Lok Sabha News

Rajya Sabha by the government to a question on the MGNREGS, TMC MP Derek O'Brien on Sunday claimed the BJP-led Centre in its response has «finally» accepted that West Bengal has been given «zero» funds under the 100-day rural employment guarantee scheme. The TMC and its Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee have been demanding a white paper on the scheme to prove what the Centre had paid to West Bengal since the BJP's loss in the 2021 state assembly polls, Rajya Sabha member O'Brien said in a post on X. «Finally! Modi govt admits inside Parliament that Bengal's been given zero for MNREGA funds,» O'Brien said in a post on X, sharing the July 26 reply that gave state and UT-wise data of the last five financial years on the number of households that have completed 100 days of employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). In West Bengal, the number of households that completed 100 days of wage employment was «zero» in 2023-24, according to the written reply given by Union Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan in the Upper House of Parliament.

UPSC aspirants at a coaching centre in Delhi, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar said on Monday that coaching has become «virtually commerce.»

AAP government for the tragic incident. BJP leader and New Delhi Lok Sabha MP Bansuri Swaraj blamed the AAP's «utter apathy» for the death of the students and demanded that an inquiry committee under the Home Ministry be set up to probe the incident.

Congress on Saturday attacked the government over the issue of child malnutrition, saying this is a «human tragedy» and India's future was being «gutted before our eyes». The opposition party's criticism came after the women and child development ministry said on Friday that about 17 per cent children in the age group of 0-5 years are underweight, while 36 per cent are stunted and six per cent wasted.

PLI scheme for large scale electronics manufacturing have cumulatively invested Rs 8,282 crore till June 2024, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada in a written reply to Lok Sabha said that a total of 32 companies were approved with committed investment of Rs 11,324 crore and a projected production target of Rs 10.7 lakh crore under the PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing.

Amaravati as the state capital, financing and early completion of Polavaram dam as well as grants for backward districts of the state.

Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh on Tuesday welcomed the Central government's budgetary proposals providing support to Amaravati and Polavaram Irrigation project. «Thanks to the Central government which announced that it will provide full support for the completion of the projects of Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, and Polavaram project, the lifeline of AP.

kanwar route to display owners' names, NEET paper leaks and spike in terrorist attacks in J&K echoed loudly at the all-party meeting called by the government on the eve of Parliament's monsoon session. The meeting was chaired by defence minister Rajnath Singh and 55 leaders from 44 parties attended the gathering. Congress' Lok Sabha deputy leader Gourav Gogoi demanded that Deputy Speaker's post be given to the Opposition. He also raised NEET-NET paper leaks and internal security situations in J&K and Manipur. He strongly opposed the BJP-led UP government's unconstitutional order on kanwar yatra, worsening railway safety and Agniveer scheme, party leader Jairam Ramesh posted on X. Ramesh later said that leaders demanded that the Central Hall be opened again for MPs to mingle with each other. Samajwadi Party's Rajya Sabha floor leader termed UP's Kanwar order «unconstitutional». He said after the meeting: «This is a way to harass minorities and the entire Opposition is united on this issue.» CPIM leader John Brittas said the pilgrimage routes should not be used to divide the society. Most Opposition parties including RJD, CPI, AAP, IUML, AIMIM spoke strongly against the order. BJP's erstwhile ally SAD also criticised the order.

Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla on Thursday nominated 14 members including Sudip Bandhyopadhyay, Gaurav Gogoi, Dayanidhi Maran, PP Chaudhary, and Anurag Thakur for the Parliament's business advisory committee. The committee, which is effective from July 18, will be chaired by Birla himself. The next session of the Parliament is set to commence on July 22, and the budget will be presented on July 23 by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman.

pro-Palestine and pro-Hezbollah slogans and flags during a Muharram procession in Srinagar on Monday. The case has been registered at Kothibagh Police Station in Srinagar under sections 223 and 152 of BNS and 13 of UAPA against unknown persons. «This is an open FIR and the investigation will establish who all were involved in this,» said an official.

Lok Sabha, saying that he mentioned "tumse na ho payega" in his speech when 140 crore Indians had told his government the same thing in the just-concluded general election. Prime Minister Modi mounted a stinging counterattack on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi as he mocked him as «balak buddhi» (childish mind), accusing him of linking Hindus with violence and making false claims in Lok Sabha. Modi also sought stringent action against Gandhi to protect parliamentary democracy. Replying to nearly 18-hour long discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address in the Lower House, Modi said the Congress and its «ecosystem» are working day and night to impress upon people that the BJP-led NDA has been defeated in the elections despite voters handing his government a historic third-term for stability and continuity. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge slammed Modi for calling the party «parasite» and claimed that the prime minister had used the term for farmers as well in 2021.

