The President also offered condolences to those who lost their lives in the Kumbh Mela stampede at Prayagraj
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday underscored the need for constructive debate and dialogue in Parliament, saying the era of disruption should end and make way for meaningful discussions. His remarks came ahead of the Budget session of Parliament. While addressing the 33rd Foundation Day of the National Commission for Women (NCW), he said what the country truly needs is an opposition that is both constructive and cooperative. "There will now be more debate, dialogue, discussion, deliberation, and not disturbance or disruption in this Parliament," the Rajya Sabha chairman said, highlighting the importance of a cooperative opposition. Reflecting on women's empowerment, he lauded the recent reservation for women in legislatures, calling it a landmark achievement. "Now we have reservation for women to the extent of one-third," he said, adding the country is witnessing an affirmative ecosystem that supports women's aspirations. However, he cautioned that with increased aspirat
The Modi government will introduce The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, in the Budget Session, proposing stricter border control measures amid political debate over illegal immigration
The budget session will commence with President Droupadi Murmu addressing joint sitting of the two Houses
The meeting is chaired by Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Kiren Rijiju, JP Nadda, Arjun Ram Meghwal and L Murugan
The chairman of the Joint Committee of Parliament scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Jagdambika Pal, has said the panel's draft report and the amended version of the proposed law will be adopted at its meeting on Wednesday. He made the remarks to the media as he chaired what is likely the last meeting of the committee. Ahead of the meeting, several opposition MPs met to discuss their agenda as many of them are preparing their dissent against the committee's recommendations. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on August 8, 2024 following its introduction in the Lok Sabha by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. The bill aims to amend the Waqf Act, 1995, to address issues and challenges in regulating and managing waqf properties.
A public inquiry on foreign interference in Canada concluded Tuesday that while some foreign entities tried to interfere in the country's elections, its democratic institutions remain "robust, but warned against the danger of misinformation. The final report of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference found no evidence of traitors in the country's parliament, but Commissioner Marie-Jose Hogue warned that one of the biggest threats to democracy was foreign actors sowing disinformation in both the traditional media and social media. Distinguishing what is false is becoming increasingly difficult and the consequences are extraordinarily harmful, Hogue told a news conference in Ottawa where she did not take questions. The Canadian government established the public inquiry in September 2023 to investigate whether China, Russia and other countries interfered in Canadian federal elections in 2019 and 2021 that re-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals. The final report ...
JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal has said that the democratic process was followed in the deliberations, opposition members have said that very little time has been given to them
The CPI(M) on Saturday strongly disapproved of the suspension of opposition members from a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) formed to look into the Waqf (Amendment) Bill by the panel chairman and appealed to those who cherish democracy to oppose the "brazen act". "The Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly disapproves the move by the chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for the Waqf Bill. The chairman of the committee has chosen a flimsy ground to suspend all the members of the JPC belonging to opposition parties and who were opposed to the government's views," the party said in a statement issued here. "Nothing could be more brazen to undermine the legitimate parliamentary process through the committee system, which has been so clearly laid down and reinforced over the years through precedents," it added. The Left party also made an appeal "to all those who cherish democracy and the sovereignty of Parliament to rally unitedly to oppose and ..
The JPC meeting began contentiously, with opposition members claiming they had insufficient time to review the draft legislation
The meeting of the parliamentary committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill began on a stormy note on Friday, with opposition members claiming they were not being given adequate time to study the proposed changes to the draft legislation. The Joint Committee on Waqf Amendment Bill, chaired by BJP member Jagdambika Pal, is scheduled to hear the views of a delegation led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the religious head of Kashmir. Before calling the Mirwaiz, the members of the Committee held discussions among themselves which turned stormy with opposition leaders claiming the BJP was pushing for speedy acceptance of the report on the Waqf Amendment Bill with an eye on the Delhi elections. The heated arguments during the meeting led to a brief adjournment of the proceedings. The Mirwaiz-led delegation appeared before the Committee after it reconvened. Trinamool member Kalyan Banerjee and Congress member Naseer Hussain stormed out of the meeting and told reporters that the proceedings of the ...
The first part of Parliament's Budget Session is likely to be held between January 31 and February 13, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set to table her eighth straight budget on February 1. In line with the convention, the session will start with President Droupadi Murmu's address to a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on January 31, followed by the tabling of the economic survey. Sources said the second part of the session will be held between the second week of March and first week of April. The tentative period is from March 10 to April 4. The first part of the session is marked by a debate in both Houses on the Motion of Thanks on the president's address and ends with the prime minister's reply in the two chambers of Parliament.
The change follows a directive earlier this month that involved transferring the CRPF's battalion based in Jharkhand's Chatra district, to the VIP security division
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused CEO Mark Zuckerberg of spreading misinformation through his earlier comments on the 2024 Indian general election
"There is no reason why this profit-making entity should be sold to private entities, more so to entities of foreign origin." the forum said.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday made a strong pitch for the use of artificial intelligence and social media in the working of parliaments. Birla made these remarks while chairing the standing committee meeting of the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments of Commonwealth Countries (CSPOC) in Guernsey. India is hosting the 28th CSPOC next year. Birla said India is witnessing massive transformation in several sectors, such as agriculture, fintech, AI, and research and innovation. He said delegates attending the CSPOC would experience a unique blend of heritage and progress of the country. Last year, the Lok Sabha adopted artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies to enhance the accessibility of parliamentary proceedings to lawmakers. These cutting-edge technologies are used to provide regional language translations for Members of Parliament and make available parliamentary papers in different languages. Birla highlighted the impo
Grooming gangs scandal: The ruling Labour Party criticised the Conservatives for attempting to derail the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill
The Joint Parliamentary Committee is tasked with scrutinising the bills proposing simultaneous elections and addressing the concerns raised by Opposition parties
Upcoming legislation meant to streamline exploration and production
He further said that this decision comes after 45 years of mission and service to the country