Page 3 - Parliament

SC notice to Centre on plea to implement women's reservation in Parliament

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan asked the government to respond to the PIL seeking the implementation of the women's reservation law

Winter Session of Parliament from December 1; truncated one, says Oppn

In 2025, if Parliament sits for all 15 sittings planned during the session, it would have sat for 62 days, or 21 days on average for each of the three sessions in the year

French PM Sebastien Lecornu races against the clock to form government

Just two days after being reappointed, Lecornu must present a draft budget bill to cabinet and parliament on Monday

Centre moots extending tenure of parliamentary panels to two years

The move follows concerns from lawmakers that the current one-year term is too short for committees to conduct in-depth studies and prepare effective reports

Parliamentary panel seeks MCA report on CCI's role in digital landscape

The standing committee chaired by Bhartruhari Mahtab, Member of Parliament in its report tabled in the Lok Sabha during the monsoon session backed the need to have an ex-ante regulatory framework

Missing from the House: Tracing the political legacy of Muslim women MPs

Despite exclusion and patriarchy, 18 Muslim women have entered the Lok Sabha to date - but their absence from public discourse is stark. This book recalls their political legacy

Nepal to hold parliamentary elections on March 5: President's Office

Nepal's next parliamentary elections will be held on March 5, President Ramchandra Paudel's office has announced, following a week of violent protests that led to the resignation of K P Sharma Oli and Sushila Karki taking over as the country's first woman prime minister. President Paudel, while dissolving the House of Representatives on the recommendation of the newly-appointed prime minister on Friday, said the next parliamentary election would be held on March 5. Former Chief Justice Karki, 73, was sworn-in as the country's first woman prime minister, ending days of political uncertainty after the abrupt resignation of Oli this week following wide-spread anti-government protests against a ban on social media and alleged corruption. Oli quit on Tuesday shortly after hundreds of agitators entered his office demanding his resignation for the death of at least 19 people in police action during Monday's protests. The prime minister will form a small Cabinet on Sunday, two days after h

Himachal monsoon 2025 claims 386 lives, causes ₹4,465 crore losses: SDMA

Of these, 218 deaths were caused by rain-related disasters, including landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, drowning, electrocution, snake bites, and house collapses

Nepal dissolves Parl, sets elections for March 2026 under interim PM Karki

Announcing the decision, the President's Office said the dissolution was approved in the first cabinet meeting convened by Karki at 11 pm, marking the start of a six-month transitional government

Parl panel suggests strict laws, mandatory fact-checking to curb fake news

Calling fake news a threat to public order and democratic process, a parliamentary committee has recommended amending penal provisions, increasing fine and fixing accountability to tackle the challenge. In its draft report adopted on Tuesday, the Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology has also called for mandatory presence of fact-checking mechanism and internal ombudsman in all print, digital and electronic media organisations. Sources said the committee has made a raft of suggestions, including a collaborative effort among all stake-holders covering government, private and independent fact-checkers to tackle the challenge of fake news. The committee headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey adopted the report unanimously, showing a cross-party support for stepped-up efforts to handle the menace of fake news, the sources added. The Committee desire the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to ensure that fact-checking mechanism and internal ombudsman should be m

Datanomics: Low vote share, big office as new VP's winning margin declines

Vice-presidents: From Radhakrishan to Radhakrishnan

Sri Lanka Parliament set to strip privileges of former presidents

Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has ruled that the bill to withdraw presidential privileges extended to former presidents and their widows can be approved in Parliament by a simple majority. The court's ruling was read out in Parliament on Tuesday by Speaker Jagath Wickremaratna. The Supreme Court has determined that no provision of the bill is inconsistent with any provision of the Constitution and can be enacted by Parliament with a simple majority, he said. Following the apex court's ruling, the parliamentary business committee decided to debate the bill on Wednesday. If passed, the bill will end special benefits such as an official residence, monthly allowances, secretarial support, official transport, and other perks currently provided to former presidents and their widows. Sri Lanka currently has five living former presidents and one widow entitled to these privileges. In late July, the government gazetted a new bill aimed at revoking all privileges granted to former presidents o

Voting begins for vice presidential election; PM Modi first to cast vote

Voting began for the vice presidential poll on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the first to cast his vote. The poll is witnessing a direct contest between ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy, with the BJP-led alliance having a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar. Among the early voters were Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kiren Rijiju. Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Harivansh, BJP MP Kangana Ranaut and SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav were among others who came to cast their vote. Members of both Houses of Parliament will cast their votes in the Parliament House between 10 AM and 5 PM on Tuesday. Counting votes will begin at 6 PM, and the results will be announced late evening. Members of Parliament are not bound by party whips to vote in the vice presidential election, which takes place under a secret ballot system. The electoral college for the vice ...

