Rajya Sabha

Day after Nitish filed RS nomination, JD(U) workers continue to vent spleen

JD(U) workers on Friday continued to protest the decision of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to enter the Rajya Sabha, a move seen as signalling the end of his more than two-and-a-half-decade-long stint in Bihar politics. At the JD(U) office here, situated right across the street from the BJP's state headquarters, irate party workers staged a demonstration alleging that "traitors" had hatched a "conspiracy" with the alliance partner to "get rid of" their leader, who had been an eyesore for the "powerful liquor lobby" ever since he brought prohibition. "There are some people in our party who are playing the role of Jaichand (12th-century Rajput chieftain who aided Afghan invader Muhammad Ghori). One is in the Union cabinet, and the other has come from the BJP and is lording over us now", an irate JD(U) worker alleged. The allusion was to Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, an old aide of Nitish Kumar and a former party president, and Sanjay Kumar Jha, the JD(U)'s working ...

Nitish files RS nomination; Bihar govt likely to be headed by BJP CM

Nitish Kumar filed his Rajya Sabha nomination on Thursday, signalling his exit as Bihar CM and setting off a tussle over succession as Opposition parties term the move a betrayal of the 2025 mandate

Nitish, Nitin Nabin, Pawar set to get elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha

Bihar's longest serving chief minister Nitish Kumar and BJP president Nitin Nabin are set to enter Rajya Sabha unopposed while NCP-SP supremo and veteran politician Sharad Pawar will return to the upper house once again after they filed their nomination papers on Thursday. The leaders were among the 40 candidates who filed their papers on the last day of nomination for 37 seats that are falling vacant in 10 states, leading to a keen contest for one seat each Bihar, Odisha and Haryana. Seven seats are falling vacant in Maharashtra, six in Tamil Nadu, five each in Bihar and West Bengal, four in Odisha, three in Assam and two each in Haryana, Telangana and Chhattisgarh, besides one seat in Himachal Pradesh. The scrutiny of papers will take place on Friday, and the nominations can be withdrawn till March 9. If needed, polling will be held on March 16. In Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam, assembly elections are likely to be held in April. The BJP is set to increase its tally in the Up

Anand Sharma hits out after Congress picks Anurag Sharma for RS seat

Speaking to ANI in Shimla before leaving for Delhi, Sharma said he was not in a position to comment on why he was not chosen as the party candidate

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar confirms Rajya Sabha bid, thanks voters for trust

Nitish Kumar confirms he will seek entry to the Rajya Sabha, saying it fulfils a long-held goal, while the question of who will replace him as Bihar chief minister remains open

Tawde, Athawale among 4 BJP nominees for Rajya Sabha polls from Maharashtra

The BJP on Wednesday announced four candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Maharashtra, nominating Union minister Ramdas Athawale and former state minister Vinod Tawde, among others, for the Upper House. Besides Athawale and Tawde, the party has also fielded Maya Chintaman Ivnate and Ramrao Wadkute for the biennial elections. Seven Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra are set to fall vacant in April. With over 230 MLAs in the 288-member assembly, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is in a position to ensure the election of all its four nominees. The Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra retiring this year include NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Athawale, who heads RPI (A), Fauzia Khan of NCP (SP), Rajni Patil (Congress), Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena (UBT), and BJP leaders Dhananjay Patil and Bhagwat Karad. Polling will be held on March 16 between 9 am and 4 pm, with counting scheduled to commence at 5 pm the same day. The Election Commission of India has announced electio

ECI announces schedule for biennial Rajya Sabha polls across 10 states

The polling is scheduled to take place on March 16, with the counting of votes on the same day at 5 pm. The election process will be completed by March 20

Stormy first leg of Budget session over; Lok Sabha to meet again on March 9

Stormy phase sees Opposition protests over India-US trade deal and memoir row; eight MPs suspended, House to reconvene on March 9

'Protect CAs, break Big Four dominance': Congress MP in Rajya Sabha

Congress leader Vivek K Tankha on Thursday in the Rajya Sabha demanded legal protection for chartered accountants and called for measures to break the dominance of four multinational audit firms in India, saying domestic CA firms need government support to compete. Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, the Madhya Pradesh MP said Deloitte, PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), E&Y (Ernst & Young), and KPMG have mandates worth more than Rs 10,000 crore each, while nearly one lakh Indian CA firms have businesses that never cross Rs 10 crore. "I am voicing the concern of nearly five lakh chartered accountants who live in this country and work, and also more than four lakh who live abroad. They are the gatekeepers of our businesses. They are the crisis managers of our operationalised government policies," Tankha said. Highlighting the critical role CAs played in implementing policies like demonetisation and GST, he said: "The ministers may announce, but it is the CAs who .

AAP's Raghav Chadha pitches 'Right to Recall' to boost voter accountability

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Wednesday called for introducing a 'Right to Recall' mechanism, arguing that voters should have the power to remove elected representatives before the completion of their five-year term if they fail to perform. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, he said, while Indian citizens have the constitutional right to elect Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs), there is currently no direct mechanism for voters to de-elect them mid-term on grounds of non-performance or misconduct. The 'Right to Recall' framework would allow constituents to initiate a formal process to remove an elected representative through a structured and legally defined procedure, he said, adding that India already provides for impeachment of the President, Vice President and judges, and allows no-confidence motions against governments. Extending a similar accountability principle to individual legislators, he said, would strengthen democrat

