Page 61 - Parliament

BJP MP acquitted in 2011 assault case, judge repeals lower court's verdict

A district court on Thursday acquitted BJP MP Ram Shankar Katheria in a 2011 case in which he was accused of violence, overturning the verdict of a lower court that had sentenced him to two years in jail. A two-year sentence could have led to the Etawah MPs disqualification from Parliament. The verdict of the Agra district judge's court comes three months after Katheria was held guilty by an MP/MLA court. The former Union minister was booked for thrashing staff members of Torrent Power Limited in Agra in 2011, when the state had a Bahujan Samaj Party government. On August 5, Special Magistrate MP/MLA Court Anuj held Katheria guilty of the charges and had imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Katheria said, I was sentenced to two years jail by a court in Agra. After that I took legal help from my advocates and appealed before the Agra district judge's court. Today on November 2, I was acquitted by the court in the case. I respect the decision of the ...

There were 47 log-ins to Moitra's parliamentary account from Dubai: Report

A day before TMC MP Mahua Moitra appears before the Lok Sabha's Ethics Committee, probing BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's "cash-for-query" allegations against her, sources privy to the matter alleged that nearly 47 log-ins to her parliamentary account were made from Dubai. He has accused Moitra of asking questions, which were keyed in through her parliamentary account, at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in return for bribes and favours from the Dubai-based scion of a well-known business family. Moitra has admitted that she shared her log-in credentials with Hiranandani, whom she has described as a close friend for a long time, but has ruled out any pecuniary motivation and asserted that the questions were always hers. Dubey has accused her of compromising national interest by sharing her parliamentary portal log-in and password with an outsider, and has cited the agreement MPs sign to keep the details secret to demand action against her. The third-term BJP MP from Godda in .

Oppn MP urges parliamentary panel to take up hacking of iPhones

BJP Lok Sabha member argued that only the government, and not a parliamentary panel, had the jurisdiction to probe the issue

Draft report on bills to replace criminal laws not adopted, meet on Nov 6

A parliamentary committee scrutinising three bills to replace existing criminal laws did not adopt its draft report as scheduled on Friday, taking into account the submission of some opposition members that they needed more time to study it. The Standing Committee is now expected to meet on November 6. Sources said some opposition members, including P Chidambaram of the Congress, had written to the committee's chairperson Brij Lal, seeking more time to study the draft report and file their views as it entailed three separate bills. Seeking a complete overhaul of colonial-era criminal laws, Home Minister Amit Shah had introduced in Lok Sabha during the Monsoon session three Bills to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 with Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, respectively. The House later sent the bills to the committee for scrutiny.

Russian Upper House revokes ratification of global nuclear test ban

The upper house of the Russian parliament on Wednesday revoked the ratification of a global nuclear test ban in what Moscow has describes as a move to establish parity with the United States. The Federation Council voted to endorse a bill rescinding the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, also known as the CTBT. The bill will now be sent to President Vladimir Putin for final approval. The lower house approved the bill last week. The vote follows a statement from Putin, who warned earlier this month that Moscow could revoke its 2000 decision to ratify the bill to mirror the stand taken by the US, which has signed but not ratified the nuclear test ban. The CTBT, adopted in 1996, bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world but the treaty was never fully implemented. In addition to the US, it is yet to be ratified by China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran and Egypt. There are widespread concerns that Russia could move to resume nuclear tests to t

Bribe for query charge: BJP MP Dubey sharpens attack on Mahua Moitra

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Wednesday sharpened his attack on the TMC's Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra and posed a volley of questions over the "bribe for query" allegations against her, saying it was a matter of Parliament's dignity and India's security. In a post on X, he asked Moitra to clarify if her NIC mail was opened in Dubai or not and who bore the expenses of her foreign trips. "The question is not about Adani, degree or theft, but about your corruption by misleading the country," the BJP MP said in his post on the microblogging site without naming Moitra. The question is about the dignity of Parliament, the security of India and the proprietary, corruption and criminality of the said MP, he wrote on X, with hashtags "degree wali desh beche (the one who has degree sells the country)" and "chand paise ke le jamir beche (sells conscience for few bucks)". "The answer has to be given whether NIC mail was opened in Dubai or not? Whether questions were asked in exchange for money o

