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Rajya Sabha
Former Rajya Sabha member and noted paediatrician Dr Gopalrao Patil passed away in Maharashtra's Latur city on Tuesday morning following an illness, family sources said. He was 94. Patil breathed his last at a private hospital here at 7.12 am, they said. He served as a Rajya Sabha member from the BJP between 1994 and 2000 and contributed to key parliamentary committees, including commerce, external affairs, and railways. Patil was also a visionary educationist. He founded the Shiv Chhatrapati Shikshan Sanstha, which runs Rajarshi Shahu College in Latur. Born on October 3, 1931, at Kavtha village in Dharashiv district, Patil pursued his medical education from Osmania University, Hyderabad, and went on to become one of Latur's most respected child specialists. His free medical services in rural areas had earned him the affectionate title of 'Devmanus' among locals. He had also served as a lecturer in a medical college in Kurnool, Hyderabad and worked as a medical officer in Kurund
The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Saturday, drawing curtains on the Budget session that began in January. As soon as the House met at 11 am, Speaker Om Birla read out his concluding remarks, following which he adjourned the House sine die (for an indefinite period). The session concluded a day after a Constitution amendment bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies by 2029 by increasing the number of seats in the Lower House from 543 to 816 was defeated by a division of votes. A three-day sitting of Parliament was held from April 16 to discuss and pass the bill along with two other enabling draft laws.
Nominated member Harivansh was elected Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha unopposed on Friday. It is the third term as Deputy Chairman for the journalist-turned-politician. The Office of the Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, fell vacant after the term of Harivansh ended on April 9. Union minister and Leader of the House J P Nadda moved the first motion for electing Harivansh as the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge congratulated Harivansh on his election. It is for the first time that a nominated member has been elected as Deputy Chairman.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Union minister Ram Nath Thakur and senior Congress leader Abhishek Sanghvi, along with 13 other newly elected Rajya Sabha MPs, took oath of office on Thursday. Vice-President of India and Chairman of Rajya Sabha C P Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the 16 newly elected/re-elected members of Rajya Sabha, representing Bihar, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Telangana. Of the 16 MPs, eight are from the BJP and three from its allies. The other five MPs belong to Congress. After being elected as the BJP's national president, Nabin has moved to the Upper House following his resignation from the Bihar legislative assembly. He took the oath in Hindi amid the thumping of desks. Along with him, Union Minister Ram Nath Thakur also took the oath. He has been re-elected to the House from Bihar. Upendra Kushwaha (RLM) and Shivesh Kumar (BJP) also represent Bihar. Terash Gowalla (BJP), Jogen Mohan (BJP), and Pramod Boro (UPP-L)
The Rajya Sabha will hold the election for the post of deputy chairman on April 17, and the ruling NDA is likely to push for re-electing Harivansh to the key post. The post of the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha fell vacant after the tenure of Harivansh ended on April 9. Harivansh has since been nominated to the Upper House by President Droupadi Murmu and took oath on April 10. Union minister and BJP leader J P Nadda, who is also leader of the house in Rajya Sabha, is learnt to have discussed the re-election of Harivansh as deputy chairman with leaders of various parties, while trying to bring about a broad consensus on his name. However, the Congress, TMC and Left parties have raised objections to the "keenness" the ruling party is showing in holding elections for filling the post of deputy chairman of the Upper House, when the post of deputy speaker in Lok Sabha has been vacant since 2019. An official announcement said that the election for the post of deputy chairman will be
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the time has come for the implementation of the Women's Reservation Act in its true spirit and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections are conducted with the quota for women in place. In a letter to the flood leaders of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, ahead of the three-day special sittings of Parliament, Modi also asked all members to come together in one voice to pass the amendments to the women's reservation law, officially known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. "After extensive deliberations, we have reached the conclusion that the time has now come to implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in its true spirit across the country. "It is imperative that the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections are conducted with women's reservation in place," the Prime Minister said in his letter dated April 11. The Budget Session of Parliament has been extended, and a special three-day sitting of the House has been convened on Apri
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan on Monday rejected separate notices from the opposition to move a motion for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from his post. The opposition had submitted notices to the Lok Sabha speaker and the Rajya Sabha chairman against the CEC, alleging "partisan and discriminatory conduct in office", "deliberate obstruction of investigation of electoral fraud" and "mass disenfranchisement" among other charges. In separate orders, the Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman refused to admit the notices moved under Article 324(5) of the Constitution, read with other relevant constitutional and statutory provisions, praying for the removal of Gyanesh Kumar as the Chief Election Commissioner. "After due consideration of the notice of Motion and a careful and objective assessment of all relevant aspects and issues involved, the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, in exercise of the powers vested to him under Section 3 of
