News Analysis India

Tag: Rajya Sabha

  • JP Nadda: BJP chief and Union Minister JP Nadda to be Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha

    BJP President and Health and Family Welfare Minister JP Nadda will now also handle the important role of Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha. He succeeds Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who has now moved to the Lok Sabha as a representative of Mumbai North constituency.

    The decision to appoint Nadda, 63, as Leader of the House was expected since the Lok Sabha election results came out and Goyal quit his membership of the Upper House on June 10. Among the BJP members in the House, he qualifies on the basis of his experience and seniority.

    Nadda is into this third term in the Rajya Sabha. He entered the Upper House for the first time on April 3, 2012 from his home state Himachal Pradesh and was given a second term in 2018, again from HP. His current term began in April, 2024 when he was elected from Gujarat, putting at rest speculations that he may contest the Lok Sabha polls.Nadda is on extension as BJP chief, having completed his term last year. With his appointment as Leader of the House and responsibilities as Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers, there is a likelihood of BJP choosing an acting party chief before a full-time President is elected in January 2025. The forthcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand later this year are a formidable challenge for the BJP as the Opposition has emerged stronger in these states after the Lok Sabha polls.

    It is not clear if Nadda will be asked to continue till January as BJP Chief or be replaced. He had himself stepped into the role of Working President of BJP in June, 2019 when Amit Shah quit the post to become Home Minister. Later he was duly elected as BJP Chief in January 2020.

    Nadda has vast political experience and has risen through the ranks in the BJP. Hailing from Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh, the veteran leader served as a minister in the BJP government in the state in different portfolios- Health, Forest, Parliamentary Affairs and so on. He has also worked as national general secretary of the BJP.This is Nadda’s second stint in the union Health ministry. He held this portfolio from November 2014 to May 2019 in the first Narendra Modi government.As Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, Nadda will play a crucial role in the NDA 3.0 government where the ruling coalition has a thin majority with 293 seats in the Lok Sabha. In the Upper House, BJP has 90 members in a House of 231. BJD and YSRCP, parties which used to extend issue-based support to BJP, have now turned against it in the changed political equations. The Opposition will make the going tough for the government in both Houses. The demand for sending Bills to the parliamentary committees for scrutiny and for holding discussions on current issues plaguing the country are set to increase.

    Nadda will have his hands full as Leader of the House while also juggling two important ministerial portfolios as well as the role of BJP Chief till the party finds a replacement.

  • Union Minister JP Nadda Named Leader Of House In Rajya Sabha |

    JP Nadda, the Union Health Minister and a prominent member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was named the Speaker of the Rajya Sabha today. In the Cabinet, Mr. Nadda is also in charge of the Chemicals and Fertilizers portfolio. The Union Minister will be replacing Piyush Goyal as the Leader of the House. Goyal took oath as a member of the Lower House.

    Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Besides Nadda, there are 11 members of the Upper House who are in the Union Council of Ministers.

  • Vice President Dhankar to inaugurate Prerna Sthal in Parliament House Complex today

    Vice President and Chairman of Rajya Sabha will inaugurate the newly constructed Prerna Sthal in the presence of the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs on Sunday evening.

    According to an official press release, all Members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have also been invited to the programme.

    The statues of great leaders and freedom fighters are installed inside the Parliament House Complex. These great Indians made significant contributions in the history of India, cultural renaissance and the freedom struggle. These statues were located at different places in the complex, which made it difficult for visitors to properly see them.Therefore, with the aim of installing these statues in one place inside the Parliament House Complex, the Prerna Sthal has been constructed so that dignitaries and other visitors coming to the Parliament House Complex could conveniently see and pay tributes at these statues at one place.

    An action plan has also been made to make the life stories and messages of these great Indians available to visitors through new technology so that they could get inspiration from them, the press release said.

    It may be recalled that even before this, during the construction work of the new Parliament Building, the statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru and Chaudhary Devi Lal were shifted to other places in the complex.Lawns and gardens have been laid around the statues at Prerna Sthal. Here, dignitaries and visitors will be able to easily pay their tributes to them and also take inspiration from their lives through QR codes.After the unveiling of the Shilapatt (headstone) during the inauguration programme, dignitaries will offer floral tributes to the statues.

