Lok Sabha

PM Modi weighs continuing free grains program into Lok Sabha polls 2024.

The proposal involves continuing a $24 billion program by another six months to June 2024, said the people who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private

Rahul to take his first trip to Wayanad tomorrow after LS disqualification

He is on bail, which was extended by the Sessions Court in Gujarat. The court will hear his appeal against conviction in the case on April 13

Make lotus bloom in both civic polls, LS elections in 2024: UP CM

CM Yogi said, "The country under the leadership of PM Modi is scaling new heights and has emerged as an ideal nation for the world"

PM launches International Big Cats Alliance on 50 yrs of 'Project Tiger'

With the aim to curb poaching and illegal wildlife trade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA) in Karnataka

Pilot to observe 1-day fast against corruption during BJP rule in Rajasthan

Ahead of the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Sunday said he will observe a day-long fast here demanding action against alleged corruption in the previous BJP government. The former deputy chief minister said he and other Congress leaders had raised the issue of corruption by the then BJP government when they were in Opposition and had promised to take action after the grand old party is voted to power. No action was taken and to press for the demand, I will observe a day-long fast at Shaheed Smarak on April 11, Pilot told reporters at a press conference. He said he has apprised the district administration about his plans.

There will be change of power in 2024, 5 states to decide destiny: Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Friday said there will be change of power after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls with West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh deciding the "destiny" of the country. He also slammed the Union government for its "silence" on China despite the latter's "incursions". "There will definitely be change of power in the country after 2024. I can say this very confidently," Raut, a key aide of former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, said while being interviewed at an event here. He said the Bharatiya Janata Party's "real power" was in instigating Hindu-Muslim riots and creating an atmosphere of tension between India and Pakistan for electoral gains. Slamming the Union government's silence on China, he said, "Then why not create atmosphere of tension between India and China because China has made incursions into the country." Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have not utte

17th Lok Sabha likely to be shortest since 1952, says PRS report

Looks set to beat the previous record low set during the 16th LS

Parliament adjourns: Budget session a near-washout amid Oppn protests

MPs of the Congress and DMK, mostly dressed in black, ignored the speaker's pleas and continued their protests

Govt blames Oppn for logjam in Parliament as productivity dives in Houses

The government on Thursday blamed the Opposition for the virtual washout of the second half of Parliament's Budget Session, saying the ruling BJP was ready to drop its demand, a likely reference to its insistence on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's apology, if opposition parties reciprocated its gesture on their stand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani issue. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal told reporters after the session concluded that the government wanted a discussion on the Finance Bill before it was passed. "We were ready to give up our stand. But they should have also given up their stand. We had a strong stand," he said, without directly referring to the BJP stand. He noted that Speaker Om Birla had called a meeting to defuse the logjam, but the Opposition stuck to its stand. Meghwal said the productivity of Lok Sabha was 34 per cent and of Rajya Sabha 24.4 per cent during the session, which had begun on January 31. Overall

Lok Sabha functioned for 45 hours, Rajya Sabha 31 hours this Budget Session

Parliament could function much less than the planned duration with daily protests and frequent adjournments disrupting the second half of the Budget Session, data compiled by a think tank showed. According to it, the Lok Sabha functioned for over 45 hours against a scheduled duration of 133.6 hours while the Rajya Sabha worked for over 31 hours out of 130 hours. This translates to Lok Sabha functioning for around 34.28 per cent of its scheduled duration and 24 per cent for the Rajya Sabha, the PRS Legislative Research said. Both Houses witnessed repeated adjournments of the Question Hour throughout the Session. The Lok Sabha could take questions for 4.32 hours while the figure for Rajya Sabha was worse at 1.85 hours for the entire Budget Session. In his concluding remarks, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the House held discussions on the General Budget for 14.45 hours, and 145 MPs participated in it. Discussions on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address were held for 13 ho

LS Budget session ends, House adjourned sine die following Oppn protest

Lok Sabha's Budget session ended as scheduled on Thursday after Speaker Om Birla announced that the House had been adjourned sine die (for indefinite period). As soon as the House met for the day, opposition members came to the well raising slogans and demanding a JPC probe into the Adani issue. They were also carrying placards with their demands written on them. The speaker said the behaviour of opposition members had lowered the dignity of the House and they had "systematically" disrupted proceedings. Such behaviour, he added, is against the parliamentary system and not good for the House or the country. However, opposition members ignored the speaker's pleas and continued their protests. Birla announced the adjournment of the House sine die after completing his customary valedictory speech.

