Page 53 - Parliament

45 Oppn MPs suspended in Rajya Sabha, 33 in LS over security breach row

As many as 45 opposition members in Rajya Sabha were on Monday suspended from the House for unruly behaviour and disregarding the directions of the Chair after they raised slogans over the Parliament security breach issue and disrupted proceedings. Among those suspended were Congress MPs Pramod Tiwari, Jairam Ramesh, K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala and Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav. The development occurred soon after 33 opposition members, including leader of Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, DMK's T R Baalu and TMC's Sougata Ray, were suspended in Lok Sabha following similar scenes in the Lower House. While 34 of the Rajya Sabha MPs were suspended for the remainder of the Winter session, 11 have been directed to stay away from the House pending an inquiry report on their conduct by the Committee of Privileges. The members were suspended after the House adopted a motion moved by Leader of the House Piyush Goyal for suspension of 34 MPs for the remainder of the session

I-T dept seized Rs 5,095 cr assets in 4 years till FY23, Parliament told

The Income Tax department has seized assets worth Rs 5,095.45 crore through search and seizures actions on 2,980 groups in four years till 2022-23, Parliament was informed on Monday. As per details of the search and seizure actions, including those mounted on business establishments, shared in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in 2019-20, a total of 984 groups were searched and the value of assets seized stood at Rs 1,289 crore. A total of 365 prosecutions were launched during the fiscal. In 2020-21, 569 groups were searched, leading to asset seizures of Rs 881 crore. Prosecution was launched in 145 cases. In 2021-22, 686 groups were searched and Rs 1,159.59 crore worth assets were seized, and 115 prosecution cases were launched. During 2022-23, 741 groups were searched, Rs 1765.56 crore assets were seized, and 97 prosecution were launched. "On the basis of the evidence gathered during search operation and subsequent investigation, tax-assessments ar

LOP Ranjan, 32 Oppn MPs suspended from LS on protests over security breach

The fresh action comes only days after 13 MPs, including nine from the Congress, were suspended for displaying placards and unruly behaviour

Oppn MPs insist on Amit Shah's statement on Parliament security breach

Raghav Chadha, AAP Rajya Sabha MP said that the opposition parties are just asking that the investigation report be presented in the Parliament

Parliament security breach: Police seek details of deleted Facebook page

Delhi Police has written to Meta to access social media accounts of the six accused arrested in the Parliament security breach case and details of the now-deleted Facebook page 'Bhagat Singh Fan Club', where they met each other, according to sources. Police have also collected bank account details of all the accused to see if they received money from someone for executing the December 13 incident, police sources said on Monday. Various Delhi Police teams approached family members of the accused on Sunday and collected details of their bank accounts. Bank pass books of Neelam Devi and Sagar Sharma were seized from their residences in Haryana's Jind and Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, respectively, the sources said. Delhi Police Counter Intelligence unit has written to Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, to access social media accounts of the accused persons and sought details of Facebook page 'Bhagat Singh Fan Page' like the number of members, etc. The page was created by th

LS proceedings adjourned till 2 PM, Telecommunications Bill introduced

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 PM on Monday due to protests by opposition members who were demanding a statement by Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the issue of breach of Parliament security. This is the second adjournment of the day as opposition members continued with their sloganeering and showing placards. As the House reassembled at 12 noon, Rajendra Agrawal, who was chairing the proceedings of the House, took up papers to be laid on the table. Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw introduced the Telecommunications Bill, 2023, amid the din. Agrawal asked opposition members to go back to their seats and not show placards to the chair. "Do not force the chair to take action against you," Agrawal told protesting members before adjourning the House till 2PM. When the Lok Sabha met in morning, members paid tributes to Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who passed away on Saturday. Speaker Om Birla told the House about the steps taken by th

Sad that politics is being done on this: Birla on Parl security breach

The Speaker said he will continue to consult the members on the issue and urged them to take their seats

Telecom Bill 2023: GMPC players may get spectrum at administered price

As the government tables the Telecommunications Bill, 2023 in Lok Sabha, the move is seen as a big win for Sunil Mittal's OneWeb, which had been pushing for the same

Floor leaders of INDIA bloc meet, demand statement on Parl security breach

Senior leaders like Farooq Abdullah, Jairam Ramesh, Ramgopal Yadav, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury attended the meeting

Parliament session: Centre may table Telecommunications Bill 2023 today

The new Bill states that the Centre be vested with the power to waive entry fees, licence fees, and penalties in the interest of consumers

Parl security breach: Delhi Police searches Neelam's residence in Jind

Accused Neelam Azad's parents have filed an application in the Patiala House Court of Delhi, seeking a copy of the FIR registered against her and others

PM should speak in Parliament on security breach issue: Adhir Chowdhury

Congress MP and leader of the party in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should speak in Parliament over the security breach issue, criticising him for taking four days to react to the incident. Chowdhury also claimed that Modi broke his silence on the issue because of pressure by the opposition parties and the people of the country. "The PM takes to 'X' whenever something happens anywhere in the world. But he took four days to react to the Parliament security breach incident. He should have come to the House the next day and assured people not to worry," Chowdhury told reporters here on Sunday. He finally spoke under pressure of the Opposition and the common people. I believe he should come to Parliament and speak on this issue," the West Bengal PCC chief said. In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack on December 13, two men jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during the Zero Hour,

