Page 51 - Parliament

Govt ropes in CISF for Parliament complex's security after recent breach

The government has decided to hand over the "comprehensive" security of the Parliament building complex to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in the wake of the recent breach of the safety ring, official sources said Thursday. The CISF is a central armed police force (CAPF) that currently guards many central government ministry buildings in Delhi apart from installations in the nuclear and aerospace domain, civil airports and the Delhi Metro. The sources told PTI that the Union home ministry on Wednesday directed for a survey of the Parliament building complex so that a "regular deployment of the CISF security and fire wing on a comprehensive pattern" could be done. Experts drawn from the government building security (GBS) unit of the CISF, that guards central government ministries, and fire combat and response officers of the force along with officials from the current Parliament security team will undertake the survey beginning later this week. Both the new and the old

Parliament winter session ends ahead of schedule after wave of suspensions

146 MPs were suspended in the two Houses for unruly behaviour

LIVE news: Army truck ambushed by terrorists in J-K's Poonch District

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New criminal laws get Parliament nod, RS passes Bills with voice vote

Three new bills that seek to overhaul the colonial-era criminal laws, making punishments more stringent for crimes such as terrorism, lynching, and offences endangering national security, were approved by Parliament on Thursday. The bills were passed in the Rajya Sabha by voice vote. The Lok Sabha had approved these on Wednesday. The bills that repeal and replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act will usher in a new era in the criminal justice system, Home Minister Amit Shah said while replying to a debate in the Upper House of Parliament. The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bills will now go to the president for her assent, upon which these will become laws. Just like in the Lok Sabha, the legislations were passed in the Rajya Sabha in the absence of most opposition MPs, who were suspended for unruly behaviour while pressing for a discussion on the December

Parliament approves Bill to simplify newspaper registration process

Parliament on Thursday passed a bill to replace a British-era law governing publishing industry and simplify the process of registration of periodicals. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023, which was passed by voice vote in the Lok Sabha, will make the registration of periodicals a one-step process as against the eight-step process in the archaic law. The bill replaces the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act, 1867. "This bill is simple, smart and has a simultaneous process for registration of newspapers and periodicals. Earlier newspapers or magazines had to pass through an eight-step registration process. This can now be done at the click of a button," he said. The Rajya Sabha had passed the bill on August 3.

Rajya Sabha takes up discussion on bills to replace IPC, CrPC, Evidence Act

The bills were moved for consideration and passing in the House by Home Minister Amit Shah

Parliament security breach: Court extends custody of accused till Jan 5

A Delhi court on Thursday extended till January 5 the police custody of four accused arrested in the Parliament security breach case. Special Judge Hardeep Kaur extended the custody of the accused Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde and Neelam Devi? by 15 days on an application moved by the city police. In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack on December 13, two of them- Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D- jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow gas from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by some MPs. Around the same time, two others- Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi- also sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting "tanashahi nahi chalegi" outside the Parliament House premises.

INDIA bloc to hold protest march today over suspension of MPs from Parl

A total of 143 Opposition MPs have been suspended from both the Houses of Parliament over the past week

Parliament security breach: Police questions 2 more people, say reports

The Delhi Police has questioned two more people in connection with the Parliament security breach case, sources said on Thursday. While one of them is said to be a close friend of accused Manoranjan D and belongs to Karnataka, the other hails from Uttar Pradesh, police sources said. A team of the Special Cell questioned the duo on Wednesday, they added. They are suspected to be a part of the now-deleted Facebook page 'Bhagat Singh Fan Club', which was created by the accused before the security breach incident, said sources. In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack last Wednesday, two men -- Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D -- jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released coloured smoke and shouted slogans, before being overpowered by the MPs. Two others -- Neelam and Amold Shinde -- were detained outside the Parliament complex for staging a protest. The four were arrested and charged under the stringent

Delhi police detains Karnataka ex-cop's son in Parliament breach case

The Delhi police on Wednesday night detained Bengaluru techie from his home in Bagalkot in connection with the massive security breach in Parliament on December 13

This action is inappropriate: Pilot hits out at BJP over suspension of MPs

A total of 143 MPs--97 from Lok Sabha and 46 from Rajya Sabha--have been suspended so far for creating a ruckus and disrupting proceedings in both Houses

