Attacking the govt, Opposition parties said trenches have been dug, barbed wires put up and spikes installed at the sites of farmers' protests, whereas bridges should have been built to win over them
Parliament LATEST Updates: Opposition parties on Thursday launched a vociferous attack on the Centre over its handling of the farmers' agitation, callings its dialogues with the protestors "monologues", even as the ruling BJP defended the new laws asserting that its government is committed to the welfare of peasants and increase their incomes.
Attacking the government, Opposition parties said trenches have been dug, barbed wires put up and spikes installed at the sites of farmers' protests, whereas bridges should have been built to win over them. The BJP highlighted the farm welfare measures and tore into the shifting of goalposts by the Opposition.
Participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, Congress MP Deepinder Singh Hooda said the government has no right to question the patriotism of farmers "as they are the ones who have made the country self-sufficient in food".
Speaking during the Zero Hour taken up by the Lok Sabha, Manoj Tiwari complained about schools run by AAP government in Delhi and said that the schools are grossly inadequate to educate all children in the area. He said that many students are failing exam because teachers are either not available or are unable to give attention to children in overflowing schools.
"I don't want to leave the important matter of education on the Delhi government so kindly open a Navodaya Vidyalay in the region," Tiwari said.
Lok Sabha has resumed proceedings amid sloganeering from Opposition who are flashing pamphlets in support of farmers. BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, who is in the Chair, has requested the protesting members to use the Zero Hour to raise important issues.
A parliamentary panel has raised concerns over building a national database of crime scene DNA profiles, saying it will include virtually everyone as DNA is left at such spots before and after the incident by several people
Lok Sabha had to be adjourned as soon as it reconvened at 7 pm amid Opposition protests. The Budget Session has been a near washout in the Lower House for the past three days.
within two minutes of reconvening at 6 pm. The House will now meet again at 7 pm
Lok Sabha has been adjourned till 6 pm. The House had just started the debate on the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021
Speaker adjourned the House barely after three questions had been asked during the Question Hour. Opposition members raised slogans against the Modi government in the Well of the House.
A day after the Lok Sabha proceedings were washed out over the Opposition's demand to have a dedicated discussion on farm issues, the Opposition has again placed a request for an adjournment motion to discuss the same. The Rajya Sabha, meanwhile, witnessed a fiery debate on farm laws
The Trinamool MP referred to the death of a farmer during the tractor march in Delhi on Republic Day and said there should be a 'proper inquiry' so the truth could come out.
Reacting sharply to the treatment meted out the farmers protesting at Delhi borders, Congress leader and Haryana MP Deepinder Hooda asked the Centre to shed its hard stance and withdraw the farm Bills.
Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, says that the NDA government has never differentiated between BJP and non-BJP ruled states. 'Our mantra is minimum government maximum governance. We don't discriminate between States ruled by us and others,' he added.
The AAP leader in Rajya Sabha said BJP party workers stormed the Red Fort and disrespected the national flag on Republic Day.
Stating that protests and agitations are the lifeblood of democracy, he contested the government statement of 11 rounds of dialogue have concluded with agitating farmers, saying its ministers 'believe in monologue and not dialogue'.
The former Karnataka chief minister also condemned Centre's decision to put up 'concrete walls' at protest sites.
The Congress leader also mentioned Sudha Bharadwaj, who was been jailed for over three years. "She was a Harvard professor and now she is languishing in jail for supporting Dalits in Bhima Koregaon," he added.
Speaking on farmers' issues in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, BJP's Jyotiraditya Scindia in Rajya Sabha reiterated the party's stand that the three farm bills were brought for the benefit of farmers.
Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha Thursday slammed the government for its reaction towards the farmers' protests. "The media starts talking of the 'Pakistani angle and Khalistani angle' with regard to farmers' protest. This is not right."
Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy introduced Bill in Rajya Sabha to replace Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 (J&K Cadre merger with AGMUT).
The Centre and the opposition parties have agreed to conduct a discussion on the farm laws in Parliament. The discussion will take place for 15 hours in the Rajya Sabha, after the Motion of Thanks on Friday.
The Lok Sabha proceedings were washed out for the second consecutive day on Wednesday after the House was repeatedly adjourned due to protests by Opposition members who were demanding a separate discussion on the farm laws issue.
The House reassembled four times but was unable to conduct business as the members of the Congress, DMK, AAP and the SAD trooped into the Well and shouted slogans against the farm laws, ignoring repeated appeals by Speaker Om Birla to maintain order.
As the proceedings started at 4 pm, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury tried to raise the issue of farmers' agitation against the agri laws, saying the matter is harming the image of the country. "We are concerned," he said.
Several Opposition members entered the Well, protesting against the farm laws. Chowdhury later demanded a separate discussion on the Presidential address and the farmers' issue.
During the day Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said he had discussions with the leaders of Opposition parties and they had agreed to start the discussion on the motion thanking the President for his address. "Now, they have made a U-turn and that is also like an insult to the President," Joshi said.
Speaker Om Birla reminded the MPs that the whole nation is watching their conduct. He said the people have sent them to the House to raise matters related to the common man and not to chant slogans and disrupt proceedings. Urging the members to return to their seats, Birla said they should maintain the dignity of the House or else he will have to take disciplinary action.
He said the Question Hour is important and it should go on. However, repeated assurances by the Speaker that the members will be given adequate opportunity to put forward their views, did not cut ice with the protesting opposition members.
Amid the din, the House was first adjourned till 4.30 pm, followed by adjournments till 5 pm, 7 pm and later till 9 pm. Birla urged Aam Aadmi Party leader Bhagwant Mann and others to go to their seats if they want a discussion. But the opposition members did not pay heed to his requests, forcing him to adjourn the proceedings again till 5 pm.
Similar scenes were witnessed when the proceedings resumed, with many slogan-shouting opposition members entering the Well again. After various documents were tabled, the Speaker requested the agitating members to return to their seats as he wanted to start the Zero Hour, saying it is important to talk about the problems faced by the people in the members' constituencies.
However, the sloganeering continued. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal was also in the Well, holding a poster against the farm laws. As soon as the house assembled at 9 pm, members from Opposition parties again entered the Well and continued raising slogans forcing the speaker to adjourn the House for the day.
There were more than 20 members, including from the Congress, DMK, AAP and the SAD, protesting in the Well. Several farmer unions have been staging protests at various border points of Delhi since late November demanding the repeal of the farm laws.
