Page 24 - Parliament

Parts casting aspersions on Parl panel on Waqf bill report removed: Rijiju

Amid opposition uproar over dissent notes being allegedly deleted from the JPC report on the Waqf amendment bill, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said certain portions which amounted to casting aspersions on the panel itself were redacted. Opposition MPs led by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that dissent notes were "redacted" from the report after it was tabled by BJP member Medha Vishram Kulkarni in the Upper House. At a press conference in Parliament House complex, Rijiju said, "If there is something in the note which the chairman feels is tantamount to casting aspersions on the committee itself, he has power to remove it". If the members have any objection, they can appeal before the chairman of the committee, the Parliamentary Affairs minister said. "It is wrong to say that opposition dissent was not included in the report," the minister said, adding all reports are included in the JPC report. "Some of the points which amount to casting ...

Kharge opposes JPC report on Waqf bill over deletion of dissent notes

The report of the joint committee of Parliament on the Waqf bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha amid uproar on Thursday, with the proceedings briefly adjourned following a heated debate between the treasury and the opposition benches. Opposition MPs led by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that dissent notes were deleted from the report, a charge denied by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. The report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was tabled by BJP member Medha Vishram Kulkarni, a member of the panel. The tabling of the report was followed by uproar by members from the opposition benches. The clamour continued as Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar tried to read out a message from President Droupadi Murmu. "Don't show disrespect to the president of India..." Dhankhar said and urged Kharge to ask the opposition members to take their seats. As the uproar continued, the Upper House was adjourned till 11:20 am. When the Upper House reconvened, the chairman read out

Attempt made to bring politically motivated amendment: Gogoi on Waqf report

Gogoi asserted that several members of parliament have expressed their dissent in the JPC report

JPC on Waqf Bill to present report today after 6 months of consultations

Speaking to ANI, the JPC Chairman emphasised the committee toured the country to collect inputs before finalising the report, which included the adoption of 25 amendments across 14 clauses

Know how your property would be taxed under new Income Tax Bill 2025

In respect to a property or its part held as stock-in-trade and not let wholly or partly at any time during the tax year, the annual value shall be nil for two years from the end of the financial year

Income-Tax Bill, 2025 to be tabled in Parl: New tax slabs, reforms & more

The new Income Tax Bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament on Thursday, Feb 13, replacing the six-decade-old Income Tax Act of 1961. Here are the highlights of the Bill

Budget 2025: 'Middle class gets nothing', says Raghav Chadha in Parliament

Chadha noted that reports indicate a decline in the spending capacity and consumption of the middle class

Speedy rebound in growth on strong foundation: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

India's economy is expected to grow by 6.4 per cent in real terms and by 9.7 per cent in nominal terms, according to advance estimates released by the National Statistics Office

Budget Session highlights: Govt using 99% borrowings for capex, which is 4.3% of GDP, says FM

Parliament Budget Session: Catch all the Parliament updates here

Budget Session highlights: After tax cuts, all eyes on Finance Bill, new Income Tax Bill

Parliament Budget Session highlights: Catch all the major updates from the ongoing Budget session of the Parliament

Draft UGC regulations for VCs selection 'anti-constitutional': Mahua Moitra

TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday termed as "anti-constitutional" the draft UGC regulations for selection of vice chancellors in Central and state universities. Demanding a rollback of the criteria of the search-and-selection committee of vice chancellors of state-aided universities, Moitra said during Zero Hour that there is no state-government representative in the committee even though states pay completely for the state-run universities. The draft UGC regulation, 2025, which seeks to replace the UGC regulation 2018, is "over-centralised, anti-constitutional and anti-federal", Moitra said. According to the draft regulations, industry experts, as well as senior professionals from public administration, public policy and public sector undertakings, might soon be eligible for appointment as vice chancellors. The draft norms have also given power to chancellors or visitors to constitute the three-member search-cum-selection committee to appoint vice chancellors. The new guidelines wil

Translation services extended to 6 new languages in Parliament: Om Birla

Translation services were available in 10 languages including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu, in addition to Hindi and English

Congress leader Chidambaram finds faults with Budget in Rajya Sabha

Chidambaram termed it a "politically-driven budget" with the income tax cut being the "main thrust" of the Budget with an eye on the Delhi Assembly polls

Parliament Budget Session Highlights: Sonia Gandhi urges govt to conduct Census at earliest

