Members protest in the Rajya Sabha during ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Thursday, Aug 4, 2022. (SANSAD/PTI Photo) Parliament monsoon session Updates: Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill that seeks to to grant statutory cover to family courts set up in Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland. The Upper House was adjourned till tomorrow after passing the bill. As the Opposition demanded a discussion over the ‘misuse’ of central agencies, Union Minister Kiren Rijuju had moved the bill for discussion in the Rajya Sabha.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, who tried to raise a point of order in the Rajya Sabha but was denied by the Deputy Chairman, stated that the government was raising “points of disorder” outside Parliament. The Opposition has been demanding a discussion over the “misuse” of central agencies by the government, in light of the ED’s searches of the National Herald offices.
Amid the debate over the appropriateness of raising points of order, TMC MP Derek O Brien said that subject to the Constitution and the rules of the Parliament, every member has the freedom of expression. To this, Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav responded, “The members have freedom of speech. The Constitution doesn’t give freedom of hungama (chaos)”. Earlier, Congress MP and the Leader of Opposition in the Upper House, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Union Minister Piyush Goyal exchanged barbs over the ED’s probe into the National Herald Case.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. (PTI/Sansad TV)
A parliamentary standing committee has recommended that the government should reconsider spending on advertisements under the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' scheme and focus on planned expenditure allocation for sectoral interventions in education and health.
The panel noted that out of a total of Rs. 446.72 crore released during 2016-2019 for the government's flagship scheme, 78.91 per cent was spent only on media advocacy.
The Sixth Report of the Committee on Empowerment of Women (2021-22) on the action taken on the subject "Empowerment of Women through Education with Special Reference to 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' Scheme", was presented in Lok Sabha on Thursday. The panel said over the last six years, through focused advocacy BBBP has been able to capture the attention of political leadership and national consciousness towards valuing the girl child. (PTI)
A total of 130 cases of "hate news" were reported to social media platforms between the 2019 Lok Sabha election and the latest round of Assembly polls in five states held earlier this year, the government informed Parliament on Thursday.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju also said the Election Commission has informed that no complaints were received from the political parties regarding data leaks during elections in the last five years.
"Total number of 'hate news' cases reported to social media platforms (since Lok Sabha elections 2019) is 130...," he said. During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, 58 such cases were reported. During the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls in 2019, only one such case was reported, Rijiju said. (PTI)
Forty-five elephants were killed in train accidents in the period 2019-2021, Union Railways, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishaw informed this in a written reply to Lok Sabha MP S Ramalingam.
Vaishaw in his written reply earlier on Wednesday provided the statistics of the deaths of elephants under different railway zones in the country. Ten elephants, including two within the East Coast Railway zone, were killed in 2019.
The Northern and Southern railways recorded two deaths each and the Northeast Frontier Railway registered four deaths. (Read more)
The Congress Thursday said Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge's summoning by Enforcement Directorate during the working hours of Parliament was an 'insult' to the legislature and alleged that 'Modishahi' is reaching a new low.
The opposition party also said its MPs will march to the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday at 11 am to meet President Droupadi Murmu and raise the issue of the prevailing economic situation in the country. The Congress has planned a mass protest against price rise, unemployment and the GST hike on essential items on August 5, wherein it will take out a march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan and 'gherao' the prime minister's residence.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh raised the issue of summoning of Kharge by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), saying he was called by the probe agency when Parliament is in session and he left around 12:20 pm and presented himself. 'This is Modishahi reaching new lows,' Ramesh tweeted. (PTI)
The country has more than 21 crore two-wheelers and over 7 crore four-wheelers and above category of vehicles registered, Parliament was informed on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari said out of the total vehicles, 5,44,643 are electric two-wheelers while 54,252 are electric four-wheelers and above, as per the centralised data base -- VAHAN -- as on August 3, 2022. Data further revealed that there were 2,95,245 two-wheelers and 18,47,539 four-wheeler and above category of vehicles with fuel types of CNG, ethanol, fuel cell hydrogen, LNG, LPG, solar, methanol etc.
