Page 35 - Parliament

Pak govt delays tabling of controversial constitutional amendment Bill

Pakistan's coalition government was on Monday forced to once again delay the tabling of a controversial constitutional amendment bill in the parliament, apparently due to a lack of required numbers to pass it. The details of the amendments are still a mystery as the government has not officially shared it with the media or discussed it publically. What has been reported so far shows that the government plans to increase the retirement age of judges and fix the tenure of the chief justice of the Supreme Court. Senator Irfan Siddiqui of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) told the media that the amendment bill would not be tabled in the parliament on Monday. Speaking to Geo News, Siddiqui said sessions of both houses on Monday were to be "prorogued and would next be called when we would be prepared from all angles to introduce a constitutional amendment. Asked if it was possible for the matter to be delayed for months, the PML-N senator replied in the negative. He added t

Sri Lanka's JVP vows to cancel Adani wind energy project if elected

The Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) on Monday vowed to cancel the Adani Group's wind power project in Sri Lanka if it gets elected in the presidential election scheduled for the weekend. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the presidential candidate from the broader front National People's Power (NPP), told a political chat show here that they would annul the project. Asked if the project posed a threat to the island nation's energy sector sovereignty, Dissanayake said: Yes. We will definitely cancel it as it threatens our energy sovereignty." The JVP, which led a bloody anti-India rebellion in the island nation between 1987 and 1990 following India's direct intervention in the Lankan civil war through the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord, is believed to be leading in the unofficial polls ahead of the September 21 election. The JVP dubbed the Indo-Lanka Accord a betrayal of the nation and killed the then-ruling party members, supporters and other political activists who supported t

Joint Parliamentary Committee to meet on Waqf Amendment Bill on Sept 18-20

During the meeting on September 18, representatives from the Ministry of Minority Affairs will record oral evidence before the committee

Standing, consultative committees of Parl to be constituted soon: Rijiju

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday asserted that department-related standing committees and consultative committees of Parliament will be constituted soon. His remarks come against the backdrop of certain opposition leaders questioning the delay in constituting standing committees, which scrutinise the functioning of Union ministries. Addressing an event of his ministry here, he said in the past too, the standing committees and consultative committees have been formed around September 15 and there was no delay. While a majority of the standing committees come under the Lok Sabha Secretariat, some are serviced by the Rajya Sabha. Department-related standing committees deal with various Union ministries and scrutinise their budgetary allocations and bills introduced in Parliament. They also recommend the government to bring bills and make policies on important issues. The consultative committees are chaired by the ministers in charge of their respective ministr

Parl panel issues summons ministry officials over rules of 2013 Waqf law

A parliamentary committee has summoned officials of the Minority Affairs Ministry to explain reasons for the delay in completing the process for framing subordinate legislation under the 2013 Waqf law. The decision of the Rajya Sabha Committee on Subordinate Legislation to call the secretary and representatives of the ministry next week comes at a time when a Joint Committee of Parliament is scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 which seeks to amend the Waqf (Amendment) Act of 2013. The Rajya Sabha panel has also summoned officials of the Ministry of Defence on the reasons for delay in completing the process for framing of subordinate legislation under the Cantonment Act, 2006 on the same day. Both Houses of Parliament have their own committees on subordinate legislation which examine whether rules and by-laws related to a law are framed in time and are in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. The 2013 Act had given certain powers to Waqf Boards. The 2024 bill

Opposition at its heart is voice of people, says Rahul Gandhi in US

Opposition is the voice of the people, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said in Dallas, Texas, underscoring that its main focus is to raise issues concerning the people after understanding their perspectives "carefully" and "sensitively". Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is on a four-day unofficial trip to the US. During an interaction with students at the University of Texas in Dallas on Sunday, Gandhi said, "Opposition at its heart is the voice of people, there is a whole sequence of events that go on, but what you generally think about is where and how can I raise the issues of the people of India." "You are thinking from an individual perspective, and also from (a) group perspective, industry perspective, farmer perspective, the important thing is you do it sensitively and after listening and understanding carefully," he added. Talking about Parliamentary proceedings, Gandhi described them as a "pleasant war" of ideas and words. "You go to the ...

