The Rajya Sabha yesterday held a special debate on the 150th anniversary of 'Vande Mataram', during which Union Home Minister Amit Shah and opposition leaders, including Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, traded barbs.
Congress MP Manish Tewari raised concerns in the Lok Sabha over the growing trend of cash transfer schemes being used ahead of elections and demanded a constitutional amendment to restrict such practices for governments with high debt burdens.
The upper house of Parliament is also set to take up discussion on electoral reforms after further discussion on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram on Wednesday.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is investigating "a case of human organ smuggling" in which five victims had travelled to Iran on tourist visa and were lured by pecuniary benefits.
Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday slammed the Congress over its "vote chori" allegations against the government and said the opposition party had different yardsticks when it comes to its own victory in elections and when the BJP wins.
Addressing the Lower House of Parliament during a discussion on electoral reforms, Rahul Gandhi questioned the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government about the rationale for removing the Chief Justice of India from the committee to select the Chief Election Commissioners and Election
Replying to a query from Samajwadi Party MP Sanatan Pandey, Rai said the upcoming Census will use mobile applications to collect data. At the same time, respondents will also have the option to self-enumerate via a dedicated web portal.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit back at the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for questioning the committee that selects the Chief Election Commissioner, claiming that earlier the Prime Ministers had chosen the ECs directly under the UPA regime.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the BJP of "vote chori", saying it is the biggest anti-national act, and alleged that the Election Commission is "colluding with those in power" to "shape elections".
He said that after the Cabinet Committee's 2018 approval, the Centre had been consistently urging the West Bengal government to allocate land for seven ICPs, including Ghojadanga, Fulbari, Hili and Mahadipur.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the BJP-led government of "capturing institutions including the Election Commission" during the debate on Electoral Reforms in Lok Sabha and said when a Congress-led government comes to power at the Centre, it will retrospectively change the
Rajya Sabha MP Kartikeya Sharma, along with his wife, author and educationist Aishwarya Pandit Sharma, paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Parliament House on Tuesday, a press release said.