Page 26 - Lok Sabha

Wayanad bypoll: Let's build a better future together, says Priyanka Gandhi

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is making her electoral debut from Wayanad, urged voters on Wednesday to cast their ballot and called for building a better future together. Voting in the bypoll for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat commenced at 7 am on Wednesday. "My dearest sisters and brothers, Please vote today, it's your day, a day for you to make your choice and exercise the greatest power our constitution has given you. Let's build a better future together!" Priyanka Gandhi said in a post on X. The Wayanad constituency comprises seven Assembly segments of Mananthavady (ST), Sulthan Bathery (ST), and Kalpetta in Wayanad district; Thiruvambady in Kozhikode district; and Eranad, Nilambur, and Wandoor in Malappuram district. A bypoll was necessitated in the hill constituency after Rahul Gandhi, who won the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in the general elections held earlier this year, vacated it after he also won from the Rae Bareli constituency. There are 16 candidates i

Joint Parliament Committee on Waqf bill to visit 5 cities for study tour

According to an official communication from Joint Secretary JM Baisakh, the study visit program is designed to assist committee members in their review of the proposed bill

'Namesakes' cause trouble for UDF candidates in Palakkad, Chelakkara seats

The namesakes of prominent candidates contesting as independents have impacted election outcomes in the past and the strategy appears to be making a comeback in the assembly bypolls in Palakkad and Chelakkara constituencies. As the three major political fronts -- LDF, UDF and NDA -- enter the second phase campaigns, three individuals with names resembling those of the Congress-led UDF candidates have entered the race as independents in the two assembly seats. In the Palakkad constituency, where a triangular contest is unfolding, two independent candidates -- Rahul Manalazhi and Rahul R Vadakanthara -- are posing a challenge for the UDF, which has fielded Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil. The grand old party alleged that these namesake candidates are backed by the CPI(M) and the BJP to confuse voters. "Our initial inquiries indicate that one candidate is a CPI(M) worker while the other is supported by the BJP. However, such tactics would not impact the UDF's prospec

Maharashtra polls: Ajit Pawar targets uncle; says 'Saheb' splitting family

Maharashtra Assembly elections: Ajit Pawar said that Sharad Pawar has made an error by fielding his grandson Yugendra Pawar against him

Victory of dynastic politics: BJP on Priyanka Gandhi's Wayanad nomination

The BJP on Thursday launched a vitriolic attack on the Gandhi family, saying Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's nomination from Wayanad was a victory of dynastic politics and defeat of merit. Addressing a press conference here at the BJP headquarters, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia also alleged discrepancies in declaration of assets in Priyanaka Gandhi's poll affidavit and accused the Gandhi family of "insulting" Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, a Dalit, by not allowing him to join the filing of nomination inside the collector's office. "It's a victory of corruption of Gandhi family and dynastic politics and defeat of merit," he said slamming the Congress over nomination of Priyanka Gandhi from the Wayanad seat in Kerala. Bhatia claimed the assets declared by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in her poll affidavit are way below the assets she and her husband Robert Vadra possess. "Assets of Robert Vadra declared in the poll affidavit are lower than the Income Tax Department's demand.... T

Sebi Chair Madhabi Puri Buch's meeting with Parliament committee postponed

Madhabi Puri Buch and three to four senior Sebi officials are likely to be questioned by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra makes electoral debut, files nomination from Wayanad

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday filed her nomination papers for the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll, making her electoral debut.

TFR in South India explained: Why are they worried about population growth?

Concerns over delimitation of Lok Sabha seats and a fall in fertility rates in South India have states revisiting family planning schemes

Will long-delayed census be used for allocation of seats in LS: Congress

The Congress on Monday asked whether the long-delayed census would be used for allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha and said the success of South Indian states in family planning should not end up reducing their political representation in Parliament. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the South Indian states should not be be penalised for their success in family planning and suitable formulae should be worked out to ensure that this does not happen. He said South Indian states were pioneers in family planning. First to reach replacement levels of fertility was Kerala in 1988, followed by Tamil Nadu in 1993, Andhra Pradesh in 2001 and Karnataka in 2005, he pointed out. However, there have been concerns voiced for quite some time now that these successes could end up reducing the political representation of these states in Parliament, Ramesh said. "That is why in 2001 the Vajpayee Govt amended the Constitution (Article 82) to make the readjustmen

Parliament using AI to make House more people-friendly: LS Speaker Birla

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday said Parliament was using artificial intelligence and related technologies for record-keeping and making speeches by members and other information available to the people in their mother tongue. Addressing the concluding session of the 149th assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Birla said in a multi-lingual society like India, it is necessary to facilitate parliamentarians to speak in their preferred languages. He highlighted the imperative of using technology/AI for record-keeping, making debates and speeches, and other information available to the people to make Parliament people-friendly. He said he was happy to note that the world parliamentary fraternity had appreciated India's initiatives of a green, tech-driven and paperless Parliament. Birla also participated in the Governing Council meeting of the IPU. He said the IPU was a productive forum for advancing global commitments to inclusive growth through parliamentary ...