Extend FAME-II, set deadline for polluting vehicles: Parliament committee

To maximise the environmental decarbonisation benefits of EVs, the establishment of solar-powered EV charging stations is essential, the Committee said

Two more Lok Sabha MPs suspended, count at 143 Opposition lawmakers now

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday suspended two more opposition MPs for showing placards in the House. Thomas Chazhikadan of the Kerala Congress (Mani) and A M Ariff of the CPI(M) were suspended for misconduct after a resolution moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi was adopted by the House. This takes the number of suspended MPs in the Lok Sabha to 97. So far 143 opposition MPs have been suspended from the two Houses of Parliament.

House panel recommends benchmark percentage of GDP for defence allocation

The government should fix a "definite benchmark" percentage of the GDP for defence budget as military expenditure by neighbouring countries and the evolving global security scenario warrant such an outlay for the country to prepare for dealing with future security challenges, a parliamentary panel said on Wednesday. It expressed "surprise" over the defence ministry not taking any action towards arriving at such a benchmark yet following its earlier recommendation. In its report, the parliamentary standing committee on defence, specifically recommended putting adequate focus on developing futuristic drones and electronic warfare systems to confront future challenges. "While appreciating the concern and the efforts made by the ministry towards preparedness of the defence forces in the country, the committee feel that the recent wars in the international arena should act as a grim reminder that the nomenclature of war has really changed and defence preparedness in terms of an electroni

Parliament passes Bill to raise cap on age of GSTAT president, members

Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill that will raise the cap on the age limit for president and members of GST Appellate Tribunals. The bill was approved with a voice vote in Rajya Sabha and returned to Lok Sabha, which had passed the bill on Tuesday. In the post-lunch session, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved The Central Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Upper House. The bill seeks to raise the cap on age for president and members of the GST Appellate Tribunals (GSTAT) to 70 years and 67 years, respectively. Currently, the age limit for the president is 67 years and for members is 65 years. The bill also seeks to align the provisions of the Central GST Act in line with the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021. Among others, with the latest amendments, an advocate with 10 years of 'substantial experience' in litigation in matters relating to indirect taxes in an appellate tribunal, would be eligible to be appointed as a judicial member of the GSTAT.

Breach and overreach

Sustained disruption needs systemic solutions

'Remember who mimicked whom': Congress' reply to row after PM speaks to VP

President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday criticised the mimicry episode and expressed their pain at the way things unfolded

India's pledge to eliminate child labour by 2025 distant goal: House panel

The implementation of a policy to eliminate child labour has a long way to go before achieving its ultimate goal by 2025 and the country needs a uniform definition of 'child' under various laws, a parliamentary panel said in its report on Wednesday. According the 52nd report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles And Skill Development Committee tabled in the parliament, the panel found ambiguity in definition of child under various legislations. It stated, "The implementation of the Policy has to go a long way for achieving the objective of elimination of child labour as per commitments made by the county after ratification of ILO conventions and to achieve the target stipulated in Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 to end all forms of child labour by 2025." According to the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (CALPRA), the panel noted, 'child' means a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age or such age as may be ...

What are the restrictions imposed on suspended MPs? All you need to know

The Lok Sabha Secretariat's latest circular prohibits all 141 MPs from entering the Parliament chamber, lobby, and galleries for the duration of their suspension

Travesty of parliamentary democracy: Shashi Tharoor on suspension of MPs

Slamming the government over the suspension of over 140 MPs, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday claimed that a "dubious record" had been created as in no country so many lawmakers had been suspended together and alleged that our entire parliamentary democracy has been "betrayed and reduced to a travesty". Speaking with reporters after participating in the opposition protest over the suspension of MPs, Tharoor, who was himself suspended on Tuesday, said that with the suspension of so many opposition MPs, the history of parliamentary democracy has been "besmirched" in our country. What has been seen in the country in the last few days is a "travesty of parliamentary democracy", he said. "I did a bit of research, never in the entire history of Parliamentary democracy has any Parliament in any country in the world ever suspended or expelled 150 people. That is the dubious record being set in our Parliament this week," he said. Everyone understands that the basic principle of