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As many as 130 Lok Sabha MPs and 63 Rajya Sabha MPs have signed a notice seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, sources said on Thursday. According to a source, the notice is likely to be submitted in at least one of the two Houses on Friday, though it was not clear in which House it would be brought first. An opposition leader said that MPs showed great enthusiasm in signing the notice, with several lawmakers coming forward to sign the notice on Thursday, even as the requisite numbers had already been achieved. According to rules, at least 100 MPs need to sign a notice seeking the removal of the chief election commissioner (CEC) in the Lok Sabha, while the required strength in the Rajya Sabha is 50. The notice has been signed by members from all the INDIA bloc parties, the source said, including the AAP, even though it is no longer officially part of the opposition alliance. This is the first time a notice is being moved seeking the removal of the ...
A parliamentary panel has urged the power ministry to undertake urgent measures to accelerate installation of smart metres in a structured and time-bound manner. The Eleventh Report of the Committee on 'Demands for Grants (2026-27) of Ministry of Power' was tabled in Parliament on Thursday. The report said since the pace of installation of smart meters across the country has been far below the envisaged targets, the ministry should undertake urgent measures to significantly accelerate the rollout of smart meters in a structured and time-bound manner, with clearly defined state-wise and utility-wise milestones. It noted that the government had set a target of installation of 25 crore smart meters in the country by March 2025, against which only 5.83 crore smart meters have been installed till February 15, 2026. The committee observed that although the rate of installation of smart meters in the country has increased to about 1,35,000 per day, it may still be insufficient to bridge t
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid concerns over reported LPG shortage, saying the PM is asking the people not to panic but is himself panicked for "completely different reasons". Gandhi alleged that the prime minister is panicked because of the Epstein files issue and the Adani Case in the US. He made the remarks after several opposition MPs, including himself and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, staged a protest in the Parliament House complex over the shortage of commercial LPG cylinders to demand answers from the government over it. Speaking with reporters after the protest, Gandhi said, "The PM is saying there is no need to panic, but the PM himself has panicked for completely different reasons... he is panicked because of Epstein, he is panicked because of the Adani case, he is not able to come inside the House." "You saw yesterday that the prime minister's chair was empty. So, he is telling the country not to panic but has panicked ...
A parliamentary committee has flagged significant delays in expenditure under the scheme for promotion of coal, lignite gasification, noting zero spending for most of 2025-26 despite a revised allocation of Rs 285 crore, and suggested a time-bound spending framework with quarterly milestone verification. The standing committee on coal, mines and steel was of the view that the scheme's outlay was brought down from Rs 300 crore at Budget Estimates (BE) 2025-26 to Rs 285 crore at Revised Estimates (RE) stage due to milestone-based needs, with no expenditure incurred and even a a single eligible project pending reimbursement formalities. "The committee noted that no expenditure is incurred for most of the financial year, with even a single eligible project awaiting fulfilment of reimbursement formalities," it said. The panel further noted that against a Revised Estimate of Rs 285 crore in 2025-26, the Budget Estimate for 2026-27 was sharply raised to Rs 3,525 crore. The committee, ...
