Parliament Budget Session 2022 Live Updates: Both Houses of the Parliament were adjourned sine die,a day ahead of schedule.
The Rajya Sabha was scheduled to deliberate upon The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022 on Thursday. The Upper House was also to discuss the working of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, along with introducing motions for election of members to the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Marine Products Export Development Authority.
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha was to discuss the need to promote sports in India and steps taken by the Centre to this effect. The Budget session of Parliament is likely to conclude on Thursday, a day ahead of schedule, PTI quoted sources as saying.
Speaking on the war in Ukraine a few days after the Bucha killings came to the fore, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in the Lok Sabha that India is “first and foremost” strongly against conflict. “We believe that no solution can be arrived at by shedding blood and at the cost of innocent lives. In this day and age, dialogue and diplomacy are the right answers to any dispute,” he added.
Headline:
Lok Sabha adjourned sine die, a day ahead of the Budget Session's last day of functioning on April 8.
Congress MP in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore gave an adjournment motion notice to discuss the hike in petrol and diesel prices in the country.
Over the last 16 days, fuel prices have been hiked, resulting in a total price increase of Rs 10 per litre, "which is highly dangerous to the common man and economy". He said this would also have a "cascading effect on prices of essential commodities".
He sought that the House gives direction to the Centre to formulate a policy to restrict price of petrol by providing the necessary tax reduction.
The Budget session of Parliament is likely to conclude on Thursday, a day ahead of schedule, sources told PTI.
The Budget Session of Parliament began on January 31 and the first half ended on February 11 after the presentation of the Union Budget.
The second half of the Budget Session began on March 14. According to the original schedule, the session was to conclude on April 8.
A bill which seeks to ban funding of weapons of mass destruction and also empower the Centre to freeze, seize or attach financial assets and economic resources of people engaged in such activities was passed by Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Responding to a discussion on the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the passage of the amendment will strengthen India's national security and its global position.
"We are upgrading a law which is 17 years old, which like other legislations need updating...FATF needs very specific reference to financing...the bill is meant to be amendment to shortcoming, something which is missing in a current law, it is not meant to be a new law," the minister explained. (PTI)
Parliament on Wednesday passed the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill empowering police to obtain physical and biological samples of convicts and those accused of crimes, with Home Minister Amit Shah assuring the Rajya Sabha that biometric data of political detainees will not be collected and the proposed law will exclude brain mapping and polygraph test from its ambit.
Several opposition parties slammed as "unconstitutional" and "draconian" the bill and claimed it could be misused. Congress leader P Chidambaram and other opposition members favoured sending the legislation to a select committee for further deliberations, but the demand was rejected.
Sukhendu Sekhar Roy (TMC) opposed the bill calling it "draconian". He said the government wants to use its "brute majority" to pass the bill that "violates the principle of natural justice", and demanded that it be sent to a select committee for vetting.
Tiruchi Siva of the DMK supported his demand, claiming the government wants to armour itself with draconian laws which can be used even against political and social activists. Sujeet Kumar (BJD) said the bill, even if passed, will not withstand judicial scrutiny. Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) opposed the bill and noted it will be challenged in the Supreme Court even if it is passed in Parliament. (PTI)