Page 32 - Rajya Sabha

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

Rajya Sabha proceedings adjourned till 2:30 pm in post-lunch session

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2:30 pm on Thursday in the post-lunch session amid Opposition demand for a discussion on the Parliament security breach and protests over the suspension of TMC member Derek O'Brien. When the Upper House, which witnessed two adjournments earlier in the day, reassembled for the post-lunch session, Opposition members started sloganeering and demanded Union Home Minister Amit Shah to come to the House and give a statement on Wednesday's security breach in the Lok Sabha. Without naming O'Brien, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said his continued presence in the House despite the suspension was in disregard of the rules and asked him to leave. As the Opposition members continued raising slogans, Dhankhar adjourned the House till 2:30 pm.

MP O'Brien suspended from RS for remainder of winter session for misconduct

TMC member Derek O'Brien was on Thursday suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the remainder of the Winter session for his "unruly behaviour" and "misconduct". Soon after the House assembled at noon after an initial adjournment, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar named O'Brien and warned him for his conduct. He was named earlier in the morning also for his "unruly behaviour" and was asked by the chairman to leave the House. Accusing O'Brien of violating the directions of the chair and for disrupting the proceedings of the House, the chairman allowed Leader of the House Piyush Goyal to move a motion in this regard. The motion was adopted with a voice vote and the chairman announced that O'Brien stands suspended from the House for the remainder of the session. Dhankhar then adjourned the proceedings till 2 PM as members of the opposition protested the suspension.

Smriti Irani opposes menstruation leave policy, says it's 'not a handicap'

Union Minister Smriti Irani warned that menstrual leave could lead to discrimination against women in the workforce

Winter Session: Parliament clears bill to repeal 76 outdated, obsolete laws

Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill to repeal 76 redundant and obsolete laws with the government saying the move is part of its continuing efforts to improve the ease of living and doing business. The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2023 was cleared in the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote. Lok Sabha had cleared the legislation on July 27 this year. In December last year, the government introduced the Repealing and Amending Bill to cull 65 old laws. But the bill could not come up for discussion in subsequent sessions. The government later moved amendment to add 11 more laws to the list, bringing the total to 76 laws. The bill proposes to repeal outdated laws like the Land Acquisition (Mines) Act, 1885 and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950. The bill also seeks to repeal certain Appropriation Acts passed by Parliament in the recent past. Replying to the debate, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the Modi government since coming to power in 2014 has repealed 1,486 def

Four posts in National Commission for Scheduled Tribes lying vacant: Govt

Four posts, including that of chairperson, are lying vacant in the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Bishweswar Tudu informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. These posts are of constitutional nature, he said in a written reply. The minister said the post of chairperson, vice-chairperson and two posts of members are lying vacant from June 27, 2023; July 27, 2019; and January 16, 2020, respectively. The post of chairperson fell vacant due to the resignation of the incumbent on personal grounds, he added. Proposals for selection of chairperson and members of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) received by the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry from various sources -- including eminent personalities, chief ministers of states, MLAs, MPs and directly -- are scrutinised in the ministry, he added. The credentials of the proposed persons are verified from the state governments/state authorities concerned. Once approved by the Un

Watch: Parliamentarians thrash intruder who breached Lok Sabha security

Lok Sabha security breach: Two unidentified men with canisters jumped from the visitor's gallery of the Lok Sabha

Congress seeks answers from govt on 'serious security breach' in Parliament

The Congress on Wednesday demanded answers from the government on the "serious security breach" in Lok Sabha, saying does the incident "not prove that necessary precautions were not taken". Two persons jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour and released yellow gas from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by MPs. Around the same time, two persons, including a woman, also sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting slogans 'tanashahi nahi chalegi' outside the Parliament premises. In a post on X, party president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the security breach that took place in Parliament is a very serious matter. "We demand that the Home Minister should come to both the Houses and give a statement on this. The question is, how did two people come inside such a big security department and release gas from a canister there," he said. "Today, on Martyr's Day, we paid tribute to the brave .

Dhankhar prods RS members in call for discussion on student suicides

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday took cognisance of suicides among students due to the stress of competitive exams and prodded members of the Upper House to propose a discussion on the issue. During Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, five supplementaries were asked by members on suicides among students due to competitive exams. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan replied to all oral supplementaries but the members continued to show their anxiousness over the issue. Taking cognisance of the seriousness of the issue, Dhankhar said, "I appeal to the honourable members that this is an issue (in which) we must involve ourselves. We can make huge contributions." He suggested evolving an ecosystem where student suicides can be minimised and brought down to zero. "Everyone has a role to contribute. I will be open to a discussion on this issue as the members may feel," he stated. Earlier, replying in the House on the starred or oral questions, Pradhan informed the

Dharmendra Pradhan to move Central Universities Amendment Bill in RS today

The Winter Session, 2023 of Parliament commenced on December 4 and will continue till December 22 and will be having 15 sittings spread over 19 days

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Govt says 10 PSBs transferred NPAs of over Rs 11k cr to NARCL from Jan-Nov

A total of 10 Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have transferred Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of over Rs 11,617 crore to NARCL between January and November this year, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) has recovered Rs 16.64 crore as on November 30, 2023. He said recovery in NPA accounts is an ongoing process, and security receipts issued to lenders by NARCL, backed by government guarantee, provide a five-year time window for effecting the recovery in such accounts. "Further, corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is going on in some of the accounts acquired by NARCL. Recovery will be effected in these accounts after the resolution plans get approved by the National Company Law Tribunal. In remaining accounts, NARCL has recovered Rs 16.64 crore, as on 30.11.2023," Karad said. NARCL is bad ba