Time is running out for a hapless UPA govt over the Telangana bill, and the latest observation by the Rajya Sabha secretariat -- that the bill has financial implications and so must be introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha first -- has only worsened the crisis for the ruling alliance. Anita Katyal reports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is understood to have told his cabinet colleagues that the government need not be defensive as it had done nothing wrong, maintaining a tough stand in the face of opposition attack over the issue of conversions.
Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah engaged in a war of words on Twitter after the passage of the triple talaq bill in Rajya Sabha, with the latter stating that PDP leaders abstaining from voting "helped the government with the numbers needed to pass the bill."
Shashi Tharoor said that just by giving a good speech, good days do not come as for that there is a need to do some work.
Offering to trade second preference votes with the Congress, Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said his main agenda is to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the contest for fourth seat, during the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka.
'Today, we being the majority pass a law and if the Opposition parties do not like it, they throw files at the Chair, and beat up women marshals.'
The development has come in the backdrop of Yediyurappa openly seeking JD-S support.
In a meeting with the President on behalf of these 18 non-National Democratic Alliance parties, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said he has requested the President to return the bills, and only give his assent after they have been passed after following proper rules and procedures.
If Wednesday was any indication, the rest of the Parliament session will see the two sides scoring brownie points against each other, and the Gandhis can expect more enemy fire directed at them, says Rashme Sehgal.
Narendra Modi was both conciliatory and mocking towards the Opposition, particularly Congress, during his hour long reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address in the Upper House.
The perception that 'winnability' is based on gender is very strong, even though, if you break up the electoral success rate by sexes, the women who do win elections are proportionally far more successful than the men who win, given the huge number of men they have to beat.
The Philippine election commission will decide on Tuesday whether a boxing match between Manny Pacquiao, who is standing in May's vote, and American welterweight champion Timothy Bradley violates polling rules. On May 9, more than 54 million people in the Philippines will vote for a president, vice-president, 300 lawmakers and thousands of local government posts. Pacquiao, who has courted controversy with comments against gays and same-sex marriage, is running for one of 12 vacant seats in the Senate, the upper house of parliament. Pacquiao, a former eight division world champion, said he will make his final ring appearance on April 9 in Las Vegas against Bradley, the reigning WBO welterweight champion. Walden Bello, a former congressman, has asked the election commission to investigate whether the bout gives Pacquiao undue advantage at the polls because of high-profile advertising and publicity surrounding the boxing match.
Government's reforms agenda in Parliament is in for trouble with its biggest ally Shiv Sena on Monday joining some Opposition parties in declaring resistance to a bill on raising FDI cap in insurance sector from 26 per cent 49 per cent.
Amid noisy scenes, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017 for discussion and passage, but pandemonium broke out in the Upper House with the opposition creating an uproar and the BJP countering it vociferously.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said Afzal Guru's hanging was both "wrong and badly handled".
Elections for 19 Rajya Sabha seats spread across eight states will be held on Friday with the contest in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan promising to be a close affair between the BJP and the Congress.
The Election Commission said July 18 is the last date to file nomination paper.
Sachin Tendulkar was again under attack in Rajya Sabha on Monday for his prolonged absence even as the cricket icon sought to control damage by applying for leave for the entire Budget session, which was granted amid strong opposition from members.
The Russian president received more than 76 per cent of the votes.
Most chief ministers are in favour of the new tax regime.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the party stood united and together as a family and there are no dissensions pending after the announcement of elections to the party chief's post.
The protesting MPs did not accept the tea and snacks offered by the deputy chairman.
With tempers rising on intolerance, it will be hard to run House proceedings.
Following are the highlights of the Economic Survey 2022-23 tabled in Parliament on Tuesday
Among all Joshi's other portfolios -- he is also minister for coal and mines -- it is parliamentary affairs that is politically the most crucial. But to make a success of his job, he may have to hone his people skills a bit more, reports Aditi Phadnis.
This is Jaitley's first overseas visit since his kidney ailment was confirmed in April last year.
If a local court in Mumbai allows former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and minister Nawab Malik to cast their votes in the June 10 Rajya Sabha elections, the two leaders will be brought to the Vidhan Bhavan, the state legislature complex in Mumbai, at a specific time to take part in the voting process, an official said on Wednesday.
The shifting of MLAs to Congress-ruled Rajasthan will allow the party to focus on drawing up its strategy for the crucial Rajya Sabha elections for which it has fielded two candidates, the source said.
The last time all listed starred questions were taken up was in 2002 during the 197th Session of the Upper House, officials in the Rajya Sabha secretariat said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar has already held telephonic talks with leader of the opposition in the Upper House Ghulam Nabi Azad.
While Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu asked the protestors not to make the House a "clog in the wheel" of progress, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said they should keep in mind the larger interests of the nation.
His successful piloting of the move to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status is undoubtedly the highlight of his ministerial stint since the Modi 2.0 government assumed office on May 30.
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.
Mayawati was outmanoeuvred by the BJP in the race for the Rajya Sabha in Uttar Pradesh just days after she helped the Samajwadi Party snatch two Lok Sbaha seats from the saffron party in bypolls.
The government seeking to give another push to the controversial measure despite not having the numbers in the Rajya Sabha.
Congress insists on Modi's apology for his claim that Manmohan Singh colluded with Pak to influence Guj polls.
Trinamool Congress on Saturday removed Mukul Roy, a former confidante of Mamata Banerjee, from the key post of party general secretary.
The Modi government wants to have a smooth relationship with the DMK government.
It is not good that I cannot speak in the House on issues close to me, she said.
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The new Insurance Bill may be implemented in 2015.