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday said the House functions strictly under its rules and regulations and will continue to do so, irrespective of whether it is acceptable to any member, and asserted that he would conduct the proceedings with sincerity and fairness. A day after a motion seeking his removal as Speaker was defeated in the House, Birla also said that the Chair does not belong to any one individual but is a symbol of the prestige of the House. Birla said he was grateful to the members of the House for the faith reposed in him during debate and thanked all those who spoke in favour of him as well as against him. "The House has been running with rules and regulations and will continue to function in future, irrespective of whether it is acceptable to any member or not. I will continue to discharge my duty with all sincerity and impartiality," he said amidst the thumping of desks by the treasury bench members. Thursday was the first time Birla came to the House to condu
The Union Cabinet is likely to approve Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, which provides for incorporation of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) as a body corporate and a framework for its effective governance, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. The draft Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026 aims at enhancing ISI's autonomy and accountability, stated Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. "The process of Cabinet approval has been initiated. The matter is under consideration in accordance with the prescribed procedure," Singh said. The pre-legislative consultation, including inter-ministerial consultation, on the draft ISI Bill has concluded. Legal vetting of the draft has also been completed, he added. The bill provides more robust and contemporary governance framework which will enable ISI to emerge as a globally recognised centre of excellence in statistical and allied disciplines, he state
The upcoming Census will collect data on sex of head of household--Male, Female and Transgender, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, in a written response, said Census 2027 will be conducted in two phases. The questions for the first phase, which covers Houselisting and Housing Census, have been notified. "Information on Housing condition, Household particulars including name and sex of the head of the household, amenities available and assets possessed by household will be collected in this phase. Three categories of sex of head of household viz. Male/Female/Transgender will be collected," Rai said. Questions for the second phase, which is Population Enumeration where information of each individual will be collected, will be notified in due course, he added. The minister said enumerators shall undertake house-to-house field visits in the entire enumeration area for the collection of Census data to avoid any exclusion on any
The resolution seeking the removal of Om Birla as Speaker was on Wednesday defeated in Lok Sabha by a voice vote. Amid protests and sloganeering by the opposition seeking an apology from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair, announced that the no-confidence motion was defeated. Pal urged the opposition to take their seats so that he could put the motion to vote. But as the protests continued, he sought the vote of the House and the resolution was rejected by a voice vote, following which he adjourned the House for the day. Earlier, the home minister hit out at the opposition for bringing the motion for the removal of Birla as Speaker. The opposition objected to certain remarks of Shah and started shouting slogans, disrupted the proceedings and sought an apology from him. Responding to the two-day-long debate, Shah asserted that the House will be run by its own rules and not by the rules of a party. "It is not an ordinary occurrence as after nearly f
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday took up an opposition resolution seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla from office for his alleged bias towards the ruling party, amid a heated debate on who will preside over the House while the motion is being taken up. Congress legislator Mohammad Jawed read out the notice seeking to move a resolution to remove Birla from office. Besides Jawed, MPs K Suresh and Mallu Ravi had also moved the resolution. As soon as Jawed read out the notice, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi raised a point of order questioning the decision to allow Jagdambika Pal to chair the proceedings as he was appointed to the panel of chairpersons by Speaker Birla. BJP's Nishikant Dubey countered the claim, citing constitutional provisions, law and House rules. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Owaisi's claim was irrelevant as Pal was competent to preside over the Lok Sabha when the resolution was taken up. Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said Rijiju should move a mot
The country's inter-regional transmission capacity will be increased to 143 GW by 2027 and 168 GW by 2032 to ensure reliable power flow across the regions, Parliament was informed on Monday. At present, there is no transmission constraint existing at the national level, and the inter-regional transmission capacity stood at 120 GW as of December 2025, Union Minister Shripad Naik said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. The capacity of the National Grid is expanded on a continuous basis, commensurate with the growth in electricity generation and electricity demand. The inter-regional transmission capacity will be increased to 143 GW by 2027 and further to 168 GW by 2032, the Minister of State for Power told the Upper House. A peak electricity demand of 388 GW is expected by 2032, and under the NEP (Volume II Transmission), the transmission network (220 kV and above) is planned to expand to 6.48 lakh ckm by 2032, and the transformation capacity is to increase to 2,345 Giga Volt Ampe
