Page 26 - Parliament

TMC raises Bangladesh issue in Parliament, demands statement from PM

Trinamool Congress on Thursday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak in Parliament on situation in neighbouring Bangladesh. The issue was raised in the Rajya Sabha in the post-lunch sitting by TMC's Parliamentary Party leader Derek O'Brien, who sought permission to raise a point of order. He quoted Rule 251, and said he wanted the Prime Minister to come and give a statement on Bangladesh issue. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar however said it is not a point of order, and did not allow O'Brien to continue. The refusal was followed by TMC MPs breaking out into sloganeering in the House. Talking to reporters outside Parliament, TMC's deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Sagarika Ghose said a statement on the issue should be given in Parliament by the Prime Minister. "The Parliament is in session, it is a very sensitive matter on the situation in Bangladesh, the Prime Minister must come to Parliament and give a full statement on Bangladesh in Parliament," Ghose said. "Our party leader D

Centre seeks Parliament approval for extra Rs 86,730 crore spending in FY25

The net additional spending, as stated by the government, amounts to Rs 44,183 crore for the financial year ending March 31

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amid uproar over Soros, other issues

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Thursday amid uproarious scenes over US businessman George Soros and other issues. In a change from the past few days, the House sat for the entire duration of Question Hour on Thursday, but trouble broke out in the Zero Hour when the chair called Congress member Jothimani to speak. After which the House was adjourned till 1 pm. When the House resumed at 1 pm, noisy exchanges broke out between the Opposition and BJP members. Following which, Sandhya Ray who was presiding over the House, adjourned it till 2 pm. Earlier, as the Congress member made a reference to the alleged links between a prominent industrialist of the country and the BJP, presiding officer Jagdambika Pal said the businessman's name will not go on records, triggering protests from the opposition. Congress member K C Venugopal sought to know whether the rule was selectively applicable for references made by opposition party members. Venugopal said Commerce Minister

60% of those killed in road accidents in 18-34 age group: Govt in Lok Sabha

As many as 1.78 lakh people are killed in road accidents annually in the country and 60 per cent of the victims are in the age group of 18-34 years, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday. He lamented that people do not fear the law and many drive two-wheelers without helmets and some jump the red signal. "One unfortunate fact is that of the 1.78 lakh people dying in road accidents, 60 per cent are in the age group of 18 to 34 years. Still there is no fear of law. Some do not wear helmets, some jump red signal," he said during the Question Hour, adding that it was a "strange" situation. Responding to supplementaries, he said while Uttar Pradesh leads in deaths due to road accidents, in cities, Delhi tops the chart in such deaths. In Uttar Pradesh, over 23,000 people or 13.7 per cent of the total deaths are due to road accidents followed by Tamil Nadu with over 18,000 (10.6 per cent) deaths. In Maharashtra, the figure stands at over 15

RS adjourned till 2 pm amid uproar over BJP's remarks on Cong-Soros nexus

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Thursday amid sloganeering after BJP president J P Nadda attacked the Congress for questioning the ruling given by the Chairman and the party's alleged nexus with US hedge fund tycoon George Soros. After laying of listed papers and reports during the pre-noon session, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar rejected six notices to adjourn the scheduled business of the day and take up matters mentioned in the notices. As several members from the opposition benches raised objections, Nadda criticised Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the House Mallikarjun Kharge for holding a press conference and criticising the Chairman. The Chair cannot be "questioned" with regards to admissibility and for other purposes, Nadda said. "The Chairman's ruling cannot be questioned or criticised. To do so is contempt of the House and the Chairman," the senior BJP leader said. Nadda reiterated the allegation of a link between the Congress and Soros,

Opposition protests in parliament, demands JPC probe on Adani issue

Several opposition MPs on Thursday staged a protest inside Parliament complex carrying placards of different Hindi letters that jointly read 'desh bikne nahin denge' and raised slogans to reiterate their demand of a joint parliamentary probe into the Adani issue. This is the latest in a series of unusual daily demonstrations led by the Congress over the Adani issue. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, MPs from the Congress, DMK, and the Left parties, among others, stood in front of the Makar Dwar steps and in front of Samvidhan Sadan with most of them carrying the placards that together read 'desh bikne nahin denge (will not let the country be sold off)'. They raised slogans against the alleged collusion between Modi and Adani and demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the matter. On Wednesday, several opposition MPs greeted their BJP counterparts in Parliament premises with a tricolour in the form of a card in one hand and a red rose in the other,

