Page 23 - Rajya Sabha

RS polls: BJP fields RPN Singh; drops Sushil Modi, Rajeev Chandrasekhar

The party fielded its Jat leader, Subhash Barala, from Haryana, instead of its sitting Member of Parliament, DP Vats

Ram temple symbol of peace, unity and harmony: Piyush Goyal in Rajya Sabha

The Ram Janmabhoomi movement unified the entire country, Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal said on Friday as he described January 22 as a "historic" day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended the second exile of Lord Ram with the consecration ceremony at the temple in Ayodhya. Replying to a short duration discussion in the House on the construction of historic Shri Ram Temple and Pran Pratishtha of Shri Ramlalla, Goyal said the Ram temple in Ayodhya is a symbol of peace, unity and harmony. He also highlighted Modi's resolve and relentless efforts in building the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The prime minister has fulfilled his guarantee and promise to the nation, Goyal said, adding that the temple is equally a symbol of India's progress (vikas) and heritage (virasat). At the same time, the construction of the temple paves the way for the country's economic growth by boosting tourism on a large scale, he said. "Since the Pran Pratishtha, we saw that in a matter of days

Congress mastered art of spoiling accomplishments: FM Sitharaman in RS

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday took a dig at the Congress saying the grand old party mastered the art of ruining accomplishments of the previous government as they did while managing inflation during the 10-year UPA regime. Replying to a short duration discussion on 'White Paper on Indian Economy' in the Rajya Sabha, she said there was mismanagement of the economy during 2004-2014 by the Congress-led UPA government. She said the Modi-led government toiled for 10 years to bring the economy back on track, taking India from 'Fragile Five' to 5th largest economy of the world. She said that India is soon going to become the world's third largest economy. Sitharaman said the inflation rate was below 4 per cent in the last year of Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, but it remained significantly high during the 10-year UPA regime. "Gur ko gobar karna inki mastery hai (Congress has mastery of ruining something that has been accomplished)," she said. The finance minister atta

Oppn walks out of RS; CPI(M) refuses participation in Ram Temple discussion

Opposition parties on Saturday walked out of the Rajya Sabha opposing the BJP government's white paper on the economy, with the CPI(M) also refusing to participate in the discussion on the Ram temple in the House. The Left party said it will not become "party to communalise the political situation". Both Houses of Parliament -- the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha -- are holding a discussion on "the construction of historic Shri Ram Temple and Pran Pratishtha of Shri Ramlala". Members of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) were among those who walked out over the white paper brought by the government in Parliament to compare the state of the economy during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regimes. Participating in the discussion on the white paper in the Rajya Sabha, CPI(M) member John Brittas said, "Protesting against the discrimination shown to Kerala, we are walking out. "We are also n

Parliament approves interim Budget 2024-25, with RS returning Finance Bill

Parliament on Thursday completed the exercise of passing the interim Budget for 2024-25, with Rajya Sabha returning the Finance Bill 2024 and the relevant appropriation bills. The Upper House also returned the appropriation bills related to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The bills were returned to Lok Sabha after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reply on the discussion. On Wednesday, Lok Sabha passed these bills. Rajya Sabha returned the Appropriation (Vote on Account) Bill, 2024; The Appropriation Bill, 2024; The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2024; The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2024; and The Finance Bill, 2024. With Rajya Sabha returning all these money bills to Lok Sabha, the Budget process has been completed.

Highlight of interim budget emphasis on capex: FM Sitharaman in RS

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the highlight of interim budget is the emphasis given by the government on capital expenditure and sustaining pace of economic growth. She was replying to the general discussion on the Interim Union Budget 2024-25, Finance Bill 2024 and the Interim Budget of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, 202425 in Rajya Sabha. The minister emphasised that capital expenditure for creation of public infrastructure is growing faster than real GDP growth. "With the capital expenditure being in the focus, in the last 3-4 years, we have made sure that our debt management is done in such a way that we honour the glide path for fiscal deficit that we had given in 2021," the minister said. She emphasised that money spent on capital expenditure gives return compared to revenue expenditure. "So public investment in infrastructure gives us greater returns," she said, and added the government is making sure that fiscal deficit is managed without hurt

