Upbeat after the smooth functioning of Parliament on the first day, the government will be introducing two key Bills on Thursday. In Rajya Sabha, Minister of State Jitendra Singh will introduce amendments to Right to Information Act, while Lok Sabha will take up the crucial The Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill, 2017 that seeks to establish a National Commission for Backward Classes.
Here are the live updates:
On religious minorities
Swapan Dasgupta raises the issue of what he calls the systematic attack of Hindus in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi Hindus are migrating to India and it is causing demographic change in Assam. What steps is the government realistically taken to safeguard Hindus in Bangladesh.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj says according to Bangladesh government report the number of Hindus have been increased to over 10 per cent in the country. The government is pursuing cases of hate crimes and it is wrong to say the exodus of Hindus are in place in Bangladesh, she says.
Another member asks about status of Hindu refugees who migrated from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Ms. Swaraj says the Home Ministry has come up with the Citizenship Amendment Bill and it has been passed in Lok Sabha. She hopes the Upper House too passes the Bill, which will benefit many refugees.
On Question paper leak
In Rajya Sabha, members are asking questions on question paper leak reported in various examinations.
Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar says the paper was leaking by a person for money and it was subsequently circulated via Whatsapp. He was speaking about the TET question paper leak. The issue is being investigated, he says.
Digvijay Singh claims it is an organised racket and not one-off incident. Mr. Javadekar agrees and says his ministry is seriously pursuing the matter.
Another member raises the issue of copying in examinations. Mr. Javadekar says National Testing Agency is being considered to come up to conduct examinations in a fool proof manner.
'Mob lynchings unfortunate'
In Zero Hour, Congress member raises the issue of attack on Swami Agnivesh. He asks why nobody has been arrested yet. Congress members demand an answer from the government. Frame a law to tackle mob lynching, a member says.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh says lynching has been reported from many parts of the country that has resulted in murders. Mr. Singh says he condemns such incidents. Most of these incidents are triggered due to "unverified fake news." Public order is a state subject. The Home Ministry has sent advisory to States twice, in 2016 and 2018. The minister says social media service providers have been asked to install checks in their platforms. Such incidents are unfortunate, I have spoken to the chief ministers personally to ensure the perpetrators are arrested.
Santosh Ahalawat requests Railway Ministry to increase frequency of trains from her Jhunjunu constituency to the Capital.
Rajya Sabha moves to Question Hour. Questions are being asked on release of funds to State Governments.
P.L.Punia, Congress member, asks what is the percentage of fund is being alloted for storm water drainage. The Minister says Rs. 2969 crores are allotted for this purpose. It is up to the States to decide on the percentage, he says.
In Lok Sabha, Zero Hour proceedings begin. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan informs the House the Kottayam member Jose K. Mani will no longer be part of the House since he has been elected Rajya Sabha. She also informs the House that Baijayant Panda's resignation has been accepted.
Members are presenting reports listed against their names.
Errors in Tamil NEET paper
Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar speaks in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. | Photo Credit: Courtesy: RSTV
Tamil Nadu member Vijila Satyanath raises the issue of errors in NEET question paper set in Tamil. She says the CBSE has appealed against the verdict and this is delaying the admission process, causing agony to students.
She also highlights how students from Tamil Nadu were made to write examinations in Kerala, Rajasthan and Sikkim.
Prakash Javadekar says Tamil Nadu government provided the translators. Last year we had separate papers for languages. Following feedback, we framed a single question paper, he says.
Mr. Naidu asks why children are being made to travel for examination to which the minister replies: "There will be no displacement of children from next year."
Social media and mobocracy
Harivansh, Bihar MP, highlights the misuse of social media. He cites examples of Cambridge Analytica scandal and reports of US election rigging. He also says its worrisome that many people have been lynched based on social media rumours.
Anand Sharma joins the issue and asks for a broader discussion on framing a policy. Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu asks the government to take all concerned parties and bring out a policy.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad says he is already pursuing the case with social media organisations.