History won't forgive those denying level playing field in House: Sibal

With the opposition seeking the removal of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Thursday said history will never forgive those who do not allow a level playing field in the functioning of the House. In a first, parties of the opposition INDIA bloc spearheaded by the Congress on Tuesday submitted a notice in the Rajya Sabha for moving a no-confidence motion against Dhankhar, accusing him of being "extremely partisan" in his role as the Chairman of the Upper House of Parliament. In a post on X, Sibal said, "Jagdeep Dhankar. 60 Members of Rajya Sabha submit a Notice for his removal. Unprecedented. Sad day for the Mother of Democracy!" "History will never forgive those who do not allow a level playing field in the functioning of the House," the Independent member of the Rajya Sabha said. If the motion seeking Dhankhar's removal is moved, the opposition parties need a simple majority to get it passed, but they do not have the requisite numbers in the 243-member

Railways Amendment Bill passed; won't lead to privatisation, says Vaishnaw

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill to amend Railway laws with the government insisting that it will not lead to the national carrier's privatisation. Responding to a debate on the Railway Amendment bill, Railway Minister Ashiwni Vaishnaw said in the Lower House that a fake narrative was set afloat that the amendment would privatise railways. "Their (opposition) fake narrative on Constitution has failed... now this will also fall flat," he asserted. The Bill was passed by a voice vote after debate which could not be held earlier due to frequent disruptions of House proceedings during the last week. "A few members have said the Bill will lead to privatisation of railways, an attempt has been made to set a fake narrative. I want to appeal to them with all sincerity not to do this, their one fake narrative about the Constitution has already failed," Vaishnaw said. The Railways (Amendment) Bill 2024 which seeks to enhance the functioning and independence of the Railway Board was

Parliament highlights: RS chairman's conduct has been contrary to post's dignity, says Kharge

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

Holding small Tricolour, red rose in hand, Oppn MPs urge govt to run House

Several opposition MPs on Wednesday greeted their BJP counterparts in Parliament premises with the tricolour in one hand and a red rose in the other, as they urged the ruling party to ensure that the House functions and all issues,including the Adani matter, is discussed. This is the latest in a series of unusual daily demonstrations led by the Congress over the Adani issue. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, MPs from the Congress, DMK, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Left parties, among others, stood in front of the Makar Dwar steps with most of them carrying a small tricolour card and a red rose. The MPs said they want to present this to their BJP counterparts and urge them to ensure that the House functions and all issues ,including the Adani matter, is discussed. Many MPs also carried placards with slogans 'Don't let the country be sold'. This comes a day after MPs carried dark blue 'jholas' with caricatures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialis

Motion against chair an attempt to deviate attention, says Nadda

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day Wednesday afternoon without transacting any business amid uproar by treasury and opposition benches over the no-trust notice against the House Chairman and the George Soros issue. Soon after the RS reassembled at 12 noon following the day's first adjournment, Leader of the House J P Nadda accused the Congress of standing with billionaire investor George Soros in seeking to destabilise the country, and demanded a discussion. He also condemned the Congress for the opposition's no-confidence notice against Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. He said it was an attempt by the opposition party to divert attention from the issue of "ties between the top Congress leadership and Soros". The members of the treasury benches were on their feet soon after the House met and Deputy Chairman allowed the leader of the house to speak. "I want to bring to your notice that for the last two days our people are raising the issue of

