A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, particularly before parliamentary, state assembly and local body elections. The court has agreed to hear a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission's decision to undertake special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
In a report tabled in Parliament recently, it said several complaints are being disposed of by the Lokpal on the ground that they are not in the prescribed format and asked it not to reject genuine complaints.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju says all political parties support the impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma after burnt currency notes were found at his residence.
A Haridwar-based community welfare organisation, Divya Prem Seva Mission, will host a series of seven lectures on diverse themes, including one on the contentious subject of simultaneous polls, at its camp at the Maha Kumbh site in Prayagraj. The lecture series, starting on January 12, will also cover topics like Swami Vivekananda's philosophy, India's glorious past, global terrorism, gender equality, and the challenges of privacy and safety on social media. The organization has been involved in philanthropic activities for 29 years and is raising awareness about the discrimination faced by people with leprosy.
The privileges committee of the Lok Sabha on Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution to revoke the suspension of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the lower house.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is examining the existing statutory provisions and the need for a new legal framework to regulate 'harmful' content amid complaints of 'obscenity and violence' being shown on digital platforms.
The development comes a day after a government resolution (GR) was issued, in which the state administration ordered disbursal of Rs 10 crore funds for strengthening the state Waqf Board.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had earlier called out the remarks made by Zuckerberg on the Joe Rogan podcast. "Mr. Zuckerberg's claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-COVID is factually incorrect," Vaishnaw had said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on January 13.
Last week, Twitter had blocked Union Information and Technology Minister Prasad from accessing his account which ratcheted up tensions with the government as it came under renewed attack for not following local laws.
Uniform Civil Code is aimed at replacing personal laws based on religions, customs, and traditions with one common law for everyone irrespective of religion, caste, creed, sexual orientation, and gender. Personal laws and laws related to inheritance, adoption and succession are likely to be covered by a common code.
A parliamentary panel on Thursday questioned the Delhi police chief over the gang-rape incident in the capital and pointed out deficiencies like vacancies at officer level and lack of vehicles to patrol the streets.
Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra on Tuesday claimed that the meeting of the ethics committee of the Lok Sabha was postponed to keep a Congress member away from the proceedings and adopt the report by a majority, prompting a sharp retort from Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey.
Expressing concern over frequent internet shutdown without any empirical study, a Parliamentary panel has pulled up the Department of Telecommunications for not maintaining the record of incidents and inaction on several of its recommendations. The Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology on 'Suspension of Telecom Services and Internet and its impact' tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday, the panel has asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to lay down a clear cut principle of proportionality and procedure for lifting of shutdown in coordination with the home ministry to prevent any misuse of the suspension rules. The panel rejected the logic of the DoT and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for not maintaining the record of the shutdown, saying it cannot simply take the plea that police and public order are essentially state subjects and suspension of the internet does not actually come under the ambit of crimes.
The Kanimozhi Karunanidhi-led delegation is visiting five European nations to garner support for India's campaign against cross-border terrorism.
Some members of a parliamentary panel looking into the issue of hate speech on Facebook on Monday expressed the view that whistle-blowers Sophie Zhang and Frances Haugen, who have flagged bias and lack of proper regulation on the social media platform, be called to depose before it, sources said.
The report on the Lokpal Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice, Public Grievances and Personnel.
Tharoor questioned about the alleged hacking of phones using spyware Pegasus, to which the officials responded that the matter is subjudice.
Presentations were given by the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the principal scientific adviser to the government before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Climate on the Centre's COVID-19 preparedness.
Posting a copy of her letter to the speaker on 'X', Moitra said, 'Have not received any replies from my previous letter to Hon'ble Lok Sabha Speaker but am placing this on record anyway.'
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has seen a reduction in fighter squadrons due to the phasing out of ageing MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27 aircraft. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence acknowledged the "shortage" and highlighted the multi-pronged approach being taken to address it. This includes the induction of indigenous Tejas fighters and the procurement of additional LCA Mk-1A aircraft. The report also addresses concerns over "incidences of spying" within the IAF and details the action taken against those involved.
The government must develop a legally tenable mechanism in order to restore the cycle of simultaneous elections.
A Parliamentary panel has recommended amendments in Constitution to empower the National Commission for Backward Classes, observing that OBCs are still languishing behind other sections of society.
India reasserted that Pakistan requested a cessation of firing via DGMO contact and addressed concerns about Pakistan's roles in UNSC committees.
It also suggested that the IPC provision related to adultery should be retained in the Sanhita by making it gender neutral "for the sake of protecting the institution of marriage".
Sources said the report of the law panel on simultaneous polls is not yet finalised. They said "some more things are required to be done", indicating that the law panel will be invited again by the high-level committee.
Against the backdrop of December 16 Delhi gang rape, a Parliamentary panel has recommended that mercy petitions should generally not be considered in cases of rape and murder and reasons for any grant of pardon should be made public.
A large number of medical device-manufacturing units have been forced to move to Vietnam and Malaysia due to delays, inconsistent timelines, and a lack of transparency in licensing processes, according to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the Sports Bill is a key reform aimed at building a "transparent, accountable and world-class sports ecosystem" in India.
Rejecting the recommendations of the parliamentary panel on Lokpal Bill, Team Anna on Wednesday claimed that they will not have any impact on corruption and will instead dismantle the existing anti-graft mechanism.
The deportation of Indians from the United States, deaths in the Maha Kumbh stampede and the joint Parliamentary committee report on the Waqf bill were among the issues that led to heated exchanges and some disruptions in an otherwise smooth first part of the Budget session that ended on Thursday.
Gandhi alleged that assembly and Lok Sabha polls were being "stolen" across the country and there was a "conspiracy" in Bihar to do the same through the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The visit by the MPs comes nearly two months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met top leaders of Jammu and Kashmir on June 24.
'Proud to go down in parliamentary history as 1st person to be unethically expelled by Ethics Comm whose mandate doesn't include expulsion'
Officials aware of the procedure to appoint and remove Supreme Court and high court judges pointed out that while defending his case before lawmakers in any of the House, Justice Varma can announce that he is quitting and his verbal statement will be considered as his resignation.
Expressing concern over repeated fire incidents in trains, a parliamentary panel has asked the Railways to find a solution to the problem with the help of technology and experts to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday underlined the government's resolve to take all political parties on board in moving an impeachment motion against Justice Yashwant Varma, saying corruption in the judiciary cannot be approached through a 'political prism'.
The committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday.
A Parliamentary Panel has "deplored" the government for capping the supply of subsidized LPG to 6 cylinders per households, saying that such restrictions should not be placed on people having income below a threshold.
The Parliamentary Committee on National Security has been asked by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to conduct an inquiry into the secret memo that sought the US help to prevent a possible military takeover in Pakistan in the wake of the killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May.
The Parliamentary panel examining the controversial nuclear liability bill is expected to finalise its report in time for introduction of the draft legislation during the monsoon session beginning July 26. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment on Forests is examining the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 that was introduced in the Lok Sabha on May 7 amid stiff resistance from a united Opposition.