Waqf committee meetings become site of contesting claims from govt bodies

The Joint Committee of Parliament meetings on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill have turned out to be a battleground for contesting claims, as several government bodies have accused Waqf boards in the country of laying ownership on properties belonging to them and drawn sharp counterclaims. Opposition members in the committee have claimed that a large number of Waqf properties have been in fact in "unauthorised" possession of government bodies, including the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi, one of the more vocal and articulate opposition voices in the meetings, submitted a list of 172 Waqf properties in Delhi alone, which, he said, were in the unauthorised possession of the ASI, sources said. His submission to the committee's chairperson and BJP member Jagdambika Pal came following the country's premier archaeology body's assertion that over 120 of its protected monuments are claimed by different Waqf boards. The ASI also accused them of unauthorised ...

From Jal Jeevan mission to OBC policy, Parliamentary panels begin work

Weeks after being constituted, key parliamentary committees have started meeting over issues, including reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in public sector undertakings and audit of Jal Jeevan Mission. Panels, including the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), and the one on welfare of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) are meeting this week to take up subjects decided by them. Officials of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) will brief members of the committee on the welfare of OBCs on Monday on the "formulation and implementation" of reservation policy for the community in the posts and services under the Central government and union territories. On Tuesday, the PAC will take up the performance audit of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (Jal Jeevan Mission) under the Jal Shakti Ministry. On Thursday, the Committee on Welfare of SCs and STs will take up the issue of the statu

Parl security breach chargesheet: Accused wanted to discredit democracy

The December 13, 2023 Parliament security breach accused wanted to discredit India's democracy, gain instant global fame, usurp power and achieve "richness and glory" by targeting the "very symbol of democracy", according to the chargesheet filed in the court by Delhi Police. The accused first met on social media and planned their move for nearly two years before executing it last year on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack. According to the chargesheet, a source said, their first in-person meeting was held in February, 2022 at Mysuru. Citing from the chargesheet, sources told PTI, that in total they held five meetings in Mysuru, Gurugram and Delhi to decided finalise their plan and arrive at a modus operandi. The chargesheet, spread over 1,000 pages, was filed before the Patiala House Court in June and the court took its cognisance last month. A supplementary was filed in July. The chargesheet mentioned that the group of young people, led by Manoranjan D, a resident of .

Waqf Bill necessary, ASI tells Joint Parliamentary Committee in meet

Opposition parties have been continuously opposing the Waqf Board Amendment Bill in JPC meetings

Performance of regulatory bodies, railway subsidies under PAC scanner

Amid a political storm over allegations of conflict of interest against SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch, the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee has decided to review the performance of regulatory bodies established by Acts of Parliament. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Congress leader and Lok Sabha member K C Venugopal, decided to include suo-moto subjects -- performance review of regulatory bodies established by Acts of Parliament, reforms in banking and insurance sector, review of implementation of centrally sponsored welfare schemes -- as part of its agenda that includes a total of 161 subjects. Buch is facing allegations of conflict of interest over the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) investigation into the Hindenburg Research claims against the Adani Group. The Congress has questioned payments made to Buch made by ICICI Bank, her former employer, after she became a whole time member of SEBI, and sought an independent probe into the matter. The

Parliament's Public Accounts Committee likely to summon Sebi chief Buch

The PAC will probe the allegations against the Sebi chief and also ask her and other officials from the ministries of finance and corporate affairs to appear before the committee

Switzerland govt submits EFTA-India trade agreement to Parliament

In 2018, after EFTA and Indonesia signed an FTA, a Swiss non-government organisation Public Eye highlighted deforestation in Indonesia for palm tree cultivation as well as the death of orangutans

Let me finish term in RS, I'll write story set in Parliament: Sudha Murthy

Parliamentarian and author-philanthropist Sudha Murthy on Sunday said although she has read a book set in Parliament way back in the 1980s, about Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, since so much has changed about India and the Parliament since then, that she would not mind writing about it. "Although, I have to finish my term as a Rajya Sabha member first, before I could attempt to do that," said Murthy on Sunday. Murthy was in conversation with fellow author and actor Twinkle Khanna, at the celebration of the launch of her 300th book title and 46th book 'Grandpa's Bag of Stories' here. The event was organised by Bengaluru-based Lit Spirit Foundation. But in her immediate list of wishes is a book on 'shlokas' that her grandfather used to recite, she said. "Like the one my grandfather used to recite when someone went travelling or stepped out of the house," said Murthy. Murthy also said it is not likely that she will not set her stories in the United Kingdom, even though it is the place of

