Page 42 - Rajya Sabha

Next Opposition meet of INDIA coalition in Mumbai on Aug 25-26: Report

Opposition parties will hold the next meeting of their 26-member INDIA coalition in Mumbai on August 25 and 26, sources said on Thursday. The third meeting of the bloc will be hosted jointly by the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP's Sharad Pawar faction, with support from the Congress, they said. This is the first time that the opposition meeting will be held in a state where no member of the INDIA bloc is in power. While the first meeting of opposition parties was hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) in Patna, the second was held in Bengaluru and hosted by the Congress. The Mumbai Summit -- as it is being called by INDIA bloc parties -- is significant as discussions regarding seat sharing are expected to be taken up.

Opposition boycotts Rajya Sabha Business Advisory Committee meeting

Opposition alliance INDIA on Thursday boycotted a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Rajya Sabha to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi not making a statement on Manipur violence in Parliament, a senior leader said. The Rajya Sabha BAC has 11 members, including the Vice-President who is its ex-officio chairman. Three MPs from the 26-member opposition front INDIA are on the BAC committee -- Jairam Ramesh (Congress), Misa Bharti (RJD) and Derek O'Brien (TMC). They and BRS's Keshav Rao gave the meeting a miss. This was the latest in a slew of meetings that members of the opposition bloc either walked out of or boycotted over the last few weeks. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday met some leaders of political parties as he worked on deciding the date on which the debate on the no-confidence motion will be held. Parliamentary sources said a decision will be taken later. On Wednesday and Thursday, some opposition members in the Lok Sabha objected to the govern

Meet S Phangnon Konyak, Nagaland's 1st woman MP to preside over Rajya Sabha

The first woman MP from Nagaland to preside over Rajya Sabha, Konyak will likely become a leading BJP woman's voice from the Northeast, soft but insistent

Rajya Sabha passes bill with stringent provisions to curb film piracy

Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill which has provisions for up to three-year jail term and a fine of up to five per cent of the production cost of a film for persons making pirated copies of movies. The bill also has provisions to introduce three age-based certifications under the 'UA' category, namely 'UA 7+', 'UA 13+' and 'UA 16+', and to empower the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to sanction a film with a separate certificate for its exhibition on television or other media. "The film industry is facing a loss of Rs 20,000 crore annually because of piracy," Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said, responding to a brief debate on the bill in Rajya Sabha. The opposition staged a walkout over its demand for a discussion on the situation in ethnic strife-torn Manipur when the bill was taken up for discussion. Thakur said, "The bill has been brought to stop the loss of Rs 20,000 crore which occurs due to piracy. The ...

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amid ruckus created by Oppn parties

The Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the second time till 2 pm on Thursday amid continuous sloganeering by members of both treasury benches and the opposition. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, who was allowed by the chair to raise questions on the statement made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the latest developments in India's foreign policy, could not speak in the House due to the uproar. Soon after the House met at 12 noon, after an initial adjournment, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar allowed Kharge to speak but treasury benches started raising slogans. The opposition members also countered them and raised slogans, which led to a pandemonium in the House. Slogans like "kaale kapde, kaala kaam, nahin sahega Hindustan" were heard in the House when the Leader of Opposition rose to speak. The reference was towards the opposition members who were wearing black clothes as a mark of protest for not allowing them to raise the Manipur issue in the House. After

Costing Rs 2.5 lakh per minute, logjams in Parliament are a costly affair

The Lok Sabha overall recorded a productivity of 34 per cent, while the Rajya Sabha's productivity was 24.4% during this Budget Session

INDIA alliance likely to boycott RS Business Advisory Committee meeting

Opposition alliance INDIA is likely to boycott a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of Rajya Sabha to be held on Thursday morning to protest against the prime minister not making a statement on Manipur violence in Parliament, a senior leader said. The Rajya Sabha BAC has 11 members including the Vice President as its ex-officio chairman. Three MPs from the 26-member INDIA are on the BAC committee -- one each from Congress, RJD and TMC. Sources said the parties may send someone who is not a member as an "observer" to the meeting. However, it is not clear if such an "observer" will be allowed to attend the meeting. On July 20, several opposition leaders had walked out of a BAC meeting to protest against Modi not making a statement on the Manipur issue in Parliament and the Centre bringing a bill to replace an ordinance on the control of services in Delhi despite it being sub-judice. Leaders of the Congress and other opposition parties including the Left, TMC, DMK, RJD,

Delhi Court awards 4-yr jail to ex-MP Vijay Darda, son for coal scam

A Delhi court on Wednesday sentenced ex-Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, his son Devender Darda, and businessman Manoj Kumar Jayaswal to four years in jail in a case related to irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh, saying the convicts obtained the block by cheating the government of India. All three convicts were taken into custody immediately after the court order. Special Judge Sanjay Bansal also awarded three-year jail terms to ex-coal secretary H C Gupta and two former senior public servants K S Kropha and K C Samria in the case. The three convicts were, however, granted bail by the court to enable them to challenge their conviction and punishment before the high court. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh on the company, JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd, which was convicted in the case. The court imposed a fine of Rs 15 lakh each on the Dardas and Jayaswal. The other three convicts were directed to pay a fine of Rs 20,000 each. The present case relat

Monsoon Session: Rajya Sabha proceedings adjourned briefly amid din

Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday claimed he was "insulted" as his mic was turned off while he was speaking in the House the previous day. In the morning session, the House also witnessed acrimonious exchanges between opposition and treasury benches and sloganeering by the two sides, leading to a brief adjournment. Referring to Tuesday's proceedings, Kharge said he was not allowed to speak in the House and "my mic was turned off". "It was a breach of my privilege. This is my insult. My self-respect has been challenged. "If the House is run on the instructions of the government, then I will understand that it is not a democracy," the Congress president said. Other opposition members supported Kharge with many of them raising slogans. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asked them to take their seats. When he informed Kharge that several MPs were standing in the rows behind him, the Congress leader said, "Mere peechhe khade agar nahi

