Page 106 - Lok Sabha

Modi govt working on Swaminathan Comm's directions, UPA didn't: Tomar in LS

The Swaminathan Commission's report on agriculture reforms came during the UPA regime but it was the Narendra Modi government which started working on its recommendations and fixed the MSP at 50 per cent more than production cost, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in Lok Sabha Tuesday. Tomar said a committee, set up by the Centre following farmers' protest against three farm laws to examine various issues including minimum support price (MSP), has held 30 to 35 meetings so far. "The recommendations of the committee are yet to come," he told Lok Sabha The Union agriculture minister was replying to a query by the Congress' Leader in the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury during the Question Hour. The Congress leader had asked if the Centre had taken any decision on the farmers' demand to make MSP a legal right. In response to Chowdhury's question, Tomar said the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had set up the commission under MS Swaminathan but its report came in 2017 when ...

Winter session: Centre to move J-K reservation bills in LS for passage

Both the Bills, as per the list of business in the Lower House, are to be moved by Union Home Minister Amit Shah for consideration

HM to move Bills on J-K Reservation Act, Reorganisation Act on day 2 of LS

The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act provides for reservation in appointment in state government posts, and admission to professional institutions, for certain reserved categories

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LS members pitch for removing touts from lower as well as higher judiciary

A Bill which aims to regulate the legal profession by a single Act and seeks to target "touts" was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday with Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal saying there should be no role of touts in the country's courts. "The legal profession is a noble profession. The law commission was given a mandate to bring judicial reforms as per new circumstances. There should be no role of touts in the court premises in the country. Hence, it was felt that in the amendment there should be provisions related to touts," Meghwal said. Initiating the debate, Karti Chidambaram of the Congress said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice and touts thrive because of the complexity in dealing with our legal system. "Because of the asymmetry in our society in terms of education, access to people in authority and wealth, sometimes people do not know how to navigate the legal system. This is what is being exploited and some people step in as touts. Touts thrive because of the ...

TMC raises MGNREGA dues issue in Lok Sabha, minister alleges corruption

The Trinamool Congress on Monday alleged that the Centre has imposed an 'economic blockade' against the West Bengal government by blocking funds for schemes like MGNREGA and PM Awas Yojana as it demanded an immediate payment of the dues. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in response alleged corruption in handling of the central funds in the state and said a CBI enquiry has been ordered into the matter. Raising the issue in Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour, TMC's Sudip Bandyopadhyay said that an amount of around Rs 18,000 crore is pending due to the state. "Under MGNREGA, (PM) Awas Yojana, National Health Mission, all money allocated by government of India has been blocked since (sic) last two years, amounting up to Rs 18,000 crore," the TMC MP said. He also said that TMC MPs had come to meet the Minister of State for Rural Development Niranjan Jyoti in Delhi but she left without meeting them, and the lawmakers were later forcibly removed from the ministry's premises. "We MPs and our

Exhaust every resource to bring back ex-Navy staff from Qatar: Adhir in LS

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday demanded that the government "exhausts every resource" to bring back the eight former naval personnel who were handed death sentences by a court in Qatar. The Indian nationals were handed the death sentence by Qatar's Court of First Instance on October 26. India described the ruling as "deeply" shocking and vowed to explore all legal options in the case. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Chowdhury said the government should exhaust every resource to get rid of the charges against the Indian nationals convicted by the Qatari court. An appeal has already been filed against the death sentence and a higher court in Qatar has admitted the plea. The appeal has been filed by the legal team of the detained Indian nationals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai last week and discussed the well-being of the Indian community in that ...

Bill to establish central tribal univ in Telangana introduced in Lok Sabha

A bill to establish a central tribal university in Telangana was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. According to the statement and objects of the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2023 establishment of "Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University" will cater to the regional aspirations for years to come. The proposed institution, it said, will increase access and quality of higher education and facilitate and promote higher education and research facilities for the people of Telangana. It will also promote advanced knowledge by providing instructional and research facilities in tribal art, culture and customs and advancement in technology to the tribal population of India. "Apart from bringing focus to tribal education, the central tribal university shall carry out all educational and other activities like any other central university," it read. The establishment of a central tribal university in Telangana is obligatory under the An

Nobody can stop PM Modi, BJP from scoring hat-trick in 2024: Jairam Thakur

Thakur alleged that the corruption in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan under the incumbent Congress governments was at its peak, adding that the people have now shown the door to the 'corrupt' leaders

Ethics panel report on Mahua to top list of biz as Winter Session begins

The Bills to be tabled on the opening day of the Winter Session include one to regulate the appointments for the Chief Election Commission and other election commissioners

Verdict 2023: State poll outcome blueprint for interim Budget 2024-25

The effective containment of the fiscal deficit in the first half of FY24 provides the government with leverage to announce pro-people schemes in the interim Budget

Election results signal need for Oppn's INDIA bloc to redraw strategy

The Congress on Sunday suffered a near wipeout in the Hindi heartland as it lost 3-1 to the BJP in the assembly polls, signalling the need to redraw its strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The party was trounced in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and is now left with only Himachal Pradesh in the north. It is ruling in only three states on its own and is in power in Bihar and Jharkhand as a junior partner in alliance with regional parties. However, its victory in Telangana gave a boost to its consolidation in southern India where it is in power on its own in Karnataka. Congress' loss in key states has also weakened the grand old party's position in the INDIA bloc where equations are set to change, as other opposition parties would challenge its position as the fulcrum of the alliance. While Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had lashed out at the Congress over refusal to share seats in Madhya Pradesh, more rumblings within the opposition bloc have begun after the

