Sources at the BAC meeting said that the session will be cut short by Wednesday or Thursday in view of Covid-19 pandemic. (PTI)Parliament Monsoon Session LIVE updates: A consensus has been reached on shortening the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament with most parties on the same page on the matter at Lok Sabha’s business advisory committee (BAC) meeting held Saturday. Sources at the meeting said the session is likely to be wound up by Wednesday or Thursday. The Speaker will make the announcement about the last working day of the House.
The move comes after more than 30 MPs, including Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Prahlad Patel, tested positive for Covid-19 over the past week. The situation prompted stricter protocols and discussions on the possibility of curtailing the monsoon session.
Earlier in the day, National Conference president and MP Farooq Abdullah on Saturday raised concern over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Indicating that there has been no progress in the UT, he said, ” People there do not have access to 4G facility, how are they going to grow in the present time. J&K should have same right as the rest of the country.”
On the sixth day of the Parliament session, the Rajya Sabha passed The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill 2020. Moving the Bill, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “IBC is such a critical part of business now. On the NPAs of scheduled commercial banks, I just want to highlight how IBC is actually serving the purpose. The priority is to keep companies to be a going concern rather than liquidate them.”
The House also passed The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020 — legislation that provides for up to five years in jail for those attacking doctors and healthcare workers fighting the COVID-19 outbreak or during any situation akin to the current pandemic.
In Lok Sabha, Sitharaman will present The Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Bill, 2020, The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill, 2020 and The Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020. This will be followed by Home Minister Amit Shah moving The National Forensic Sciences University Bill, 2020 and The Rashtriya Raksha University Bill, 2020.
Parliament LIVE updates: The Monsoon Session is being held amid strict protocols and precautions due to Covid-19. (PTI Photo)
A consensus was formed to curtail the ongoing Monsoon session as most parties favoured this at Lok Sabha’s business advisory committee meeting on Saturday. Sources at the BAC meeting said that the session will be cut short by Wednesday or Thursday and the Speaker will make the announcement, said sources.
Alleging that the agriculture bills brought in by the NDA government would cause great injustice to farmers in the country, TRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday asked his party MPs to vote against them in the Rajya Sabha. Observing that the bills would hurt farmers and benefit corporates, Rao told the TRS parliamentary party leader K Keshav Rao to strongly oppose them in parliament.
'Chief Minister Sri K Chandrasekhar Rao said that the Farmers and farming related Bills introduced by the Centre in Parliament would do a lot of injustices to the farm sector in the country.
The CM has instructed TRSPP Leader Dr K Keshav Rao to oppose the Bills tooth and nail in the Parliament, as it would benefit the Corporates and adversely impact the farmers, an official release said. The bills, for public consumption, say that the farmers can sell their produce anywhere in the country, but, in reality, thebills would enable the traders to go anywhere in the country to buy the produce, Rao said. Though the NDA government says that the farmers can sell their produce anywhere in the country, is it possible for farmers to take their small produce to other places, bearing heavy transport charges, he asked.
'These Bills are nothing but a sugar coated pill. This should be opposed at all costs,' the CM said.
Opposing the The Taxation and other Laws (Relaxation & Amendment of Certain Provisions) Bill, 2020, TMC MP Mahua Moitra in Lok Sabha said that the bill is deeply problematic because it further weakens the rights & resources available to states by taking away statutory promises made under the new GST regime.
"The Taxation and other Laws (Relaxation & Amendment of Certain Provisions) Bill, 2020 corners the public funds for PM-CARES to the direct detriment of state relief funds," she said.
Loksabha now takes up discussion on Taxation Amendment Bill
PM CARES fund lacks transparency as not audited by Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Even RTI is also not apllicable, said RSP MP N. K. Premachandran. "What is the logic of having separate fund when PM National Relief Fund existed. What is the difference between PM CARES fund and Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF)," he asked.
Former J&K Chief Minister and National Conference MP in Lok Sabha Farooq Abdullah raised concern over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Indicating that there has been no progress in the UT, he said, " People there do not have access to 4G facility, how are they going to grow in the present time when the rest of the country has access to every facility on the internet."
"The situation in Jammu & Kashmir, even after one year of abrogation of Article 370, is causing concern. We demand the release of all 230 political leaders who are still in detention in J&K," said TMC MP Saugata Ray in Lok Sabha.
Karnataka MP Sumalatha Ambrish spoke against imposition of Hindi. "Karnataka has embraced people from all over the country. Kannada has a rich heritage. If Hindi is imposed, it might lead to the decline of regional languages," she said.