No plans to stop use of nuclear power in future: Govt in Lok Sabha

Government does not propose to stop the use of nuclear energy in the future and has approved building 10 atomic power reactors at a cost of Rs 1.05 lakh crore by 2031, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. "No, sir," Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh said in response to a question from BSP member Malook Nagar who sought to know whether the government proposes to completely stop the use of nuclear energy in future and develop conventional energy sources in a phased manner. In a written reply to a separate question, Singh said the government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for 10 indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors of 700 MW each in fleet mode. Two 700 MW reactors each are being built at Kaiga in Karnataka, Gorakhpur in Haryana, and Chutka in Madhya Pradesh. Four nuclear reactors will be built at Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan, Singh said. "These reactors are planned to be set up in 'fleet mode' progressively by t

LS proceedings adjourned for the day as Opposition protests on Adani issue

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Wednesday after opposition parties staged a protest over the Adani issue. As the House reconvened at 2 PM, opposition members, many of them dressed in black to register their protest, came to the well raising slogans and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue. Amid din, papers were laid on the table of the House and The Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was introduced by Union minister Parshottam Khodabhai Rupala. Rama Devi, who was in the chair, requested protesting members to go back to their seats and allow the House to function but with the protests continuing, she adjourned the proceedings for the day. Earlier in the day, as soon the House met, Meerut MP Rajendra Agarwal, who was in the chair, appealed to the members to go to their seats and take part in the proceedings. "Question Hour is very important as many important issues will be discussed. Please go back to your .

LS: MP gives adjournment notice to discuss govt in 'market for new spyware'

Congress MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday gave an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha to discuss a news report that "reveals that the Indian Government is in the market for new spyware."Tewari said, "A report in the Financial Times dated 31st March 2023 reveals that the Indian Government is in the market for new spyware. The NSO, the company that manufactures and sells Pegasus, has been blacklisted by some countries.""The report further reveals that the Government is willing to spend up to USD 120mn or around Rs 1000 crore. Around a dozen spyware sellers are expected to bid to the Indian Government," he added.He further said that the procurement of such Surveillance Technology without parliamentary oversight has grave implications for the right to privacy of individuals guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian ConstitutionUnder these circumstances, the House must adjourn to discuss the matter of the Government reportedly seeking to procure Pegagus-like surveillance technology, he ...

Parliament clears amendments to competition law without any discussion

Parliament on Monday cleared the amendments to the competition law that will pave the way for promoting the ease of doing business as well as enhance the framework to deter entities from indulging in unfair business practices. Reduction of CCI's assessment time frame for combinations to 150 days from the date of filing the notice, introduction of a settlement and commitments framework and imposition of penalties on erring entities based on their global turnover are among the key features of the Competition (Amendment) Bill. The bill has been approved by Parliament nearly eight months after its introduction in Lok Sabha, which gave its nod on March 29. The bill was also referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, which tabled its report in Parliament on December 13 last year. Rajya Sabha approved the bill on Monday after Lok Sabha cleared the same on March 29. Amid din, both the Houses passed the bill without any discussion. Corporate Affairs and Finance Minister ...

I-T dept seized assets worth over Rs 4,800 crore in last 4 fiscals: Govt

Assets worth more than Rs 4,800 crore were seized during searches conducted by the Income Tax department against 2,841 groups in the last four financial years, the government informed Lok Sabha on Monday. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said these searches are undertaken to find "suspected or identified large-scale tax evasion". He shared the figures in this regard as part of a written reply furnished in the Lok Sabha. The data pertains to financial years 2019-20, 2020-22, 2021-22 and 2022-23 (provisional figures till January 2023) and Chaudhary said a total of 2,841 groups were searched by the I-T department leading to seizure of assets worth Rs 4,863.12 crore. The highest seizure of assets took place during the last fiscal of 2022-23 (data till January 2023) at Rs 1,533.23 crore with searches being conducted against a total of 602 groups, the data stated. Properties worth Rs 1,159.59 crore were seized after searches against 686 groups in 2021-22, assets worth Rs .

Lok Sabha adjourned till April 5 amid Opposition protests over Adani issue

Congress, Left and DMK members stood in the well, shouting slogans and displaying placards

Rahul Gandhi to appeal against his conviction today; all you need to know

Gandhi will be accompanied by several other Congress leaders including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot

Communal violence on table for BJP with 2024 polls nearing, alleges Sibal

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday alleged that communal violence was on the table for the BJP with the 2024 general elections approaching, and recent incidents in West Bengal and Gujarat were a "trailer." Violence and arson was reported from West Bengal's Howrah district after clashes broke out between two groups during Ram Navami festivities, with the BJP and the TMC trading barbs over it. Violence during Ram Navami festivities on Thursday was also reported from Gujarat and Maharashtra. In a tweet, Sibal said, "As we approach 2024. For the BJP, on the table: 1) communal violence 2) hate speech 3) baiting minorities 4) target opposition by use of ED, CBI, election commission. Trailer: Burning of Bengal, stoking communal violence in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat." Sibal, who was a Union minister during the UPA 1 and 2 regimes, quit the Congress in May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an independent member with the Samajwadi Party's support. Sibal recently floa

Rahul's disqualification unfortunate, BJP misusing power: Pratibha Singh

Addressing a media conference in Shimla on Friday, she said, "This has never been seen before in the history of the country. It is for the first time democracy is being strangled like this."