Page 27 - Rajya Sabha

Winter Session: Lok Sabha clears 3 key Bills as 49 more Oppn MPs suspended

The Congress, which now has only nine MPs in the Lok Sabha that have not been suspended, termed it a "complete purge" to ensure the passage of "draconian bills" without any meaningful debate

About 20% of 510 mn Jan Dhan accounts inoperative: MoS finance informs RS

About 20 per cent of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts in the country are inoperative, the government said on Tuesday. As on December 6, of the total 10.34 crore inoperative PMJDY accounts, 4.93 crore belong to women, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat K Karad said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. As per data received from banks, of the approximately 51.11 crore PMJDY accounts, around 20 per cent accounts were inoperative as on December 6, he said. The percentage of inoperative PMJDY accounts is similar to the percentage of overall inoperative accounts in the banking sector, he said. The deposited balance in the inoperative PMJDY accounts is around Rs 12,779 crore, which is around 6.12 per cent of the total deposited balance in PMJDY accounts, he said. This balance continues to earn interest at par with that applicable to operative accounts and can be claimed and withdrawn by depositors at any point of time after the account becomes operative again, he ...

Over 2.9k drugs found to be substandard in tests conducted in 2022-23: Govt

Out of the 89,729 drug samples tested between April 2022 and March 2023, 2,921 drugs were found to be "not of standard quality" while 422 were identified as spurious, the Rajya Sabha was told on Tuesday. In a written reply, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said 642 prosecutions were launched for manufacturing, sale and distribution of spurious/adulterated drugs, while 262 persons were arrested during the same period as per information received from drugs controllers of various states and Union territories. This excludes data from Rajasthan. Giving details of the previous year, Pawar said a total 88,844 samples were tested between April 2021 and March 2022 of which 2,545 were declared to be not of standard quality while 379 were found to be spurious. She said 592 prosecutions were launched for manufacturing, sale and distribution of spurious/adulterated drugs and 450 persons arrested during the same period. Responding to a question, Pawar said that in order to asse

Not good for democracy: Kharge on suspension of MPs from Parliament

The Congress chief said several MPs have tried to put forward their opinions so far in Parliament

Rajya Sabha clears Bills to extend women's reservation to J-K, Puducherry

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 4 pm on Monday after two Bills to introduce reservation for women in legislative assemblies of Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir were passed by voice vote in the House amid an uproar by the opposition over the Parliament security breach. The Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill were passed by the Lok Sabha last week. The Bills were passed by the Upper House amid continuous sloganeering by opposition parties, who have been demanding that Union Home Minister Amit Shah make a statement on the December 13 security breach in the House. After the passage of the Bills, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the security breach is a matter of "collective concern". "Incidents of such nature have also occurred in the past. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that this august institution works in the safest and most conducive atmosphere. "A high-level enquiry committee for an in-d

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

Kharge writes to RS Chairman, urges to revoke Derek O'Brien's suspension

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday wrote to Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, urging him to revoke the suspension of Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien. Kharge said the TMC leader was only demanding a statement by the Home Minister on the security breach issue in Parliament. "All he (O' Brien) was trying to do was to attract your attention so as to raise the collective demand of INDIA parties for a statement by the Minister of Home Affairs on the shocking incident that took place in Lok Sabha on December 13," the Congress leader said. He said the Home Minister not speaking on the issue is a "breach of Parliamentary traditions and conventions". "These are perfectly legitimate demands. It is a breach of Parliamentary traditions and conventions that the Minister of Home Affairs can speak about the events of December 13 at a media function but refuses to say anything about in form of a statement in Parliament when the Parliament itself is in session," he ...

RS adjourned till 2pm, Dhankhar warns MP's for disrupting proceedings

Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha also faced pandemonium, leading to its adjournment for the day as the opposition stirred a massive ruckus

Amit Shah to move Govt of UTs (Amendment) Bill in Rajya Sabha today

According to the agenda released, Shah will also move the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023, which seeks to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019

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

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

AAP appoints Raghav Chadha as party leader in RS, replaces Sanjay Singh

The Aam Aadmi Party has appointed its MP Raghav Chadha as the leader of the party in Rajya Sabha in place of Sanjay Singh, sources said. In a letter to the Rajya Sabha Chairman, the AAP party leadership has said that in the absence of Sanjay Singh, who has "health issues", Raghav Chadha will henceforth be the party's leader in the upper house. AAP MP Sanjay Singh is currently behind bars in the Delhi liquor policy case. Sources in the Rajya Sabha secretariat confirmed that a letter has been received from the AAP regarding appointing Chadha as its floor leader. The letter is with the RS Secretary General for implementation. Chadha is one of the youngest members of Rajya Sabha. The AAP has a total of 10 MPs in the Upper House currently. The AAP has the fourth largest strength in Rajya Sabha after the BJP, the Congress and the TMC.

