Page 67 - Parliament

Improve trains' punctuality during Parl session: Railway Board to all zones

The Railway Board has sent an email to all its zones asking them to monitor and improve the punctuality of all mail/express trains" in view of the five-day Parliament session starting from Monday. An email from the principal executive director (coaching), Railway Board to general managers and other senior officers engaged in the safe rail operations has stressed the need to address all issues that impact the punctuality of trains. According to sources in the Railways, the Board has issued this advisory as several members of Parliament (MPs) travel by train and they have to attend the special session from September 18 to September 22. Asset failures to be monitored and speedy rectification of asset failures to be ensured to minimize the impact on punctuality. Trains to be run at the maximum permissible speed to make up the lost time due to failures and other causes, the email said. It added, Excess engineering speed restriction affecting punctuality to be attended immediately and ..

Energy efficiency focus in Parl lighting, will save 50% power: Official

Energy efficiency is a key focus in the new Parliament building's lighting, and the structure will consume over 50 per cent less power than the conventional system, according to an industry official. The building, inaugurated in May this year and is set to host its maiden session from Tuesday, also has a lot of customised lighting and even chandeliers, a senior official from a vendor handling a part of the lighting said recently. "We are...delivering products, which are very energy efficient. We have integrated sensors with the products, and that's how the complete solution comes out," Raja Mukherjee, the head of the business group for the lighting division at Panasonic Life Solutions, told PTI. There are daylight integration sensors and motion occupancy sensors, which add to the total energy saving, he said. Panasonic has done work on the lighting controls aspect and not the entire lighting, he noted. "From the conventional system, when you migrate to the LED, you already save ..

Special session: Din in Lok Sabha after national anthem played before time

An abrupt halt to the playing of the national anthem in the Lok Sabha on Monday drew protests from the opposition benches, prompting an intervention by Speaker Om Birla. The audio systems in the House beamed national anthem even before the Speaker had assumed his chair. The gaffe was soon noticed and the national anthem was stopped mid-way. The entire national anthem was played when the Speaker entered the Lok Sabha chamber. The national anthem 'Jana, Gana, Mana ' is played in the House at the beginning of a new session of Parliament. The Session ends with the playing of the national song 'Vande Mataram.' Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi and BSP's Danish Ali were among the opposition party leaders who objected to playing of the national anthem before Birla entered the Lok Sabha chamber. The Speaker pacified the agitated opposition members, saying sometimes technical lapses happen. "We do not like when you are insulted," Congress' Leader of the House Adhir Ranjan was heard telling

PM Modi mentions monumental MPs while bidding adieu to old Parliament

As the functioning of Parliament shifts to the new building, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the oldest member of Lok Sabha - 93 years old Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq and the youngest - 30 years old Chandrani Murmu of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) who became an MP at the age of 25. He also remembered Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Indrajit Gupta, who served as a Lok Sabha MP for almost 36 years from 1960 to 2001, except for a short period from 1977 to 1980. Barq, a sitting MP of Lok Sabha, has been elected an MP nine times. He first became a Lok Sabha member in 1996 from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. He had won four times as an MLA before that. He was elected to Lok Sabha from Moradabad again in 1998 and 2004, and from Sambhal in 2009 and then again in 2019. Barq has also been in the centre of controversies. In 2019, Barq was the centre of debate after he refused to chant "Vande Mataram" in Parliament, during his oath taking ceremony. Murmu won Lok Sabha election

PM bids adieu to old Parliament with paeans to Nehru, dig at Manmohan

Bidding farewell to the old Parliament building, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday sang paeans to first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and subsequent leaders, including Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, P V Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but also reminded the Lok Sabha of the 'cash-for-vote' scam during the Manmohan Singh government. Initiating the discussion in the Lok Sabha on "Parliamentary Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha -- Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings", Modi also said there were celebrations everywhere when three new states of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh were created during Vajpayee's time but lamented that Telangana being carved out of Andhra Pradesh led to only bitterness and bloodshed in both the states. "It is a very emotional moment to bid farewell to this building. As we leave this building our mind is filled with many emotions and memories," Modi said. In his 52-minute speech, the prime minister recalled

Oppn decides to raise people's issues in Parliament's special session

Leaders of INDIA bloc met here on Monday ahead of the start of special session of Parliament and decided to participate in the discussions and raise people's issues, sources said. The leaders during the meeting of INDIA alliance in the morning decided to continue with the floor coordination among the parties during the five-day session and corner the government on issues of price rise, unemployment, Manipur violence and Chinese transgressions on the border. They also decided to press the government to allow discussions on issues related to Adani firms, farmers distress, economic situation in the country, and the caste census. Sources said the alliance decided to oppose the CEC and other ECs appointment bill which has already been introduced in the Rajya Sabha. Leaders of the Congress, TMC, RJD, NCP, left parties, JMM, Samajwadi Party, DM and VCK were among those who attended the meeting at the office of leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge at around 10 AM. Former

'Modi was selective, didn't talk about rights given to people during UPA'