Union Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar introduces New Labour Code in Lok Sabha. This includes three bills-- The Occupational Safety, Health And Working Conditions Code, 2020, The Industrial Relations Code, 2020, The Code On Social Security, 2020.
Three Bills — occupational safety, health and working condition code 2019; industrial relations code, 2019 and code on social security, 2019 withdrawn. This was opposed by by MP N.K Premachandran, MP Manish Tewari and MP Shashi Tharoor.
Manish Tewari opposed the move saying that this should have been done taken into consideration voices of all stakeholders as the Bills have undergone changes suggested by the previous standing committee.
Shashi Tharoor opposed the introduction stating that they are discriminatory to women, migrant workers, unorganised sectors. He too says it is unfair to expect anyone to go through 151 pages of a Bill in a matter of hours and thus leaves it open to challenge in court.
The Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Bill,2020
The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The National Forensic Sciences University Bill, 2020
The Rashtriya Raksha University Bill, 2020
The Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill, 2020
The Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
In today's BAC meeting called by the Speaker at 5 PM, sources said that curtailment of the monsoon session is likely to be taken up for discussion. This comes after over 30 MPs, including Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Prahlad Patel, testing positive over the last week, there is a palpable sense of concern and apprehension in Parliament over the spread of Covid. The situation has prompted stricter protocol and raised the possibility of the ongoing Monsoon Session being wound up next week.
Monsoon session resumes in lower house
Opposition parties Saturday demanded in the Rajya Sabha that the government waive interest on loans to farmers and individuals for the coronavirus pandemic period on the lines of a pause in insolvency proceedings against defaulting corporates. Participating in a debate, K K Ragesh of CPI (M) said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and other members have told the House that the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill has been brought to save businesses and corporates.
"Why the same logic is not applied in the case of farmers? Farmers are also bankrupt. Why the government is not taking any responsibility and any initiative in waiving the farmers' loans?" he asked. Ragesh said the government could have at least considered to "waive the interest on farmers loans during the moratorium period".
A "dramatic" decline in the number of incidents of violence against health workers has been witnessed in the country after an ordinance was brought, making such activities a non-bailable offence, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan informed the Rajya Sabha on Saturday. The government brought an ordinance on April 22 to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 to make incidents of violence on health workers treating COVID-19 patients a non-bailable offence with provisions of penalty and a jail term of up to seven years.
Moving an amendment bill in this regard for passage in the Upper House, the health minister said after the ordinance, such incidents against healthcare workers have declined. "We have all noticed that there has been a dramatic decline in the incidents of violence against health workers all over the country," he said.
The government on Saturday said it is planning to develop model highway stretches in a bid to achieve perfection in road building. "In order to move a step closer to achieving perfection in highway development, it is planned to develop model stretches with provision of all technical and aesthetic parameters as per prevailing specifications," Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways V K Singh told the Rjya Sabha in reply to a query.
The planning and identification of stretches for this purpose is in initial stage, he said. The development of road stretches as model highways is taken up post finalisation of all activities including availability of funds and government approval, Singh added.
The Rajya Sabha is now adjourned till 9 am tomorrow. The Lok Sabha will start at 3 pm. follow this space for all the latest updates.
The Rajya Sabha on Saturday passed a legislation that provides for up to five years in jail for those attacking doctors and healthcare workers fighting the COVID-19 outbreak or during any situation akin to the current pandemic. The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was introduced by Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan in the Upper House on Saturday to replace an ordinance issued by the government in April. The Union Cabinet had promulgated The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, to protect healthcare service personnel and property, including their living/working premises against violence during epidemics.
Discussing on the Bill, RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha says, "In Bihar, labourers were called corona carriers... The poison in the society that was spread, I am not sure how that will be addressed. The Act does not define epidemic or dangerous epidemic. For months, healthcare workers have not been paid salaries, nurses and doctors are on strike. Taali, Thaali and flowers are symbolic, but other measures are needed. Recall what was being played on TV channels in April and May? We were fighting against our own people - a thelewala (cart puller) was attacked. We are not fighting the disease, but our own people."
Shiv Sena's Priyanka Chaturvedi supports the Bill, but says, "Our responsibility doesn't end here. Healthcare workers should be given PPEs, work hours should be regulated and salaries should be disbursed on time. Policemen, safai karamcharis and ASHA workers should be taken care of." Hospitals turned this crisis into an opportunity."