Our son can't do this: Parents of parl security breach mastermind Jha

Days after the Parliament security breach had shocked the nation, the parents of the alleged mastermind Lalit Jha, are still in a state of disbelief. Jha's father Devanand, who practices priestcraft in Kolkata to make ends meet, is visibly discomfited by the attention his dilapidated ancestral house in Bihar has since been attracting. "I came to know about my son's arrest through other people. As you all can see, we do not even own a TV set", Devanand Jha told journalists at his house in Rampur Uday, a nondescript village in Darbhanga district. His wife Manjula, who looked dazed, screamed amid sobs "My child is not a rogue. He cannot indulge in wrongdoings. He has always loved to help people. He has donated his blood three times". It has been a week since the couple last saw their 32-year-old son, who handed himself over to the Delhi police on Thursday, two days after four persons, two of whom found their way into the Lok Sabha's visitors' gallery, entered the Parliament building .

Parliament security breach accused wanted to create anarchy: Police

Lalit Jha, arrested in the Parliament security breach case, is the "mastermind" of the entire conspiracy and he and co-accused wanted to create anarchy in the country so that they could compel the government to meet their demands, the Delhi Police told a city court on Friday. Sources said police are likely to seek the Parliament's permission to recreate the December 13 incident that unfolded on the anniversary of the 2001 attack on it. Jha, who hails from West Bengal, was sent to seven-day police custody on Friday after his arrest last night. Police claimed in the Patiala House court that he admitted that the accused met many times to hatch the conspiracy to breach Parliament security. Besides, he was also required to be interrogated to ascertain whether the accused had association with any enemy country or terrorist organisation, police said. Talking about the future course of investigation, a senior police officer said that they will be taking Jha to Rajasthan to trace the places

'Govt 'mowed down democracy': Why is Opposition against Election Commissioner Appointment Bill?

The Rajya Sabha recently passed a Bill on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) appointments. The Bill was vehemently opposed by the Opposition. Watch the video to know wh

Balasore tragedy: Rs 51.37 cr disbursed as ex-gratia payment to next of kin

The Railway Ministry has made a payment of Rs 51.37 crore as ex-gratia and compensation amount to the next of kin and victims of the Balasore train tragedy, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday. The Balasore train accident caused the deaths of 296 passengers and over 1,200 were injured. Vaishnaw's response came after two BJD MPs, Sulata Deo and Niranjan Bishi, asked if the ex-gratia compensation announced by the Railways for the victims has been paid. Payment of ex-gratia has been made to the victims of the Balasore train tragedy. An amount of Rs. 51.37 crores has been paid as ex-gratia and compensation to the next of kin/victims of Balasore tragedy, Vaishnaw said in a written reply. The accident took place on June 2 when the Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary freight train at Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore and some of its derailed coaches fell onto the adjacent tracks and collided with the oncoming Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express. The ...

RS adjourned till 2 pm amid oppn protest over parliament security breach

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Friday amid protest by the Opposition parties after Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar rejected their notices to suspended the scheduled business of the day to discuss the security breach in Parliament. Soon after the listed papers were laid on the table, the Chairman informed the House that he had received 23 notices regarding the "serious situation" arising from Wednesday's Parliament security breach. Dhankhar said investigation on the incident is underway and it will be taken to a logical conclusion. "I unable to persuade myself to allow the notices," he said, which led to a protest by Opposition parties. Some of the opposition parties also raised the issue of suspension of TMC member Derek O'Brien from the House for the remaining part of the Winter session scheduled to conclude on December 22. Amid protest, the Chairman adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.

Parl security breach: 4 accused charged under UAPA, key conspirator nabbed

Four persons arrested in connection with the security breach in Parliament have been charged under the anti-terror law UAPA besides sections of the Indian Penal Code while key conspirator Lalit Mohan Jha was held on Thursday evening, police sources said. On Wednesday, Lalit came with the four others to Parliament. When they got only two passes, Lalit decided to take the mobile phones of all four -- Sagar, Manoranjan, Neelam and Amol -- with him. During interrogation, it was revealed by the four accused that they wanted to enact revolutionary Bhagat Singh's action of throwing bombs inside the Central Assembly during British rule in India, the sources said. Police said the accused had planned to throw pamphlets in Parliament after using the smoke bombs, adding that they had also bought tricolours. The case was registered against the four -- Sagar Sharma (26), Manoranjan D (34), Amol Shinde (25) and Neelam Devi (37) -- under UAPA sections 16 (punishment for terrorist act) and 18 ...

LIVE: Delhi police produce four accused before court seeking 15-day custody

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Lok Sabha Security Breach update: Ruckus in Parliament, 5 detained

Parliament security breach: On December 13, chaos erupted in the Lok Sabha as a major security breach unfolded. Two individuals managed to infiltrate the chamber, causing widespread disorder. 5 of the