Parliament Winter Session

Railways Amendment Bill passed; won't lead to privatisation, says Vaishnaw

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill to amend Railway laws with the government insisting that it will not lead to the national carrier's privatisation. Responding to a debate on the Railway Amendment bill, Railway Minister Ashiwni Vaishnaw said in the Lower House that a fake narrative was set afloat that the amendment would privatise railways. "Their (opposition) fake narrative on Constitution has failed... now this will also fall flat," he asserted. The Bill was passed by a voice vote after debate which could not be held earlier due to frequent disruptions of House proceedings during the last week. "A few members have said the Bill will lead to privatisation of railways, an attempt has been made to set a fake narrative. I want to appeal to them with all sincerity not to do this, their one fake narrative about the Constitution has already failed," Vaishnaw said. The Railways (Amendment) Bill 2024 which seeks to enhance the functioning and independence of the Railway Board was

Ruling NDA MPs term notice against VP Dhankhar politically motivated

Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a notice to move a motion for removing Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for allegedly conducting the House in a partisan manner. Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Naseer Hussain submitted the notice to Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody. The vice president is the ex-officio chairman of Rajya Sabha. The sources said about 60 opposition MPs -- including from the Congress, RJD, TMC, CPI, CPI-M, JMM, AAP, DMK -- have signed the notice. However, they said top Congress leaders who hold Constitutional posts have not signed the notice. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the floor leaders of various opposition parties are also not among the signatories, the sources said. The notice, spearheaded by the Congress, comes in the wake of turbulent ties between opposition parties and the Rajya Sabha chairman. "ALL parties belonging to the INDIA group have had no option but to formally submi

Motion against chair an attempt to deviate attention, says Nadda

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day Wednesday afternoon without transacting any business amid uproar by treasury and opposition benches over the no-trust notice against the House Chairman and the George Soros issue. Soon after the RS reassembled at 12 noon following the day's first adjournment, Leader of the House J P Nadda accused the Congress of standing with billionaire investor George Soros in seeking to destabilise the country, and demanded a discussion. He also condemned the Congress for the opposition's no-confidence notice against Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. He said it was an attempt by the opposition party to divert attention from the issue of "ties between the top Congress leadership and Soros". The members of the treasury benches were on their feet soon after the House met and Deputy Chairman allowed the leader of the house to speak. "I want to bring to your notice that for the last two days our people are raising the issue of

Modi govt believes in democratising technology: Vaishnaw in Lok Sabha

The government on Wednesday said it is "open to the idea" of bringing in a new law to regulate artificial intelligence but a "lot of consensus" is required for it. Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also said that the Modi government believes in "democratising technology" which was not the case during the Congress rule, remarks that triggered protests by opposition benches. Responding to a supplementary on whether the government plans to bring a law on regulating artificial intelligence, Vaishnaw also said that fake narratives is a major challenge faced by societies across the world today. He said accountability has to be established in the society and the legal framework has to change for which "lots of consensus" is required because as on the one hand there is freedom of speech and creating of a real, proper news network on the other. "There are things which need to be debated and if the House agrees and if there is a consensus in the society

Govt not allowing LS to function as part of a strategy: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday alleged the government was not allowing Lok Sabha to function as a strategy because it is afraid of discussing the Adani issue. She also said the ruling party is accusing the Congress leadership of having links with George Soros to divert attention from the main issue involving the business conglomerate Adani. "Either the government does not want to run the House or they are not capable of running the House. Our protest is from 10:30 to 11 and then we go inside the House for work but work is not happening," Priyanka Gandhi told reporters after the House was adjourned for the day. "As soon as we sit they start something to get the House adjourned. I think It is their strategy, they do not want a discussion," the Congress general secretary said. The government is scared of discussing the Adani issue as they know that all issues will be out in the open, she claimed. "I am amazed, I am new in the House, the PM has not even come to ...

Oppn MPs protest on Adani issue in Parliament premises with black 'jholas'

Several Opposition MPs on Tuesday demonstrated over the Adani issue in Parliament premises, carrying black 'jholas' (bags) with caricatures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and billionaire Gautam Adani printed on it and 'Modi Adani Bhai Bhai' written on the obverse side. This is the latest in the series of unusual protests led by the Congress daily ahead of the sitting of Parliament in the morning. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, MPs from the Congress, DMK, JMM, Left, among others, protested in front of the Makar Dwar steps. They were carrying black 'jholas' with caricatures of Modi and Adani printed on one side and 'Modi Adani Bhai Bhai' written on the obverse side of the bag. They raised slogans against alleged collusion between Modi and Adani and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the matter. Earlier, Gandhi chaired a meeting of Congress MPs in the Lok Sabha to take stock of the party's stance