Centre to move Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill in RS to curb film piracy

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur is to move the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Upper House in the second half of the day for its consideration and passage

Govt to table bill in RS for inclusion of certain communities in ST list

Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda will move the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the Rajya Sabha in the second half of the session

LIVE: Opposition plans no-confidence motion against govt tomorrow

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Ceiling prices of 691 formulations have been fixed under NELM 2022: Centre

The government on Tuesday said that till July 17, ceiling prices have been fixed for 915 scheduled formulations. Out of the total, ceiling prices of 691 formulations have been fixed under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) 2022 and 224 formulations under NLEM 2015, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Bhagwanth Khuba said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. Besides, the retail price of around 2,450 new drugs under Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 has been fixed till July 7, 2023, he noted. The minister also stated that a total of 5,772 complaints alleging overcharging were received by drug pricing regulatory body NPPA over the five-year period ranging between 2018-19 and 2022-23. Replying to a query regarding the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs), Khuba said 9,512 outlets are now functional across the country. The product basket of PMBJP presently comprises about 1,800 medicines and 285 surgical devices, covering all major therapeu

I-T searches, assets seizure increased over the last three fiscals: Govt

The number of groups searched by the Income Tax Department and the resulting seizure of assets has shown an increasing trend over the last three financial years, according to a government data placed in the Parliament on Tuesday. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said, in a written reply, to the Rajya Sabha that a total of 741 groups were raided by the tax department and assets worth Rs 1,765.56 crore seized during the 2022-23 fiscal. Similarly, 686 groups were searched by the I-T department during the 2021-22 fiscal and properties worth Rs 1,159.56 crore were seized preceded by 569 groups raided in 2020-21 and assets worth Rs 880.83 crore were seized.

RS faces another adjournment, Oppn demands discussion on Manipur violence

Soon after the House reassembled at 12 noon following the first adjournment earlier, the Opposition leaders raised their demand. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar proceeded

Make comprehensive statement in both houses on Manipur violence: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make a "comprehensive" statement in both houses of Parliament on the violence in Manipur. He said the situation in the northeast was fragile and the repercussions of the Manipur violence seem to be spilling over to other states too, asserting that it was not good for the country's sensitive border states. Kharge said 83 days of unabated violence in Manipur require that the prime minister make a comprehensive statement in Parliament. "Stories of absolute horror are now slowly trickling down. INDIA demands answers from the Modi Government on Manipur violence," he said on Twitter. Kharge said it was high time that Modi sheds his "ego" and takes the country into confidence on Manipur. "PM Modi must tell what his government is doing to improve the situation and when will normalcy return in Manipur," he said. The opposition has been demanding a statement from the prime minister in both houses of ...

Oppn alliance INDIA plans no-confidence motion in LS over Manipur incident

A proposal to submit the notice was discussed at a meeting of the constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Tuesday morning

Lessors have applied for deregistration of 54 Go First planes: Govt

Lessors have sought deregistration of 54 aircraft of Go First and aviation regulator DGCA is closely monitoring the situation since the airline announced cancellation of flights in May, the government said on Monday. Cash-strapped budget carrier Go First stopped flying on May 3 and is undergoing a voluntary insolvency resolution process. In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has received applications from lessors for deregistration of a total number of 54 aircraft leased to Go First. "Processing of the applications by DGCA is subject to the outcome of the cases before National Company Law Tribunal, Delhi and the hon'ble High Court of Delhi," he said. The minister also said the regulator has been closely monitoring the situation since Go First on May 2 announced cancellation of their flights and their application for insolvency filed under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 ...

Rajya Sabha disrupted by uproar over Manipur violence, AAP MP's suspension

Rajya Sabha proceedings were on Monday rocked by the opposition uproar over Manipur violence and suspension of AAP MP Sanjay Singh from the House for the remainder of the Monsoon session. When the Upper House of Parliament reassembled at 3 pm, having been adjourned three times earlier in the day, following heated exchanges between Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and TMC's Derek O'Brien over the issue of party affiliations of those submitting notices on the Manipur issue and suspension of Singh, noisy scenes resumed as Deputy Chairman Harivansh asked the AAP MP to leave the House. Singh was on Monday suspended from Rajya Sabha for the rest of the Monsoon session for repeatedly "violating" the directives of the Chair while protesting on the Manipur issue. Opposition parties condemned the action against Singh and accused the government of trying to throttle their voice. "Sanjay Singh has been suspended... I had asked him to leave the House. Despite my appeal, the member did not leave the Ho

AAP MP Sanjay Singh suspended from Rajya Sabha for entire Monsoon session

AAP MP Sanjay Singh was on Monday suspended from Rajya Sabha for the rest of the Monsoon session for repeatedly "violating" the directives of the Chair while protesting on the Manipur issue. Opposition parties condemned the action against Singh and accused the government of trying to throttle their voice. The suspension came after Leader of the House Piyush Goyal moved a motion in this regard and it was adopted by the House by voice vote. Before that, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar named Singh for his "unruly behaviour" and cautioned him. Singh had rushed to the well of the House and was pointing at the Chair while seeking a discussion on Manipur when he was cautioned. The Aam Aadmi Party leader, however, continued to protest in the House even after he was suspended and Rajya Sabha was adjourned. Later, opposition members raised the issue with the chairman and urged him to revoke the suspension. They also walked out in protest and boycotted the meeting of floor leaders cal