Parliament and state legislatures

In parliamentary parlance, a whip is a written order that party members be present for an important vote, or that they vote only in a particular way. It can also refer to a designated official authorised by a party to issue a whip. In India, rebelling against a three-line whip …

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has drafted a Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill A data protection law must safeguard and balance peoples’ right to privacy and their right to information, which are fundamental rights flowing from the Constitution. Unfortunately, this Bill fails on both counts. There are …

What is the Special Marriage Act:                                      The Special Marriage Act of 1954 (SMA) was passed by the Parliament on October 9, 1954. It governs a civil marriage where the state sanctions the marriage rather than the religion. Issues of personal law such as marriage, divorce, adoption are governed by religious …

A committee to consider blocking requests under the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information for Public) Rules, 2009, met 53 times in 2022, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology told Parliament on Wednesday. The government issued orders directing the “blocking [of] a total of …

The Centre on Friday released the endorsement guidelines for celebrities and social media influencers, mandating compulsory disclosure of monitory or material benefits of a product or a brand they are promoting through social media platforms. Failing to do so will attract a penalty of up to ₹50 lakh. Releasing the …

The gazette notification on the Electricity (Amendment) Rules, 2022, came out on December 29. Ever since the Union Power Ministry shared the draft rules with the States last August, the CPI(M)-led government in Kerala had fiercely objected to Rule 14 which permits distribution companies (Discoms) to automatically recover from consumers, …

The recent flashpoint between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena was triggered ahead of the January 6 election of the Mayor and deputy Mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). AAP has accused the LG of issuing orders on “practically everything” and bypassing …

The Tamil Nadu Assembly witnessed dramatic scenes on January 9. When the Governor skipped portions of the address that was prepared and approved by the State Cabinet, including references to political stalwarts from the State and the Dravidian model of governance, Chief Minister M. K. Stalin moved a resolution to …

The victory of the AamAadmi Party in the recent Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections has added a fresh backdrop to the unceasing face-off between the Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory and the elected government. Several Governors, who are all too eager to further the Bharatiya Janata Party’s …

In an unprecedented face-off, Governor R.N. Ravi on Monday abruptly walked out of the Tamil Nadu Assembly as Chief Minister M.K. Stalin disapproved of his selective deviation from the approved text of the Governor’s Address to the House and moved a resolution to take on record only the transcript distributed …