Rural literacy rate up by 10 percentage points in last 10 yrs: Govt in LS

The literacy rate in rural India recorded a jump of more than 10 percentage points in the past decade, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday. It was also told that the literacy rate among women rose 14.50 percentage points during this period. The information was shared by Union Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary in response to a written question about government efforts, challenges and strategies in achieving 100 per cent rural literacy. According to the statistics shared by Chaudhary, rural India's literacy rate rose from 67.77 per cent in 2011 to 77.50 per cent in 2023-24 among individuals aged seven and above. Female literacy rose from 57.93 per cent to 70.40 per cent during this period. Male literacy improved from 77.15 per cent to 84.7 per cent. "In order to improve the literacy rate, including rural literacy among adults, the government of India has launched several centrally-sponsored schemes and programmes, such as the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Saakshar Bharat

Govt may bring 'One Nation One Election' Bill in ongoing winter session

The government is keen on holding wider consultations on bills it proposes to bring for implementing its 'one nation, one election' plan, sources said on Monday. Though the proposed legislation or set of legislations has not yet been approved by the Union Cabinet, the government may bring it as early as the ongoing Winter session of Parliament, they noted. The sources said once the bill or bills are introduced in Parliament, the government would like to refer the measures to a joint committee of the two Houses for wider consultations. The government is also keen to consult all the Speakers of various state legislative assemblies through committees. In September, sources had said that the government is likely to bring three bills, including two to amend the Constitution, to put in place its plan to hold simultaneous elections. Moving ahead with its one nation, one election' plan, the government in September accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee for holding ...

Rahul Gandhi comedy king, Parliament protest a desperate attempt: Pradhan

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over protests by opposition members in Parliament complex and termed him "comedy king" who is trying to stay relevant. Leaders of some INDIA bloc parties on Monday protested in Parliament complex over the Adani row, with Gandhi conducting a mock 'interview' over the issue with Congress members wearing masks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani "Rahul Gandhi is indulging in what he does best Stand-up comedy! His malicious claims and rants have crumbled under the weight of comprehensive investigation every time. Playing the role of a pawn to perfection, he yet again attempts to mislead despite his misinformation campaigns failing to cut ice with the people of India," Pradhan wrote on X tagging a video of the protest. "Electoral verdicts since 2014 are a thundering testament that there are absolutely no takers for his stale, recycled propaganda. Such a clumsily crafted hit job i

All must unite to neutralise the evolving 'deep state': Dhankar in RS

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said forces within or outside India cannot be allowed to "sacrilege our unity, integrity and sovereignty", and asserted that all must unite to neutralise the evolving "deep state", amid uproar in the House over BJP's allegations of Congress leaders colluding with billionaire investor George Soros to destabilise the country. "We cannot afford to overlook such kind of evil designs", he said, adding that the 1.4 billion Indians are "extremely concerned". All divisive forces that are pernicious to the concept of Bharat and have sinister designs to run down "our democracy, to bring down our progress and to impede our economic upsurge have to be defeated by us", he told the members after repeated disruptions in the House. While the ruling BJP members demanded a discussion on the alleged Congress-Soros links, terming it as an issue of national security, the opposition MPs claimed it was the ruling party's plan to divert attention from the ...

Rahul takes dig at Modi, Adani; conducts mock interview in Parliament

Leaders of some INDIA bloc parties on Monday protested in Parliament complex over the Adani row, with Rahul Gandhi conducting a mock 'interview' over the issue with Congress members wearing masks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani Standing outside the Makar Dwar of Parliament, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge along with MPs of other opposition parties raised slogans of "Modi, Adani ek hain" and "we want justice". After sloganeering, Rahul Gandhi conducted the mock 'interview' with Congress leaders wearing masks of Modi and Adani. Gandhi asked the party member sporting mask of Adani why Parliament was not being allowed to function to which the Congress MP (posing as Adani) said "we'll have to ask Amit bhai...that man is missing". Asked by Gandhi about the relationship between the two, the Congress MP said, "We are together". The Congress leader sporting mask of Adani also said, "He does whatever

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm as NDA MPs raise Congress-George Soros link

Proceedings of the Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm on Monday as members of the treasury benches accused top Congress leaders of colluding with billionaire investor George Soros to destabilise the country and demanded a discussion on the issue. The Upper House witnessed two adjournments during the pre-lunch session as the claims triggered protests from opposition members. Soon after a brief first adjournment during Zero Hour, Leader of the House J P Nadda said BJP members were agitated over an issue that involved Congress leaders and wanted a discussion. "All our members are agitated over reports against certain leaders of the opposition. Our leaders are keen to hold a discussion on the issue," he said. This prompted several ruling party members to allege that top Congress leadership had links with Soros. They demanded that the issue be discussed in the House as it is connected to national security. Several MPs of the BJP and other NDA allies raised the issue and demanded an .