Vice President polls on September 9: How Parliament numbers stack up

The election for the Vice Presidential was called after Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation; NDA's CP Radhakrishnan and INDIA bloc's Sudershan Reddy are in the fray

EVM an aggregator of votes, can't be used in presidential, V-P elections

Electronic voting machines (EVMs), which have so far been used in five Lok Sabha and over 130 assembly polls, cannot be used in presidential, vice presidential, Rajya Sabha and state legislative council elections. Why? Because the machines, in use since 2004, are designed to work as vote aggregators in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. Voters press the button against the name of the candidate of their choice and the one who bags the maximum number of votes is declared elected. But the presidential and vice presidential elections are held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote. Under the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, every elector can mark as many preferences as there are candidates contesting the election. These preferences for the candidates are to be marked by the elector, by placing the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on, against the names of the ...

Vaishnaw meets gaming firms to discuss user money protection, esports

Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has held a meeting with online gaming companies to discuss the protection of users' money and promotion of eSports and social games, an official source said on Monday. The meeting comes within a fortnight of Parliament passing The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, that bars all forms of online money games while promoting e-sports and other online games. "IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and officials met online gaming industry representatives today. Discussion focused on promoting eSports and social games. Points related to orderly transition and protection of users' money were also discussed. It was noted that industry has taken steps to ensure compliance with the Act," the source said. The Act has received the President's assent. The Act will come into effect after its notification by the government. Last week, banks and fintech firms, in a joint meeting with the Department of Financial Services and the Ministry of Electronics and

Ukraine arrests suspect in killing of ex-parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that Ukrainian officials arrested a suspect in the shooting death of former parliament speaker and prominent pro-Western politician Andriy Parubiy. Zelenskyy said in a statement on X that a person was taken into custody after shooting Parubiy in the city of Lviv on Saturday. No details about the suspect or a motive for the killing were released. The necessary investigative actions are ongoing. I have instructed that the available information be presented to the public, Zelenskyy said. Parubiy, 54, was a lawmaker from the Lviv region who participated in Ukraine's Orange Revolution in 2004 and led self-defense volunteer units during the Maidan protests of 2014, which forced pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych from office. He was parliament speaker from 2016 to 2019.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence to visit Andamans on Aug 27

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence under the chairmanship of BJP MP Radha Mohan Singh will visit Port Blair on Wednesday, an official said. The committee will review the preparedness of India's only tri-command at Andaman and Nicobar Islands during the visit, the official said on Tuesday. The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), is the only tri-services command in India, and it aims to bring greater synergy among the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Apart from Radha Mohan Singh, nine Members of Parliament Shashank Mani, Virendra Singh, Shaktisinh Gohil, Naresh Bansal, Lumba Ram, Jagannath Sarkar, Muzibulla Khan, Sanjay Singh and S Jothimani will visit the archipelago. An official said the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence will be accompanied by five officials from the Lok Sabha and one senior Defence official, including Juby Amar (Director and secretary to the delegation). During the visit, the committee will be welcomed by Lieutenant General Dinesh Singh R

Congress questions govt on nuclear energy reforms, private sector entry

The Congress on Tuesday questioned the government over its promise of amending two existing acts to allow private companies to establish and run nuclear power plants, and asked whether the bills will be introduced in Parliament's Winter session. The opposition party also asked the government -- what about a Bill to establish an independent regulatory body that is not part of the atomic energy establishment. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the 2025-26 Budget, grand promises were made to give a boost to nuclear energy by amending the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, and the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, to allow private companies to establish and run nuclear power plants. However, somewhat surprisingly, neither of these two Bills were even introduced in the recently-concluded session of Parliament, he said. "Will the Bills be introduced in the Winter session three months hence? ...

New Bill puts spotlight on ministers with serious criminal cases

Amit Shah tables Bill to remove ministers in custody for serious crimes; ADR finds 1 in 3 CMs face grave charges, raising questions on political accountability