Budget Session 2018 LIVE UPDATES: Amit Shah makes his debut speech in the Parliament today.
BJP President Amit Shah made his debut speech in Rajya Sabha after it reconvened at 2pm. Both the Houses of the Parliament were adjourned just a little while after the session had begun. While the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day following the condolence meeting for Kairana MP Hukum Singh who died Saturday, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm following protests by Opposition members.
While the Samajwadi Party was protesting against the alleged “fake encounters” in Uttar Pradesh, TDP MPs highlighted their displeasure against this year’s budget. Rajya Sabha is expected to continue witnessing stormy scenes as MPs of NDA-ally TDP are likely to disrupt the proceedings. It is learnt that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has asked the MPs to use all possible means to put pressure on the Centre.
Kambhampati Rammohan Rao, TDP Central Committee member and the party’s special representative in New Delhi, said on Sunday: “The CM has asked the MPs to use all means possible to put pressure on the Centre and highlight our problems, including disrupting Parliament even if they face the possibility of suspension. The CM said he is committed to maintaining the coalition dharma, but the protests for justice for Andhra Pradesh should now be out in the open, rather than just sending requests and appeals. This is the ‘stage one’ strategy. From Tuesday, our MPs will hold placards and protest in Parliament. We will decide what to do next after the Parliament session.”
BJP president Amit Shah will initiate the motion of thanks to the President’s address in the Rajya Sabha in Monday. This will be Shah’s debut speech in the Upper House, to which he was elected last year from Gujarat. Rajya Sabha will discuss the motion of thanks over Monday and Tuesday. The House has decided to sit till 8 pm to make up for lost time.
Parliament Budget Session 2018 LIVE UPDATES: Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day.
Parliament Budget Session 2018 LIVE UPDATES
Amit Shah says the government has increased transparency in its working and in various allocations of spectrums and coal blocks, targets the UPA government which was rife with corruption in allocation.
Talking about the Paris accord, WEF in Davos, launch of 104 satellites by ISRO, Shah praises PM Modi and his leadership and says he has brought laurels to the nation on global platform.
BJP President Amit Shah praises his party-led government's efforts and initiatives in the Rajya Sabha. Shah reading the report card of 3.5 years of Modi govt, says the female ratio is increasing in states, the literacy rate is improving and initiatives like DBT has helped people benefit from government funds and saved Rs 57,000 crore.
"Muslim women went to different courts of India for their rights. The court had given a judgment during Shah Bano's case but Congress made a law to bypass this. This time, they stopped the Bill in Rajya Sabha," Shah said. Protests erupt in the House. "If they dont have any objections, we can bring the Bill tomorrow as well."
"Kashmir is an important issue for the country. In the past 35 years, Kashmir is the most safe now. Terrorists and militants are now behind the bars after we came to power," Amit Shah said.
The world saw India differently after surgical strikes and knew that India protected its borders like America and Israel, Amit Shah said. "Surgical strike was a historic moment. World started seeing India from a different view. They realised that after America and Israel, India is the only country which can protect its soldiers & Army," he said.
"What kind of politics is this when Congress leaders give their approval for GST in the Council meetings but oppose it in the Parliament. They call it the Gabbar Singh Tax. Gabbar Singh was a dacoit. Using law to collect tax from people, is it dacoity? And where is this money used? It is used for one rank one pension. It is used to provide gas to the poor. Is this good politics if one provoke people not to pay taxes?" Shah said. "We are in power today, tomorrow it can be you," he said as Opposition erupts in protest.
"GST is an improvement in itself. Nobody imagined that GST would be implemented at such a large-scale," he said. Shah also added that BJP never opposed GST. "It opposed the methods," he said adding that it was Congress which destroyed the federal structure. "People are talking about GST in a manner as if it would destroy small businesses in the country. I have studied the GST and I am telling you that nothing of that sort will happen," said Shah.
