Parliament LIVE Updates: Congress MP Manish Tewari spoke about the military coup in Myanmar. He urged the Centre to put international pressure to restore democracy in the country
File photo of the Parliament. PTI
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The Lower House will reconvene on 8 March.
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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying he is becoming a "doomsday man" for India by constantly insulting constitutional functionaries and creating fake narratives on various issues.
Replying to the general discussion on Budget in Lok Sabha, she said the former Congress chief was creating fake narratives but does not have patience to listen to replies on allegations levelled against the government. "We need to recognise these two tendencies of the Congress party... this makes it clear that their belief in a democratically elected Parliamentary system is completely finished," Sitharaman said.
Responding to Rahul Gandhi's speech on Thursday, during which he talked about farm laws but declined to speak on the Budget, she said, "he is probably becoming a doomsday man for India." The Minister further said that Gandhi laid the "foundation" but did not speak about the Budget during the discussion on it.
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BJP MP Jagdambika Pal said that the Centre must recognise Bhojpuri as a scheduled language."It is already recognised in Mauritus and Suriname. Some 50 crore people speak it, but it is not recognised here," he said.
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Members from Maharashtra, largely from the BJP, have raised several issues against the Uddhav Thackeray-led state government.
"Pritam Munde spoke about restoring MPLAD funds. A member raised boundary dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka, while another one sought water management in northern Maharashtra," The Hindu reported.
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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday morning said that the government, undeterred by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been pursuing reforms for achieving sustained long-term growth in a bid to make India one of the top economies of the world in the coming decades.
Replying to debate on Budget 2021-22 in Lok Sabha, she said, the Prime Minister did not lose any opportunity to continue with the reforms and this Budget has set the pace for India to become self-reliant or Aatmanirbhar.
Earlier this month, the Finance Minister presented a Rs 34.5 lakh crore Budget for 2021-22, in the backdrop of the pandemic. The Budget has laid emphasis on increasing capital expenditure, raising allocation for healthcare capacity building and development of agriculture infrastructure, among others, which are expected to have a multiplier effect on the economy.
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BJP MP Nishikant Dubey spoke about the breach of privilege motion against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
He also slammed the Congress leadership "for not issuing showcause notice to Gandhi and said that his membership should be revoked", The Hindu reported.
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The Bahujan Samaj Party on Saturday supported the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha and lashed out at the Congress for its opposition to the government's measures that it said are in "support" of the poor, Dalits and other deprived communities in the Union Territory.
MP Malook Nagar said backward communities like Gujjar and Backarwal had been deprived of their rights in Jammu and Kashmir for long and are now getting their due, a reference to the Modi government's move to roll out reservation for them in line with the national quota after the erstwhile state's special status was revoked with the annulment of Article 370 of the Constitution in 2019.
Mayawati-led BSP had also backed the government on its move to abrogate Article 370. Her party is not part of the BJP-led alliance and had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the SP against the BJP. It has since nuanced its position.
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RSP MP NK Premachandran spoke about the 'back-door appointments' by bypassing Public Service Commission list. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut spoke about the rising fuel prices.
Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that Lakshadweep has stopped cargo operations to Calicut Port. The island is entirely dependent on cargo transport. This decision will only increase inflation, he added. Another Congress MP Manish Tewari spoke about the Myanmar coup. He urged the Centre to put international pressure to restore democracy in the country.
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Amit Shah targetted the Congress and said that the Opposition has made the issue of human rights a political gimmick.
"People talk about human rights. But they didn't grant voting rights to Valmikis and Pakistan refugees," he added.
"Anti-corruption and reservation laws became applicable only after Article 370 was abrogated. Ladakh got more money only after bifurcation. A number of infrastructure projects have been started in these two years," he added.
Parliament LATEST Updates: RSP MP NK Premachandran spoke about the 'back-door appointments' by bypassing Public Service Commission list. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut spoke about the rising fuel prices.
Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that Lakshadweep has stopped cargo operations to Calicut Port. The island is entirely dependent on cargo transport. This decision will only increase inflation, he added. Another Congress MP Manish Tewari spoke about the Myanmar coup. He urged the Centre to put international pressure to restore democracy in the country.
The Union Home Minister listed several steps taken by the Centre for the development of Jammu and Kashmir.
Citing the execution of the DDC polls to state that peace was prevailing in the Union Territory, he said, "Nobody, not even our rivals can say that there was fraud or unrest during the election (DDC). Everyone voted fearlessly and peacefully. 51 percent votes were cast in the Panchayat elections."
He also listed out the "reforms" taken up by the government, including the DDC polls and restarting Panchayats. "It is not just that. We have allocated Budget. Several departments have been handed over to panchayats. We have decentralised power. We have made it mandatory for all officers to stay in panchayat for two nights to know the ground reality. Such an exercise was taken up thrice and over 18,000 pending civic issues were solved."