Assembly election results in 4 states to have bearing on LS polls: Azad

Democratic Progressive Azad Party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said the outcome of the elections to four state assemblies will have a bearing on next year's Lok Sabha polls. "We are just there-and-a-half months away from the Lok Sabha elections. The results of these (assembly) polls will definitely have a bearing on the parliamentary elections," Azad told reporters earlier in the day when the trends began to come in. The BJP is set to win in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, according to the latest counting trends, while the Congress is ahead in Telangana. Azad said, "One thing I have noticed over the past 25 days is that the Congress has abandoned the minorities. The debates from both the BJP and the Congress were limited to the backward classes -- they asked about how many chief ministers are from backward classes." "Not one leader from the Congress asked even once how many chief ministers are there from the minorities," he added. Azad -- who quit the Congress to

It is with hope, firm resolve that we prepare for Lok Sabha polls: Congress

Suffering defeats in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the Congress on Sunday recalled that 20 years ago it had lost the three states while winning only Delhi but bounced back in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, and said it prepares for the forthcoming general election with hope and a firm sense of resolve. The BJP tightened its stranglehold in the Hindi heartland with assembly victories in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh while the Congress was set to oust the BRS from Telangana on Sunday, the three-one poll score setting the stage - and the mood -- for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Exactly 20 years ago, the Indian National Congress had lost the state elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, while winning only Delhi. But within a few months, the party bounced back and went on to emerge as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha polls and formed the government at the Centre." "It is with .

More of a 'failure' of Congress, than success of BJP: TMC on poll results

The Trinamool Congress on Sunday claimed that the BJP's bright show in assembly polls in three states is more of a "failure" of the Congress than a success story of the saffron party. The BJP was racing towards power in the Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and had a distinct edge in Chhattisgarh in the counting of votes for the assembly polls in these states. "In the three states, it is more of a failure of the Congress than a success story of the BJP," TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said in a social media message. The Congress was poised to oust the BRS in Telangana. Ghosh claimed that the results of elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, a crucial electoral exercise ahead of Lok Sabha polls just months away, will not have any impact on the general elections. "TMC is the party which can provide leadership in the battle to defeat the BJP in the country," he said in a message on his X handle. The TMC leader claimed that to win the elections in

'INDIA' leaders to meet in Delhi on Dec 6 to chalk out LS poll strategy

Leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc will meet at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in Delhi on December 6 to chalk out a strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, sources said on Sunday. During the meeting, which will be held in the evening, the leaders are likely to discuss and finalise their plan to take on the BJP ahead of the polls, they said. The Congress was awaiting the results of assembly elections in five states -- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram -- before finalising further strategy plans. Counting of votes for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana elections began at 8 am on Sunday. Votes for the Mizoram assembly elections will be counted on Monday. At least 26 parties have come together as part of the INDIA bloc to take on the BJP in the general elections and have so far held three rounds of deliberations in Patna, Bengaluru and Mumbai. The sources said the opposition leaders would now plan joint rallies t

Verdict will set 2024 tone for INDIA: Cong MP Gogoi ahead of counting day

Dismissing BJP's claim that it was on course to secure an absolute majority in Congress-ruled Rajasthan, Gogoi said grand old party will buck anti-incumbency trend and return to power in state

Adhir writes to LS Speaker on ethics panel proceedings against Moitra

The Congress' Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday wrote to Speaker Om Birla on the Ethics Committee's proceedings against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in a "cash-for-query" case and demanded a relook and appropriately reviewing the rules and processes on the functioning of parliamentary committees. In a four-page letter to the speaker, Chowdhury said there is no clear-cut demarcation in the roles envisaged for the Privileges Committee and the Ethics Committee, more so in matters of exercising penal powers. Additionally, there is no clear definition of "unethical conduct" and a "code of conduct" -- though envisaged under Rule 316B of the Rules of Procedure -- remains to be formulated, he said. These issues, inclusive of the procedures being followed by the committee -- which have a significant bearing and influence on the polity -- may require deeper attention and the processes to be streamlined under the speaker's guidance, he said in the letter. Chowdhury, wh

LS ethics panel's report on Moitra's expulsion to be tabled on Monday

The report of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee recommending the expulsion of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in a "cash-for-query" case will be tabled in the lower house of Parliament on Monday. According to the agenda papers circulated by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Ethics Committee chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar will lay on the table of the House the panel's first report. The committee, at a meeting on November 9, adopted its report recommending Moitra's expulsion from the Lok Sabha over the "cash-for-query" allegation. Six members of the panel voted in favour of the report, including Congress MP Preneet Kaur who had earlier been suspended from the party. Four members of the panel belonging to opposition parties submitted dissent notes. The opposition members termed the report a "fixed match" and said the complaint filed by BJP Lok Sabha member Nishikant Dubey, which the panel reviewed, was not supported by a "shred of evidence". Moitra can be expelled only if the House votes in

INDIA bloc eyeing 13 of 14 Lok Sabha seats from Jharkhand in 2024: Soren

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has said the INDIA alliance hopes to win 13 of the 14 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the state. He said his party, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), stood strongly behind the INDIA alliance formed with a view to preventing division of anti-BJP votes in the parliamentary elections next year. "We (INDIA bloc) have started preparations for the Lok Sabha elections. We hope to win 13 of the 14 seats in the state," Soren said on Thursday. In 2019, the BJP-AJSU Party alliance had won 12 Lok Sabha seats in the state, while the Congress and the JMM bagged one each. The JMM executive president claimed that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will be defeated in the assembly elections in five states - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. The CM alleged that the BJP-led government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi made false promises to people and they would show it the exit door in the next Lok Sabha polls. He