Using Parliament login credential of TMC MP was judgment error: Hiranandani

In an interview to Television News Channel Times Now, Hiranandani says that the very fact that he got entangled in the matter was an error of judgement

House panel again asks aviation min about value of A-I disinvestment

A Parliamentary panel on Thursday again asked the civil aviation ministry to explain about how the enterprise valuation of Rs 18,000 crore was arrived for the disinvestment of Air India that was completed in January last year. The matter has been mentioned by the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture in its report tabled in the Rajya Sabha. The report pertains to the action taken by the government on the recommendations/observations of the committee in the report on Demands for Grants (2023-24) of the civil aviation ministry. Tata Group's Talace Pvt Ltd has acquired Air India, Air India Express and a 50 per cent stake in Air India Airport Services Pvt Ltd (AISATS) through the disinvestment process. "The committee notes that the Enterprise Valuation method was adopted for inviting bids for disinvestment of Air India, which afforded the prospective bidders an opportunity to resize the balance sheet. The committee would like to know as t

Turkey's president submits protocol for Sweden's admission into Nato

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has submitted a protocol for Sweden's admission into NATO to Turkiye's parliament for ratification, his office said on Monday, bringing the Nordic country a step closer to membership in the military alliance. Erdogan had been delaying ratification of Sweden's membership, accusing Stockholm of being too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups his country considers to be security threats. Turkiye also was angered by a series of Quran-burning protests in Sweden. All 31 NATO allies must endorse Sweden's membership. Turkiye and Hungary are the only two allies that have yet to ratify it. A brief statement from the presidential communications directorate said Erdogan had signed the protocol on Sweden's NATO accession, which was then submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly. It was not immediately known when Sweden's membership would come to the floor. Sweden welcomed the move. Glad to hear that Turkish President Erdogan has now handed o

Home panel to adopt draft reports on bills replacing IPC, Evidence Act

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs will meet this week to adopt draft reports on the three bills that seek to replace the Indian Penal Code, the CrPC and the Evidence Act. The panel has informed its members through a notice that the draft reports on Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill will be adopted on October 27. The committee was given three months to examine the three bills and submit its report after Home Minister Amit Shah had requested the chair to refer the bills to the panel for threadbare examination. The committee took the views of various experts, including the Law Commission, during its 11 meetings held so far. The IPC and the Evidence Act are colonial-era procedural laws that form the backbone of Indian criminal jurisprudence along with CrPC.

CJI on same-sex marriage: Parl can change law, we can only interpret

The court can't make law but only interpret it and it is for Parliament to change the Special Marriage Act, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud said on Tuesday while pronouncing his verdict on 21 pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages. At the outset, Justice Chandrachud said there are four judgments -- by himself, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat and P S Narasimha -- in the matter. Justice Hima Kohli is also a part of the five-judge bench. Directing the Centre, states and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure that the queer community is not discriminated against, the CJI, who is heading the constitution bench, said queer is a natural phenomenon known for ages and is neither urban nor elitist. Justice Kaul said he agrees with the CJI on grant of certain rights to queer couples. "Non-heterosexual and heterosexual unions must be seen as both sides of same coin," he said, adding that legal recognition of non-heterosexual unions is step towards marriage .

Groups working overtime to harm our name: Adani Group on Dubey-Moitra spat

In its statement the Adani Group said these charges reveal an arrangement to hurt the groups reputation

Parl panel reviews changes in wildlife protection, forest conservation laws

Recent amendments to the wildlife protection, forest conservation and biological diversity laws were discussed by the members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change with officials of the central and state governments, and their concerns would be reported. Congress leader and the chairman of the committee, Jairam Ramesh, on Sunday said the panel has concluded its five-day study tour of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bandipore and Nagarhole tiger reserves and Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary. He also noted that the study tours of the parliamentary panels have been restricted to a maximum of 10 days a year, which he said should be flexible. "The Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change has just completed its 5-day study tour of ISRO in Bengaluru, visit to the Bandipur and Nagarhole Tiger Reserves and Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, followed by a discussion with ...

LS Speaker meets EU Parl VP, protests resolution on India's internal issues

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday lodged a strong protest with European Parliament Vice President Nicola Beer over its resolution on India's "internal issues". Birla told the European Parliament Vice President that every nation and Parliament is sovereign and internal issues of other countries should not be discussed by others. In July, the European Parliament had adopted a resolution calling on the Indian government to act "promptly" to halt the violence in Manipur and protect religious minorities. "Birla underlined India's sovereignty and protested against bringing a proposal in the European Parliament on India's internal issues," the Lok Sabha Secretariat said in a statement. India had dubbed the July resolution "unacceptable" and "reflective of a colonial mindset". Birla invited the European Parliament vice president to witness the festival of democracy during Indian general elections scheduled for next year. Beer congratulated Birla for a successful P20 Summit and empha

VP meets Prez of Inter-Parliamentary Union Duarte Pacheco on P20 sidelines

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met Speaker of Turkey's Grand National Assembly Numan Kurtulmus

LIVE: Middle-East conflict raises fuel price concerns, says FM Sitharaman

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Discussion on development goals impossible without peace: Inter-Parl Union

His concerns assume relevance amid a new war that started last weekend between Israel and Hamas, with already conflict stretching for over 19-20 months between Russia and Ukraine

Canadian Speaker Raymonde Gagne skips G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit

Amid a diplomatic row, Speaker of the Canadian Senate Raymonde Gagne has decided to skip the Presiding Officers' Summit of Parliaments of G20 nations that began here Thursday. Gagne had earlier confirmed her presence at the Parliament-20 meeting chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. "The Canadian Speaker is not attending the Summit. Schedules keep changing," Parliamentary sources said. Earlier, Birla had said he would raise "several issues" in his informal talks with the Speaker of the Canadian Senate. India, Canada relations have nosedived after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations last month linking Indian agents to the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June. India had dismissed the allegation as "absurd". The P20 meeting got underway on Thursday with Parliamentarians of G20 nations participating in the Parliamentary Forum on LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), a movement proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PM Modi to inaugurate P20 Summit on Oct 13, discuss critical global issues

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate on Friday the meeting of Presiding Officers of Parliaments of G20 member nations that will deliberate on critical global issues such as gender equality and transforming lives through public digital programmes. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will kick-start the three-day summit on Thursday by chairing a Parliamentary Forum on LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), a movement proposed by Modi to advocate sustainable lifestyles to safeguard the environment. The Parliamentary Forum on LiFE will bring together parliamentarians from G-20 nations, along with invited countries and international organizations, to deliberate on strategies for advancing sustainable lifestyles and combating climate change, a Lok Sabha Secretariat statement said. This forum holds significance, serving as a platform for parliamentarians to exchange insights and successful approaches in the promotion of sustainable living, it said. The President of the Pan African Parliament wi

'HECI to be introduced in Parl, law colleges not to be brought under it'

The Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill to set up a single higher education regulator will be introduced in Parliament soon but medical and law colleges will not be brought under its ambit, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. In an interview with PTI, Pradhan said the HECI will have three major roles which are regulation, accreditation and setting professional standards. Funding, which is seen as the fourth vertical, will not be under the HECI and the autonomy for funding will stay with the administrative ministry, the minister said. "We will bring the HECI bill in Parliament soon...after that also there will be standing committee scrutiny but we have started comprehensive work for everything. There are three major verticals. First is regulatory role, which UGC (University Grants Commission) does...it has already started lot of internal reforms at its level," Pradhan said. "Second is accreditation at two levels...accreditation of colleges, and accreditation of