon Session of Parliament ending on August 12.
Rajya Sabha's next session will begin from April 23, three days after the second half of the budget session of Lok Sabha commences.
Buoyed by the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party's strong performance in elections to the upper house of parliament, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Saturday dismissed speculations about an early general election and the installation of a caretaker regime. "Now there will be no caretaker or chair-taker. The prime minister will not go up, inside or outside. He will stay right here," Gilani said.
Shiv Sena's Kolhapur district president Sanjay Pawar will be its second candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, party chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday, in what is a clear snub to Chhatrapati Sambhaji who was seeking support for his candidature.
Known for his witty one-liners, Naidu said "after all, the culture of India is agriculture."
The Rajya Sabha approved 15 legislations during the session while the Lok Sabha passed 23 bills, including the GST bills.
Azad was elected to the Upper House from Jammu and Kashmir, which does not have an assembly currently after it was made a Union Territory with the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.
Prime Minister called the wrestler-actor a 'son of the soil.'
Kakar, a lawmaker belonging to Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), will lead a caretaker government until a new election later this year.
Although the BJP has never been ballistic about the BJD and Narendra Modi has avoided being critical of Naveen Patnaik, the BJP is optimistic that the party can improve its electoral fortunes in Odisha on its own, notes Rup Narayan Das.
Pakistan claimed on Wednesday that India is "interfering" in its southwestern Balochistan province, a charge New Delhi has repeatedly denied.
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.
Jaitley said the resort was not an area where the Karnataka minister can get 'immunity from the law'.
Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's nomination to the Rajya Sabha drew mixed reaction with most members of the upper House on Friday, welcoming the decision even as the Opposition felt this could be a move by the Congress to divert attention from the problems afflicting the party.
Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and actress of yesteryear Rekha are among four eminent persons who have been recommended for nomination as members of Rajya Sabha.