  • 18th Lok Sabha’s First Session To Begin From June 24 |

    The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will be held from June 24 and conclude on July 3for oath/affirmation of newly elected Members, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju said on Wednesday. The 264th Session of Rajya Sabha will also commence on June 27 and conclude on July 3, the minister said. “First Session of 18th Lok Sabha is being summoned from 24.6.24 to 3.7.24 for oath/affirmation of newly elected Members, Election of Speaker, President’s Address and discussion thereon. 264th Session of Rajya Sabha will commence on 27.6.24 and conclude on 3.7.24.”

    First Session of 18th Lok Sabha is being summoned from 24.6.24 to 3.7.24 for oath/affirmation of newly elected Members, Election of Speaker, President’s Address and discussion thereon. 264th Session of Rajya Sabha will commence on 27.6.24 and conclude on 3.7.24. https://t.co/8OCbfg4CT1


    — Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) June 12, 2024

    President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on June 27. The last session of the 17th Lok Sabha (Budget session) was held between January 31 and February 10, 2024. Lok Sabha had 274 sittings in which 202 Bills were introduced and 222 bills were passed. Rajya Sabha had 271 sittings, in which 31 Bills were introduced and 220 bills were passed. In total 221 Bills were passed by both the Houses and became Acts, during the term of the 17th Lok Sabha.

    During the 17th Lok Sabha one of the most important business transacted was the abrogation of certain provisions from Article 370 and Presidential Orders thereunder for ensuring equal opportunities to all sections of Society in Jammu & Kashmir particularly with the restoration of applicability of the provisions of the Constitution of India and all socio-economic legislations thereby ensuring rule of law and equity. Further for ensuring better administration and for curbing terrorism, the State of Jammu & Kashmir was reorganized with the formation of two Union Territories – Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh.

    Also, three landmark Bills relating to the criminal justice system to ensure victim-centric justice namely the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 replacing the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 were passed by both the Houses of Parliament.

  • Modi Ki Guarantee: BJP campaigning through ‘illegal money’, this is ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’: Kapil Sibal

    Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Saturday hit out at the BJP-led government over the electoral bonds issue, alleging the ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ is that the BJP does campaigning with “illegal money” raised through the scheme while the probe agencies “sleep”. Sibal, a senior advocate who is leading the arguments for the petitioners in a case in the Supreme Court against electoral bonds, claimed at a press conference here that 33 loss-making firms donated electoral bonds worth about Rs 581 crore with Rs 434 crore going to the BJP.

    He said the Supreme Court’s verdict on electoral bonds has made it clear that the money the BJP and other parties had was illegal.

    “If this money in the hands of the BJP is illegal, I want to ask the BJP did you get any Income Tax notice? I want to ask the Income Tax Department – did you send any notice to BJP? I want to ask the ED – did you conduct any raid?” Sibal said. “You have frozen the account of the Congress party, but you (BJP) got about Rs 6,655 crore, were your accounts frozen?” he added.

    Escalating his attack on the BJP, Sibal said, “You did not do it. Neither the IT department sent notice nor ED raids were carried out and the CBI also did not register an FIR.”

    “So on one hand the Congress’ accounts are frozen, but since the ED, CBI and IT department are yours (BJP’s), you don’t get any notice or face raids,” he added. The Congress leader claimed that 33 loss-making firms donated electoral bonds worth Rs 582 crore with 434 crore going to the BJP. The IT department knows it so there should be raids. The ED should have reached there and the CBI should have registered an FIR but nothing happened, he said.

    Sibal also claimed that Rs 2,717 crore was donated through electoral bonds by firms whose capital was lower than its donations.

    “The BJP is also safe, companies are also safe. The ED, IT department and CBI are sleeping and the BJP is doing campaigning with that money, this is ‘Modi ki Guarantee’,” Sibal said.