BJP's minority wing to seek Muslims' views on Waqf bill, notify parl panel

Amid strident criticism of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill by some major Muslim bodies, the BJP's 'Minority Morcha' will rally counterviews in support of reforms in Waqf boards and seek suggestions on the law to present it to the parliamentary committee examining the Bill. Sources said a team of seven BJP members, including state Waqf Board chairpersons, will elicit views of the minority community across the country and assuage their concerns on a host of issues. "We will convey to the committee every point of view. If there is any concern on any aspect of the Bill, we will express it as well. But the need for reforms in Waqf boards is felt by the community everywhere," a BJP leader claimed. They Minority Morcha will share the report with the BJP leadership and the parliamentary panel headed by veteran party MP Jagdambika Pal. The committee members include Shadab Shams, Sanwar Patel and Mohsin Lokhandwala, who head the boards in Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and Haryana Waqf .

Azerbaijan holds election expected to retain president party's dominance

Azerbaijan on Sunday is holding a snap parliamentary election that is the first for the country since it regained full control of a former breakaway territory in a lightning offensive last year. Previous elections since independence from the Soviet Union have not been regarded as fully free or fair, and the vote for the Milli Mejlis parliament is not expected to bring significant changes to the body that is dominated by the New Azerbaijan party of President Ilham Aliyev. Under the constitution, the election would have been held in November, but Aliyev decreed it to take place two months early because the capital of Baku will host United Nations climate talks known as COP29 that same month. Aliyev and his late father, Heydar Aliyev, have led Azerbaijan with their heavy-handed rule since 1993, suppressing dissent as the country of almost 10 million people on the shores of the Caspian Sea basked in growing wealth from its huge oil and natural gas reserves. New Azerbaijan holds 69 of t

Joint Parl panel on Waqf Bill seeks suggestions from experts, stakeholders

The Joint Committee of Parliament scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Friday sought suggestions from stakeholders, experts and other institutions on the proposed law. The bill seeks to reforming the registration process for Waqf properties through a centralised portal. According to a statement issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the committee led by BJP's Jagdambika Pal has asked for "views/suggestions from the public in general and NGOs, experts, stakeholders and institutions in particular" considering the "wider implications" of the bill People have been asked to share their suggestions in writing in the next 15 days. The memoranda and suggestions submitted to the committee would form part of the records of the Committee and would be treated as "confidential", it said. Those who wish to appear before the committee, besides submitting views in writing, have been asked to specifically indicate so in their correspondence. The Bill is the first major initiative from the BJP-

NDA on the cusp of RS majority with 11 candidates elected unopposed

The Rajya Sabha currently has 237 members, with four vacancies each in the nominated category and from Jammu and Kashmir, with the majority mark being 119

Singapore Indian-origin Oppn leader seeks HC trial over alleged lies

Singapore's Indian-origin leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh has applied to have his case heard in the High Court instead of the State Courts. Singh, 48, faces two charges of lying to a parliamentary committee that was convened in November 2021 to look into the lying controversy involving his party's former MP Raeesah Khan. Khan has resigned from Parliament. He applied to have the case heard in the High Court on Monday, according to a Channel News Asia report. Singh's lawyers, Andre Darius Jumabhoy and Aristotle Emmanuel Eng, relied on the case of former transport minister S. Iswaran which has been rescheduled for hearing in the High Court next month. Citing the Iswaran case, the lawyers said in the arguments that there was also "strong public interest" for Singh's case to be heard in the High Court. This is the first prosecution of its kind, the Channel cited Jumabhoy as having said. "This case goes to the very essence of our democracy, and this is not my characterisation,"

Ukraine's new judges aim to build rule of law to realise European dreams

Appointments, long stalled by political tussles even before the war, follow an overhaul of judicial governance sought by the EU, which Kyiv aims to join to cement its shift from Moscow's orbit