FM Sitharaman moves Finance Bill 2024 for consideration in Rajya Sabha

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday moved the Finance Bill 2024 for consideration in the Rajya Sabha. The Finance Bill 2024 will be considered for returning to the Lok Sabha which passed the bill on Wednesday. The finance minister also moved a bill related to Jammu and Kashmir budget bill and appropriation Bill authorising the government to meet expenses for four months in the next financial year. "I move that the bill to continue the existing rates of income tax for the financial year 2024-25 and to provide for certain relief to taxpayers and to make amendments in certain enactments as passed by Lok sabha be taken into consideration," Sitharaman said while introducing the Finance Bill 2024-25. The minister moved the appropriation vote on Account Bill 2024 as passed by Lok Sabha as part of the discussion on the interim budget. The Appropriation Bill 2024 , The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation 2 Bill, and the Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill 2024 were also moved by t

PM Modi lauds ex-PM Manmohan Singh in RS farewell speech for retiring MPs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi while bidding farewell to the retiring members in Rajya Sabha on Thursday lauded the "immense contribution" of his predecessor Manmohan Singh

Congress has outdated ideology; we extend our sympathies: PM Modi in RS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a swipe at Congress Rajya Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge for his '400 paar' speech

Rajya Sabha passes bill to amend water Act to decriminalise minor offences

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a Bill which seeks to decriminalise minor offences related to water pollution, enable the Centre to prescribe service conditions of chairpersons of State Pollution Control Boards, and exempt certain categories of industrial plants from statutory restrictions. Piloting the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill 2024 in the Upper House of Parliament, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said that development and environment protection must go together. There should be harmony in ease of living and ease of doing business, he added. Replying to a debate on the Bill, the minister said its provisions will lead to greater transparency in dealing with various issues related to water pollution. The Bill, which seeks to amend the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, was approved by the Rajya Sabha by voice vote. According to the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill, the amendment proposes to rationalise ..

No decision to introduce plastic notes: MoS finance to Rajya Sabha

Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Tuesday said the government has taken no decision to introduce plastic notes. Efforts to enhance the durability and counterfeit resistance of the Indian banknotes is an ongoing process, he said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. As per the RBI Annual Report 2022-23, he said, "The total expenditure incurred on security printing stood at Rs 4,682.80 crore for 2022-23. No cost has been incurred on printing of plastic notes". "Government has taken no decision to introduce plastic notes in terms of section 25 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Efforts to enhance the durability and counterfeit resistance of the Indian banknotes is an ongoing process," the minister said. In reply to another question, Chaudhary said trading illegal commodities using any kind of assets, including crypto assets, is a crime and is dealt with as per existing penal provisions. The Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/ Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) provis

Sanjay Singh gets nod from court to attend Parliament to take oath as RS MP

A Delhi court on Tuesday granted fresh permission to AAP leader Sanjay Singh, arrested in alleged excise scam, to attend Parliament to take oath as a Rajya Sabha MP. Special Judge MK Nagpal allowed Singh to go to Parliament in police custody either on February 8 or 9. The judge passed the order on the application filed by Singh, seeking directions to the jail superintendent concerned for taking him physically to Rajya Sabha to take oath as its member. The judge had earlier on February 3 allowed a similar application filed by Singh. However, the AAP leader could not take oath despite reaching Parliament on Monday. Official sources cited the direction of Rajya Sabha on August 11, 2023 that Singh's suspension for unruly conduct during the monsoon session will remain in force and he cannot attend proceedings till the Privileges Committee submits its report and it is considered by the House. The application sought direction to the authorities concerned to take him again to Rajya Sabha

Unruly passengers on no-fly list soared 78% last year, shows data

Whenever a passenger indulges in unruly behaviour, the incident must be investigated by the airline's internal committee to decide the duration for which the passenger will be banned from

