Page 28 - Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha polls: BJP renominates Vaishnaw from Odisha, L Murugan from MP

The BJP on Wednesday named Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan its Rajya Sabha candidates from Odisha and Madhya Pradesh respectively. If elected, a near certainty, it will be the second Rajya Sabha term for the two leaders from these states. Railway Minister Vaishnaw is likely to get elected with the support of the state's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), as was the case during the former IAS officer's election for the first term in 2019. From Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has named three more candidates besides Murugan, the MoS in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, for the five vacancies from the state. The BJP has the numbers to win four seats while the Congress can win one.

Rajya Sabha elections: BJP fields Vaishnaw from Odisha; BJD extends support

The Bharatiya Janata Party has released names of four candidates for Madhya Pradesh and one for Odisha for Rajya Sabha biennial elections, slated for February 27

Rajasthan Congress welcomes Sonia Gandhi's nomination for Rajya Sabha

Sonia Gandhi left her residence early on Wednesday morning for Rajasthan from where she will file her nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections

Sonia Gandhi to submit nomination for RS polls from Rajasthan today

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi will file on Wednesday her nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls from Rajasthan, party sources said. It will be the 77-year-old leader's first term in the Upper House after serving five terms as a Lok Sabha MP. Congress sources said party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi's son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are likely to accompany her to Jaipur for filing her papers. Gandhi, who represented Rae Bareli in Lok Sabha, will not contest the next general elections. She has been a five-term Lok Sabha MP and was first elected in 1999 after taking over as the Congress president. "She is likely to file nomination for Rajya Sabha on Wednesday," a source said. A total of 56 members of Rajya Sabha from 15 states are retiring in April and the election to the seats will be held on February 27. The last date for filing nominations is February 15. The Congress is comfortably placed to win one of the three Rajya Sabha sea

Congress likely to send former party chief Sonia Gandhi to Rajya Sabha

Congress leaders met at party president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence to discuss the names of candidates for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for February 27

SP renominates Jaya Bachchan for RS polls in UP, releases candidates' list

The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Tuesday renominated Jaya Bachchan to the Rajya Sabha, and announced the candidature of former MP Ramjilal Suman and retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan for the polls to the Upper House of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh. They filed their nomination papers for the elections at the Uttar Pradesh assembly complex, where SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, party general secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav and other party leaders were present. Returning Officer and Special Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Braj Bhushan Dubey said that all three candidates have submitted their nomination papers in two sets each. The scrutiny of the papers will be held on February 16 from 11 am onwards, he said. Bachchan's fourth term as a Rajya Sabha member is ongoing and the actor-turned-politician has been renominated for a fifth term. Suman is a four-time MP from Firozabad. He became an MP in 1977 on a Janata Party ticket, in 1989 on a Janta Dal ticket, and in 1999 and 2004 on an SP ...

TMC names journalist Sagarika Ghose, Sushmita Dev, two others for RS polls

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday announced the names of journalist Sagarika Ghose, party leader Sushmita Dev and two others for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls from the state. Elections to the five Rajya Sabha seats from West Bengal will be held on February 27. "We are pleased to announce the candidature of @sagarikaghose, @SushmitaDevAITC, @MdNadimulHaque6 and Mamata Bala Thakur for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections", the party posted on X. "We extend our heartfelt wishes to them and may they work towards upholding Trinamool's enduring legacy of indomitable spirit and advocacy for the rights of every Indian", it said. While Nadimul Haque, a two-time Rajya Sabha MP, finds himself back in the limelight, the decision not to renominate three sitting MPs Subhasish Chakraborty, Abir Biswas, and Santanu Sen marks a notable shift in the party's strategy. Ghose, a renowned journalist, is yet to officially join the TMC. Former Congress leader Dev, who had joined the TMC in 2021

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