Need probe, not debate: PM Modi's first remark on Parliament breach

Fourteen lawmakers have been suspended for disrupting Parliament proceedings by demanding a discussion and a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the incident

Chief Election Commissioner appointment Bill: The good, the debatable

In question: Though certain aspects of proposed law have been appreciated, members of Oppn and civil society have flagged infringement of independence of top poll officers. Aditi Phadnis explains

Govt likely to table Telecommunications Bill 2023 in Lok Sabha on Monday

The government is likely to table the Telecommunications Bill 2023 in Lok Sabha on Monday, according to sources. The Telecommunications Bill 2023 aims to replace the 138 years old Indian Telegraph Act that governs the telecom sector. "The President has been informed about the Telecommunications Bill 2023. It is likely to be introduced in Lok Sabha on Monday, December 18," a source told PTI. The Cabinet had cleared the bill in August. The draft Telecommunications Bill released in 2023 had proposed to bring over-the-top or the internet based calling and messaging apps under the definition of telecommunications to enhance users' safety. The bill had also proposed to curb the power of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), on which industry players had raised concern. According to government officials, the issues around over-the-top players and Trai were resolved before it was cleared by the Cabinet. The draft had proposed to ease some of the rules like refund of fees for

Parliament security breach: Delhi Police recover pieces of burnt phone

Four days after the Parliament's security was breached, the Delhi Police has recovered fragments of some broken and burnt mobile phones from Rajasthan's Nagaur, an official said on Sunday. Police have added IPC sections related to destruction of evidence to the FIR against the accused. An officer privy to the investigations said a few pieces of mobile phones have been recovered on Saturday on the instance of Lalit Jha, who was among six arrested by the police in connection to the case. A team of Delhi Police's Special Cell on Saturday took Jha to Rajasthan's Nagaur where he stayed with the help of accused Mahesh Kumawat, officials said. Sources said that the Delhi Police has decided to add more IPC sections, including Section 201 (destruction of evidence/disappearance of evidence) in the FIR registered on December 13. Police have filed terrorism charges under the stringent UAPA against the accused. Police officials said Jha and Kumawat intentionally destroyed the mobile phones to

Parliament security breach serious issue, there should be no squabbling: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the seriousness of the security breach in Parliament cannot be underestimated, and called for no squabbling over the issue amid Opposition's protests over it in Parliament. In an interview to Hindi daily 'Dainik Jagran', Modi said probe agencies are investigating the incident and taking stringent measures, noting that it is equally necessary to go to the root of people behind it and their motives. The newspaper said he described the breach as painful and a matter of concern. "Efforts should also be made to look for a solution with collective spirit. Everyone should avoid squabbling over such an issue," he said. The gravity of the incident which happened in Parliament should not be underestimated, the prime minister said, adding that the Speaker has also been taking necessary steps with all seriousness. Two persons jumped from visitors' gallery into the Lok Sabha chamber on December 13, with opposition parties, demanding a statement from Home

'Parl security breach accused wanted to stage self-immolation for drama'

The five accused arrested in the December 13 Parliament security breach case have revealed they explored the idea of self-immolation after applying fire-resistent gel on their body to create more dramatic scenes without hurting themselves and get media attention, Delhi Police officials said on Saturday. However, they later dropped this idea, settling on the plan to jump into the Lok Sabha chamber with smoke canisters, they said. The Delhi Police Special Cell, which is investigating the case, also plans to record the statement of BJP MP Pratap Simha, who had authorised the visitor passes for the two men who breached security to enter the House. Two men -- Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D -- had jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow smoke from canisters and shouted slogans, before being overpowered by the MPs. Around the same time, two others -- Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi -- released coloured smoke from canisters while shouting ...

MP suspension not linked to Parliament security breach: LS Speaker Birla

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday rejected suggestions that the suspension of 13 opposition members was linked to their protests over the recent security breach and recalled that the House had displayed exemplary solidarity and collective resolve when breaches had happened in the past. On December 13 afternoon, two men jumped inside the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery with canisters of yellow smoke. They were pinned down by MPs who were in the House during the Zero Hour. With protests by the opposition disrupting Parliament proceedings, Birla wrote a letter to all MPs, informing that he had constituted a "high-powered committee" to review all aspects of security in the Parliament complex and formulate a concrete action plan to ensure that such incidents do not recur. This committee is in addition to a CRPF director general headed panel which is investigating the incident. The speaker said he will share its report with the House once it is submitted. With oppositio

Cong, INDIA bloc trying to shield perpetrators of Parl security breach: BJP

The BJP on Saturday accused the Congress and other 'INDIA' bloc constituents of indulging in "petty politics" over the December 13 Parliament security breach incident to shield those involved in it. Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, the party's national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that the opposition 'INDIA' bloc parties are standing by the perpetrators of the security breach as their links with them were emerging. He also took a jibe at the Congress over the launch of its crowd-funding campaign, saying those who looted the country for 60 years are now seeking donations from the same country. The Congress has started a 'Donate for Desh' campaign to deflect public attention from the "unparalleled corruption" in the party that has once again surfaced following the seizure of a huge amount of cash from its Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu and a recent incident of crime against a tribal woman in Karnataka's Belagavi district, Poonawalla claimed. "There .