    “The guarantee is that no action will be taken as the ED, CBI and ED is theirs,” he added.

    Sibal also questioned RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and asked why is he silent on the issue.

    “I also want to ask (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwat ji, you say that you are not in politics at all, you think about the country but since this decision on electoral bonds has come, Mohan Bhagwat ji did not say anything, he is also silent. He should say that the decision of Modi’s government was wrong,” he said.

    On February 15, a five-judge Constitution bench scrapped the Centre’s electoral bonds scheme of anonymous political funding, calling it “unconstitutional” and ordering disclosure by the Election Commission of the donors, the amount donated by them and the recipients by March 13.

    Subsequently, the electoral bands has been made public.

    The SBI has said that a total of 22,217 electoral bonds of varying denominations were purchased by donors between April 1, 2019, and February 15 this year, out of which 22,030 were redeemed by the political parties.

  • ‘You Will Always Remain A Hero’: Congress As Manmohan Singh Retires From Rajya Sabha |

    New Delhi: In a poignant farewell gesture, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge penned a heartfelt letter to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, marking his retirement from the Rajya Sabha. In the two-page missive, Kharge reflected on Singh’s remarkable three-decade-long tenure, acknowledging the ”end of an era” in Indian politics. Kharge reminisced about Singh’s global recognition, citing President Obama’s open acknowledgement of the former Prime Minister’s influential voice on the world stage. He expressed personal gratitude for Singh’s counsel and wisdom during his own leadership roles within the Congress Party, praising Singh’s unwavering commitment despite personal challenges.

    In his two-page letter to the former PM, the Congress chief said, “After having served for more than three decades, an era has come to an end.” “I remember President Obama mentioning about you that Whenever the Indian Prime Minister speaks, the whole world listens to him,” Kharge said in the post.

    “Personally, it has been a privilege for me to have been a part of your cabinet. Over the last 10 years, while I have been the leader of the Congress Party in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, you have always been a source of wisdom and someone whose advice I valued. Over the last few years, you have made it a point to be available for the Congress party despite personal inconveniences. For this, the party and I will always remain grateful,” Kharge wrote.

     

    My letter to Former Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh ji as he retires from Rajya Sabha, today.

    As you retire today from the Rajya Sabha after having served for more than three decades, an era comes to an end. Very few people can say they have served our nation with more… pic.twitter.com/jSgfwp4cPQ


    — Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) April 2, 2024

     

    Manmohan Singh’s Legacy

    Singh’s departure leaves a void characterized by his quiet yet profound dignity, which Kharge believes the current political landscape sorely lacks. He lauded Singh’s statesmanship, contrasting it with the divisive rhetoric prevalent today.

    The letter highlighted Singh’s principled critique of policies such as demonetization, emphasizing his ability to dissent with grace and substance. Kharge expressed confidence that history would vindicate Singh’s stance, likening the truth to celestial bodies that cannot be obscured indefinitely.

    A Hero To Middle-Class

    Describing Singh as a hero to various segments of society, Kharge lauded his role in uplifting the middle class, inspiring the youth, and guiding industrialists and entrepreneurs. He credited Singh’s economic policies with lifting millions out of poverty, contrasting this with perceived reluctance by the current regime to acknowledge his contributions.

    Impact Of His Policies On Public

    Kharge praised Singh’s tenure as Finance Minister and Prime Minister, citing achievements such as poverty alleviation and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). He credited Singh with enacting policies that empowered rural communities and ensured dignified livelihoods during crises. “Thanks to your policies, India was able to lift 27 crore people, the highest number of poor people out of poverty in the world while you were the Prime Minister. The MGNREGA scheme…continues to provide relief to the rural workers during times of crisis. The nation and particularly the rural poor will always remember you for ensuring that they can earn a living and live with self-respect through this scheme,” he said.