Budget session, TMC MP Derek O'Brien said on Saturday, reiterating the opposition's demand to appoint one of its members as the Lok Sabha deputy speaker. The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha was stormy with opposition INDIA bloc parties attacking the ruling BJP-led NDA over the NEET-UG paper leak row and the situation in Manipur among other issues. Both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha saw multiple adjournments. Parliament's Budget session will be held between July 22 and August 12. «It is the government's duty to run Parliament smoothly in the Budget session. They must offer the deputy speaker (post) in the Lok Sabha to an INDIA candidate,» O'Brien, a Rajya Sabha member, said in a post on X.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi is now faced with the defection of its MLAs and MLCs to the ruling Congress in Telangana. Till date, seven MLAs and six MLCs of BRS switched over to the Congress since the Assembly polls. Several other leaders, including BRS Rajya Sabha member K Keshav Rao, his daughter and Hyderabad Mayor Vijaya Laxmi R Gadwal, also joined the Congress. Keshav Rao has, however, quit his post after joining Congress. With the ruling Congress and the BJP looking to consolidate their gains in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, the BRS faces an uphill task to resurrect itself following the exodus of leaders.

Telangana held meetings on Thursday with the candidates who contested in the elections. The three-member committee is led by senior leader and former deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha P J Kurien. Congress Lok Sabha member from Warangal Kadiam Kavya told reporters that the panel members asked her about the party's areas of strength and weaknesses and the steps to be taken to strengthen the party further.

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren will seek a trust vote for his government during the special one-day assembly session on Monday. Sources told ET that a Cabinet expansion would take place once the government wins the trust vote. At present, Jharkhand assembly has 76 MLAs after five MLAs resigned from their seats. These five MLAs contested the Lok Sabha elections and four of them won. JMM MLA from Jama, Sita Soren, had quit the party to contest the Lok Sabha poll on a BJP ticket from Dumka but she lost the election. Joba Manjhi and Nalin Soren (JMM) and Dulu Mahato and Manish Jaiswal (BJP) are now Lok Sabha members.

budget preparation exercise.Sitharaman will present her seventh Budget on July 23.

Nirmala Sitharaman has wrapped up consultations with industry and social sector representatives ahead of presenting her seventh Union Budget on July 23, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The pre-budget consultations for Union Budget 2024-25 began on June 19 and concluded on July 5, 2024, the ministry said. This marks the first full budget of Modi 3.0, aimed at charting the course for a developed India by 2047.

BJP people who spread violence and hatred do not understand the basic principles of Hinduism, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday as he hit out at the ruling party for what he described as a «violent attack» on the party's office in Ahmedabad. Workers of the BJP and the Congress hurled stones at each other outside Gujarat Congress headquarters in Ahmedabad on Tuesday during a protest against the remarks made by Gandhi in the Lok Sabha. In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, «The cowardly and violent attack on the Gujarat Congress office further strengthens my point about the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. The BJP people who spread violence and hatred do not understand the basic principles of Hinduism.» «The people of Gujarat can clearly see through their lies and will teach the BJP government a decisive lesson. I am saying it again — INDIA is going to win in Gujarat!» the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

Congress on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke all parliamentary norms by accusing the then Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari of having an «inclination» towards the opposition when the BJP came to power in 2014. In his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address in the Lok Sabha on July 2, Modi said, «No matter how many numbers they claim, when we came in 2014, our strength in the Rajya Sabha was very low, and the Chair's inclination was somewhat on the other side. But we did not waver from our resolve to serve the country with pride.» «I want to tell the people of the country that the decision you have made, the order you have given us to serve, neither Modi nor this government will be afraid of any such obstacles. We will fulfill the resolutions we have set out to achieve,» Modi had said.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday took potshot at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that last 10 years of his rule was just a trailer and 'picture abhi baaki hai', saying the third term of NDA has seen exam paper leaks, terror attack in J&K, train accident, airport canopy collapse, bridges cave-ins and toll tax hike. Participating in the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in the Rajya Sabha, Leader of Opposition Kharge said the prime minister during the Lok Sabha election campaign stated many times that «pichle 10 saal toh bas trailer tha, abhi asli picture baaki hai» (last ten years was just a trailer, the real picture is yet to come). «How the PM's picture would be, we have been able to imagine in the last one month,» Kharge quipped. Listing out many recent incidents, Kharge pointed out that there have been exam paper leaks, cancellation of many examinations, train accident, three terror attacks in Jammu & Kashmir, leakages in Ram temple, collapse of canopy at three airports, increase in toll taxes and depreciation of rupee.

BJP's extended state executive meeting to discuss strategy for the Haryana assembly elections due later this year began in Panchkula on Saturday. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the BJP's election in-charge for Haryana, co-in-charge Biplab Kumar Deb, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, his predecessor and Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar and senior leader Saudan Singh were present during the session at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the meeting during the afternoon session, a BJP leader said. Besides preparing the outline for the elections, Shah will infuse fresh zeal and enthusiasm in the party workers, the leader added.