"Kashmir will be connected by train in 2022. AIIMS is coming up in three places," he added.
Amit Shah targetted the Congress and said that the Opposition has made the issue of human rights a political gimmick.
"People talk about human rights. But they didn't grant voting rights to Valmikis and Pakistan refugees," he added.
"Anti-corruption and reservation laws became applicable only after Article 370 was abrogated. Ladakh got more money only after bifurcation. A number of infrastructure projects have been started in these two years," he added.
In his response to the debate in the Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed the Opposition MPs questioning the steps taken for the development of Jammu and Kashmir. "Those asking me for status report on Jammu and Kashmir after Article 370 was abrogated, do you have a report on your progress in the last 70 years," he said.
He added, "I stand by what I said earlier. Statehood will definitely be restored to Jammu and Kashmir in time."
TMC MP Saugata Roy spoke about his opposition to the abrogation of Article 370 and said that "for the first time in Indian history, the government abolished a State". He also questioned what the government achieved from bifurcating the state.
"I don't think everything happened in Kashmir since Independence was good. Mainstream politicians shouldn't have been detained now," he said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the Union Budget 2021-122 has set the pace for India to become aatmanirbhar.
Replying to debate on the Budget in Lok Sabha, the minister also said the challenges of pandemic did not deter government from undertaking reforms for maintaining long term goals of the country.
The reforms undertaken will lay the path for India to become one of those fastest-growing economies in the world, she said, adding the Budget has set the pace for India to become aatmanirbhar or self-reliant.
Earlier this month, the finance minister presented a Rs 34.5 lakh crore Budget for 2021-22 in the backdrop of the pandemic.
The Budget has laid emphasis on increasing capital expenditure, raising allocation for healthcare capacity building and development of agriculture infrastructure, among others, which are expected to have a multiplier effect on the economy.
With regards to increasing allocation for rural job guarantee scheme, the finance minister said the government will allocate more funds for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) scheme for 2021-22, if needed, as against Budget estimate of Rs 73,000 crore.
Hitting out at the Opposition, Sitharaman said the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi works for common people and not for crony capitalists.
Three BJP members in Lok Sabha on Friday moved a breach of privilege notice against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying by asking members to observe silence to mourn death of farmers during agitation without the permission of the Chair was a contempt of the House.
In a dramatic move, Gandhi on Thursday led his party members and those from the TMC and the DMK to observe a two-minute silence by standing to mourn the death of farmers during the ongoing agitation.
Claiming that "200 farmers" have died during protests, he had said he was doing this as the government has not paid tributes to them.
This was perhaps for the first time in recent history that some members stood in silence to mourn deaths without being asked to do so by the Chair.
BJP MPs Sanjay Jaiswal, Rakesh Singh and PP Chaudhary moved notice against Gandhi.
Jaiswal said that Gandhi directed his party members to observe silence without taking permission from the Speaker. The House should take action against him, he said.
Singh alleged that Gandhi has shown an unparliamentary behaviour and that has impacted the dignity of Parliament. He alleged that Gandhi works against the rules of Parliament.
Sharing similar views, Chaudhary said that: "It is gross misconduct and it is a serious breach of privilege".
Meanwhile, in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury raised the issue of disengagement between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh, and sought a clarification from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on whether the Kailash range would be ceded as part of an agreement.
There are certain issues on Ladakh which require further clarification from the defence minister, Chowdhury said during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha.
After a lot of efforts by the Army, the Kailash range was brought under Indian control and the Chinese establishment was rattled by this achievement, he said.
"I would like to know if we are going to leave this vantage point as part of disengagement... can this kind of quid pro quo can happen as part of disengagement," he said.
However, Speaker Om Birla told Chowdhury that this is not an issue of the Zero Hour and a separate notice needs to be served on this.
On Thursday, the defence minister, while making a statement in Parliament, said India and China have reached an agreement on disengagement in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh that mandates both sides to cease forward deployment of troops in a "phased, coordinated and verifiable" manner.
In the statement in Parliament, the defence minister said China will pull back its troops to east of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank of Pangong lake while the Indian personnel will be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 in the region.
Singh had also assured that India has not conceded anything in the sustained talks with China. India will not allow even an inch of its territory to be taken by anyone, Singh said.
The defence minister had said the implementation of the pact will "substantially restore" the situation to the one which existed prior to the standoff that erupted on May 5 last, adding that the two sides have agreed that they should achieve complete disengagement at the "earliest" and abide fully by the bilateral agreements and protocols.
Chowdhury also sought clarification on the Depsang plains, an issue which was also raised by former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi earlier in the day.
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