Parliament session likely to begin in old building on Sep 18
New Delhi (PTI): The upcoming Parliament session on September 18 is likely to begin in the old building and shift to the new structure the next day, officials said on Wednesday.
According to officials, the shift to the new Parliament building will coincide with Ganesh Chaturthi, considered auspicious to make new beginnings.
The 10-day long Ganesh festival begins on September 19.
They said the agenda for the week-long session of Parliament is expected to be finalised after the G20 Leaders' Summit from September 9-10.
The clarification comes amid opposition protest over 'no clarity' on the agenda for the upcoming Parliament session. The Congress had urged the Centre to maintain transparency and not keep the country in the dark over the agenda of the session.
In a letter to former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the central government has followed the relevant rules and procedures in convening the session of Parliament from September 18-22.
Joshi said there was no convention of consulting political parties before convening the session of Parliament.
Gandhi on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to point out that no agenda was listed for the special session and to raise nine issues, including violence in Manipur and price rise, for discussion during it.
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Attack on Indian-flagged merchant ship off Oman coast unacceptable: MEA
New Delhi (PTI): An Indian-flagged commercial vessel has come under attack off the coast of Oman but all its 14 crew members are safe, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
It is not immediately known who carried out the strike on the vessel on Wednesday.
The MEA described the attack as "unacceptable".
"The attack on an Indian-flagged ship off the coast of Oman yesterday is unacceptable and we deplore the fact that commercial shipping and civilian mariners continue to be targeted," it said.
"All Indian crew on board are safe and we thank the Omani authorities for rescuing them," it said.
The MEA said India reiterates that targeting commercial shipping and endangering innocent civilian crew members, or otherwise impeding freedom of navigation and commerce, should be avoided.
The vessel was sailing from Somalia and the strike triggered a fire that led to sinking of the vessel, it is learnt.
The crew members were rescued by Oman's Coast Guard and taken to Diba port.
At least two other Indian-flagged ships have been attacked since the war between the US and Iran began on February 28.
The latest attack came amid the fragile security situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
