Parliament LIVE: FM explains onion remark; Chidambaram joins Cong protest

Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to table Bill that gives citizenship to religious minorities persecuted in neighboring Muslim countries.

Congress leader P Chidambaram will be in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, returning to Parliament for its Winter Session debates after being released on bail in a corruption case. 

Chidambaram, while he was in jail, attacked the government for the economic slowdown, letting his family to comment on his behalf on Twitter.

The Modi cabinet on Wednesday approved a Bill to give citizenship to religious minorities persecuted in neighboring Muslim countries, the first time that the country is seeking to grant nationality on the basis of religion. Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to table the Bill in Parliament.

2:57 PM

Delay in environment clearance delaying roads: Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari tells Lok Sabha hurdles in acquiring land and getting environment clearance were holding up road projects. "Everyone says 'stop the work'. No one says 'do the work'. The country has to have a positive approach and attitude towards development projects," he said. "I am pro-environment. But environment and development have to go side by side."

2:49 PM

220 government employees forcefully retired in 5 years

More than 220 government employees, including 96 people holding senior posts, have been given premature retirement in the last five years for alleged corruption, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday. The Group A and Group B officers belong to different ministries and departments, said Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh.

11:59 AM

Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon after Opposition protests

Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu adjourns House till noon after Opposition members from the Samajwadi Party and the Congress protested his decision not to let them raising issues not listed for Zero Hour. Naidu Naidu also expressed concern over poor attendance of members in the meetings of the parliamentary panels of both Houses and urged the leaders of all parties to take action.

11:39 AM

Govt can't suppress my voice: Chidamabaram

"I am happy to be back. The government cannot suppress my voice in Parliament," Chidamabaram tells journalists in Parliament.

11:25 AM

Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon

Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon as chairman disallows members from raising issues not listed for Zero Hour, reports news agency PTI.

11:18 AM

I was misquoted on onion prices: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman uses her personal Twitter account to say that her statement on rising onion prices was "quoted out of context". Sitharaman reportedly had said in Lok Sabha she doesn’t use onions much.

10:58 AM

Chidambaram joins Congress protests

P Chidambaram joins other Congress leaders in their protests against onion prices. He is seen holding a poster, according to news agency ANI.

10:45 AM

Chidambaram arrives in Parliament

10:44 AM

Parties give notice over jawan killing 5 colleagues in Chhattisgarh

Congress and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) give adjournment motion motice in Lok Sabha to discuss a soldier of the paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police killing five of his colleagues in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Wednesday. The jawan blamed for the killings shot himself dead.

9:54 AM

Parliament help for 1,731 unauthorised colonies in Delhi

Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed a Bill to grant ownership rights to residents living in 1,731 unauthorised colonies in Delhi, days after Lok Sabha’s approval. The Bill says population in National Capital Territory of Delhi has increased hugely, but the development of planned housing colonies has not kept pace.

8:45 AM

I don't eat onions much: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday responded to opposition MPs protesting soaring by saying she "doesn't eat onions much". "I come from a family that doesn't have much to do with onions," Sitharaman said in Lok Sabha.

8:22 AM

Number of suicides in defence forces

As many as 1,113 cases of suspected suicides took place in the armed forces from 2010 to 2019, according to data provided by the government on Wednesday. Of the total 1,113 cases, 891 took place in the army, 182 in the air force and 40 in the navy, as per the data shared by Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.