The Lok Sabha on Monday could not take up a resolution seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla amid repeated adjournments, as opposition members demanded a debate on the West Asia situation. The government and the Chair accused the opposition of holding the House proceedings "hostage" to its demands. The House was adjourned for the day shortly after it reassembled at 3 pm, following an earlier adjournment due to relentless protests by opposition members. As proceedings resumed, opposition MPs continued raising slogans. Jagadambika Pal, who was chairing the proceedings, urged them to maintain decorum and allow the House to take up the resolution against Birla. Pal reminded the opposition that the no-confidence resolution against the Speaker was already on the House agenda, and their adjournment notice seeking debate on the West Asia crisis could not be taken up. He accused the opposition of wasting taxpayers' money -- about Rs 9 crore per day -- by holding the House "hostage" to its
Opposition MPs, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, staged a protest in Parliament House complex on Monday, demanding a discussion on the West Asia conflict and slamming the government for its "silence" on critical issues related to it. Earlier, opposition parties' floor leaders met in Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Kharge's chamber in Parliament House complex to deliberate on the strategy for the second half of the Budget session. Besides Kharge and Gandhi, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, DMK's Dayanidhi Maran, NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sanjay Raut, among others, attended the meeting. In a post on X, Kharge said, "As the Parliament reconvenes for the second part of the Budget session, US-Israel war with Iran has reached our backyard. In this context, it is imperative to have a full-fledged discussion on the current geopolitical crisis." "A one-sided statement by the EAM is not
The Sri Lankan government has gazetted the Parliamentary Pensions (Repeal) Act after it was passed by parliament with an overwhelming majority on Tuesday, fulfilling a key campaign promise of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. In Sri Lanka, a member of parliament was entitled to a pension after serving a five-year term. On Tuesday, lawmakers passed the bill by 154 votes in the 225-member House, with only two against. The remaining legislators were not present during the vote. The gazette has been dated Friday. On February 6, the Supreme Court had determined that the Parliamentary Pensions (Repeal) Bill can be passed in Parliament with a simple majority. The main aim of the bill was to repeal the Parliamentary Pensions Law No 1 of 1977 which had established a non-contributory life time pension to persons who have ceased to be members of parliament. The move caused outrage among former parliamentarians who sought the Supreme Court intervention without success to see it being ...
The stormy first part of the Budget session, which saw heated exchanges over the India-US interim trade deal and unpublished memoir of former army chief M M Naravane, concluded Friday and the House will now reassemble on March 9. The three-week recess period will allow standing committees to examine allocations to various central ministries given in the Union Budget. Earlier in the day, the House was adjourned for one hour after Opposition members raised slogans demanding resignation of Union Minister Hardeep Puri. The opposition members were also protesting against the India-US interim trade agreement. The first part of the Budget Session began on January 28 with the address of President Droupadi Murmu to a joint sitting of the two Houses. The Lok Sabha witnessed dramatic scenes and repeated adjournments from February 2 afternoon after the Chair disallowed Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to quote from the excerpts of the memoir of Naravane relating to the India-China conflic
Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said on Friday that the government has shelved a plan to bring a motion against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for using unparliamentary language against the prime minister, as a BJP MP has submitted a notice to initiate a "substantive motion" against the Congress leader on the same issue. Speaking to reporters here, the Union minister stated that the speaker would be consulted on whether to send the matter to the House privilege committee, the ethics committee, or bring it directly to the Lok Sabha. "It has not yet been decided," he said. He noted that since a private member has already submitted a notice for the motion, the government will refrain from introducing its own motion. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey told PTI Videos on Thursday that he has given a notice to initiate a "substantive motion" against Gandhi, demanding the cancellation of his Lok Sabha membership and calling for him to be barred from contesting
A parliamentary panel on Thursday emphasised the need for the implementation of new Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) Policy without delay for achieving the intended objectives of fiscal prudence. The New PSE Policy for Atmanirbhar Bharat envisages that loss-making public sector undertakings (PSUs) in non-strategic sectors should be considered for privatisation or closure. "This policy aims to promote fiscal prudence and efficient resource allocation. However, not much headway has been made in this regard as the proposal for disinvestment of any non-strategic CPSE has not been approved since the guidelines were issued in December 2021," Standing Committee on Finance said in its report. New Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) Policy for Atma Nirbhar Bharat, which also provides overall guidance on strategic disinvestment, was notified on February 4, 2021, with the approval of the Cabinet. The policy intends to minimise the presence of the government in PSEs across all sectors of the ...