Parliament Budget Session: Catch all the Parliament updates here

Opposition targets govt over rising inequality, inflation, lack of jobs

Opposition parties on Monday attacked the Union government on various issues, including rising inequality in terms of income amid rising inflation and joblessness in the country. Participating in the discussion on Union Budget 2025-26 in the Rajya Sabha, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said the Union Budget shows the government's priorities and intent. "The Budget is not merely a statement of accounts, but one of intent. Our Prime Minister has described this Budget as a roadmap for Viksit Bharat. But the numbers reveal that the path seems only a mirage," he stated. He noted that the Budget was presented as a proclamation of progress but it conveniently hides the realities of the time like stagnant growth, growing inequality, and a sizable demographic dividend slipping off the fingers. "This government's policies have only enriched the privileged few, leaving behind a section of people with joblessness, inflation, and shrinking opportunities," Siva said. He noted that 1 per cent of people in t

Delhi HC to pass order on Engineer Rashid's plea for custody parole today

The Delhi High Court will pass its verdict on Monday on the plea of jailed MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh alias Rashid Engineer seeking custody parole to attend the ongoing Parliament session. Justice Vikas Mahajan is scheduled to pronounce the order at 2:30 pm on a plea by the Baramulla MP, who is facing trial in a terror funding case. The judge had reserved the order on Friday, February 7. Rashid had moved the high court earlier alleging that he had been left without any remedy after the NIA court dealing with his bail application left him in a limbo post his election to the Lok Sabha last year on account of it not being a special MP/MLA court. As interim relief, he prayed for grant of custody parole. The counsel appearing for the NIA opposed the grant of custody parole, saying Rashid had no vested right to attend Parliament and he had not shown any "specific purpose" while seeking the relief. The agency had also raised security concerns as well. Rashid has been lodged in Tihar jail h

Parl panel suggests security assessment of all Indian missions, posts

A parliamentary panel has recommended that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) should conduct a "comprehensive security assessment" of all missions and posts of India taking into account the geopolitical situation, potential threats and vulnerabilities in host countries. In its report, the Committee on External Affairs has also noted that India currently lacks resident missions in 42 countries. While acknowledging the challenges involved in establishing new missions, the committee recommended "accelerating efforts to bridge these gaps, particularly in countries where India has significant economic or strategic interests or a large diaspora presence". The 'Fourth Report of the Committee on External Affairs (2024-25) on Demands for Grants (2024-25) of the Ministry of External Affairs' was presented in Parliament last week. The panel is headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. The committee further said in its report that it has also "taken note of the criteria" for establishing new .

Probe agencies line up measures to crack down on illegal travel agents

According to the data that the government provided in Parliament last year, the Centre and states had notified 3,094 'illegal agents' on the eMigrate Portal until October 2024

Workers rights to deepfake: Nearly 50 pvt members' Bills introduced in RS

Nearly fifty private members' bills, including those seeking to protect employees' rights in relation to use and implementation of artificial intelligence in workplaces; prevent and criminalise creation and use of deepfake contents were introduced in Rajya Sabha on Friday. Members across political parties, from ruling BJP to opposition TMC, Congress, RJD, CPI, CPI(M) and AAP introduced several private members' bills, including two separate bills seeking to increase the sitting of Parliament to at least 100 to 120 days a year, in the post lunch session of the Upper House. TMC member Mausam B Noor introduced the Artificial Intelligence (Protection of Rights of Employees) Bill, 2023 that seeks to protect the rights of employees in relation to the use and implementation of AI atworkplaces. It also seeks to regulate the use of and ensure transparency in the implementation of AI technologies at workplaces. Noor also introduced the Deepfake Prevention and Criminalisation Bill, 2023 that ..

Number of Indian prisoners in foreign jails at present is 10,152: Govt

As per the information available with the Ministry of External Affairs, the number of Indian prisoners, including undertrials, in foreign jails at present is 10,152, the government informed Parliament on Friday. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha shared country-wise data on such prisoners. The data shared under the head 'total number of Indians under trail and convicted in foreign jails at present' included for 86 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Nepal, Pakistan, the US, Sri Lanka, Spain, Russia, Israel, China, Bangladesh and Argentina. While 2,633 Indian prisoners are in jails in Saudi Arabia and 2,518 such prisoners are in jails in the UAE, as per the data shared in his response. Also, 1,317 Indian prisoners are in jails in Nepal, while the corresponding numbers in Pakistan and Sri Lanka stand at 266 and 98 respectively, according to the data. "As per the information available wit