Page 43 - Parliament

SC hears case on Parliament's authority over state taxes on mineral rights

The original case dates back to 1992, when the Bihar government, through an amendment, imposed additional taxes on land revenue coming from mineral-bearing lands leased out to mining industries

Pakistan's PM-elect Shehbaz Sharif to take oath of office on Monday

Prime Minister-elect Shehbaz Sharif will take the oath of office for the second time on Monday, days after his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party agreed on a power-sharing deal to form a coalition government. Shehbaz, 72, earlier served as prime minister of a coalition government from April 2022 to August 2023 before Parliament was dissolved to hold general elections last month. President Arif Alvi will administer oath to Shehbaz in a ceremony at the President's House at 3 pm on Monday, sources said. They said that Army Chief Gen Asim Munir, caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar, Chief Ministers and governors of all provinces will attend in the ceremony. On Sunday, Shehbaz comfortably won a majority in the newly-elected Parliament amidst sloganeering by the Opposition. Shehbaz, the consensus candidate of the PML-N and the PPP, received 201 votes in the 336-member Parliament.

Joint session of Parliament to elect Pakistan's president called on March 9

Newly-elected National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Sunday summoned a joint session of the Parliament to elect the next president of Pakistan on March 9, a position that former president Asif Ali Zardari is almost certain to win again after nearly 11 years. In a notification issued today, the speaker summoned the session at 10 am, with Zardari, 68, set to face off against his rival ethnic Pashtun politician Mahmood Khan Achakzai. Zardari, who is a joint candidate of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), is set to become the president for the second time as he is being supported by the parties that enjoy a majority in the electoral college. He also served as president from 2008 to 2013. Achakzai, 75, from Balochistan, is the chief of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and was nominated by Imran Khan, the jailed leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. In Parliament, Achakzai would be supported by the ..

PM Modi to chair last Council of Ministers meet on Sunday before LS polls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers on March 3 in what is likely to be the last such exercise during the second term of his government. The prime minister has been holding meetings of the entire Council of Ministers from time to time to discuss key policy and governance issues but the get-together on Sunday assumes political significance in view of the Lok Sabha elections, expected to be held in April-May. The Election Commission is likely to announce the poll schedule in a couple of weeks. The meeting will be held at the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in the Chanakyapuri diplomatic enclave here. One of the key points to be discussed during the exercise could the highlights of the government's performance, as the BJP-led ruling National Democratic Alliance has expressed confidence of retaining power at the Centre for a third term under Modi on the back of its development and welfare planks. The Election Commission has begun reviewing the ...

BJP flags off vans in Goa to collect inputs for Lok Sabha poll manifesto

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday flagged off two vans in North and South Goa Lok Sabha seats to gather inputs from people for its poll manifesto. The flagging off ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, state BJP chief Sadanand Shet Tanavade, tourism minister Rohan Khaunte, among others. "The vans will travel across the state and collect inputs from people for drafting the Lok Sabha poll manifesto of the BJP. More than 50,000 suggestions are expected to be collected. The BJP has fulfilled all its promises in the manifestos for the 2014 and 2019 LS polls," Tanavade said. The BJP's manifesto will be a "people's manifesto" and everyone, especially the youth, must give suggestions, CM Sawant said on the occasion.

Amid tensions, Iran to elect parliamentary, religious leaders today

Iranians are bracing for a pivotal moment as they prepare to cast their votes on Friday in parliamentary elections that will elect religious leaders, Al Jazeera reported.

The dehumanising factor

Social commentator Ziya Us Salam's book debunks popular myths around history and laments the slow encroachments on Muslim rights by far-right groups, providing truth and hope in the process

RS polls: BJP accuses CM Sukhu of violating model code of conduct Shimla

He demanded that his vote should not be counted till a decision in this regard is taken by the election commission

Vote for INDIA bloc so your voices are heard in Parliament: CM Kejriwal

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Sunday asked people in Delhi to vote for INDIA bloc candidates in the Lok Sabha polls so that their voices can be heard in Parliament and inflated water bills are waived. Speaking at a protest organised by his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) against inflated water bills here, Kejriwal said on a lighter note that he should be given the Nobel Prize for running the government despite adverse conditions. "In the Lok Sabha elections, you should vote for INDIA bloc candidates from Delhi and send them to Parliament. This will create a protective shield around Delhi and no lieutenant governor will be able to do anything," the AAP national convenor said. "I assure you that within 15 days of the Lok Sabha elections and the win of INDIA bloc candidates, your water bills will come down to zero," he added. The AAP and Congress, allies in the INDIA bloc, have finalised a 4-3 arrangement for Delhi, under which the ruling party will contest four out of the seven parliamentary

Three laws replacing IPC, CrPC, Evidence Act to be effective from July 1

The MHA made the announcement through three separate notifications declaring July 1 as the date on which the provisions of these acts will come into force