Parliament logjam: Congress asks govt to allow both houses to function

Amid continued disruptions in Parliament, the Congress on Wednesday asked the government to allow both the houses to function and not run away from a discussion on the Adani issue. "Dear Modi Government, On behalf of the people of India, we humbly request you to not further sell our country, and allow the Parliament to run - don't run away from discussion. Enough is enough!," AICC general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal said in a post on X. Parliament proceedings were washed out in the first week of the winter session starting November 25 due to protests by opposition members demanding discussion on issues like the indictment of industrialist Gautam Adani in a US court and Sambhal violence. Since last week, the ruling BJP MPs have been raising the issue of alleged nexus between Soros and the Congress posing a threat to national security. Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said his colleague Gaurav Gogoi has written to the Lok Sabha Speaker to ensure th

Parliament highlights: Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day amid ruckus over George Soros

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

GST officers detect Rs 35,132 cr ITC evasion by over 17k fake firms: Govt

GST officers have detected cases of ITC evasion of Rs 35,132 crore by 17,818 fake firms between April-October and arrested 69 persons, Parliament was informed on Monday. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said regular action is taken to detect fake firms through data analytics and other intelligence by the central and state authorities. Also, a coordinated special drive was launched between August 16 and October 30 to detect fake firms. "A total of 18,876 ITC fraud cases were detected involving 17,818 fake firms with suspected ITC evasion of Rs 35,132 crore during fiscal 2024-25 (April-October)," Chaudhary said. This has saved Rs 6,484 crore of which Rs 5,422 crore by blocking of ITC and Rs 1,062 crore by way of recovery. A total of 69 arrests have been made in the cases during the current fiscal till October.

Parliament Winter Session: Opposition MPs hold protest over Adani issue

Opposition leaders on Monday held a protest against the government at Parliament premises over the Adani issue. Leaders were seen wearing face masks of Gautam Adani and PM Modi.

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amid Opposition protest over Adani issue

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday adjourned the House till 12 noon after opposition members, mostly Congress MPs, persisted on raising their issues. When the House met at 11 am, the opposition members were on their feet trying to raise their issues. A visibly agitated Birla asked the MPs to go back to their seats and allow the House to function. "Question Hour is significant. Allow the House to function properly. But you don't want to allow the House to run. The country wants the House to run. You are disrupting the proceedings of the House," he told the protesting members and adjourned the House till 12 noon. The adjournment came within a minute of the House resuming business after the weekend break. The proceedings of the House were washed out in the first week of the winter session starting November 25 due to protests by opposition members demanding that they be allowed to raise issues like the indictment of industrialist Gautam Adani in a US court and Sambhal violence. Las

Congress demands debate in Parliament on full gamut of India-China ties

Attacking the government over its statement in Parliament on India-China ties, the Congress on Sunday asked whether the Modi government has agreed to a "new normal" over the "old normal" prevailing prior to April 2020 and demanded that Parliament must be given an opportunity to debate the full gamut of the relationship between the two countries. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said a discussion in Parliament on India-China relationship should focus on both strategic and economic policy, especially since our dependence on China has increased economically, even as it unilaterally changed the status quo on our borders over four years back. In a statement, Ramesh said the Congress has studied the recent suo motu statement made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in both Houses of Parliament titled "Recent Developments in India's Relations with China". It is unfortunate, but typical of the Modi government, that MPs were not permitted to seek any ..

73 complaints against vulgar ads on private TV channels: Govt tells Parl

Seventy-three complaints have been received against obscene and vulgar advertisements on private television channels by the regulatory bodies over the past three years, the government has told parliament. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan said the complaints were "suitably" addressed by a three-level grievance redress system. Murugan said the mechanism, established under the Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, includes self-regulation by broadcasters, self-regulation by self-regulating bodies of the broadcasters, and an oversight mechanism of the central government. The minister said appropriate action is taken wherever violation of the Advertising Code is found by issuance of "Advisories, Warnings, 'Apology Scroll' Orders and Off-air orders." In reply to a separate question, Murugan said OTT platforms are required to adhere to the Code of Ethics under Part-III of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital

Political business: Fadnavis' Maha return, Sukhbir Badal dodges death

Devendra Fadnavis' return to Maharashtra throne, assassination attempt on Sukhbir Singh Badal in Punjab and more in this week's political news wrap

Parliament Winter Session: Lok Sabha adjourned till 11 am of December 9

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla made a fervent appeal for order and cooperation during the winter session