Replying to a separate question, he said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is primarily responsible for development and maintenance of National Highways. National Highways are generally maintained in traffic-worthy condition. (PTI)
AAP MP Raghav Chadha met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday and sought a rollback of the 12 per cent GST on inns near the Golden Temple in Punjab's Amritsar, saying it is a reminder of the Mughal era "Jizyah" tax.
In a memorandum submitted to Sitharaman, the Rajya Sabha MP of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from Punjab said the imposition of 12 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on "sarais" (inns) will increase the cost of visiting the Golden Temple for people. Chadha said the Golden Temple often witnesses more than one lakh devotees visiting the shrine from around the world in a day.
Inns like Guru Gobind Singh NRI Niwas, Baba Deep Singh Niwas and Mata Bhag Kaur Niwas run by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) provide a shelter to the devotees and are operated for "seva of sangat (community service)", not as profit-making ventures, he added. (PTI)
Congress MP Digvijaya Singh on Thursday said that all Congress MPs will march to Rashtrapati Bhawan tomorrow to raise the issues of price rise and inflation.
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As many as 14 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers from 12 state cadres are currently on deputation in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.
Two officers each are from Gujarat and Bihar cadres and one each from Uttarakhand, Telangana, Sikkim, Manipur, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories) cadre, according to a written reply given by Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh.
To a question seeking number of officers appointed through lateral entry in the PMO, he said lateral recruitment provides for appointment of persons for specific assignments in the government of India, keeping in view their specialised knowledge and expertise in the domain area. (PTI)
An unusual interaction between Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Kerala assembly speaker, MB Rajesh was seen in the Central Hall of Parliament on Thursday.
Parliament on Thursday passed a bill granting statutory cover to family courts set up in Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland and retrospectively validating all actions taken by them. The Upper House was adjourned after passing the bill.
Rajya Sabha passed the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022 by a voice vote amid sloganeering by the Opposition, led by Congress members who alleged misuse of the Enforcement Directorate by the government. Lok Sabha had passed the bill last week.
The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill seeks to insert a provision in sub-section 3 of section 1 to provide for the establishment of family courts in Himachal Pradesh with effect from February 15, 2019 and in Nagaland with effect from September 12, 2008. The bill also seeks to insert a new section 3A to retrospectively validate all actions under the act taken by the governments of Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland and the family courts of these states. (PTI)
As Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of 'demoralising' the Opposition with the use of central agencies, Union Minister Piyush Goyal in the Rajya Sabha said, “The Centre does not interfere in the workings of law agencies in the country. Maybe during their (Congress) rule, they might’ve interfered, but not us. The accusation by the Opposition is baseless. If they have done a mistake, the law enforcement agencies will do their duty and find out.”
While contributing to a debate in the Rajya Sabha over raising points of order, TMC MP Derek O Brien said that subject to the Constitution and the rules of the Parliament, every member has the freedom of expression. "This gives me my right (to raise points of order)," O Brien asserted.
This came after the Deputy Chairman did not allow Congress MP Jairam Ramesh to raise a point of order.
BJP MP and Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav stated, "The members have freedom of speech. The Constitution doesn't give freedom of hungama (chaos)".
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, who wanted to raise a point of order in the Rajya Sabha but was denied by the Deputy Chariman, stated that the government was raising points of "disorder" outside Parliament. The Opposition has been demanding a discussion over the "misuse" of central agencies by the government, in light of the ED's searches of the National Herald offices.
A debate ensued in the House over the appropriateness of raising points of order.
As the Opposition demanded a discussion over the 'misuse' of central agencies, Union Minister Kiren Rijuju moved the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022, for discussion in the Upper House.
As the Opposition continued to uproar over the "misuse" of central agencies by the government and other issues, the Lower House was adjourned for the day.
Earlier, Opposition Congress MPs on Thursday raised placards with slogans against price rise, shouted slogans and trooped into the well of the House. Read more
As proceedings resumed in Parliament, the Opposition raised slogans against the central agency and demanded a discussion over the misuse of central agencies.
Opposition leaders are likely to march towards Vijay Chowk and hold a press conference there at 3.30 pm, news agency ANI reported.
The Opposition members have been protesting against the Union government in the House, alleging a "misuse" of central agencies.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm as the Opposition continued sloganeering against the central government and the "misuse" of central agencies like ED.