Present 'actionable, clearly defined' plan in March 3 meet: PM to Cabinet

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his Cabinet ministers to prepare an "actionable, measurable and clearly defined" plan and present it in the meeting of the Council of Ministers on March 3, government sources said on Saturday. It may be noted that Modi in the last Cabinet meeting on February 21 had asked his ministerial colleagues to prepare an action plan for the next 100 days. He has asked them to undertake extensive consultation, including with experienced people like senior bureaucrats, those working on the ground and domain experts, before mapping out their action plan, the sources said. He has asked them and their ministries to brainstorm over the agenda for the period, which is also the likely duration before a new government takes office following the Lok Sabha elections expected in April-May. The prime minister, sources said, wants to ensure that the government's work goes on amid the poll cycle and his call for preparing the agenda for the next 100 days is part of su

Convene daylong Parliament session to bring law on MSP: Farmer leader

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Tuesday said the Centre should convene a daylong Parliament session to bring a legislation on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, a key demand of protesting farmers. He also asked the Centre to accept the other main demands of the farmers, including farm loan waiver. Pandher's statement came a day after the farmer leaders taking part in the "Delhi Chalo" agitation rejected the BJP-led Centre's proposal for procuring pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP by government agencies for five years, saying it was not in favour of farmers. In the fourth round of talks with the farmer leaders on Sunday, a panel of three Union ministers proposed that government agencies would buy pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP for five years after entering into an agreement with farmers. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the "Delhi Chalo" march. Talking to reporters at the Shambhu border point between Punjab

Govt holds talks with Ladakh's 14-member delegation on key demands

A delegation of leaders from Ladakh held a meeting with the government's representatives here on Monday to press for their demands, including statehood for the high-altitude region, two Lok Sabha seats and bringing the area under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The 14-member delegation of the Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) met the High Powered Committee (HPC) for Ladakh headed by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai. "The meeting discussed the Ladakh delegation's demands," a source privy to the deliberations said, without elaborating further. The demands of the delegation are statehood for Ladakh, two Lok Sabha seats (one for Kargil and one for Leh), job opportunities for the residents of the Union Territory and constitutional protection under the Sixth Schedule. Ladakh currently has one Lok Sabha constituency. Ladakh, which no longer has any Assembly constituency, was earlier part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The ...

Ram Rajya for the next 1,000 years: BJP national council resolution

Modi urged BJP workers to devote themselves for the next hundred days to ensure the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) wins 400 Lok Sabha seats

Land given to Railways for commercial sites still undeveloped: Parl Panel

The Public Accounts Committee of Lok Sabha in its report has found that the Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) failed in its objective to develop railway land sites for commercial use due to various reasons. In the report, presented to the Lok Sabha, the Committee said that it reviewed 17 sites out of 49 entrusted to RLDA by the Indian Railways in 2007 and noted that none of them were developed till 2017. It added that out of 49 sites, only 40 were commercially viable. The Committee, chaired by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, selected the subject Development of Railway Land for Commercial use by Rail Land Development Authority which was based on the Comptroller of Auditor General's (CAG) report laid in the Lok Sabha on July 20, 2018. According to the report, Indian Railway has 43,000 hectares of vacant land out of which it entrusted 49 sites to RLDA from 2007 to 2017 for commercial development to generate revenue. The Committee observed that Audit reviewed the development of 17 sit

Highlights: Paytm shifts nodal account to Axis Bank from Paytm Bank

Latest news updates LIVE: Catch all the latest updates from around the world here

Parl Committee of Privileges directs WB top officials to appear on Feb 19

West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar was shifted from the ICU to a room in the daycare building of Apollo Hospital Salt Lake Kolkata on Thursday

President prorogues both Houses after Budget session of Parliament

Apart from the financial agenda of the government, the two Houses also passed bills related to Jammu and Kashmir

Rajya Sabha polls: BJP nominates Nadda from Gujarat, Ashok Chavan from Maha

Rajya Sabha elections: In 2024, as many as 69 Rajya Sabha seats are up for election. The upcoming polls to 56 seats come ahead of the much-anticipated Lok Sabha elections

Two BJP members maintained perfect attendance in outgoing 17th LS

BJP members Mohan Mandavi and Bhagirath Choudhary have earned the unique distinction of not missing a single sitting of the 17th Lok Sabha, which held a total of 274 during its term. Coincidentally, the two first-term members got seats adjacent to each other in the House. "I do the job assigned to me with utmost responsibility. I represent Kanker, a tribal region of Chhattisgarh, and had attended the House even during the COVID-19 pandemic," Mandavi said. According to data shared by PRS Legislative, Choudhary (MP from Ajmer in Rajasthan) and Mandavi clocked a 100 per cent attendance during the 17th Lok Sabha, which on an average witnessed 79 per cent attendance during its tenure. Mandavi said he and Choudhary had seats next to each other in Lok Sabha. BJP member from Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh Pushpendra Singh Chandel was the most active member in Parliament having participated in 1,194 debates in the 17th Lok Sabha, followed by Kuldeep Rai Sharma (833 debates) from Andaman and Nic