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Lok Sabha MPs
Seventeen Members of Parliament, including Bhartruhari Mahtab and Ravi Kishan, and two Parliamentary Standing Committees, have been selected for the Sansad Ratna Award 2025. The awards, instituted by the Prime Point Foundation, are given to MPs for their contribution to Parliament. The awardees were selected by the Jury Committee, chaired by Hansraj Ahir, Chairman of the National Commission for Backwards Classes (NCBC). Mahtab, Supriya Sule (NCP-SP), N K Premachandran (RSP) and Shrirang Appa Barne will receive the awards for 'Outstanding and Consistent Contribution to Parliamentary Democracy". These four Members of Parliament were top performers during the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha and continue doing so in their present tenure as well, a statement from the Prime Point Foundation said. The other awardees are Smita Wagh (BJP), Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena UBT), Naresh Ganpat Mhaske (Shiv Sena), Varsha Gaikwad (Congress), Medha Kulkarni (BJP), Praveen Patel (BJP), Ravi Kishan (BJP), Nishika
A Delhi court on Wednesday dismissed a criminal defamation complaint filed by a Derjeeling BJP MP against a party MLA saying the latter had expressed his grievance which wasn't defamation else the right to freedom of speech and expression would be meaningless. Additional chief judicial (ACJM) Neha Mittal dismissed the complaint filed by Raju Bista while refusing to take cognisance of the matter against Bishnu Prasad Sharma. "The proposed accused has expressed his grievance that no actions were taken by the complainant on the issues raised by him. Such an expression also cannot amount to the offence of defamation, else the right of freedom of speech and expression would become meaningless. The statements made by the proposed accused were pertaining to the conduct of the complainant relevant to the discharge of official functions, he being a public figure and hence, the same cannot amount to defamation," the judge said. Sharma, the complainant alleged, harmed his reputation by making
Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed repeated adjournments as several members came to the House wearing T-shirts with slogans on the issue of delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla objected to the DMK members wearing T-shirts with slogans written on them, and said such actions were against the rules of procedure of the House. Birla adjourned the proceedings till noon. Similar scenes were witnessed when the House reconvened at 12 noon and TDP member Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was in the chair, adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm. Tenneti also cited rules and said the behaviour of members was unacceptable. DMK members were wearing white T-shirts with slogans '#fairdelimitation Tamil Nadu will fight, Tamil Nadu will win' written on them. "House functions with rules and procedures. Members have to maintain the dignity and honour of the House. But some MPs are not following the rules and violating the dignity which is not acceptable," Birla sa
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice to its registrar general on the issue of designation of a court to hear the bail plea of Jammu and Kashmir MP Rashid Engineer in a terror funding case. Justice Vikas Mahajan was hearing Rashid's petition alleging that he had been left without any remedy after the NIA court dealing with his bail application left him in a limbo post his election to the Lok Sabha last year on account of it not being a special MP-MLA court. Counsel for the NIA opposed Rashid's plea seeking interim bail to attend the ongoing Parliament session, and said he had no such "right" as a parliamentarian. The counsel, however, said the registrar general has filed an application in the Supreme Court to seek a clarification on the issue of designation of a court. The court was also told that in November last year, the agency had also made a representation to the registrar general on the issue of designation of the NIA court as a court which could hear MP/MLA cases. "
Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain on Tuesday said India is a multi-religious society but the country's religion should only be democracy and holy book, the Constitution. He also said the subject of minority rights is germane to every country that calls itself a civilised nation, but going by the prevailing atmosphere in the country, India is soon turning into a "minority hating nation". He was participating in the discussion on the "Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India" in the Rajya Sabha. "This government has gone to the extent of making communal division into a state policy, thereby betraying the vision of the Constitution's framers and the inclusive nation that they aspired to build," the Congress MP said. Alleging that a dangerous politics of polarisation is on in the country, he claimed that an atmosphere of fear and hate is being created and "minorities today feel their state is like that of Jews during the Nazi rule in Germany". He further said Article 25