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "selective" in his speech in Parliament and did not talk about the rights given to people during the Manmohan Singh government. While acknowledging that the prime minister said some "very good things" in his speech and spoke well, Tharoor said there had also been failures under his prime ministerial tenure such as when demonetisation happened, there was no discussion in Parliament. Prime Minister Modi lauded the vision of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and subsequent leaders, including Lal Bahadur Shastri, P V Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but also reminded the Lok Sabha of the 'cash-for-vote' scam during the Manmohan Singh government. Reacting to the prime minister's speech, Tharoor said, "He (Modi) said some very good things but he also did not say some things which he should have said. Our country has had many successes and failures and he chose according to his will, that is fi

Strategy of weaponising disruption will never be accepted: RS Chairman

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said the strategy of "weaponising disruption and disturbance" will never be accepted by people and asked MPs to avoid confrontational posturing. As the Rajya Sabha proceedings began on the first day of the five-day Parliament session, Dhankhar, in his opening remarks, said, "Traversing the seven-decade journey, from Samvidhan Sabha to the present day in Amrit Kaal, these hallowed precincts have witnessed many milestones." "Hon'ble members, this journey had historical moments -- from 'Tryst with Destiny' on the midnight of August 15, 1947, to the unfolding of the innovative forward-looking GST regime on midnight of June 30, 2017, and now this day," the Rajya Sabha chairman said. The five-day 261st session of the Rajya Sabha started on Monday with a discussion on 'Parliament Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha -- Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings'. The chairman said that the deliberations in the Constituent

Cong bats for Women Reservation Bill, points out skewed proportion

The Congress on Monday urged the government to bring Women Reservation Bill in the parliament and highlighted the issue of unemployment saying rising joblessness will finish democracy in the country. During a discussion on 'Parliamentary Journey of 75 years Starting from Samvidhan Sabha Achievements, Experiences, Memories And Learnings' leader of the opposition Mallikarjun Kharge from Congress said, "Women Reservation Bill should come. We all tried. This issue if you (Chair) raise then they will." Kharge highlighted the small numbers of women lawmakers in parliament, saying they constituted only 14 per cent in both houses combined, while their number in legislative assemblies is just 10 per cent. The proportion of women MPs was just five per cent in first Lok Sabha in 1952. Kharge told the House that the proportion of women members had risen to 28 per cent from two per cent in the US Parliament while in Britain, it jumped to 33 per cent from three per cent. Ram Nath Thakur of JD(

Let us resolve to make India corruption-free, developed nation: Goyal

As the Rajya Sabha on Monday started a discussion on Parliament's 75-year journey, Leader of the House and Union Minister Piyush Goyal called for making India a corruption-free and developed nation. When the House assembled for the five-day session, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar lauded the prime minister's vision for the successful G20 Summit. He also announced that the House will discuss 'Parliamentary Journey of 75 Years Starting from Samvidhan Sabha -Achievements, Experiences, Memories, and Learnings'. The chairman said all members will get an opportunity to express their views during the six-hour discussion. Leader of the Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also requested the chairman to revoke the suspension of two AAP members, Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha, at a time when the House is holding the session and moving into the new Parliament building. Initiating the discussion, Leader of the House Goyal recalled the contribution made by various members hailing fro

From Nehru to Chandrayaan-3: PM Modi's parliament speech highlights

During the first day of the special Parliament session, prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the significance of the old building and paid homage to its history and legacy

RS Chairman reconstitutes panel of vice-chairpersons with 50% women MPs

The vice chairpersons are eligible to preside over the house in the absence of the chairman or the deputy chairman

Don't understand if this is a special session or normal: LoP Chowdhury

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also pointed out Nehru's contribution to India at a time when the country was reeling under the aftereffects of partition, poverty and other challenges

Special session: Emotional moment to leave old Parliament, says PM Modi

Parliament special session: Modi said that while foreign rulers had decided to build the structure, it was constructed by the hard work, sweat and money of the people of India

Parliament special session: AAP issues whip for its MPs in Rajya Sabha

The whip to the party's Rajya Sabha MPs said that very important issues will be taken up in the Upper House in the upcoming special session

Special session of Parliament: PM Modi to speak in Lok Sabha at 11 am today

Parliament special session: It is going to be the last day of business in the existing building before the legislature shifts to the adjacent new building on Tuesday

Special session of Parliament to begin today: Here is all you need to know

Parliament special session: On August 31, the Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Prahlad Joshi announced that a special session will be held from September 18 to 22

Five-day special session of Parliament set to begin today in new building

Earlier, on Sunday, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Joshi requested all parties for active cooperation and support for the smooth functioning of the two Houses of Parliament

Women parliamentarians share memories of old parl in handwritten notes

In a display of nostalgia, 10 women parliamentarians shared their memories, messages and experiences of the old Parliament building in handwritten notes as they prepared to bid farewell to the structure ahead of a move into the new complex during the upcoming session. The MPs representing various political parties offered heartfelt tributes to the building that has been the epicentre of India's democratic journey. Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, in her note, recounted her journey within the hallowed halls of the old Parliament building. "From an awed visitor in 2006 to a first-time MP in 2009, then a first-time minister in 2014, these 144 pillars in this temple of democracy hold a multitude of memories for me," she said. The "beautiful building, embellished with the history and handiwork of thousands of Indian artists, sculptors and labourers has been a place of intense learning and immense satisfaction", Badal added. Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena (UBT) echoed

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