"One can go through all the democracies in the world, none of them had the courage to give health insurance of Rs 5 lakh to 50 crore people," said Shah. "I know some people will make noise about this but we have decided to call Ayushmaan Bharat as Namo healthcare now."Government announced two major initiatives in health sector as part of Ayushman Bharat programme while presenting the Union Budget 2018-19 in the Parliament. The government said it was aimed at "making path breaking interventions to address health holistically, in primary, secondary and tertiary care systems, covering both prevention and health promotion."
'I was just reading Chidambaram's tweet. I believe it is better to work hard by selling pakodas rather than be unemployed. What sort of a mentality is it when you compare a pakoda-seller to a beggar?' Amit Shah.
"I am not denying there is unemployment. But this is after you ruled the country for 55 years. Why couldn't Congress find the solution to this," he asked.
Amit Shah talked about the importance of the Swachh Bharat campaign. "Those living in Lutyens Zone will not understand the importance of toilets in every house," he said.
Shah also said that young girls who are forced to go out and defecate in the open lose confidence.
Amit Shah: 'The country saw a lot of votebank politics and it was difficult to ask someone to leave something. After Lal Bahadur Shashtri's request to fast, it was PM Narendra Modi who asked people to give up on something for the poor people. The PM asked the well-off people to give up their gas subsidies.'
Goverment said it would work on the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and Deendayal Upadhaya. And it has worked for the upliftment of the weakest sections of the society, said Amit Shah. He also spoke about Jan Dhan Yojana and at least one bank account in every family.
Gujarat MP Amit Shah initiates motion of thanks to the President’s address in Rajya Sabha. "After 30 years, a party got full mandate to form the government. It was a historic mandate and BJP got it," Amit Shah said."For the first time after independence, a non-Congress party was given mandate by the public and it was BJP government led by PM Modi. In spite of getting absolute majority, we formed government with NDA members," he added.
BJP President and Rajya Sabha MP Amit Shah makes his debut speech.
Apart from Samajwadi Party, AAP members too trooped into the Well raising the issue of sealing of commercial establishments in Delhi. Congress member Ramachandra Rao too came into the Well holding a banner that read "Do Justice to Andhra Pradesh" in protest against the state not finding a mention in the Union Budget for 2018-19 presented last week.
"I don't want to run the House like this," Venkaiah Naidu remarked before adjourning the House till 2 pm.
Soon after Lok Sabha met today, three new MPs -- Congress members from Rajasthan Karan Singh Yadav and Raghu Sharma as well as TMC member from West Bengal Sajda Ahmed -- took oath. Yadav has been elected from Alwar while Sharma and Ahmed represent Ajmer and Uluberia constituencies, respectively.
Samajwadi Party MPs in Rajya Sabha raised the issue of alleged fake encounters in Uttar Pradesh following which the House was adjourned. SP MP Naresh Agrawal had given a notice under rule 267 seeking adjournment of proceedings to take up a discussion on the issue of fake encounters, which was rejected by Naidu who said the matter could be raised through a different notice.
Lok Sabha on Monday paid tribute to Kairana MP Hukum Singh who passed away on February 3. Singh was suffering from breathing problems and died at J P Hospital in Noida. Two years ago, when UP polls were nearing, Singh alleged that 346 Hindu families had been forced to migrate from the western UP town of Kairana due to atrocities unleased by “one particular community”.
Lok Sabha adjourned for the day after new members take oath. To reconvene on February 6, 11 am. The House also paid tribute to Kairana MP Hukum Singh who passed away on February 3. Singh was also the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Water Resources and member of General Purposes Committee of the Lok Sabha. "A literary person with deep passion for reading scriptures; poetry and classics, the spirit of which he imbibed in his disciplined life and also reflected in his insightful articles," Mahajan said while mourning the demise of Singh.
The MPs staged the protest urging the Centre to take steps to fulfill bifurcation promises and pending issues for Andhra Pradesh.
Amid ruckus created by Opposition members, Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm.