Page 23 - Parliament

Govt seeks Rs 51k cr cash outgo in second supplementary demand for grants

The central government seeks Parliament's approval for Rs 6.78 trillion in additional spending for FY25

Speaker urges smooth functioning of Question Hour as Budget session resumes

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present a statement of Manipur's estimated receipts and expenditures for the year 2025-26

Budget session set for 'EPIC' showdown; Budget, Waqf bill govt's priority

Parliament's Budget session resumes on Monday amid indications of an 'EPIC' showdown between the government and the opposition which is planning to raise issues such as the alleged manipulation of electoral rolls, the fresh bout of violence in Manipur and India's handling of the Trump administration. The focus of the government will be on getting Parliament nod for the demands for grants, completion of the budgetary process, seeking approval for the Manipur budget and passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill. Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to move a statutory resolution seeking Parliament approval for the proclamation of President's Rule in Manipur. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also scheduled to table the budget for Manipur on Monday. Manipur has been under President's Rule since February 13 after the resignation of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. The opposition said it is set to corner the government over the issue of duplicate Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers.

Watch: Smoke bombs, flares thrown in Serbian parliament

At least three lawmakers were injured on Tuesday after chaos erupted in Serbia's parliament, where smoke bombs and flares were thrown.

Delhi court to decide on Engineer Rashid's plea to attend Parliament

A Delhi court on Wednesday reserved for March 7 its decision on the plea of jailed Jammu and Kashmir MP Engineer Rashid seeking custody parole to attend the upcoming Parliament session. Additional sessions judge Chander Jit Singh reserved the verdict after hearing the arguments on the plea. On March 3, the court had asked the NIA to respond to Rashid's plea. The application, filed by advocate Vikhyat Oberoi for Rashid on February 27, sought the relief on the grounds that Rashid was a parliamentarian and needed to attend the upcoming session to fulfil his public duty. Sheikh Abdul Rashid, known as Engineer Rashid, defeated Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Baramulla. Rashid's regular bail application is currently pending before the court. The second part of Parliament's budget session would begin on March 10 and end on April 4. The judge on September 10 granted interim bail to Rashid to enable him to campaign for the assembly elections in Jammu and ...

Delimitation promotes 'Hindia', non-Hindi states at risk: Kamal Haasan

MNM President Kamal Haasan accuses Centre of trying to consolidate power in Hindi-speaking states under the guise of delimitation

Panel seeks factual report on telecom firms' spectrum surrender approval

A parliamentary committee has sought a factual note from the Ministry of Communications on reports that its department of telecommunications allowed the surrender of spectrum acquired in auctions by telecom companies before 2022, sources said. In its communication to the ministry, the committee headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has mentioned a critical observation in the CAG report of 2015 related to the Communications and IT sector over the "lack of due diligence in auction of spectrum for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) services", they said. The CAG had observed that the Notice Inviting Applications for the BWA auction suffered from deficiencies in scope of usage of spectrum for different class of licencees. The committee said the audit watchdog had noted that the UAS/CMTS (Unified Access Services/Cable Modem Termination System) and ISP (Internet Service Provider) operators were allowed to bid for the same BWA spectrum while the usage of spectrum was governed by their respective ..

Delhi court seeks NIA response after Engineer Rashid seeks to attend Parl

Additional sessions judge Chander Jit Singh asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file its reply by March 5 on Rashid's plea

Out of your scope: Law ministry to Parl panel on reverting to ballot papers

The question of holding elections using ballot papers does not fall under the ambit of the joint committee of Parliament examining the two bills on simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, the Union law ministry is learnt to have said. Reverting to the ballot paper system was a "suggestion" made by some of the members of the joint committee and the law ministry was to respond to it in writing. While the ministry's Legislative Department gave elaborate responses to a variety of questions posed to it by the committee, it did not give a direct reply on the suggestion on the ballot paper system. The ministry is learnt to have said that the suggestion on the use of the ballot paper system was "out of scope" of the parliamentary panel. Sources explained that the committee is mandated to examine the bills on simultaneous polls -- the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill -- and give its report on whether they are .

Waqf Bill likely to come up before House during 2nd part of Budget Session

The Waqf bill is likely to come up before Parliament during the second half of the Budget Session after the Union Cabinet approved the amendments proposed by the joint committee of Parliament, sources said. During its meeting on February 19, the Cabinet is learnt to have given its nod to the 14 amendments proposed by the panel examining the Bill, they said. The report of the panel, headed by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, was tabled in Parliament on February 13 amid uproar and a walkout by the opposition parties. The Bill aims to streamline the registration of Waqf properties, besides preventing their misuse. With the Cabinet nod, the Bill is likely to come up before Parliament during the second part of the session -- scheduled to be held from March 10 to April 4. Several top BJP leaders have claimed that the Bill was likely to be passed during this session itself. The 31-member panel on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, after multiple sittings and hearings, had suggested several amendments to

JPC meeting on 'One Nation, One Election' sparks debate on feasibility

According to sources, many leaders questioned the affordability and practicality of holding simultaneous elections across the country

Court convicts ex-MLA Kishore Samrite for threatening to blow up Parliament

Kishore Samrite, a former MLA from Lanji in Balaghat District, had allegedly threatened to blow up the Parliament of India with dynamite

India's Got Latent row: Centre asks OTT, social media to follow regulations

In its latest notice, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has acknowledged the alleged dissemination of obscene, pornographic, and vulgar content on OTT platforms and social media

Singapore's Indian-origin leader Pritam Singh found guilty of lying in Parl

Singapore's Indian-origin Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh was found guilty on Monday of giving false testimony to a parliamentary committee, a verdict that could see him disqualified from Parliament and contesting a general election this year. In the verdict delivered in the State Courts, Deputy Principal District Judge Luke Tan convicted Singh of the two charges against him. The charges against Singh relate to his handling of Raeesah Khan, a former lawmaker from his party, who lied to Parliament in a separate case. Singh, 48, was accused of wilfully giving two false answers to the Committee of Privileges (COP) during its inquiry into Khan's case on December 10 and December 15, 2021. The case stems from Singh's handling of Khan's false claim in Parliament about accompanying a sexual assault victim to the police station. Singh faces up to three years in jail, a fine of up to SGD7,000 (USD 5,290), or both for each charge. Singh's trial began four months ago. Politically, the

Parliamentary panel on 'One Nation One Election' to meet on February 25

Chairman PP Chaudhary stated on January 31 that they had a positive discussion and members were asked to give suggestions

Baijayant Jay Panda to head 31-member select committee to examine I-T Bill

The select committee of the Lok Sabha, which will examine the Income-Tax Bill, 2025, was constituted on Friday, with BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda appointed as chairman of the panel. The committee will have 31 MPs, including 17 from the ruling National Democratic Alliance. The NDA MPs include 14 from the BJP and one each from the TDP, JD(U), and the Shiv Sena. The opposition parties have 13 MPs, including six from the Congress, two from the Samajwadi Party and one each from the DMK, the TMC, the Shiv Sena (UBT), the NCP (SP) and the RSP. One MP, Richard Vanlalhmangaiha, is from the Mizoram's ruling Zoram People's Movement. Besides Panda, the BJP's members include Nishikant Dubey, P P Chaudhary, Bhartruhari Mahtab and Anil Baluni. Opposition MPs include Deepender Singh Hooda of the Congress, Mahua Moitra of the TMC, Supriya Sule of the NCP (SP) and N K Premachandran of the RSP. The panel is mandated to submit its report by the first day of the Monsoon session. The ongoing Budget Sess

JPC report on Waqf Amendment Bill tabled in Parliament amid Oppn protests

The panel had adopted the report on the draft legislation by a 15-11 majority vote, and submitted it to the Lok Sabha Speaker on January 30

Allahbadia's comments: House panel asks govt to suggest amendments in laws

A parliamentary panel Thursday asked the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to submit a note by February 17 on the amendments needed in existing laws to clamp down on controversial content like the one involving Ranveer Allahbadia amid bipartisan concern from MPs over the issue. At the meeting of the Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, members from different parties voiced concern over Allahbadia's crass comments at a YouTube programme and called for stringent measures to punish him and to ensure that such an incident does not recur. Sources said the committee's chairperson and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey shared their concerns at the meeting attended by Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju and other senior ministry officials. The committee later dispatched a communication to Jaju under the subject "review of implementation of laws related to all forms of media", sources said. The letter said, "With the examination of the subject "Review of .

Parliament session updates: FM says Congress-ruled states not spending their funds on capex

Parliament news updates: Catch all the news developments related to proceedings in the Parliament here

No state has been ignored: Nirmala Sitharaman defends Budget in Rajya Sabha

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman counters Opposition claims that the Budget favoured BJP-ruled states, especially poll-bound Bihar