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amid Opposition protest over Adani issue

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday adjourned the House till 12 noon after opposition members, mostly Congress MPs, persisted on raising their issues. When the House met at 11 am, the opposition members were on their feet trying to raise their issues. A visibly agitated Birla asked the MPs to go back to their seats and allow the House to function. "Question Hour is significant. Allow the House to function properly. But you don't want to allow the House to run. The country wants the House to run. You are disrupting the proceedings of the House," he told the protesting members and adjourned the House till 12 noon. The adjournment came within a minute of the House resuming business after the weekend break. The proceedings of the House were washed out in the first week of the winter session starting November 25 due to protests by opposition members demanding that they be allowed to raise issues like the indictment of industrialist Gautam Adani in a US court and Sambhal violence. Las

Insurance Amendment Bill proposing 100% FDI unlikely in winter session

Insurance Amendment Bill, which proposes 100 per cent FDI in the insurance sector, may not be introduced in Parliament in the ongoing session, sources said. Some finetuning may be required in the draft Bill after receiving comments from stakeholders, sources said. Given the paucity of time, it is difficult to present the Bill in the ongoing session, sources said, adding it may, however, come in the Budget session. The finance ministry has proposed to amend various provisions of the Insurance Act, of 1938, including raising foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector to 100 per cent, reduction in paid-up capital, and provision for composite licence. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has sought public comments on the proposed amendments by December 10. As per the proposal, the FDI limit in Indian insurance companies will be raised from 74 per cent to 100 per cent. This is the second public consultation that the DFS has sought on the proposed amendments to the .

Congress demands debate in Parliament on full gamut of India-China ties

Attacking the government over its statement in Parliament on India-China ties, the Congress on Sunday asked whether the Modi government has agreed to a "new normal" over the "old normal" prevailing prior to April 2020 and demanded that Parliament must be given an opportunity to debate the full gamut of the relationship between the two countries. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said a discussion in Parliament on India-China relationship should focus on both strategic and economic policy, especially since our dependence on China has increased economically, even as it unilaterally changed the status quo on our borders over four years back. In a statement, Ramesh said the Congress has studied the recent suo motu statement made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in both Houses of Parliament titled "Recent Developments in India's Relations with China". It is unfortunate, but typical of the Modi government, that MPs were not permitted to seek any ..

Will question in LS: Nishikant Dubey targets Rahul over George Soros link

Notwithstanding the US' dismissal of BJP's allegations that it is backing attempts to destabilise India, party MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday said he will ask Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi 10 questions in the Lok Sabha on the issue. In a post on X, Dubey alleged that media portal Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Hungarian-American businessman George Soros have colluded with the opposition to ruin India's economy and defame the Modi government. The US on Saturday rejected BJP's allegations that organisations funded by its State Department and elements in the American "deep state" were behind attempts to destabilise India through targeted attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business tycoon Gautam Adani. A spokesperson at the US embassy described the allegations as "disappointing" and asserted that the US government has been a champion of media freedom around the world. Reacting to the US embassy's statement, Dubey said, "Yesterday I read the ...

Political business: Fadnavis' Maha return, Sukhbir Badal dodges death

Devendra Fadnavis' return to Maharashtra throne, assassination attempt on Sukhbir Singh Badal in Punjab and more in this week's political news wrap

Parliament Winter Session: Lok Sabha adjourned till 11 am of December 9

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla made a fervent appeal for order and cooperation during the winter session

Parliament passes 'Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak', replacing 90-yr-old Act

Parliament on Thursday passed a bill to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act to further improve the ease of doing business in the fast-growing aviation sector. The Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak 2024 was passed in the Rajya Sabha by a voice vote. It was earlier cleared by the Lok Sabha on August 9. The bill seeks to remove redundancies and replace the Aircraft Act, 1934, which has been amended 21 times. Replying to the debate on the bill in the Upper House, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the change in title of the bill from English to Hindi, to which many members raised objections, was done to "showcase the India's heritage and culture", and "there was no violation of Constitutional rule". It will be difficult to pronounce the name of the bill in Hindi initially but one will get used to it, he added. The bill focuses on enhancing safety, regulatory oversight, and consumer protection while aligning with international standards. The bill also promotes self-reliance in ...

What in the Railways (Amendment) Bill 2024 is upsetting the Opposition?

During the discussion in the parliament, Congress MP Manoj Kumar raised concerns about the proposed Bill, stating that its passage could undermine the autonomy of Indian Railways