Parliament LIVE: 165 farmers dead, have mercy and repeal 3 black laws, AAP’ Sanjay Singh to Centre

Parliament LIVE: Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien today  pressed the Centre to repeal the three controversial farm laws and offered a "Repealing Bill 2021" drafted by him for the purpose. He referred to the death of a farmer during the tractor parade in Delhi on Republic Day and said there should be a "proper inquiry" so the truth could come out. "The 'Repealing Bill 2021'...this will repeal all (three controversial  farm laws). I have taken the liberty of drafting the Repealing Bill 2021. I will share it with them. You repeal these bills (farm laws). There is a way to do it. Eighteen months' pause you will put on these (laws), but how?" he said in the Rajya Sabha.

O'Brien said, "Just imagine that unfortunate tractor incident where a farmer died under mysterious circumstances, just imagine if that happened in Bengal or Maharashtra...All I'm saying is that the truth be told. I'm not coming to any conclusions. Let the truth come out. The home minister of India is in charge. Do a proper inquiry and let the truth come out". He said the political and administrative responsibility lies with the prime minister and the home minister. 

Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha LIVE: Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 9 am tomorrow. Today, BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, Congress MP Digvijay SIngh, AAP MP Sanjay Singh, and Trinamool Congress MP Derek OBrien spoke in the Upper House. They raised various issues but mainly Covid-19 and protests over farm laws. 

The Centre has informed the Rajya Sabha that over 20 lakh public grievances, highest in the last three years, have been received on an online platform run by the central government. In a written reply to the Upper House, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said a total of 22,71,270 grievances were received on the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) in 2020, as against 18,67,758 in 2019 and 15,86,415 in 2018.

Of these, 23,19,569 grievances were disposed last year, 16,39,856 in 2019 and 15,05,950 in 2018. As many as 10,23,300 grievances were pending in 2020. "The Department conducts regular review meetings for monitoring pendency and disposal of grievances received in Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) with the designated grievance officers of ministries/departments. The last such review meeting was held in January 5, 2021," Singh said.

Parliament LIVE: AAP leader Sanjay Singh says farmers are protesting for 76 days, they are being lathi-charged, called traitors, terrorists, Khalistanis. "Talks happened 11 times, all failed, government claims to be a call away, but doesn't bother. About 165 farmers lost their lives. Have mercy and repeal 3 black laws," the AAP MP says. 

Parliament LIVE: Trinamool Congress MP Derek OBrien says government has failed India at many levels, it failed to uphold Parliament's sanctity because of its arrogance. 'On September 20, 2020, seven MPs who stood for farmers were suspended. I stand in solidarity with the farmers who lost their lives.'

Parliament LIVE: Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad yesterday asked the Centre to bring a bill in Rajya Sabha proposing restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. Speaking during the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, Azad said, "I appeal to you, if Jammu and Kashmir has to progress and if we have to fight our enemies at the borders, we need to take our own people into confidence and give them love." He said the government should "bring a bill in the House and statehood to be restored" adding that legislative assembly elections must be held after statehood is restored for Jammu and Kashmir. He said any measure that upsets the people residing in the Northeast and border areas, including Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Punjab, should not be taken. Referring to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Azad said she taught him that "we cannot fight on multiple fronts with Pakistan and China". The Congress leader claimed that the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are not happy as outsiders can now buy their land and work there, unlike in the past. Arguing against Jammu and Kashmir being converted into a Union Territory, he also claimed that the law and order situation in Kashmir was 100 times better when it was a state as compared to now, militancy was at its lowest and development works were at their best, irrespective of whichever government was in power in the state.

DMK MP Tiruchi Siva yesterday sought assurance from the government and the prime minister on the repeal of the three contentious farm laws against which several farmer unions have been protesting on various borders of Delhi. He also expressed concern over the manner in which the farm bills were passed last year, but Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said that everything was done according to rule. "As per the demand of our party president M K Stalin, I would urge the government, the prime minister in his reply would assure repealing of these farm laws," Siva said in Rajya Sabha. The DMK, which has seven members in the Upper House of Parliament, had opposed the three farm bills. "We have been pleading with you sir asking for more time to discuss about the farmer's agitation which is going on. We are happy the way you conduct the House and uphold merits of this Upper House but the way the bills were passed last year is really to be lamented. We were allotted four hours for two bills," Siva told the chair. He said that only three-and-half hours were left for discussion on the bills after half an hour got exhausted in the Zero Hour session. "First these bills were promulgated as ordinances then it was brought as bills to replace them," Siva said. (PTI)

Rajya Sabha LIVE: "Farmers are not at all responsible for the Republic Day incident some anti- social elements are. The matter is a state subject, it's in concurrent list. State government's opinion also has to be taken," says HD Devegowda. 

Parliament LIVE: JD(S) Supremo HD Devegowda says he condemns actions of certain miscreants on Republic Day, but farmers are not responsible for it. "They should not be punished. Centre's decision to put concrete walls at protest site won't help. Government must end the matter peacefully." 

Parliament LIVE: When there was UPA government, the health budget was not utilized fully. Congress-led UPA's 5 year budget was Rs 1,75,000 crores while NDA's one year health budget is Rs. 2,23,000 crores, 137% increase from last year, says BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia in Rajya Sabha.

BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia in Rajya Sabha: "When country is battling COVID, Opposition is busy pointing fingers. First they questioned lockdown and then the unlock phase. Despite Congress MP Anand Sharma appreciating lockdown measures in his report, party alleges vaccine politics."

A Rajya Sabha MP on Wednesday called upon the government to institute an impartial inquiry into the Reppublic Day violence, headed by a sitting Supreme Court Judge, if possible. Addressing the Upper House during the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, Prasanna Acharya of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) said while everybody has condemned the violence on January 26, "putting the whole blame squarely on a few farmer organisations, or few farmer leaders is not going to solve the problem". He called for a probe to ascertain the truth about who was behind the violence, "how thousands of people were allowed to enter the Red Fort. Who opened the gate of the Red Fort". Acharya suggested an inquiry to determine the role of the police, the local administration, farmer leaders and organisations who were spearheading the agitation against the three agricultural legislations. "My suggestion to government is that a proper, impartial inquiry should be instituted into the incident. Let it be headed by a sitting Supreme Court judge. Let us know the truth. Who was behind all these things," Acharya said. (PTI)

Parliament, Farm Laws LIVE: BJP Rajya Sabha MP Jyotiraditya Scindia today quoted the Congress manifesto to back farm reforms brought in by the Centre. He said Congress had suppported the same reforms and promised to repeal APMCs after coming to power. Scindia also quoted former union agriculure minister and current NCP chief Sharad Pawar who had also backed these reforms. He said they all had agreed on these reforms but if they have any issue they should point out.