Assembly polls: Maharashtra to vote on Nov 20, Jharkhand on Nov 13 & 20

CEC describes electronic media's early trends on counting day as 'nonsense'

PAC head Venugopal working to defame govt, acting unconstitutionally: Dubey

Public Accounts Committee member and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has accused the panel's chairman and Congress member K C Venugopal of raking up non-extent issues to defame the central government and destabilise the country's financial structure and economy. Dubey wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against Venugopal for allegedly misusing his position, bypassing the PAC's remit and working as part of a "tool kit" to damage the economy after reports emerged that the committee may summon SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, who has faced allegations of professional impropriety from US-based firm Hindenburg Research. He had written to Birla against Venugopal's "unconstitutional and disdainful" conduct on September 9. Incidentally, the PAC decided on October 4 to call Buch for deposition on October 24. His strongly worded communication is a clear indication that the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, who are in a majority in the committee, are likely to resist any further move by .

Assembly polls 2024: Importance of Dalit votes in Haryana politics

In the 17 Assembly segments reserved for SCs, the Congress led in 11 in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, and its INDIA bloc ally, Aam Aadmi Party, in two more

'Baseless': BJP denies rumours of Punjab Chief Sunil Jakhar's resignation

Sunil Jakhar, chief of Punjab's BJP unit, is rumoured to have resigned ahead of the October 15 panchayat elections. Jakhar quit Congress to join the BJP in 2022

Parl using AI, ML to make proceedings available in many languages: Om Birla

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday said artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies were put to use to make available House proceedings in different regional languages to members of Parliament. Addressing a press conference here after the two-day meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association India Region, Birla said the Lok Sabha Secretariat was also sharing its expertise in technology with legislatures of states and Union territories to speed up the process of digitisation. Birla said during the two-day conference, presiding officers of state legislatures from across the country also deliberated on the agenda of the upcoming 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in Sydney from November 3-8. The CPC has short-listed eight topics including support of legislatures to promote LGBTQ+ participation, use of artificial learning (AI) in parliamentary proceedings, violence and abuse of parliamentarians, human trafficking, refugees and immigration across ..

Complaint against Sebi chief falls short of persuading us to probe: Lokpal

Anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal has said that a complaint by a Lok Sabha MP alleging impropriety and conflict of interest by capital markets regulator SEBI's chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch "falls short" of persuading it to order any probe. While deciding on two complaints filed by different individuals on the basis of a report by US-based "activist short-seller" Hindenburg Research, it asked the complainants to file affidavits mentioning details of the efforts made by them "to verify the authenticity and credibility of the claims in the recent report of Hindenburg Research published on 10.08.2024." It also asked them to articulate the allegations against the "person concerned" which may constitute an "offence of corruption" within the ambit of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, 'provision wise', as per the Lokpal's order dated September 20, which was put up in public domain "to obviate the possibility of speculation and misinformation including politicisation of the ...

Parliament being turned into 'deep, dark chamber': TMC MP Derek O'Brien

TMC leader Derek O'Brien on Sunday alleged parliamentary standing committees had not been formed despite the 18th Lok Sabha completing 100 days since its constitution and said Parliament was being turned into a "deep, dark chamber". In a post on X, the Trinamool Congress' (TMC) leader in the Rajya Sabha said seven out of 10 Bills were sent to department-related standing committees of Parliament in the 15th Lok Sabha while only two out of 10 Bills were sent to the panels in the last Lok Sabha. "Parliamentary standing committees have not yet been formed. In the 15th Lok Sabha, seven out of 10 Bills were sent to committees for scrutiny. In the last Lok Sabha, only two out of 10 Bills got scrutinised ," O'Brien said. "Parliament is being turned into a deep, dark chamber," he added. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on September 11 that department-related standing committees and consultative committees of Parliament would be constituted shortly. According to data compile

Congress to get Chair of 4 standing committees in the 18th Lok Sabha

Parliament has 24 standing committees, 16 of which are served by the Lok Sabha and eight by the Rajya Sabha

Cong to get chairship of external affairs, agri, rural dev, edu committees

The Congress will chair the parliamentary standing committees on external affairs, agriculture, and rural development in the Lok Sabha and education in the Rajya Sabha, party sources said on Monday, with talks between the government and the opposition over the panels' chairship concluding. In all, the Congress is set to have the chairship of four department-related standing committees -- three in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress will chair the Department Related Standing Committee on External Affairs; Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing; Rural Development and Panchayati Raj in the Lok Sabha; and Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports in the Rajya Sabha, a source told PTI. Significantly, the Congress will chair the crucial committee on external affairs after a gap of five years. Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor headed the panel on external affairs between September 2014 and May 2019. The Congress last held the chairship of two ...

Congress secures chairs for one Rajya Sabha, three Lok Sabha committees

The Congress will chair the External Affairs, Agriculture, and Rural Development Committees in the Lok Sabha and the Education Committee in the Rajya Sabha