India's Parliament is set to begin its Budget session on Friday, with opposition parties poised to demand a discussion on the alleged mismanagement of the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, where 30 pilgrims died in a stampede. The opposition also accused the government of politicising parliamentary committees and pushing its agenda through its majority. The session will start with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both houses of Parliament. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Saturday for the eighth consecutive time.
The Rajya Sabha MP, who is also a spokesperson of West Bengal's ruling party, was asked to appear before a CBI team in the first week of August, officials said on Friday.
Senior Trinamool Congress leader Derek O' Brien Tuesday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is presently at home isolation.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has demanded that the Election Commission (EC) accept its error in issuing duplicate voter card numbers within 24 hours, threatening to release more documents on the issue if the EC fails to do so. The party alleged that the EC issued the statement after the TMC announced it would hold a press conference on the issue, and termed it an "Epic Scam." The EC had said it would rectify the issue and update its technology-driven platform, but the TMC insists the EC must accept the error. The party also demanded an in-depth probe into the matter.
He interrupted his speech to observe a minute's silence in the House along with other Opposition leaders, mainly the Congress, to pay tribute to farmers who had lost their lives during the two month agitation.
Dhankhar expressed his anguish on the conduct of Opposition members and left the House for a while.
Raising slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders ended their 24-hour protest at the Mandir Marg police station in New Delhi on Tuesday evening, a day after they were detained while staging a dharna outside the Election Commission's office.
Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh, accused of sexual abuse and land grab in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, was on Thursday suspended from the party for six years, TMC leader Derek O'Brien said.
The quizmaster-turned-parliamentarian was interrogated for about two hours on some financial transactions in bank accounts related to the TMC mouthpiece 'Jago Bangla'.
The Election Commission of India has announced that elections for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Goa, Gujarat, and West Bengal will be held on July 24.
The government has convened an all-party meeting on July 21 ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament which will start next Monday, the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry said.
Leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) have decided to raise the NEET issue in both houses of Parliament on Friday and members will give notices in this regard, sources have said.
A delegation of opposition party leaders on Friday met the top brass of Election Commission to raise its concerns over poll code violations by the ruling party leaders, and also flagged concerns over delay in release of voter turnout figures for the first two phases of the polls.
Opposition parties on Wednesday opposed the 'one nation, one election' proposal by calling it impractical and a 'cheap stunt' by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
In a memorandum submitted to the EC, the INDIA party leaders submitted a list of recent instances of central agencies targeting Opposition parties and alleged an absence of a level playing field for the opposition.
The senior TMC member recalled that he did not speak about the incident for several years, and brought it up with his parents much later in the life.
Wedding preparations for Parineeti Chopra and AAP leader Raghav Chadha are in full swing.
"This is the minimum expectation at this time of national tragedy," she said.
O'Brien had called a press conference on Saturday in which he showed two videos of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's speeches and four photographs, including one that showed Singh offering sweet to Karat.
Advertising industry veteran Sylvester daCunha, the creator of the iconic 'Amul Girl' campaign that started in the 1960s, has died, the Gujarat-based milk cooperative that owns the dairy brand said on Wednesday. "Very sorry to inform about the sad demise of Shri Sylvester daCunha, chairman of daCunha Communications last night (Tuesday) at Mumbai," said Jayen Mehta, managing director of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).
A 10-member delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) had announced the dharna after meeting a full bench of the Election Commission (EC) to press their demand.
Now, the total number of MPs suspended for the remainder of the Winter Session of Parliament stands at 14 -- 13 from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for 'one nation, one Election' as recommended by the Kovind panel, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
Lawyers have pointed out that the new laws increase police powers by extending the maximum limit of police custody from 15 days to 60 days or 90 days.
He also pointed out the high sums earned by the coaching centres leading to the commercialisation of education.
A parliamentary committee scrutinising three bills to replace existing criminal laws did not adopt its draft report as scheduled on Friday, taking into account the submission of some opposition members that they needed more time to study it.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) directed the removal of West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar and mandated the appointment of Vivek Sahay, once suspended by the poll panel, as the new state police chief, with the TMC accusing the BJP of controlling the constitutional body.
The three frenetic weeks of the Parliament's Winter session saw a security breach in the Lok Sabha, suspension of 146 MPs and the expulsion of Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra in the "bribe-for-query" case.
Elections to 10 Rajya Sabha seats, including those held by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien, will be held on July 24, the Election Commission (EC) said on Tuesday.
Asansol is home to a sizeable migrant population, and the BJP had hoped that Singh would be an effective counter to Sinha, the actor-politician who was in the saffron party for decades before walking out in 2019.
Modi is scheduled to reply to the debate on Thursday.
Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien Thursday held West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury responsible for an alliance not working out between the two parties in West Bengal.
The Congress said the rally by the INDIA will send a "strong message" to the Lok Kalyan Marg, where the prime minister's residence is located, that the BJP-led government's "time is up".
That he hasn't done so yet, has continued to be active on the political street, in public debate and on social media, signals an important change. It will give his party hope. Maybe the achievement of reducing Mr Modi well below the majority mark will now motivate him to stay committed, observes Shekhar Gupta
Slamming Opposition parties for disrupting parliamentary proceedings, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said as details of the Parliament security breach incident emerge, it is getting "obvious" that the DNA of those who entered the Lok Sabha is inextricably linked to the "Congress-Communist axis".
The opposition parties were demanding a division of votes as they had moved a motion to send the Bill to a select committee, which was rejected by voice vote.
Senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh will now occupy front-row seats after their reallocation by the party.
The impending expulsion of Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Mahua Moitra from the Lok Sabha, three bills to replace criminal laws and a proposed law for the appointment of election commissioners are issues set to dominate the Winter Session of Parliament, with the government urging the Opposition to ensure a conducive environment for discussions in the House.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi shared moments together, enquiring about each other's health and strategising on opposition unity on the first day of the Bengaluru summit, sources told PTI.
Ramesh also listed several previous occasions when special sessions or special sittings were held and the list of business was known in advance.
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