The panel may recommend amending at last five articles of the Constitution to enable holding of simultaneous polls in the country.
A high-level committee on Thursday recommended simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days.
Parliament is essential to the success of Indian democracy and the citizenry should be in the forefront of demanding reforms which help improve and strengthen Parliamentary democracy, says Rohit Pradhan.
'India's parliamentary democracy is ridden with flaws,' argues Rajeev Srinivasan. 'Parliament has become a monarchy, with seats captured by a strongman, and then inherited by his wife or children.'
There is no mechanism for the people to intervene in the affairs of Parliament, to direct it to enact laws on particular subjects, to prevent it from passing certain other kind of laws. The People are supreme, not Parliament. But unfortunately, in India, the People do not have any control, whatsoever, on the functioning of Parliament, says Arvind Kejriwal. Exclusive to Rediff.com
The history of our nation may not always have charted a linear trajectory to greatness. But that must not distract us from recognising that we as a nation we continue to find new and innovative ways to reconcile contradictions, transcend fault-lines thus avoiding the pitfalls of so many of our neighbours, says Shashi Shekhar.
Years ago, as finance minister, Manmohan Singh popularised the term 'systemic failure.' Today he appears to believe it is a case of individuals being at fault rather than the system. I believe he was wrong then and is wrong now, says T V R Shenoy.
No one can deny that but for Parliament our unity as a country could never have been what it is today, says Suresh Prabhu, who has been elected to the Lok Sabha four times.
Parliament is being dressed up ahead of Barack Obama's address to the members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the Central Hall on November 8.
Govt is mulling a special session to amend the constitution to enable a national goods and services tax. Kavita Chowdhury answers a few FAQs on the complexities
The calls for bestowing Sachin Tendulkar with the Bharat Ratna may have got louder after India's World Cup triumph but giving the country's highest civillian honour to the batting icon would require tweaking of the criteria that has been laid down for the coveted award.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee may have been expelled by his party, CPI(M), but his tenure as an MP, or for that matter, as the presiding officer of the Lower House remains unaffected, say constitutional and legal experts.
The health and family welfare ministry spent 70 per cent of its allocation till October. The ministry may need additional funds for the vaccination drive which is expected to be kicked off from January.
Leaders of the opposition parties had on Friday met Naidu and handed over the notice of impeachment against the chief justice of India bearing signatures of 64 MPs and seven former members, who recently retired.
The existing building is a British-era building, designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker who were responsible for planning and construction of New Delhi.
When the Centre tries to encroach upon the subjects that are under the prerogative of the state, or where the centre tries to evade from any responsibility guaranteed to a state through a constitutional provision/obligation, it poses a threat to federalism.
In a politically-significant move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reconstituted a government committee on commemoration of the 125th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru which will be headed by him, replacing his predecessor Manmohan Singh.
Among the 21 MLAs who have been appointed parliamentary secretaries for the "smooth functioning of the government" are Adarsh Shastri, Jarnail Singh and Alka Lamba.
"If slogans are raised on reputed campuses for fragmenting India, resolutions are made to destroy it, and if Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru is hailed as a martyr, it is shameful and disconcerting," an appeal which has the consent of 33 individuals, including intellectuals and artistes, says.
'The time has come to substitute the present Constitutional set-up with an alternative democratic framework,' argues B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
The rejection of the notice comes a day after Naidu held the consultations with such experts to determine the maintainability of the motion.
On Thursday, the Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha, which allocates time for the Bills and discussions to be taken up for the forthcoming week, met, but the government strategists didn't ask the members to allocate time for the GST Bills for the next week.
The amendment of around 40 central statutes makes the Finance Bill, 2017 unique
'Kejriwal has read the Constitution, still he misused office to benefit his MLAs.' 'If the BJP and Congress are wrong, does that mean even you will do wrong things?' 'So how is Kejriwal different from the others?'
'The chair is a referee in a match, whether this side is playing better or that side is playing worse is no concern of the chair.'
Maharashtra politics is at crossroads. Anything can happen in this dynamic situation. Uddhav will have to prove he is a worthy inheritor of his father's legacy and keep his cadre and leaders in the party stable. Fadnavis will have to prove that manoeuvrings on floor of the house was an inevitable political necessity to change the destiny of Maharashtra eventually. Modi and Shah will have to show that they can and will are resist use of 'the system' in the pursuit of power. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com analyses the situation.
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