New Delhi: Despite several disruptions over FDI in retail and promotion quota bill issues, the Winter Session of Parliament (Nov 22-Dec 20) was better than the previous Monsoon Session, during which 13 out of 20 days were washed out to protests over faulty coal block allocations, the government said Thursday. "This was a better session," Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told IANS.
"It was a fruitful session as key economic reform bills were passed," Minister for State for parliamentary affairs Rajeev Shukla told IANS.
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11:14 AM, Dec 21, 2012
New Delhi: Parliament lost over 106 hours during the month-long Winter session which was marred by turmoil over issues like foreign direct investment and quota in promotions, but managed to pass some key legislations including banking reforms bill. Much of the time of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha was wasted because of uproar over FDI in multi-brand retail, over which government finally emerged victorious in voting after...
07:30 PM, Dec 20, 2012
New Delhi: There was a major drama in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday when a Samajwadi Party MP, Yashvir Singh, snatched the SC/ST Quota in Promotion Bill (Constitution (117th Amendment)) from Minister of State in PMO V Narayanasami while he was reading it in the House. Congress President Sonia Gandhi tried to snatch the Bill back from the Samajwadi Party MP but failed to do so. Following the snatching of...
03:45 PM, Dec 19, 2012
New Delhi: The much-hyped Lokpal Bill will be delayed further with the government on Wednesday saying it will bring the measure in the Rajya Sabha in the Budget Session with required amendments in the light of the report of the Select Committee. Minister of State for Personnel V Narayanasamy said in the Upper House that the Bill will be brought in the next session after the Opposition protested over the...
02:59 PM, Dec 19, 2012
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party has issued whips to its MPs to to vote in favour of the quota in promotions bill amid voices of dissent that are coming not just from the principle opposition party but also the Congress. The Samajwadi Party is accusing the government of using the CBI against it, ahead of the crucial vote. Just days after committing support on the reservation in promotion bill,...
07:40 AM, Dec 17, 2012
Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to the Devil's Advocate. Is Walmart becoming an embarrassment for the government? That is one of the key issues I will raise today with the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari. Mr Tewari, let us start with Walmart's own revelation. That since 2008, the company has spent $25 million lobbying for access in four countries, including India. And the opposition believes that much, if...
09:16 PM, Dec 16, 2012
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday dubbed as "mere political posturing" the threat of the Samajwadi Party to review its outside support to UPA if the SC/ST quota bill is passed. "SP and BSP are hand-in-glove with Congress. On several occasions, the two have jumped in to save the UPA government...The threat by Mulayam Singh Yadav is a mere political posturing," BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told...
06:26 PM, Dec 16, 2012
New Delhi: The Land Acquisition Bill, which seeks to strengthen landowners' rights during acquisition for development, will be introduced in Parliament next week, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh indicated on Friday hoping a smooth passage for the controversial measure. "You score the maximum in the slog overs," he told reporters when asked whether the Bill cleared by the Union Cabinet on Thursday, will be brought in Parliament in the current...
08:18 PM, Dec 14, 2012
New Delhi: 5:40 pm: The CPM on Thursday supported the quota bill in Parliament asking the Samajwadi Party to not disrupt the House on the issue. The CPM said it supported constitutional amendments to this effect and suggested creation of "supernumerary post" to enable officers get their due. 4:25 pm: Voting on promotion quota bill is likely to take place on Monday. 4.15 pm: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati...
12:29 PM, Dec 13, 2012
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party has given a notice for the suspension of Question Hour in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The party wants to discuss the delay in hanging the Parliament attack convict, Afzal Guru. Thursday marks 11 years of the terrorist attack on Parliament that left nine people dead in 2001. Parliamentarians will pay their respects to the security officers, who lost their lives in the 2001...
10:44 AM, Dec 13, 2012
New Delhi: There was high drama in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday after the BJP tried to disrupt the Question Hour soon after the House convened. Chairman Hamid Ansari lost his cool with the disgruntled MPs. After exhorting BJP MPs to sit down and let Question Hour proceed, a visibly furious Ansari got up and said that it would be pertinent to dispense with the Question Hour altogether or have...
01:32 PM, Dec 11, 2012
New Delhi: 3:07 pm: The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day as the uproar over the Walmart lobbying report continued. 2:40 pm: The Lok Sabha was once again adjourned till 3 pm as the uproar over the Walmart lobbying report continued. RJD chief Lalu Prasad demanded a time-bound JPC probe into Walmart lobbying. 2:00 pm Lok Sabha reconvenes. The Opposition continues to target the UPA Government on Walmart lobbying...
11:14 AM, Dec 11, 2012
New Delhi: The government may have passed the FDI test but it still has to work hard to push its other economic legislations with the BJP unwilling to concede an inch on the banking law amendment bill. On Monday, the Lok Sabha witnessed a direct confrontation between the Opposition and the government over the banking bill. The Left Front and the BJP have objected to Finance Minister P Chidambaram's move...
08:38 AM, Dec 11, 2012
New Delhi: There was an uproar in the Rajya Sabha over news reports on Walmart lobbying for its entry into India. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad raised the issue in the Upper House and said, "There should be an inquiry into who was paid by Walmart." Prasad said the reports were a serious matter at a time when FDI in retail was cleared in both Houses of...
12:32 PM, Dec 10, 2012
New Delhi: After winning the battle for FDI in retail with the help of Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, the UPA government is planning to introduce an amendment bill for reservation of Scheduled Castes and Tribes in promotions in government jobs in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. In lieu of her support on the key FDI vote, Mayawati had sought early passage of the bill. The bill seeks to amend...
09:03 AM, Dec 10, 2012
AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal has said that FDI in retail should have been decided through a referendum. He was speaking in Kolkata. ...
08:01 PM, Dec 08, 2012
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has said that FDI in multi-brand retail is now a reality and the government will look to build consensus on the pension and insurance bills. Speaking to CNBC-TV18 Executive Editor Shereen Bhan, Anand Sharma also said that the Opposition was graceless in its defeat. Following is an excerpt from the interview: Shereen Bhan: Is this now the law of the land? There seems to be confusion...
07:40 AM, Dec 08, 2012
New Delhi: 5:52 pm: JD(U) president Sharad Yadav said that the party would take action against MP Upendra Kushwaha for voting in favour of the UPA government on the issue of FDI in retail in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. 4:45 pm: Recounting of votes on FDI is underway in Rajya Sabha after the government demanded it as the number of votes appeared more than the actual strength of the...
10:08 AM, Dec 07, 2012
New Delhi: The UPA government looks all set to win the winter test in both Houses of Parliament. This comes after Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati declared that she will vote for the government on FDI in retail in the Rajya Sabha. This has assured the UPA of the much-needed numbers ahead of the vote. The other fence-sitter from Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party, has announced it will stage a...
07:55 AM, Dec 07, 2012
BSP supremo Mayawati on Thursday declared that her party will support the UPA government on FDI vote in the Rajya Sabha. "The government's proposal on FDI has some loopholes but the plus point for the current FDI policy of Central government is that states won't be forced to implement it," said Mayawati. ...
11:47 PM, Dec 06, 2012
