The Lok Sabha was brought to an abrupt halt on Tuesday afternoon when some Bharatiya Janata Party Members of Parliament waved bundles of currency, claiming the Samajwadi Party had tried to bribe them to vote in favour of the United Progressive Alliance government.A political observer, who did not wish to be named, said, "Why do I get the feeling that the BJP is preparing for a walkout. By walking out, the government will sail through the trust vote.
Defying a Communist Party of India directive to quit his post before the trust vote, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Monday chaired an all-party meeting in New Delhi ahead of the special session of the Lok Sabha to decide on the confidence motion.The Speaker had called the meeting of the floor leaders of parties to discuss issues related to the trust vote being sought by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in the wake of the Left withdrawing support to the UPA.
The four TRS MPs -- Vinod Kumar, Ravindra Naik and T Madhusudan Reddy -- submitted their resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee. The TRS chief had announced on Sunday at a rally in New Delhi that MPs of his party will tender their resignation from the Lok Sabha, as the Congress with whom it fought elections on the issue, had ditched it after coming to power.
"You are working over time to finish off democracy," a visibly angry Speaker Somnath Chatterjee castigated members in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
On July 25, these four youths were discharged from Rajkot hospital as doctors said their condition had improved. But they were rushed to the civil hospital in Ahmedabad next day.
Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh has defended the cow vigilants in the backdrop of flogging of Dalits in Gujarat.
Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh was forced by an agitated Opposition and Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to withdraw his un-parliamentary remarks against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and several other leaders greeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who turned 75 on Wednesday.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former deputy prime minister Lal Kishenchand Advani is contemplating another rath yatra to pay homage to those who sacrificed everything for the country's freedom.
The right to recall as a strategy for enforcing greater accountability of Parliamentarians is expected to come up for discussion in the Commonwealth conference.
The external affairs ministry had pleaded that in view of the unqualified apology tendered by him, the matter be closed.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee is hurt over how the Election Commission played a "very, very dubious role" after then President A P J Abdul Kalam referred the Office of Profit issue to it acting on advice that was "not correct".
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has passed the buck to the House Privilege Committee to wriggle out of the tricky issue of two petitions by the rival groups of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, seeking disqualification of each other's MPs for defying whip on the trust vote on July 22.
Says rules will be implemented strictly next time
Members of Parliament belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party lead the list of 32 lawmakers, who received privilege notices from the Lok Sabha Speaker's office for their disorderly conduct in the House. Besides the BJP, the list also has names of lawmakers from the Biju Janata Dal, Shiromani Akali Dal and Janata Dal-United.
Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Kapil Mishra, 34, was on Wednesday named as the new law minister
Sotheby's raised $1.5 million for Kolkata Musuem of Modern Art in New York
The National Democratic Alliance and the Left Front have agreed to discuss the Nandigram issue in Parliament. The discussion will be held under rule 193 that does not entail voting.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Wednesday said that all senior ministers should be present during the debate on the India-United States nuclear agreement in Parliament next week in the absence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who will be on an international visit. Chatterjee played down the Opposition's objection over Singh's visit abroad during the debate on the nuclear deal, saying the Prime Minister cannot avoid traveling as he is required to represent the country.
In the eye of storm over his refusal to quit, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Friday said he will retire at the end of his term and was not keen on rejoining CPI(M) which expelled him recently.
Expulsion from the party often entails a social boycott of the person by the members of the political family, say insiders, and this is not going to be easy for Somnath Chatterjee who has spent the best part of his life in the CPI-M.
The Congress hinted that it would like Somnath Chatterjee to continue as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha even after his expulsion from the CPI-M.
Nationalist Congress Party's Agatha K Sangma on Monday took oath as a member of the 14th Lok Sabha, becoming the youngest Member of Parliament of the current House.The other two are Anurag Singh Thakur of Bharatiya Janata Party and Anand Paranjpe of Shiv Sena.The three other new members who took oath are A Indrakaran Reddy (Congress) of Adilabad, B Vinod Kumar (TRS) of Hanamkonda and Errabelli Dayakar Rao (Telugu Desam Party) of Warangal.
Chatterjee hit out at MPs for speaking out of turn and refusing to do their job. He also criticised MPs for not respecting the authority of the Chair. The Speaker was particularly dismayed at the comments of Shiv Sena MP Anant Gite, which Chatterjee felt were 'intended to divide the country'.
The committee will inquire into cases of misconduct of members of Lok Sabha, including misuse of parliamentary privileges and facilities by them and submit its report within the month.
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for an hour, minutes after they assembled on Tuesday, after Opposition NDA and Third Front created an uproar over plight of farmers across the country.
The Speaker informed the House that he was accepting Sidhu's resignation with effect from Monday.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat have been keeping a low profile, but their interest for the presidential nomination has been debated upon by the media.
The Lok Sabha was adjounred till 1500 hours while the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day.
Somnath Chatterjee advocated earmarking of seats for women in legislatures to involve them in the political process
The suspended Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian was arrested while trying to take a woman to Canada on his wife's passport after allegedly striking a deal of Rs 27 lakh with her through a travel agent.
An all party meeting will be convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee next week to discuss the issue of alleged misconduct of members in the backdrop of the human trafficking case.
Senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra told reporters before the start of an all-party meeting with Speaker Somnath Chatterjee that there should be uniformity while dealing with wrongdoings by MPs.
Talking to rediff.com, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj claimed that her party had not been invited to participate in the all-party meeting called by the chairman to sort out the matter.
The committee, headed by senior Congress MP V Kishorechandra Deo, will meet on that day after Speaker Somnath Chatterjee referred the issue to it following a hue and cry by members who demanded the envoy's recall, sources said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee inaugurated the company's year-long platinum jubilee celebrations on Wednesday.
President Pratibha Patil congratulated the Indian football team for winning the ONGC Nehru Cup football tournament.
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday witnessed an uproar over violence in Agra and the incident in Bhagalpur in Bihar where a thief was beaten up by a mob, tied to a motorcycle and dragged.
The resolution, introduced by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, said the apex court verdict affects the rights of Parliament.
Under existing provisions, MPs get Rs 1,000 a day as sitting allowance once they sign the daily register. Even on days when proceedings of the House are disrupted, the MPs can sign the register and claim the allowance.
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