Sukhendu Shekar Roy also condemns Union Minister felicitating mob lynching convicts. Muslims, minorities and Dalits are mostly being targetted in mob lynching, says D. Raja. Shouldn't we be ashamed to discuss mob lynching in a civilised society, he says.
T.K. Rangarajan (CPI-M) and Sanjay Singh (AAP) raise the issue of attack on Swami Agnivesh by right-wing activists in Jharkhand. They want the parliament to condemn the action.
Prasanna Acharya, BJD, says many Army jawans have committed suicides in the recent past. He claims one of the reason is they are being deployed far away from their home. There are also complaints of poor food. Mr. Acharya says the junior jawans are being ill-treated by seniors. Mr. Acharya suggests constitution of an independent body to study the issues faced by jawans.
In Lok Sabha, questions are being taken on upgradation of airports. An AIADMK MP asks what are the steps being taken to upgrade Madurai airport. MoS Jayant Sinha says more aircrafts are being added to Madurai. As he elaborates, he is barely audible as opposition members resort to sloganeering on various issues.
As sloganeering subsidises, Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari says it is now mandatory to use 10 per cent plastics in laying roads. This will reduce pollution and will increase the life of roads, he says. He is responding to a question on cementing roads.
Mr. Gadkari says cement roads are laid in places where monsoon is heavy. He also says 40% of cement manufactures is used for road construction.
UGC order bypasses reservation?
In Rajya Sabha, Zero Hour proceedings begin.
Ram Gopal Yadav raises the recent government order issued by the UGC on new reservation policy on faculty admission. The issue was raised in Lok Sabha on Wednesday too. Mr. Yadav says the GO is against the principles of reservation and would be gross injustice, especially to the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. Many members associate with Mr. Yadav.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of Opposition, seeks a full-fledged discussion on the issue.
Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar says the government shares the concerns of the members. The UGC took the decision based on the court ruling and we have filed two special leave petition, he says. I am confident that the court will rule in favour of us, he adds.
Certain universities took steps to fill up vacancies. I have issued orders to pause the interviews. Reservation will stay, Mr. Javadekar says.
Both Houses convene.
In Lok Sabha Question Hour begins. Anurag Thakur, BJP MP, and a former cricker administrator asks if union government is doing enough for sports infrastructure and identifying sport talent.
Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, an Olympian, says the infrastructure is taken care by the states and identifying local talents are the responsibility of sports associations. The Nation Sports Development Fund is funding Olympian players, he says.
This year the government will target children aged 8-12 years under Khelo India programme to develop sports persons at younger age.
Congress MPs staging a protest at the entrance of Parliament claiming the proposed hike in the MSP announced by the govt is insufficient. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy
The Congress party members took part in a novel protest against what they called the insufficient hike in the minimum support price to farmers. The MPs carried a bag of maize to the Parliament and blocked the main entrance.
While the government claims the recent hike in MSP was the highest and "historic," Congress claims this was a 'jumla' and factors such as fuel prices were not considered when announcing the decision.
Trouble brews in TDP ahead of no-trust motion
Ahead of the debate on the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha tomorrow, TDP MP from Anantapuramu, J.C. Diwakar Reddy, said he would continue to stay away during the entire monsoon session. He didn't attend the Parliament on Wednesday too.
The party has issued a whip directing all its MPs to attend Parliament on Friday and Monday. But Mr. Reddy seems undeterred. “This is just a routine. The government is not going to fall anyway. And I cannot speak English or Hindi. So my presence or absence doesn’t matter,” he told reporters in Anantapuramu late last night.
“There are others who are well-versed in English and can speak well,” he added.
Members from YSR Congress party staging a protest demanding Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh at Parliament premises in New Delhi on Thursday. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy
Meanwhile the YSR Congress party continued its protest seeking Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. Party members held placards and raised slogans outside the Parliament premises.