- Parliament nod to Prez Rule in Jharkhand
Staff Reporter, New Delhi Thursday, July 29, 2010
Amid opposition uproar over price rise, the Parliament on Thursday approved the imposition of President's Rule in Jharkhand without any debate.
As opposition members stormed the well in the Lok Sabha and raised vociferous slogans in the Rajya Sabha, a statutory resolution approving the central rule was put to vote and adopted by voice vote in both Houses.
In the Rajya Sabha, the resolution was moved by Minister of State for Home Mulapally Ramachandran and passed without discussion amid uproar over price rise.
Similar scenes were witnessed in the Lok Sabha where members of the BJP-led NDA and the Samajwadi Party stormed the well raising slogans, when Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken placed the resolution for vote. The measure was adopted by a voice vote amidst the din.
Jharkhand came under Central rule on June 1 this year after Congress and BJP gave up efforts to form an alternative government following resignation of Chief Minister Shibu Soren. The assembly has been kept in suspended animation.
Go to Top - 'Speaker more affectionate towards Pranab'
Staff Reporter, New Delhi Thursday, July 29, 2010
NDA Convenor Sharad Yadav today took a dig at Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar claiming she was more "affectionate" towards the Treasury Benches but showed little mercy towards the Opposition.
"Ek varsh ho gaya hai, aapka prem Pranab babu ki taraf toh khub jhalakta hai, lekin hum logon ki taraf aapki daya kabhi nahi hoti (It has been a year now, your affection is more towards Pranab (treasury benches) and you have been less kind to us," Yadav said in the Lok Sabha.
At this point, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also the Leader of the House, was seen with folded hands, smiling.
Yadav's left-handed compliment to the Speaker came a day after she rejected Opposition-sponsored Adjournment Motion on price rise contending that it involved no failure on the part of the Government.
The JD (U) chief said in his inimitable style that her decision had forced the Opposition to spend a sleepless night mulling how to confront the Speaker.
"We in the Opposition spent a sleepless night thinking how to confront the Speaker. The Speaker is the highest authority and it is difficult to confront the Chair and how should we do it," he said.
Yadav said that after a lot of confabulations, the Opposition decided to demand a discussion under Rule 184 that entails voting.
He contended that people of the country have been pained by the Speaker's decision to disallow the Adjournment Motion moved by the Opposition
Go to Top - HC issues notice to Digvijay over mall plea
Staff Reporter, Indore Thursday, July 29, 2010
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued notices to former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh and others on a petition seeking a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the construction of a shopping mall in Indore.
A Division Bench comprising Justices S L Kochar and Shubdha Waghmare yesterday issued notices to Singh and 14 others seeking reply in a month.
In his petition, local resident Mahesh Garg has said that the State's Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which registered a case against Singh and others in 2009 in regard to construction of the mall, 'Treasure Island', was lax in investigation. The matter, therefore, should be handed over to CBI.
Besides the senior Congress leader, notices were also served on ex-Housing and Environment Minister Rakesh Singh, former Madhya Pradesh Housing Board Chairman Chandraprabhash Shekhar and the mall owner Manish Kalani, among others.
Approval for the mall was given when Singh was the Chief Minister.
Go to Top - HC extends stay on Amar Singh's arrest
Staff Reporter, Allahabad Thursday, July 29, 2010
The Allahabad High Court today extended till September 20 the stay on the arrest of former Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh in connection with a corruption case lodged against him at Kanpur.
The order was passed by a Division Bench comprising Justice Imtiyaz Murtaza and Justice Naheed Ara Moonis on a writ petition filed by Singh, who has challenged the FIR lodged against him at Babupurwa police station of Kanpur.
The expelled Samajwadi Party leader was present in the court accompanied by eminent lawyer and fellow Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani, who was recently elected to the Upper House on a BJP ticket.
The impugned FIR, lodged on October 15, 2009, by a Kanpur resident Shivakant Tripathi, has accused Singh of having committed financial irregularities to the tune of crores of rupees when Samajwadi Party was in power in Uttar Pradesh.
Go to Top - Price issue stalls Parliamentary proceedings
Staff Reporter, New Delhi Thursday, July 29, 2010
The issue of price rise stalled proceedings in both Houses of Parliament for the third consecutive day today with the opposition demanding discussion under a rule that entails voting.
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon within minutes of assembling for the day as Opposition led by BJP, SP and BSP raised slogans and stormed the Well with demands for discussion on price rise.
In the Lok Sabha, soon after Speaker Meira Kumar read out the obituary references, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj demanded suspension of Question Hour and immediate discussion on price rise under Rule 184 that includes voting.
Swaraj said the Opposition members were "saddened" by the Speaker's decision yesterday to disallow Adjournment Motion moved by them.
Go to Top
