New Delhi: With Lok Sabha elections due next year, newly appointed Law Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said he would strive to achieve objectives in the run up, including making legal procedures help fuel economic growth and appointment of judges through a transparent process. Outlining his "broad objectives", Sibal said, "Legal processes and procedures should not be an impediment to economic growth, but must fuel it." He said simplification and...
02:19 PM, May 13, 2013
Bangalore: The BJP on Sunday dared the Congress to hold Lok Sabha elections along with Assembly polls due in five states later in 2013 if it was confident after its triumph in Karnataka. Capitalising on anti-incumbency, Congress unseated the BJP in the May 8 elections to the Karnataka Assembly winning 121 seats in the 224-member House. "If the Congress is confident after winning assembly elections in Karnataka, it should conduct...
06:03 PM, May 12, 2013
A BSP member on Wednesday left the Lok Sabha as the national song was being played to mark the sine die adjournment of the Budget Session of Parliament. ...
11:57 PM, May 09, 2013
New Delhi: The Janata Dal (United)'s Sabir Ali on Thursday sought to defend BSP MP Shafiqur Rahman Burq who had walked out of Lok Sabha while the Vande Mataram was being played, saying that it was his personal opinion. He, however, said that the act was against national integrity and Speaker Meira Kumar would be the best person to decide the course of action against him. "This is his personal...
05:15 PM, May 09, 2013
Reacting to the controversy stirred by BSP MP Shafiqur Rahman Burq, who walked out of the Lok Sabha while Vande Mataram was being played, former Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said as an MP it is his responsibility to respect the national song. ...
04:08 PM, May 09, 2013
New Delhi: Controversy over the walkout by BSP MP Shafiqur Rahman Burq from the Lok Sabha took a new turn as he refused to apologise for walking out of the House while national song Vande Mataram was being played. Burq said that as a Muslim he cannot show respect towards the national song. "I won't apologise to anyone. I respect the National Anthem, not the national song Vande Mataram. Vande...
03:05 PM, May 09, 2013
New Delhi: Deploring the act of a BSP MP walking out of the Lok Sabha during playing of the National Song, BJP on Wednesday said the Speaker should act "firmly" on the issue. "Members have no right to insult the National Song especially when they have taken oath. The Speaker has taken the right move by naming the MP. He has insulted Parliament," party leader Shahnawaz Hussain told reporters outside...
04:10 PM, May 08, 2013
New Delhi: Union Labour Minister and senior leader from Karnataka Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday indicated that he was ready to be considered for the Chief Minister's post following the electoral victory in the state. "I don't want the post because of my caste (dalit). I am not interested because of long-standing service to the party. If they think that I am fit for the post, then it is upto them...
02:35 PM, May 08, 2013
Chandigarh: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday will hold confabulations with state party leaders and workers here in his bid to further strengthen the party in Haryana. The closed door meeting of Rahul, to be held in three rounds with Haryana Congress leaders and activists, will last till evening, party sources said here. Rahul will be having a meeting with the party MPs and MLAs from the state, besides...
02:25 PM, May 08, 2013
New Delhi: A BSP member on Wednesday left the Lok Sabha as the national song was being played to mark the sine die adjournment of the Budget Session of Parliament, prompting an angry rebuke from Speaker Meira Kumar. "One honourable member walked out when Vande Mataram was being played. I take very serious view of this. I would want to know why this was done. This should never be done...
01:20 PM, May 08, 2013
JD(S) leader Danish Ali said the BJP must realise that general elections won't be easy. "The third alternative will be a reality in the coming general elections," he said. ...
11:40 AM, May 08, 2013
New Delhi: As many as 10,553 people were killed in road accidents due to drunken driving in 2011, parliament was told on Tuesday. Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Sarvey Sathyanarayana told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that road accidents occur due to the complex interaction of a number of factors which also include intake of alcohol and drugs. "Intake of alcohol/drugs by drivers resulted in...
10:55 PM, May 07, 2013
New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday hugged Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj in the Central Hall of Parliament. The two exchanged pleasantries and spoke for a few minutes. The meeting between the two came days after Sushma had attacked Sonia for destroying spirit of democracy. Last Friday, Swaraj had accused Sonia of instigating her MPs to disrupt her speech in the Lok Sabha. Sonia, who has been under attack from...
06:58 PM, May 07, 2013
New Delhi: Daily disruptions and ruckus inside Parliament - that Vice President Hamid Ansari said has been described as "competitive hooliganism" - have become routine and both the government and opposition blame each other for it, but experts say it is a negation of democracy and probably a way to get media coverage. "The way parliament has been functioning, it is a total negation of democracy," Jagdeep Chhokar, a retired...
06:10 PM, May 07, 2013
New Delhi: Compulsory military training to all youths is against democratic ethos of the country and is highly undesirable as some of the trained men could join the ranks of radical forces, Defence Minister AK Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday. In a written reply to the House, he also said the government is not in favour of making military training compulsory as under the democratic set up of...
12:03 PM, May 07, 2013
New Delhi: Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Monday sought to blame the opposition for disruption in Parliament, saying they were "bursting debates" and "killing arguments" in the House as he backed the Food Security Bill in its present form. Sen, an eminent economist, said the essence of democracy is to have arguments and there is a need for skillful presentations of what the issues are. At a press conference along...
09:02 AM, May 07, 2013
New Delhi: The Opposition is in no mood to relent saying it will not let Parliament function without the resignations of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. On Monday, there was uproar in the Lok Sabha with the BJP, its allies and the Left storming the well of the House even as the National Food Security Bill was taken up for discussion....
08:54 AM, May 07, 2013
New Delhi: CBI has issued a lookout notice against a former IAF chief in connection with alleged irregularities in procurement of VVIP helicopters, Defence Minister AK Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday. In a written reply to the House, he said, "CBI has issued Lookout notice against a number of individuals in India including a former chief of IAF in connection with the said case." Though Antony did not...
08:15 PM, May 06, 2013
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha has approved the extension of the term of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G scam till the end of Monsoon Session. The Monsoon Session is likely to begin around July 23. Facing a combined Opposition and allegations of bias, the chairman of JPC, PC Chacko had held informal consultation with the members. Sources say the BJP had agreed for an extension. The tenure of the...
03:19 PM, May 06, 2013
New Delhi: BJP President Rajnath Singh and LK Advani in Chhattisgarh on Saturday met top RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale. The meeting was held to discuss the party strategy to oust the UPA Government from Parliament in the coming Lok Sabha elections. The main agenda of both the BJP and RSS against the UPA is corruption. The UPA Government which is in the power for the last nine years has been...
10:05 PM, May 04, 2013