    Despite retiring from active politics, Kharge expressed hope that Singh would remain a beacon of wisdom and moral guidance for the nation. He wished Singh peace, health, and happiness in his future endeavours, underlining his enduring importance as a voice of reason in Indian discourse. “Over the last few years, you have made it a point to be available for the Congress party despite personal inconveniences. For this, the party and I will always remain grateful,” he said. Kharge further wrote even as you retire from active politics, I hope that you will continue to be the voice of wisdom and moral compass to the nation by speaking to the citizens of our country as often as possible. I wish you peace, health and happiness. 

  • Manmohan Singh, the hero of India’s economic liberalisation, bids adieu to Rajya Sabha after three decades

    Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (91) bid adieu to the Rajya Sabha today, marking the end of his remarkable three-decade-long tenure.

    AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge paid tribute to Singh’s dedicated service, expressing admiration for his unwavering commitment to the nation. Kharge in a post on X wrote, “As you retire today from the Rajya Sabha after having served for more than three decades, an era comes to an end. Very few people can say they have served our nation with more dedication and more devotion than you. Very few people have accomplished as much as you for the nation and its people.”

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi some time back had also lauded his role as a member of the upper house and said his contributions would never be forgotten. Modi also said that Singh sometimes came to vote while being on a wheelchair, and that he did to strengthen democracy.Singh, who first entered the Rajya Sabha in 1991, served multiple terms and faced a brief hiatus in 2019 before being re-elected from Rajasthan. He held the position of Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from 1998 to 2004.

    Manmohan Singh’s journey as a Rajya Sabha member began in 1991 following his tenure as the Finance Minister in the Rao government. He secured re-election in 1995, 2001, 2007, and 2013. Despite an unsuccessful attempt in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections from South Delhi, where he was defeated by BJP’s Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Singh maintained his presence in the Rajya Sabha.

    Representing Assam for five consecutive terms from October 1, 1991, to June 14, 2019, Singh later resumed his tenure in the House from Rajasthan. Since August 20, 2019, he has represented Rajasthan, with his current term slated to conclude on April 3, 2024. During his tenure, Singh served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from March 21, 1998, to May 21, 2004. He has often been accused by the BJP for running a government that was marred by corruption. The party had also termed “MaunMohan Singh”, alleging he did not speak out against corrupt leaders in his cabinet. Singh had, however, hoped that “to me than the contemporary media, or for that matter, the opposition parties in Parliament”.Of late, he has has not been keeping good health and has often been seen attending the Rajya Sabha proceedings, especially during crucial voting, on a wheelchair.

  • 54 MPs including ex-PM Manmohan Singh, 9 Union ministers retiring from Rajya Sabha

    As many as 54 members of the Rajya Sabha including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and nine union ministers are set to retire on Tuesday and Wednesday with some not returning to the Upper House. Former prime minister Singh ends his 33-year-long parliamentary innings in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday (April 3), just as former party chief Sonia Gandhi will enter the Upper House of Parliament for the first time.

    Singh, who is known for ushering in several bold reforms in the economy, became a member of the House for the first time in October 1991. He was the finance minister in the Narasimha Rao government from 1991 to 1996 and the prime minister from 2004 to 2014.

    Sonia Gandhi will enter the Upper House for the first time from Rajasthan, filling the seat that will fall vacant after 91-year-old Singh completes his tenure on April 3. Seven Union ministers — Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister Purshottam Rupala, Information Technology Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MoS External Affairs V Muraleedharan, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Narayan Rane and MoS Information and Broadcasting L Murugan — end their tenure in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

    Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will end their tenure on Wednesday.

    All these Union ministers, except Vaishnaw, are contesting the Lok Sabha elections and have not been given another term in the Upper House. Vaishnaw and Murugan have been given another Rajya Sabha term. As many as 49 members are retiring on Tuesday (April 2), while five are retiring on Wednesday (April 3).

    Of those retiring from the Upper House include Samajwadi Party’s Jaya Bachchan who has been renominated to the Council of States by her party for another term. So is Manoj Kumar Jha, who has been renominated by his party RJD for another term in the Rajya Sabha from Bihar, and Naseer Hussain (Congress), who has been renominated from Karnataka.