Petroleum reserves can sustain India for 74 days in crisis: Minister Puri

India's strategic petroleum reserve can last 74 days to meet the demand arising out of any global turbulence, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, the minister said for any country like India, which is growing at a phenomenal pace, there must be a very viable and secure reserve, so that it is not in a vulnerable situation in the case of global turbulence. He said India has several refineries both in the West coast as well as the East. "According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), today we are the world's third largest consumer of crude oil. We have the world's fourth largest refining capacity - currently around 260 million metric tonne per annum going on to 320 million metric tonne per annum. And, we are also the world's fifth largest exporter of petroleum products. "The strategic petroleum reserve is designed to ensure that in case of total global turbulence, we must have enough stock left to

Opposition walks out from Rajya Sabha on Kharge being not allowed to speak

Opposition members of the Rajya Sabha on Monday staged a walkout from the House while raising the issue of LoP Mallikarjun Kharge not being allowed to speak. Congress member Kharge rose during Question Hour to say that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak on the Motion of Thanks. Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, however, did not allow him to raise the issue relating to the Lok Sabha and said "nothing that he says will go on record". Earlier, Kharge raised the issue of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal making a statement last week on the India-US trade deal, outside the House when Parliament was in session. As the Chairman did not allow Kharge to speak, members of the entire Opposition were on their feet, raising their protest. As the Chairman proceeded with the Question Hour, Opposition members continued with their protest and later staged a walkout from the House.

Govt proposes merging two agricultural schemes for flexibility to states

The government on Friday informed Parliament that it is seeking inter-ministerial comments on a proposal to merge two central agriculture schemes - Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and Krishonnati Yojana - into a single umbrella scheme to provide greater flexibility to states. Minister of State for Agriculture Ramnath Thakur, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, said the ministry's centrally sponsored schemes currently operate under two umbrellas - Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) and Krishonnati Yojana (KY). An Expenditure Finance Commission (EFC) draft for an umbrella scheme covering centrally sponsored schemes of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for the 16th Finance Commission period has been initiated, he said. "The draft has been circulated for inter-ministerial consultations," Thakur said. The single umbrella scheme proposal has been initiated to give greater flexibility to states to take up need-based components, he ...

India moving forward at fast pace, says PM in Rajya Sabha as Oppn walks out

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country was moving in the right direction.

Enemy properties worth ₹2,930 crore sold till January 28: Govt

The government has sold movable and immovable enemy properties worth Rs 2,930 crore till January 28, Rajya Sabha was informed Wednesday. Assets left behind by people who have taken citizenship of Pakistan and China - mostly between 1947 and 1962 - are called enemy property. In a written response to a question, Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar said the disposal and monetisation of enemy properties are done in accordance with the provisions of the Enemy Property Act, 1968 and the rules and guidelines framed therein. "As on 28.01.2026, movable and immovable enemy properties worth Rs. 2,930 crore have been sold," he said. Kumar said the government has taken several steps to fast-track monetisation of enemy properties making district magistrates to act as ex-officio deputy custodian of such properties, SDMs as ex-officio assistant custodian, tehsildar as ex-officio inspector and deputy secretary posted the custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI) regional offi

Monazite reserves pegged at 13.15 mn tonnes across 8 states: Reddy

The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a unit of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), has estimated significant rare earth minerals resources in beach sands and hard rocks, with 13.15 million tonnes of monazite identified in deposits from eight states. Monazite is a reddish-brown, phosphate mineral rich in rare-earth elements (REEs) and thorium, primarily sourced from heavy mineral beach sands and igneous rocks. "As on January 28, 2026, rare earth minerals resources estimated by AMD include 136 deposits of beach sand minerals containing 13.15 million tonnes of monazite (a mineral of thorium and rare earths) occurring in the coastal beach, teri/red sands and inland alluvium in parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand and West Bengal," Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy said in the Rajya Sabha. The deposits, containing about 7.23 million tonnes in-situ rare earth oxide (equivalent) resources, are located in

All probable causes of Air India crash under probe, govt tells Rajya Sabha

The civil aviation ministry on Monday said all probable causes leading to the Air India plane crash in June last year are being investigated, and all efforts are being made to complete the probe in a time-bound manner. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is probing the crash that killed a total of 260 people. In one of the worst aircraft accidents in India, a total of 260 people, including 241 passengers, died after Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft operating flight AI171 to London Gatwick crashed soon after take off from Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol on Monday told the Rajya Sabha that the AAIB probe is in progress. "All probable causes leading to the accident are being investigated, and all efforts are being made to complete the investigation in a time-bound manner," he said in a written reply. In its preliminary report on the crash that was released on July 12 last year, AAIB said the fuel supply to both engines o

Sunetra Pawar to take charge as Maharashtra Dy CM: Early life, career

Sunetra Pawar is a Member of the Rajya Sabha in Parliament and a prominent public figure in Maharashtra

Sudha Murty warns against fake videos using her image, voice for scams

Rajya Sabha member, author and philanthropist Sudha Murty on Wednesday cautioned against fake videos circulating online that falsely use her image and voice to promote financial schemes and investments. She said, these are "deepfakes" created without her knowledge or consent. "I want to alert you to fake videos circulating online that falsely use my image and voice to promote financial schemes and investments. These are deepfakes created without my knowledge or consent," Murty said. "Please do not make any financial decisions based on these fraudulent videos. I urge you to verify information through official channels and report any such content you encounter. Stay vigilant and stay safe. Jai Hind!" she posted on 'X' along with a video message. In the video message, Murty, who is also the Chairperson of the Murty Trust said, as a rule, she never talks about investments or doing anything with money. "I'm really concerned and pained to tell everyone, when you look at facebook there i

Digvijaya Singh rules out third Rajya Sabha term, tenure ends April 9

On Tuesday in Bhopal, Singh announced his decision to vacate his Rajya Sabha seat. When questioned about his successor, he stated that the decision rests with the party