AAP leader Sanjay Singh not allowed to take Rajya Sabha oath: Reports

Jailed AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who has been re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Delhi, on Monday could not take oath as it was not listed in the business of the House, sources in the Rajya Sabha secretariat said. Singh, who is in judicial custody in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, came to Parliament to take oath following permission from a Delhi court. The Aam Aadmi Party said Singh should have been allowed to take oath but official sources cited the August 11th direction of the Upper House that Singh's suspension for unruly conduct during the Monsoon session will remain in force and he cannot attend proceedings till the Privileges Committee submits its report and it is considered by the House. That the matter pertains to Singh's previous term has no impact on this, they said. "Summons (for oath taking) were not issued to Sanjay Singh who had also been elected, as he suffered the directives of the House passed on 11th August 2023 disentitling him

11.863 million houses sanctioned under PMAY-U: Centre to Rajya Sabha

PMAY-U is a demand-driven scheme and the Government of India has not fixed any target for financial year-wise sanctioning of houses under the scheme

Budget session highlights: PM predicts at least 370 seats for BJP in LS

Parliament Budget Session 2024 Live Updates: Catch all the latest developments here

5 of 14 rail projects taken up to boost coal evacuation, commissioned: Govt

Of the 14 rail projects taken up for implementation to boost coal evacuation, five have already been commissioned and the remaining are at different stages of construction, Parliament was informed on Monday. In addition, coastal shipping and inland waterways are also being promoted for evacuation of coal, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Replying to a query, Joshi said, "14 rail projects have been taken up for implementation for improving coal evacuation... Of these, five rail lines have already been commissioned and others are at various stages of construction." "In addition to the above, the Ministry of Railways has planned several rail projects under Green Energy Corridor Projects, High-density Network Projects and Rail Sagar Projects," the minister said. The coal ministry recently launched a coal logistics policy and integrated coal evacuation plan to address the issue of coal transportation amidst rising demands.

Cong Telangana unit authorises party high command to finalise RS candidates

The Pradesh Election Committee of the Congress' Telangana unit on Tuesday passed a resolution authorising party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to finalise its candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections to fill three vacancies from the state. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said a unanimous resolution was passed authorising Kharge and the Congress' Central Election Committee to finalise the candidates. The meeting, attended by Deepa Dasmunshi -- the All India Congress Committee's (AICC) Telangana in-charge -- and other leaders, discussed the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha elections and finalised an action plan, he said. Elections will be held to fill three vacancies in the Rajya Sabha from Telangana. Reddy -- who is also the Congress' Telangana unit chief -- said applications from probable candidates for the Lok Sabha polls will be accepted at Gandhi Bhavan, the party's headquarters in the state. Telangana has 17 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress is like

14 suspended Oppn MPs to attend House proceedings during Budget session

The Rajya Sabha Privileges Committee on Tuesday held 11 suspended opposition MPs guilty of breach of privilege and contempt of the Council of States, but Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar revoked their suspension allowing them to attend the Budget session, sources said. In its report to the Rajya Sabha chairman a day before the session starts on Wednesday, the committee also recommended that the period of suspension already suffered by the members be treated as "sufficient punishment" for the transgression. The MPs held "guilty of breach of privilege and contempt of the Council" of States are Jebi Mather Hisham, L Hanumanthaiah, Neeraj Dangi, Rajmani Patel, Kumar Ketkar, G C Chandrashekhar, Binoy Viswam, Sandosh Kumar P, M Mohamed Abdulla, John Brittas and A A Rahim. The committee presented the report to Dhankhar, taking note of the situation that the suspended members would not be able to attend the special address of President Droupadi Murmu to both Houses of Parliament, the first address

Lone seat vacant on Nadda's term expiry can go to Sonia or Priyanka: Cong

Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh on Tuesday said the lone Rajya Sabha seat falling vacant on expiry of six-year term of BJP national president JP Nadda on April 2 can go to Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. "We would discuss the matter with senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the seat could go to them if they are willing," Singh said when asked about sending their names from the state. Sonia Gandhi contested from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 general election. Priyanka Gandhi is neither a member of the Lok Sabha nor the Rajya Sabha at present. "The names of Sonia Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi Vadra can be considered if they so desire," she told mediapersons here in reply to a question on the sidelines of a function to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 76th death anniversary. Following declaration of schedule for the elections to 56 Rajya Sabha seats, including one in Himachal Pradesh, search has be