Parliament Monsoon Session 2018: The Monsoon session of Parliament, which is scheduled to have 18 sittings, will end on August 10.
Parliament Monsoon Session 2018: A showdown between the Opposition and the NDA is likely with the government planning to introduce the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill 2018 in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The government has proposed changes to three sections of the RTI Act, which are related to ranks, salaries, allowances and tenure of the Chief Information Commissioners and Information Commissioners of the Centre and states. Challenging the changes, the Opposition said it is committed to fighting any “attempt” by the Centre to “dilute” the Act and resist any amendments to it.
Apart from this, the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2013, the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2017 and the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill 2018 are also scheduled to come up for consideration and passage in the House. In Lok Sabha, the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 and Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2017 is listed for consideration and passage.
On Day 1 of the session, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan accepted Telugu Desam Party’s no-confidence motion against the Modi government. The motion that is to be taken up on Friday has ended the impasse that had washed out the Budget session. Proceedings in Rajya Sabha were largely smooth after Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu agreed to take up the TDP members’ demand of a debate on the grant of special package for Andhra Pradesh, sometime next week.
Rajnath Singha addresses the House on lynching. "The lynching incidents happened in the past well. I condemn all the incidents on behalf of my government. Unverified reports, fake news spread through social media is a trigger. It is the state government's responsibility to ensure that no such incidents take place in the future. Law and order is a state subject. This is why we have requested the social media operators to keep a tab in order to avoid the spread of fake information."
BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha will vote against the no-trust motion. The discussion will take place on Friday.
"In a democracy, the voice of the Opposition should be heard first even if it consists of one person. Even we (Shiv Sena) will speak when it is required. During voting, whatever Uddav Thakachey directs us, we will do," Sanjay Raut told ANI
Opposition leaders staged a protest when Jayant Sinha started speaking in Lok Sabha. Sinha had created a controversy when he welcomed, with garlands and sweets, six men out on bail who had earlier been convicted by a fast-track court of lynching a meat trader in Jharkhand. And posed with them for pictures.
Question Hour is underway in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar took a jibe against Sonia Gandhi saying that the government has a majority and will sail through the motion. "Sonia ji's maths is weak. They had calculated similarly in 1996. We know what happened then. Their calculation is wrong yet again. Modi govt has a majority both inside & outside Parliament. NDA will vote against No confidence motion," he said. Outside the House, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had told reporters: “Who says we don’t have the numbers?”.
DMK working president MK Stalin said that while the party has no seat in Lok Sabha to participate in the no-confidence motion, it supports the Opposition. "In spite of having no option to vote for No-Confidence Motion in Parliament, DMK supports the no confidence motion brought by TDP. We request AIADMK also to support no confidence motion in Parliament," he said, reported ANI
Congress has given adjournment notice in Lok Sabha over the issue of mob lynching
"I am not going to attend Parliament session, you can say that I violated the party whip. I'm fed up with the centre & our TDP govt. I'm fed up with the whole political system," JC Diwakar Reddy, TDP MP told ANI
The Indian Express' Associate Editor Liz Mathew explains what a no-confidence motion amounts to and how can it impact the Modi government. She also discusses key bills that are likely to be taken up in the current Monsoon Session. According to PRS Legislative Research, a total of 68 Bills are pending in Parliament. Of these, 25 Bills are listed for consideration and passage, and three for withdrawal during the session. 18 new Bills are listed for introduction, consideration, and passage. Listen here
Jan Adhikar Party MP Pappu Yadav has given an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha over the issue of Special Status to Bihar, reports ANI
Welcome to the live blog. It is expected to an action-packed day today at the Parliament with key bills like the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill 2018 the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2013 and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 likely to come up for discussion today. Follow this space to track all the latest developments from both the Houses