Page 50 - Parliament

Year Ender: Democracy turning pages with inauguration of new Parl building

The old Parliament House in India, designed by British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, is a colonial-era building that underwent six years of construction from 1921 to 1927

No takers for rupee payment for oil imports: Oil ministry in Parliament

India's push for rupee to be used to pay for import of crude oil has not found any takers as suppliers have expressed concern on repatriation of funds and high transactional costs, the oil ministry told a parliamentary standing committee. The default payment currency for all contracts for import of crude oil is US dollar as per the international trade practice. However, in a bid to internationalise the Indian currency, the Reserve Bank of India on July 11, 2022 allowed importers to pay with rupees and exporters be paid in rupee. While there has been some success with non-oil trade with a select few countries, rupee continues to be shunned by oil exporters. "During FY 2022-23, no crude oil imports by oil PSUs was settled in Indian rupee. Crude oil suppliers (including UAE's ADNOC) continue to express their concern on the repatriation of funds in the preferred currency and also highlighted high transactional costs associated with conversion of funds along with exchange fluctuation ...

People to decide whether I'm patriot or traitor: Simha on security breach

BJP Lok Sabha member Pratap Simha on Sunday speaking on the Parliament security breach case said people will ultimately decide whether he was a patriot or a traitor, during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Not wanting to divulge anything regarding the incident and the probe, he said, will leave it to the gods and his reader fans to decide on the alleged "traitor" allegations made against him. The protesters who had jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber on December 13 and set off smoke canisters, had entered Parliament on passes issued on the recommendation of Simha's office. "Whether Pratap Simha is a traitor or a patriot -- mother Goddess Chamundeshwari sitting on the hills of Mysuru, mother Goddess Cauvery who is sitting on Brahmagiri, my reader fans across Karnataka who have been reading my writings for the last twenty years, and people of Mysuru and Kodgu who have seen my work for 9.5 years and my conduct on issues related country, dharma and nationalism -- will give their verdict through

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INDI Alliance set of leaders facing corruption charges: Anurag Thakur

Union minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday dubbed the opposition INDIA bloc as a set of leaders facing corruption charges with no common ideology or a political programme. Thakur, speaking to reporters here, also said the opposition coalition disrupted the Winter session of Parliament that concluded on Thursday out of frustration of their defeat in the recently held assembly elections. The senior BJP leader's remarks came a day after the INDIA alliance held nationwide demonstrations against the suspension of 146 MPs during the Winter session for unruly behaviour in demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the Parliament security breach on December 13. "Where is the alliance? They are struggling in Punjab, they are struggling in other states. They can't speak in one voice. They are a set of people facing corruption charges and have come together," Thakur, the Information and Broadcasting Minister, said. "They do not have a common ideology, they do not have a common minimu

Parl security breach: Accused Mahesh Kumawat's custody extended till Jan 5

A court here on Saturday extended till January 5 the police custody of Mahesh Kumawat, who has been arrested in connection with the December 13 Parliament security breach case. Special Judge Hardeep Kaur extended Kumawat's custody on an application moved by the Delhi Police. The police told the court that he was required to be questioned to unearth the entire conspiracy. The prosecutor had earlier told the court that the accused "wanted to create anarchy in the country so that they can compel the government to meet their unjust and illegal demands". The custody was required "to find the actual motive behind the attack and his association with enemy country and terrorists organisations", the prosecutor said. According to the Delhi Police, Kumawat had come on his own to a police station along with co-accused Lalit Jha Thursday night and both were handed over to the Special Cell. He was being interrogated since then, police added. He was a member of the now deleted Bhagat Singh Fan C

Three MPs, 80 others seek Cong tickets for Lok Sabha election in Assam

A total of 83 Congress members in Assam, including all three sitting MPs in the state, have sought party tickets for next year's Lok Sabha elections, an APCC release said. While Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi has submitted his application seeking re-election from the same constituency, Barpeta MP Abdul Khaleque has filed his papers without specifying any seat, it said. Kaliabor MP Gaurav Gogoi, who lost his constituency in the delimitation exercise, has filed his application for Nagaon, Kaziranga and Jorhat seats. The deputy leader of opposition in state Assembly, Rakibul Hussain, has also filed his application for Nagaon constituency, as per the list shared by the Congress. Hussain, a former state cabinet minister, is the MLA from Samaguri, which comes under Nagaon. The state Congress unit had started the process of accepting filled-up application forms from aspirants from December 11, along with a fee of Rs one lakh per application. The process, which was initially scheduled to end

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Only 16 of 172 Bills in Lok Sabha had over 30 MPs present in debate: Report

Half of the bills passed by the 17th Lok Sabha so far were discussed for less than two hours each and only 16 per cent of them were referred to parliamentary standing committees, data compiled by think tank PRS Legislative Research shows. According to an analysis by PRS Legislative Research, 172 bills were discussed and passed during the term of 17th Lok Sabha, of which 86 bills in the Lok Sabha and 103 bills in the Rajya Sabha were discussed for less than two hours each. Similarly, of the 172 bills, only 16 bills in the Lok Sabha and 11 in the Rajya Sabha saw more than 30 members taking part in the debate. The report came a day after the conclusion of the Winter session - the last full-fledged session of the 17th Lok Sabha. It stated that no bills were referred to House committees in the Winter session. The proportion of bills referred to committees has decreased from 71 per cent during the 15th Lok Sabha and 25 per cent in the 16th Lok Sabha to 16 per cent during the 17th Lok ...