Several Congress MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, staged a protest in Parliament premises on Tuesday, demanding justice for Hindus and Christians facing atrocities in Bangladesh. The MPs protested with handbags which had 'Stand with minorities of Bangladesh' written on it. They raised slogans urging the government to ensure justice for minorities in Bangladesh. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi was seen carrying a cream-coloured handbag to Parliament on which it was written "Bangladesh ke Hindu aur Isaiyon ke saath khade ho" (stand with the Hindus and Christians of Bangladesh). This comes a day after she expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine, carrying a handbag with 'Palestine' emblazoned on it. Several Congress MPs led by Priyanka Gandhi had staged a protest in Parliament premises on Monday also, demanding justice for Hindus and Christians facing atrocities in Bangladesh. Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour on Monday, Priyanka Gandhi had sought the governmen
Trinamool Congress on Thursday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak in Parliament on situation in neighbouring Bangladesh. The issue was raised in the Rajya Sabha in the post-lunch sitting by TMC's Parliamentary Party leader Derek O'Brien, who sought permission to raise a point of order. He quoted Rule 251, and said he wanted the Prime Minister to come and give a statement on Bangladesh issue. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar however said it is not a point of order, and did not allow O'Brien to continue. The refusal was followed by TMC MPs breaking out into sloganeering in the House. Talking to reporters outside Parliament, TMC's deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Sagarika Ghose said a statement on the issue should be given in Parliament by the Prime Minister. "The Parliament is in session, it is a very sensitive matter on the situation in Bangladesh, the Prime Minister must come to Parliament and give a full statement on Bangladesh in Parliament," Ghose said. "Our party leader D
Lok Sabha proceedings were on Monday adjourned for the day after the opposition's protests over allegations of George Soros-Congress link and Adani issue led to repeated disruptions. When the House met at 11 am after the weekend, the opposition members were on their feet, trying to raise their issues. A visibly agitated Speaker Om 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 noisy protests again forced an adjournment till 2 pm and then till 3 pm, before the proceedings were wrapped for the day. As soon as the House re-convened at noon, Congress members trooped into the well of the Lok Sabha raising slogans against the government. They were soon joined by Samajwadi Party ...
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
Bihar Police arrested a "former associate" of Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, and claimed that it was this man who threatened the Lok Sabha MP posing as a henchman of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi as part of a plan to demand heightened security for the parliamentarian. The accused, Ram Babu Yadav, allegedly made a video call to Pappu Yadav, demanding an apology to Lawrence Bishnoi for a post threatening to "finish off" the jailed gangster's network. Ram Babu Yadav was arrested from his native place in Bhojpur district on Tuesday. Purnea SP Kartikeya K Sharma on Tuesday said that the accused was formerly associated with Jan Adhikar Party (JAP), which Pappu Yadav had merged with the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Pappu Yadav contested and won from the Purnea Lok Sabha seat as an Independent candidate. "Purnea Police tracked Ram Babu Yadav's location and arrested him. Preliminary investigations revealed that he has no connections with any gang. He was formerly associated with JA
Almost the entire opposition in the Lok Sabha, including Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday staged a brief walkout from the House over the recent violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal. As soon as the House assembled to take up the Question Hour, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav rose from his seat and raised the issue, seeking Speaker Om Birla's permission to speak on the subject. "This is a very serious matter. Five people have lost their lives," Yadav was heard saying. As the Speaker said members could raise the issue in the Zero Hour, Yadav and his party colleagues started to walk out in protest. Some SP members, meanwhile, rushed to the Well, raising slogans. While the SP members were protesting in the Well of the House, DMK member A Raja was seen exhorting other opposition members, including those from the Congress, to rise from their seats and join the SP protest. NCP and Shiv Sena-UBT members stood up in support of the Samajwadi Party MPs. Some of the