Parliament

Lok Sabha to assemblies: India's young lawmakers don't have the numbers

MPs and MLAs are typically middle aged and form a majority in most political parties

Mid-Year Review: Govt sets focus on public spending, social security net

Targets fiscal deficit 'lower than 4.5% of GDP'

Parliamentary panel on One Nation One Election set for first time on Jan 8

The first meeting of the 39-member parliamentary panel on 'one nation, one election' is set to be held on January 8, setting the tone for nationwide deliberations on the key poll reform measure of the BJP-led NDA government. Parliamentary sources said the first meeting of the Joint Committee on bills for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, chaired by BJP member P P Chaudhary, is likely to be an introductory one with officials briefing the panel on the two bills to implement a long-cherished election promise of the BJP. The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill were introduced in the Lok Sabha last week and referred to the joint committee of Parliament on Friday, the last day of the Winter Session. The government decided to increase the committee's strength from 31 to 39 as more political parties expressed the desire to be part of the exercise to examine the two draft legislations on simultaneous elections. Form

V-P Dhankar calls for accountability of MPs over Parliament disruptions

Against the backdrop of Parliament witnessing poor productivity due to disruptions, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday called for accountability of lawmakers and said people would force them to think why they were sent to Parliament. He also said that for any democracy to succeed, expression and dialogue must go hand in hand with great responsibility on both sides. Dhankhar is the Rajya Sabha's ex-officio chairman. Calling for accountability among parliamentarians, he said, "... Make no mistake, I am referring to parliamentarians. People have learned to take disorder as order. There is no sense of revulsion." Hopefully, people will write and their thoughts will move, the vice-president said, according to an official statement. "People will force you to think, why did you go there (Parliament)?" he said. Addressing awardees of the Chaudhary Charan Singh Awards - 2024, the vice-president said agriculture was the spine of rural development. "Unless agriculture develops, the

Parliament scuffle: Crime branch to probe BJP's FIR, Congress' allegations

The crime branch will now probe the BJP's FIR against Rahul Gandhi and the Congress' counter-allegations, as the political standoff over the Parliament scuffle intensifies

Parl winter session: 39-member House panel set up to scrutinise ONOE Bills

The committee will have 27 members from the Lok Sabha and 12 from the Rajya Sabha

Parliament scuffle: Case against Rahul Gandhi transferred to crime branch

Earlier, Delhi Police registered an FIR against Rahul Gandhi, in connection to a scuffle that took place in Parliament. The tensions had erupted when members of the opposition and the ruling parties

Opposition's impeachment bid against Dhankhar: Symbolism or strategy?

Injured egos may rile them, but they cannot justify the Opposition's move to impeach Jagdeep Dhankhar

Parliament highlights: Winter Session ends with both Houses adjourned sine die

Parliament highlights: On Thursday, INDIA bloc MPs took out a protest march in Parliament premises demanding the resignation of Amit Shah for his remarks related to BR Ambedkar

Winter Session of Lok Sabha sees 57.87% productivity despite disruptions

The Lok Sabha's Winter Session, hamstrung by disruptions over issues ranging from Adani to billionaire George Soros' "links" with the Congress leadership and Amit Shah's Ambedkar remarks, had a productivity of 57.87 per cent, official sources said on Friday. The Lower House met on November 25 and was adjourned sine die (indefinitely) on Friday amid protests by the opposition and the treasury benches over the alleged insult to BR Ambedkar and directions by Speaker Om Birla to members against holding demonstrations at any gate of Parliament. Among the key bills introduced during the session were two that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections. The two bills were on Friday referred to a joint committee of Parliament for examination and wider consultations. The Lower House last week saw a debate on 75 years of the Constitution's adoption, during which the treasury and the opposition benches launched a series of attacks at each other. The Lok Sabha sat an extra day last