Parliament security breach: Manoranjan D maybe mastermind, suspects police

The Delhi Police Special Cell suspects Manoranjan D one of the six people arrested in the Parliament security breach - to be the mastermind behind the conspiracy, hatched to send a message to the ruling government by doing "something big," said a source privy to the probe. According to police, Lalit Jha, another accused, has revealed to the interrogators that Manoranjan was the one who motivated other members to do something big and planned the breach in the parliament. However, his, Jha's, role was only to destroy the evidence after the act. Manoranjan was arrested along with Sagar from inside the parliament on December 13. Both had jumped into the well of the Lok Sabha and opened yellow colour canisters hidden in their shoes. Manoranjan, a native of Mysore, had quit engineering to engage in social work. Though he was unemployed, he managed to visit Cambodia, the source said. Jha was produced before the court on Friday from where he was sent to 14 days of police custody. Police t

Watch | V-P Dhankhar's mimicry erupts political storm: Here's what happened

On Dec 19, TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee was seen in a video from Parliament mimicking Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. A political storm erupted over the mimicry

Telecom Bill 2023: Here are 10 important changes that will impact you

Telecommunications Bill: If any mobile user has more than nine SIM cards issued on one Aadhaar card, they will be penalised up to Rs 50,000 for the first time and Rs 2 lakh for subsequent offences

INDIA bloc hits the streets nationwide against MPs' suspension. Details

MPs suspension from Parliament: A total of 146 MPs were suspended across the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha this session, the highest in Indian Parliamentary history

Oppn MPs requested suspension after some MPs were suspended: Pralhad Joshi

Slamming the opposition over disruptions during Winter Session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said the government was not keen to suspend MPs from Lok Sabha, but opposition members came with requests for suspension after action was taken against some of their colleagues. Addressing a press conference here, Joshi also said the opposition was free to move court against the three new criminal laws if they felt something was wrong with the draft legislations approved by both the Houses of Parliament. "We did not want to suspend MPs, we requested them. But after we suspended a few MPs, several of their colleagues came with requests to us seeking suspension. This is the level the Congress stoops to," said Joshi, flanked by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal. Joshi said the government's floor managers had told the opposition MPs that action was taken against those indulging in indiscipline by bringing placards to the House. "They told us

Parl security breach case: Court extends custodial remand of Lalit Jha

The Patiala House Court of Delhi on Friday extended the custodial remand of accused Lalit Jha by a further 14 days in the Parliament security breach case

INDIA bloc leaders stage protest against bulk suspension of MPs from Parl

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, participating in the protest, said that the protest is send a message among people that whatever is happening is 'wrong for the future of the country'

RS chairman Dhankhar writes to LoP Kharge, says disruptions unfortunate

Rendering the House dysfunctional by making a demand to the Chair that cannot be acceded is unfortunate and against public interest, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar is learnt to have said in a letter to Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge. Dhankhar has written to Kharge stating that the Congress leader's refusal to meet him during the Winter session of Parliament was not in sync with parliamentary practices and has also sought an interaction with him, sources said on Friday. This comes a day after the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on Thursday, a day ahead of schedule. The Upper House witnessed repeated protests by opposition MPs who were demanding a discussion on the December 13 Parliament security breach and a statement by Home Minister Amit Shah on the issue. The protests led to the suspension of 46 MPs from the House for the session. A breach of privilege notice was moved against Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien and the matter was referred to the Privileges ...

Parl security breach: HC to hear plea on supply of FIR copy to accused

The Delhi High Court on Friday agreed to list for hearing during the day a plea by the city police challenging a trial court order directing it to supply a copy of the FIR to an accused in the Parliament security breach case. The matter was mentioned for hearing before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna by the counsel for the police. "We arrested four accused persons. In sensitive matters where we don't provide a copy of the FIR, they have to approach the commissioner. (Trial court), however, directed that we supply a copy," the lawyer said. "List it today if in order," Justice Manmohan said. On Thursday, Special Judge Hardeep Kaur extended till January 5 the custody of four accused -- Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde and Neelam Devi -- arrested in the Parliament security breach case. On an application by Neelam, the trial court also directed the Investigating Officer (IO) to hand over a copy of the FIR to her counsel. "The concerne

INDIA bloc leaders to protest against suspension of MPs from Parliament

Earlier, Shashi Tharoor said that the moment has come to start writing 'obituaries for the Parliamentary democracy' in our country

Suspension of so many Oppn MPs unfortunate in Parliament's history: Gehlot

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said the suspension of a large number of opposition members from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha marked an unfortunate incident in the history of Parliament. "It is the responsibility of the Speaker to conduct the Lok Sabha fairly. If the Speaker had directed the Home Minister to give a statement in the House in a serious matter of lapse in the security of Parliament, then this matter would have ended and there would not have been so much uproar," the veteran Congress leader said on X. He added that the absence of a statement from the Centre on the issue and the suspension of opposition MPs instead of holding a discussion on the matter was an "unfortunate incident in the history of Parliament". The Rajasthan unit of the Congress will protest across the state on Friday against the suspension of the opposition MPs from Parliament.