Haryana Congress' Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC) will prepare a report and convey its decision to the party high command concerning the issue of alleged cross-voting by five party MLAs during last month's Rajya Sabha elections. The committee, under the chairmanship of party leader Dharampal Malik, met at the Haryana Congress office here on Friday evening. The five MLAs are accused for cross-voting in favour of BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal and have been issued a show-cause notice by the Congress. The notice was served for "anti-party activities by deliberately not casting a vote in favour of Congress' official candidate". Polling for the two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana was held on March 16. BJP's Sanjay Bhatia bagged one seat comfortably, while the Congress candidate, Karamvir Singh Boudh, secured the second seat in a close contest against Independent candidate Satish Nandal. The alleged cross-voting had dented the otherwise comfortable position of the Congre
The AAP on Friday hit back at party MP Raghav Chadha, accusing him of shying away from raising issues against the Centre in Parliament and instead engaging in "soft PR". Delhi Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) President Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that Chadha failed to toe the party's line on several matters in Parliament and did not join opposition walkouts on key issues. "We all are soldiers of Arvind Kejriwal, the Centre doesn't care about soft PR or talking about samosas at airport canteens when bigger issues are at stake," Bharadwaj said in a video posted on X. "Whenever the Opposition staged a walkout in Parliament, you (Chadha) did not participate. You did not raise issues concerning Punjab, from where you are elected, and you hid in a foreign country when former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested," he added. AAP national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda also criticised Chadha, questioning whether someone who "fears" Prime Minister Narendra Modi can fight for the country. "In West Bengal
AAP MP Raghav Chadha on Friday said he has been "silenced, not defeated", a day after being removed as the party's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha. He also alleged that his own party had sought to prevent him from speaking in Parliament. In a video posted on X, Chadha said, "Whenever I get a chance, I raise issues concerning the people in Parliament, including topics that are often overlooked. But is it an offence to talk about people's problems? Did I commit any crime?" Chadha also hit out at his party, alleging that it had informed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to stop him from speaking in Parliament. "The AAP has informed Parliament that I should not be given a chance to speak. I would like to tell them -- do not take my silence for defeat," Chadha said. "I raised several issues that benefited aam aadmi (common man). What harm did that cause the Aam Aadmi Party? Why does anyone want to stop me from speaking?" he added. The AAP on Thursday wrote to the Rajya Sabha secretariat se
Amid indications that the government may bring a bill to increase seats in the Lok Sabha to implement reservation for women in the legislature, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday informed the Rajya Sabha that the House will be adjourned and would meet again soon for a "very important" bill. In the Upper House, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh asked about the government's plan. Rijiju, in a response, said that the Upper House would take up the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill for passing on Thursday, which was scheduled to be the last day of the Budget session of Parliament. He added, "We have certain important issues, we haveshared this with the Opposition also. We are going to have a very important bill in next 2-3 weeks". "Today, government will propose for the House to be adjourned, and we will meet very soon; purpose is known to the members," he said. The government has been holding back channel
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday demanded the government should clarify in the Rajya Sabha whether the House would be adjourned to a later date or sine die, amid what he called unhealthy media speculation. Rising after papers were laid in the Upper House, Ramesh sought an explanation from Leader of the House J P Nadda and the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs. "Today, is the House going to be adjourned till a later date or is it going to be adjourned sine die? This uncertainty and media speculation is not healthy to the functioning of our democracy," Ramesh said. He further questioned the secrecy surrounding the House's schedule. "Please, I would seek clarification. What is the intention? To adjourn this today, meet again tomorrow or meet at a later date or adjourn sine die? Why so much secrecy on the fate of the Rajya Sabha? Forget the Lok Sabha, at least in the Rajya Sabha, let us have some clarity," he said. Responding to Ramesh's query, Nadda said, "Sir, the .
The government is unlikely to immediately bring a bill to increase Lok Sabha seats to 816 so that 273 of them could be reserved for women in the ongoing Parliament session, which may be adjourned early but will not be prorogued to keep open the option of reconvening after the upcoming round of assembly elections, according to sources. The sources indicated that there is very little chance of the government tabling the constitution amendment bill that will tweak the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, commonly known as the women's reservation law, in Parliament in the next few days. It is learnt that there was no proposal till Tuesday evening to bring the draft bill before the Union Cabinet, which is scheduled to meet on Wednesday. "There are requirements of seeking further deliberations with all political parties before finalising a schedule for amending the women's reservation law," a source privy to the development said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had on Monday discussed the matter
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the government is trying to procure gas and crude oil from all available sources, and efforts will continue in the coming days as the war in West Asia has created a serious energy crisis globally. In a statement in the Rajya Sabha, Modi said the war in West Asia is a cause of concern, and India wants peace in the region through dialogue and diplomacy. India's aim is de-escalation of the war and opening of Strait of Hormuz, he said, adding the country's attempt is to encourage all sections to peacefully resolve all issues. If the West Asia crisis persists for a longer period, serious consequences are imminent, the prime minister said. Commenting on India's efforts for energy security, he said in the past 11 years, 53 lakh MT strategic oil reserves have been created; work on 65 lakh MT additional capacity is on. Besides, the government has started a Rs 70,000-crore project to manufacture ships, he added.