RS adopts motion to nominate 12 MPs to panel on simultaneous polls bills

The Rajya Sabha on Friday adopted through voice vote a motion to nominate 12 of its members to the joint committee of Parliament that will scrutinise the two bills proposing simultaneous elections. Soon after the House met following an initial adjournment in the morning, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asked Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to move a motion to nominate members of the Rajya Sabha to the panel. Moving the motion, Meghwal said the Upper House of Parliament resolves to nominate 12 members to serve on the joint committee. The members nominated from the Rajya Sabha are Ghanshyam Tiwari, Bhubaneshwar Kalita, Dr K Laxman and Kavita Patidar of the BJP, Sanjay Kumar Jha of the JD(U), Randeep Singh Surjewala and Mukul Wasnik of the Congress, Saket Gokhale of the TMC, P Wilson of the DMK, Sanjay Singh of AAP, Manas Ranjan Mangaraj of the BJD and V Vijaisai Reddy of the YSRCP. Minutes before the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die, the House on Friday adopted a resolution recommendi

Amid din, Lok Sabha sends ONOE Bills to joint committee of two Houses

Minutes before the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die, the House on Friday adopted a resolution recommending the two bills on holding simultaneous polls to a joint committee of the two Houses. Passed by a voice vote amid a din created by the opposition over Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks related to Ambedkar, the resolution moved by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal recommended to the Rajya Sabha to communicate to the Lok Sabha names of the members to be appointed by the upper houses to the joint committee. While 27 members on the panel will be from the Lok Sabha, 12 others will be from the Rajya Sabha. Former Union ministers Anurag Thakur and P P Chaudhary from the BJP, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of the Congress are among the Lok Sabha members, who will be part of the joint committee of Parliament that will scrutinise two bills on simultaneous elections. The two 'one nation, one election' (ONOE) bills, including one requiring an amendment in the Constitution, lay down the mechanism to

Crime branch to investigate BJP-Congress complaints over Parliament clash

A scuffle broke out in the Parliament on Thursday between the Congress and the BJP. Both political parties filed complaints, leading to a police investigation into the incident

Panel on ONOE Bills expanded to 39 members for wider representation

The government has moved to increase the strength of the joint committee of Parliament that will scrutinise the two bills proposing simultaneous elections from 31 MPs to 39, giving representation to more parties. The list of Lok Sabha MPs proposed by the government now includes one member each from the Shiv Sena (UBT), CPI(M) and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), besides two more members of the BJP and one more of the Samajwadi party. The list of business for the House for Friday includes a motion from Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to refer the two bills to a joint committee, including 27 members from the Lok Sabha and 12 from the Rajya Sabha. The new Lok Sabha MPs proposed to be part of the committee are Baijayant Panda and Sanjay Jaiswal from the BJP, the SP's Chhotelal, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Anil Desai, LJP's Shambhavi and the CPI(M)'s K Radhakrishnan. The committee will scrutinise the two "one nation one election" (ONOE) bills, including one for amending the Constitution. Fo

Parliament scuffle highlights: LS Speaker bars parties from holding protests at Parliament gates

Parliament winter session news updates: The BJP has claimed that Rahul Gandhi pushed Pratap Sarangi during a melee, a charge rejected by the Congress leader

BJP, Congress trade charges over attack on MPs in Parliament complex

Accuse each other of misbehaving with women MPs

Parliament scuffle: PM calls up injured BJP MPs to ask about their health

This comes amidst the controversy of Rahul Gandhi allegedly pushing an MP while he claimed that he had been blocked from entering the Parliament

BJP MPs accuse Rahul Gandhi of pushing, one in ICU; Gandhi responds

Ambedkar row: A scuffle in Parliament escalated as BJP MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi accused Rahul Gandhi of pushing an MP, while Gandhi countered, blaming BJP MPs for blocking and threatening him

Ambedkar row: Congress leads protests, demands Amit Shah's resignation

Congress launches nationwide protests, demanding Amit Shah's resignation over his controversial remarks on Ambedkar, sparking a political storm in Parliament

Parliament highlights: Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned after uproar over Shah's Ambedkar remarks

Parliament winter session 2024 highlights: The 'One Nation, One Election' Bill was tabled in the Lower House of the Parliament on Dec 17