Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Monday questioned the government on why it was scared of naming wilful bank loan defaulters. (Source: ANI)
Parliament Today LIVE News Updates: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Monday questioned the government in Lok Sabha on why it was scared of naming wilful bank loan defaulters. “I was not allowed to ask a supplementary question in Lok Sabha, this takes away my right as MP,” he said, adding that he was hurt as it was the Speaker’s duty to protect his right to speak. Earlier, Minister of State Anurag Thakur had responded to his query where he sought the names of 50 wilful defaulters and said that information relating to the defaulters was given on the Central Information Commission (CIC) website.
In the wake of the cancellation of airline and railway tickets amid the spread of coronavirus, CPI (M) Kerala Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem Monday requested the government to forgo the cancellation charges of passengers.
Congress floor leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had earlier given an adjournment motion notice over the issue of ‘imposition of excise duty on diesel, petrol and other petroluem products’ and the ‘price of petrol and diesel in the country respectively’.
Highlights
Asking states to stop thermal coal imports, the government in Rajya Sabha on Monday said that a lobby was active in some states that was behind dry-fuel imports despite sufficient domestic stock. Replying to a query in the Upper House during Question Hour, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said India houses the fourth largest resources in the world yet thermal coals were being imported and should be stopped. "There is no hesitation in saying that in many states some import lobby is also working. Though in last three-four months we have enough stock some of the Gencos are importing. This is the major problem," Joshi said. "I have written to all chief ministers including of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu requesting them to direct all Gencos to maximise the coal lifting and stop coal imports," he said. (PTI)
With an MSc Mathematics student getting the job of a sweeper at the Madras Municipal Corporation, a Lok Sabha member Monday sought to know steps taken by the government to deal with the unemployment situation, news agency PTI reported. DMK leader A Raja said that people at the posts of mechanical engineer, MBA were getting the job of a 'Khalasi' (helper) in railways. Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said there were various central government schemes for employment and steps were being taken to tackle unemployment.
The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry has taken several steps to uplift under-privileged people, Union Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said in Lok Sabha on Monday. Replying to Demands for Grants for Social Justice Ministry, he said the ministry has become "active" in the last 5 years and has taken several historic key decisions, like setting up 132 camps in 126 districts to provide assistance to physically challenged people.
Lok Sabha has been adjourned till 2 pm
During the Zero Hour in Parliament on Monday, several Rajya Sabha MP's suggested people should follow simple preventive measures like washing hands to check the spread of coronavirus.
Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 2 pm.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned the government in Lok Sabha on Monday and asked why it was scared of naming wilful bank loan defaulters. He said he was hurt as the Speaker did not allow him to ask a supplementary question and said, "I was not allowed to ask a supplementary question in Lok Sabha, this takes away my right as MP. I was hurt as it was the Speaker's duty to protect my right to speak," news agency PTI reported.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in Lok Sabha that our economy is in a bad state and the banking system was not working anymore. One of the central causes of the failure of banks, he said was the theft of large amounts of money by some people. He said that he had asked the names of 50 wilful defaulters in the country. To which, Minister of State Anurag Thakur responded and said "A list of wilful defaulters is available on the Central Information Commission (CIC) website. There is nothing to hide. All these people took money went away during their (Congress) government. The question posed by a senior member of the House shows his lack of understanding of the subject," news agency ANI reported.
Thermal screening of people visiting the Parliament complex was carried out on Monday in view of the threat of coronavirus. Staff and journalists visiting the complex were subjected to thermal screening. Authorities have already stopped issuing passes for people interested in witnessing proceedings in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Only MPs, staff and journalists are allowed to enter Parliament from Monday. However, it is not immediately known whether MPs were also subjected to thermal screening.
CPI (M) Kerala Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem Monday spoke about the coronavirus situation in Rajya sabha and said "Coronavirus has become a pandemic. The entire humanity is desperately battling against the catastrophic impact globally. Many state governments have proclaimed a virtual ban on the locomotion of people." He said that people were canceling their travel plans but airlines and Indian Railways were still levying cancellation charges from passengers. He requested the government to forgo the cancellation charges in the wake of the spread of coronavirus. Rajya Sabha chairperson Venkaiah Naidu said that the suggestion was worth considering and airlines and railways should see to it that no cancellation charges are levied.
Proceedings began in both Houses of Parliament at 11 am on Monday. Follow our live blog to get the latest updates.