    Abhishek Singhvi of the Congress party, whose tenure in Rajya Sabha ends today will not be in the upper house as he lost his election from Himachal Pradesh.

    Among others who will be retiring include BJP’s national media in-charge Anil Baluni, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Garhwal seat in Uttarakhand,

    Besides, BJP’s Prakash Javadekar, a former union minister and Sushil Kumar Modi, former deputy chief minister of Bihar, also retire from the Rajya Sabha and have not been renominated by the party.

    BJP’s Anil Jain also retires on Tuesday as he has not been given another term by the party and so has Saroj Pandey from Chhattisgarh, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election in the state.

  • Karnataka Rajya Sabha Polls: Setback For Samajwadi Party In Uttar Pradesh? Resort Politics In Karnataka

    The ruling Congress has alleged that its MLAs are being blackmailed to vote for Kupendra Reddy. A Congress delegation filed a complaint with the Bengaluru Police Commissioner. 

  • Rajya Sabha polls: Nominations filing for Rajya Sabha polls ends; Check full list of candidates here

    BJP chief J P Nadda, Ashok Chavan, a recent addition to the party, and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi are among the candidates competing in the Rajya Sabha elections, as the deadline for submitting nominations concluded on Thursday.

    The biennial elections are scheduled on February 27 in 56 seats – 10 in Uttar Pradesh, six each in Maharashtra and Bihar, five each in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, four each in Gujarat and Karnataka, three each in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Odisha, and one each in Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

    However, a majority of the candidates are likely to get elected unopposed. February 20 is the last date of withdrawing candidature. Voting is scheduled to take place from 9 am to 4 pm on February 27 and the counting will be held on the same day from 5 pm onwards.Here is the complete list of all the candidates:

    Uttar Pradesh:

    CandidatePartyR P N SinghBJPChaudhary Tejveer SinghBJPAmarpal MauryaBJPSangeeta BalwantBJPSudhanshu TrivediBJP Sadhna SinghBJPNaveen JainBJPSanjay SethBJP Jaya BachchanSPRamjilal Suman SPAlok RanjanSPGujarat:CandidatePartyJP NaddaBJPJashvantsinh Parmar BJPMayank NayakBJPGovind DholakiaBJPRajasthan:CandidatePartySonia GandhiCongressChunnilal GarasiyaBJPMadan Rathore BJP

    Maharashtra:

    CandidatePartyAshok ChavanBJPMedha KulkarniBJPAjit GopchhadeBJPMilind DeoraShiv SenaChandrakant HandoreCongressPraful PatelNCP

    Odisha:

    Ashwini VaishnawBJPDebashish SamantarayBJDSubhasish KhuntiaBJD

    Madhya Pradesh:

    L MuruganBJPDalit seer Umesh Nath MaharajBJPMaya NaroliyaBJPBanshilal GurjarBJPAshok SinghCongress

    Karnataka:

    CandidatePartyAjay MakenCongressNaseer HussainCongress G C ChandrasekharCongressNarayana Krishanasa BhandageBJP

    West Bengal:

    CandidatePartySagarika GhoseTMCSushmita DevTMCMohammad Nadimul HaqueTMCMamta Bala Thakur TMCSamik BhattacharyaBJP

    Himachal Pradesh:

    CandidatePartyAbhishek Manu SinghviCongress

    Telangana:

    CandidatePartyRenuka Chowdhury CongressM Anil Kumar YadavCongress

    Bihar:

    CandidatePartyAkhilesh Prasad SinghCongressManoj Kumar JhaRJDSanjay Yadav RJDSanjay Kumar JhaJDUBhim Singh BJPDharamsheela GuptaBJP

    Chhattisgarh:

    CandidatePartyDevendra Pratap SinghBJP

    Haryana:

    CandidatePartySubhash BaralaBJP

    Uttarakhand:

    CandidatePartyMahendra BhattBJP

    Andhra Pradesh:

    CandidatePartyGola Babu RaoYSRCPYV Subba ReddyYSRCPMeda Raghunath ReddyYSRCP

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