The doctors' bodies said that the two sides reached consensus during talks with the state government agreeing to keep private hospitals that have not availed land at subsidised rates or other benefits from it outside the ambit of the proposed law.
The unusual timing of the session has left everyone wondering, even though the main standout feature on the listed agenda is a special discussion on Parliament's journey of 75 years starting from the "Samvidhan Sabha" (Constituent Assembly).
Highlights of the government's new Lokpal Bill
Consensus eluded the all-party meeting held in New Delhi on Monday to break the logjam over the Women's Reservation Bill, with the Yadav trio sticking to their demand for quota within quota and United Progressive Alliance ally Trinamool Congress supporting their stance. After two hours of intense deliberations, it was decided that more discussions would be held on the issue, triggering doubts about whether the bill could be introduced in Lok Sabha in the budget session.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday favoured 'voluntary action' by the corporate sector in providing reservations in jobs for weaker sections even as he asserted that quota in private sector was unavoidable.
'There cannot be anyone like Air Marshal Keelor -- he was so difficult to emulate.' Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) salutes War Hero Air Marshal Denzil Keelor PVSM, KC, AVSM, VrC who passed into the ages last month.
Yet another effort to reach a consensus on the Women's Reservation Bill failed to make any progress with two major political parties staying away from an all-party meeting here today and others opposed to the measure sticking to their guns.
The ruling Congress is seeking to retain power in Chhattisgarh by banking on the welfare schemes of the Bhupesh Baghel government, while the Bharatiya Janata Party is hoping to corner it on the issues of alleged corruption, religious conversions and unfulfilled poll promises.
The draft bill on reservation to Jats and four other castes was cleared at a Cabinet meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
The apex court said that status of those who have already taken benefits of the 2018 law shall not be disturbed.
'Bihar's caste survey has bolstered the Opposition parties, but one shouldn't forget that the BJP is also trying to present itself as a party that cares for the OBCs more than other parties,' points out Sanjay Kumar.
If quota in Lokpal is taken off the Yadav leaders will object it, and if it remains, the BJP will oppose it. This situation is advantageous for the Congress to take credit and pass the blame, reports Sheela Bhatt.
Attorney General K K Venugopal told a bench headed by Justice Bobde that the Constitution (103 amendment) Act, 2019 granting 10 per cent reservation to EWS is intended to uplift around 200 million people who are still below the poverty line.
Seeking to take the sting out of the Samajwadi Party's counter to SC/ST quota in promotion bill, the Congress on Monday said it was also for a fair deal to Muslims but the issue was 'not contrary or contradictory' to the proposed measure.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday agreed to bring a Constitution amendment bill for reservation to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in promotions in government jobs while responding to vociferous uproar in both Houses of Parliament on Thursday.
The demand was raised during a debate on the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill 2017 in the Upper House, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 2 superseding the amendments earlier carried out by the Rajya Sabha.
'The upper castes think Dalits get reservation while they are deprived of it'
Law Minister Salman Khurshid faced a tough time, deliberate interruption of debate on his own Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill to announce 4.5 per cent reservation quota to the minorities led to disruption of the Lok Sabha on Wednesday evening, as angry Bharatiya Janata Party members raised slogans and rushed into the House well forcing adjournment for the day.
NEET is a court-ordered examination, supposedly aimed at meritocracy. However, over the past years when the incumbent Narendra Modi government at the Centre began implementing it, it took on political and casteist colours, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Indian Olympic Association and the federations might be against it but the National Sports Bill has got a collective thumbs up from India's top athletes, who feel the draft has the potential to drastically change the country's sports scene.
In a major move that will benefit hundreds and thousands of Indian IT professionals in America, the Biden administration has introduced an ambitious immigration bill in Congress which among other things proposes to eliminate the per-country cap for employment-based green cards.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com does a deep dive into four elections when Narendra Modi resorted to anti-Muslim fervour and points out that Hindu-Muslim politics does not necessarily mean victory for the BJP.
Indian IT professionals in the US have welcomed the proposed immigration bill on several counts, particularly the Green Card, introduction of merit-based visa and increase in H-1B visa quota.
'In Western UP, last time a lot of Dalits voted for the BJP.' 'This time, there is a rethink among Dalits about the extent of their support for the BJP.'
Lok Janshakti Party supremo Ramvilas Paswan on Saturday urged the Centre to raise the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 814 and make provisions for a separate quota for women from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, other weaker sections of society and minorities."I have serious apprehensions over the passage of the Bill in its present form. We have suggested increasing the number of seats from existing 543 to 814," said Paswan.
The government is learnt to have deleted the term 'minorities' from the Lokpal Bill with regard to the provision of having 50 per cent quota in the Lokpal bench and the Search Committee.
Prasad also attacked the previous United Progressive Alliance government for letting the women's reservation bill, introduced by it, lapse.
With the hindi-belt politicians opposing the Women's Reservation Bill, it is mostly the Hindi newspapers that have been covering the issue with some intensity.
Mallikarjun Kharge, meanwhile, came to the defence of his son, saying he never made those comments.
Under attack for his controversial comment on the Women's Reservation Bill, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday justified his remark, that a separate quota for women would help only those belonging to elite families, whom 'youths would whistle at'.At a meeting of party workers at the SP headquarters in Lucknow, Yadav asserted that his statement was not a slip of tongue but was made after evaluating all aspects, to initiate a debate on the issue.
A strong demand for revocation of reservation and other benefits to tribals who convert to other religions was made in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
'We see that a BJP MP abuses a Muslim MP in the Parliament. People are saying that he should not have said all this in the Parliament, they are saying that his tongue was bad. This is the representative of the people for whom you voted'
The Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Monday said they would oppose the Women's Reservation Bill in its present form at an all-party meeting convened by the government and stick to their demand for separate quotas for women from the minority community, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes. the meeting has been convened by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is Leader of Lok Sabha, to find a way out of the impasse on the bill.
Charging the Congress-led UPA government with not incorporating the amendments suggested by her in the Food Security Bill, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Sunday said her party AIADMK will vote against it in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Accusing the government of not being serious in passing the bill for providing quota for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes in promotions in government jobs, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati threatened to take a 'tougher' stand, saying her Wednesday's 'outburst' in the Rajya Sabha was only 'the first step'.
"I will have to remove the mask of chief minister to respond to politics. I don't speak doesn't mean I don't have answers," Thackeray said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the government was open to supporting an amended or an altogether new bill if unanimity was not possible on the legislation in its present form.
Opposing the United Progressive Alliance government's Lokpal Bill, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley on Thursday said we do not want a weak and hollow law.