1 / 8From the inauguration of the new Parliament building, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, and the suspension of a record number of MPs to the formation of the INDIA bloc, Assembly polls in nine states, and Manipur violence, the country has witnessed a major change in its political landscape in 2023. With 2023 coming to an end in a few days from now, it's time to take a look back at the major political headlines and stories that shaped the year./Reuters
2 / 8New Parliament building: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building on May 28. It has an expanded capacity of 888 seats (compared with 543 earlier) in the Lok Sabha, while the seats in Rajya Sabha have been expanded to 384 from the previous 250. However, the inauguration ceremony was boycotted by around 20 Opposition parties accounting for 242 MPs in both Houses. They raised questions over the Prime Minister inaugurating the Parliament and ‘sidelining’ President Droupadi Murmu./X
3 / 8Parliament security breach and suspension of 146 MPs: The recently concluded Winter Session of the Parliament was marred by protests and numerous disruptions after two intruders jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber and set off canisters emitting coloured gas on December 13, the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack. While nobody was harmed and the accused were arrested, the Opposition parties protested and demanded Union Minister Amit Shah's statement on the security breach. Ultimately, this led to the suspension of 146 MPs across both Houses. This was the highest number of suspensions in the Parliament’s history./PTI
4 / 8.Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam: In September, President Droupadi Murmu gave her consent to the Women's Reservation Bill after both Houses of Parliament cleared it during a special session. After getting the President's nod, the central government issued a gazette notification for the legislation, officially known as 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam', which proposes 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies./ PTI
5 / 8G20 Summit: The month of September marked yet another historic moment for the country as it hosted the G20 Summit at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi's Pragati Maidan. The G20 New Delhi Summit, held under the theme 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', was the 18th meeting of G20 (Group of Twenty). It brought together leaders from the largest economies in the world to discuss pressing global challenges./PTI
6 / 8Formation of INDIA bloc: As many political parties on July 18 came together under the banner of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), to contest against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. According to The Indian Express, the INDIA bloc has 142 MPs in Lok Sabha, 98 MPs in Rajya Sabha, 1,637 MLAs, and 120 MLCs across states and Union Territories./ PTI
7 / 8Assembly elections in nine states: In 2023, Assembly elections were held in nine states in India. These include Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Karnataka, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana. The BJP won polls in four states, while the Congress won in two, and regional parties took the remaining three./PTI
8 / 8.Manipur violence: Starting May 3, the Northeastern state of Manipur witnessed prolonged ethnic violence between the tribal group Kuki and the ethnic group Meitei. The violent clashes have resulted in the deaths of around 175 people and left over 1,000 people injured./PTI
