Page 46 - Rajya Sabha

Rebellion hits Congress in Haryana, R K Anand loses

Congress suffered through heavy cross-voting by its 14 MLAs that led to the defeat of the party-backed Independent candidate R K Anand

Sitharaman, Jairam win from Karnataka, cross-voting from JD(S)

Dissidence-hit JD(S) suffered a humiliating blow with eight of its MLAs cross voting in favour of Congress

Chidambaram, Goyal and Prabhu elected to Rajya Sabha

Deadline for withdrawal of nominations for biennial polls to 58 seats of Rajya Sabha ended today afternoon

Piyush Goyal, P Chidambaram elected to Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra

Chidambaram did not contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, while his son Karti had unsuccessfully fought from his native constituency

BJP prefers Brahmins in UP, shepherd in Maharashtra for Rajya Sabha

Shepherd community to get enlisted in ST list had supported party in 2014 Maharashtra elections

Revolt over Rajya Sabha nomination in Chhattisgarh

A section of Congress leaders has openly criticised the party's decision to nominate Chaya Verma, a former district panchayat president

Two Bills to face Assembly hurdles

If the Narendra Modi government is successful in steering the goods and services tax (GST) Constitution amendment Bill through the Rajya Sabha in the monsoon session, what happens next? Can the government keep to the time-line of a rollout on April 1, 2017?There are three parties now in the Rajya Sabha opposed to GST passage, the Congress with 60 members and the Tamil Nadu parties, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Tamil Nadu sends 18 members to the Rajya Sabha and 16 oppose GST.A tacit agreement has been reached, say top government sources, that AIADMK (12 members) will either abstain or walk out during voting. The other elements of the agreement are yet to become public, on what will be the quid for the pro.With Congress's apparently inflexible objection, it is likely to be isolated on the floor of the House. Its loneliness is all the more stark after the drumbeats on the Modi government completing two years in office and managing to for

BJP nominates Piyush Goyal from Maharashtra for RS election

Earlier, Shiv Sena nominated Sanjay Raut as the party nominee for the biennial elections of Rajya Sabha

RS passes bill transferring control over potable alcohol from centre to states

The latest amendment aims to excludes the production of potable alcohol from the ambit of the Act

All allegations false, have nothing to hide: Sonia Gandhi on VVIP chopper controversy

Sonia Gandhi dares government to complete inquiry impartially and reveal truth

How BJP will add at least two MPs to its Rajya Sabha strength

A little-known rule allows nominated members to be counted as party MPs if they are already members of the part at the time of being sworn in

The transition the old and the new in the Rajya Sabha

Outgoing Rajya Sabha members from the nominated category(These were the United Progressive Alliance govt's choices)Mrinal MiriEducationist and former Vice Chancellor, North Eastern Hill University (Assam)Bhalchandra MungekarDalit economist and Member of the Planning Commission (Maharashtra)B JayashreeVeteran Indian theatre actor, director and singer, who has also acted in films and television programmes (Karnataka)Javed AkhtarFilm script writer, poet and Urdu litterateur (Uttar Pradesh)Mani Shankar AiyarFormer Union Cabinet minister for Panchayati Raj, and a member of the Congress (Tamil Nadu)H K DuaFormer editor and former Ambassador to Denmark (Punjab)A K GangulyNoted industry expert and former chairman of Hindustan Lever (West Bengal)*To be replaced by(These are the National Democratic Alliance govt's choices)Subramanian SwamyPolitical activist who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (Tamil Nadu)Navjot Singh SidhuCricketer and former MP from Amritsar (Punjab)Suresh GopiMa

Swamy, Sidhu, Mary Kom among six nominated to Rajya Sabha

A nominated member is allowed six months to decide whether to join a political party after having taken the seat

Uttarakhand Rajya Sabha seat no longer a possibility for the Congress

Tarun Vijay is the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand. His term ends in July. If the Congress government in the state had managed to save itself, the seat might have gone to the party. But nine Assembly members of the Congress led by Vijay Bahuguna rebelled, leading to the imposition of President's rule in the state. Such a circumstance means that for any Congress member, who was hoping to get elected from the state, the seat is no longer a possibility. If, as the BJP has planned, elections are held soon and its government is installed in state capital Dehradun, the party will get another seat in the Upper House of Parliament.

Speculation over Rajya Sabha vacancies

Who will the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominate to the Rajya Sabha? There are currently seven vacancies. The terms of four more members end in 2018. This includes former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and actor Rekha. There is speculation about whom the seven seats will go to: former journalists, musicians, artists? Or will they go to party leaders whom the BJP wants to keep out of the states? Some from the fields of film, journalism and industry have supported the BJP in recent years. Industrialist Subhash Chandra was keen to contest the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 but didn't get a BJP ticket. Actor Anupam Kher supported the party when it was facing heat from the Opposition on the "intolerance" issue. Some journalists might be nominated to provide "intellectual depth" to the BJP's Rajya Sabha contingent. In most cases Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has to fight a lone battle of wits for the BJP in the Upper House.

Can the BJP take back the Rajya Sabha after the Assembly elections?

In the balance hangs the GST Bill, which enjoys some support across the aisle, but has been blocked in the Upper House by the Congress and some of its allies

Government faces heat in Rajya Sabha over inflammatory speeches

Gulam Nabi Azaid said rresponsible speeches by elected representatives sending wrong signal

Uproar in Rajya Sabha as opposition calls for Smriti Irani's apology on Durga remark

Meanwhile, the HRD Minister said her comments in the Upper House were made on veracity of facts

Uproar in Rajya Sabha as opposition calls for Smriti Irani's apology on Durga remark

Irani was accused of raising "objectionable" comments made outside against a god, as she defended herself in the JNU issue