Feb 3 News Live: 8 MPs suspended for ruckus in Lok Sabha

Members of several opposition parties on Tuesday (February 3) staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha while raising the issue of the Indo-US trade deal and demanding a discussion on it.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raised the issue of the Indo-US trade deal soon after the zero hour ended and alleged that the information about the deal was being received from Washington instead.

As opposition members started protesting in the House, Leader of the House J P Nadda alleged that the Opposition's frustration was coming out, and it had started seeing bad even in good things. "I want to assure the house that the government is ready to discuss the Indo-US trade deal and provide all minute details of the deal. The government will come out with a suo motu statement on the trade deal.

"But this methodology is fatal for democracy and is the irresponsible behaviour of the Indian National Congress and the INDI alliance," Nadda said.

The opposition members continued raising slogans alleging that the interests of the country were being bartered, Chairman C P Radhakrishnan said, when the government is making a statement, and they should listen.

A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N V Anjaria set aside a Telangana High Court order refusing to quash the proceedings against Mittal and sent the matter back to the high court for fresh consideration. The apex court also asked Mittal to approach the high court for interim bail.

The case stems from a Hyderabad woman's allegation that she was defrauded of Rs 11 lakh by a man who used a fake profile on shaadi.com and that the platform failed to properly verify user details. "Since the quashing petition has not been decided on merits, we set aside the impugned order and remit the matter to the high court to consideration on merits. Accordingly the criminal cases are restored to their original file. The same shall be dealt with by the high court on its merits. This court has not expressed any opinion on merits," the Supreme Court said.

"In the meanwhile, petitioner shall make a prayer for interim relief before  the high court. For a period of eight weeks from today, no coercive steps to be taken against the petitioner," it added. Meanwhile, senior advocate Atmaram Nadkarni, appearing for Mittal, submitted that he was running a matrimonial site, which is basically just a matchmaker.  "I am just facilitating matching. We are cooperating with the investigation. But why am I an accused?" Nadkarni asked.

The Telangana High Court last year declined to quash the FIR registered against Mittal and two others, Vignesh and Satish, named as accused in the case. 

The announcement marked a major turn for reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who broadly had warned Iranians for weeks that the turmoil in his country had gone beyond his control. It also signals that the president received support from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for talks that the 86-year-old cleric previously had dismissed.

But whether Iran and the US can reach an agreement remains to be seen, particularly as President Donald Trump has included Iran's nuclear programme in a list of demands from Tehran in any talks. Trump ordered the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June.

Writing on X, Pezeshkian said in English and Farsi that the decision came after “requests from friendly governments in the region to respond to the proposal by the President of the United States for negotiations.” “I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists, one free from threats and unreasonable expectations, to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency,” he said.

The US has yet to acknowledge that the talks will take place. 

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters after the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting that Prime Minister Modi also told NDA MPs that they should not be complacent with their win in various polls, including local bodies, but continue with the good work.

Referring to the US and India agreeing on a trade deal under which Washington will bring down reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from current 25 per cent, the minister said there is an excitement about it in the entire country.

"There is excitement among the MPs that these trade deals have been concluded under the leadership of PM. The trade deals have been signed with a total of 39 countries. This is historic. All these 39 countries are developed countries...This is historic. There has been a very good atmosphere in the country," he said.

Members of the National Conference (NC) on Tuesday (February 3) staged a dharna in front of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, demanding the restoration of statehood and an end to the alleged harassment of Kashmiris in some parts of the country.

Ahead of the start of the Assembly session, the NC MLAs were seen carrying placards reading “Restore statehood and Constitutional guarantees” and “Stop harassing Kashmiris outside J&K”. They raised slogans demanding the restoration of statehood and the protection of Kashmiris outside the Union Territory.

“We are sitting on a dharna in support of the demand for restoration of statehood,” minister Satish Sharma told reporters in Jammu.

NC MLA Tanvir Sadiq said all NC members were participating in the protest. “This was promised to us... It is now time to restore it,” he told reporters.

Sadiq also raised the issue of alleged harassment of Kashmiris outside Jammu and Kashmir and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to direct states to ensure their protection.

When the Assembly proceedings resumed, the issue of alleged harassment was raised in the House by NC MLA Mubarak Gul and PDP MLA Wahid-ur-Rehman Para. An 18-year-old Kashmiri youth suffered serious injuries after he was allegedly assaulted by a group of people while he was selling shawls in Uttarakhand's Dehradun district on January 28. There have been reports of Kashmiri shawl sellers being harassed and roughed up in some other states as well.