RS Live: No document required for NPR, says Shah

19:32 March 12

House adjourned till 11 am on March 13.

19:27 March 12

Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha on transfer of Justice S Muralidhar said, "Government only issues the order of transfer. Recommendations are made by Collegium. So, this should not be linked to any particular case. It was a routine transfer. The consent of the judge is on record.

19:04 March 12

Speaking on CAA and NPR, Amit Shah said, "Under NPR, no documents will be asked. All the information asked is optional. Nobody has to fear from the process of NPR. There will be no 'D' (doubtful) category."

"I am ready to clear everyone's doubt with regards to CAA on a personal level ," replied Shah to Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.

18:54 March 12

"There were some social media accounts that started 2 days before violence and were deactivated on February 25. These accounts only functioned to spread hatred. Their owners must be thinking that they are safe but this is digital age, we will find them and present them before law, " stated Home Minister. 

18:46 March 12

"Aadhar card data was not used for the identification of the culprits. Only driving license and voter ID card is being used for face identification. However, privacy should not be an issue as people have lost their lives in the riots," said Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha.

"1922 people have been identified and more than 700 FIRs have been filed," added Shah.

18:09 March 12

Home Minister Amit Shah expressed condolences for all those who were affected and suffered in the recent Delhi riots.

"Action will be taken against those who were responsible for the riots, irrespective of their caste, party or religion," assured Shah.

17:43 March 12

"I also beseech my fellow parliamentarians- Can we guarantee the people of this country that there shall be no more targeted violence?" RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha said.

17:11 March 12

INC leader Anand Sharma said, "Delhi riots suggest that the India's internal intelligence agency failed to function effectively."

He also demanded that restrictions should be imposed on the private ownership of weapons.

16:50 March 12

SAD leader Naresh Gujralstated, "Rather than indulging in a blame game, I think we should collectively resolve to create conditions so that such incidents never happen in this country. Harmony must conquer hate."

"All the culprits irrespective of their party lines or religious lines must be punished expeditiously," added Gujral.

16:19 March 12

DMK MP Tiruchi Siva in Rajya Sabha said, "The police failed to give protection to the public. Police were mute spectators and did nothing against the 'masked mob'." 

15:33 March 12

AITC leader Derek O Briensaid, "Elections cannot be the 'be all and the end all of life' because we all know that one political party benefits after these kinds of things happen. Genocide is a process. It starts with inciting slogans."

He also demanded quick action against those behind the Delhi riots. 

Lashing out at the Prime Minister and Home Minister of the country, he said, "Stop following the social media handles of those spreading hatred and bigotry."

TMC MP Derek O'Brien also asked why the NSA had to visit the riot-hit areas if the police had done a good job. 

15:09 March 12

BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi said "India has seen several movements and all movements had specific demands. On the other hand, during Delhi violence there were no specific demands nor there were any representatives. However, there were representatives during television debates."

14:44 March 12

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said, "Communal 'virus' is spreading in the country. The question is who were the collaborators when the virus was spreading."

He also raised the incident of the man who was forced to sing the National Anthem and later succumbed to his injuries. 

Kapil Sibal also criticised Delhi police for their inefficiency and inaction.

"It is clear that police were helping those who were indulging in violence and its result was the death of innocent people, who had nothing to do with the riots," added Sibal.

14:15 March 12

House adjourned till 2:45 pm. 

The House will take up Delhi riots for discussion after it resumes.

Earlier, Rajya Sabha passed a bill that will remove end-use restrictions for participating in coal mine auctions and open up the coal sector fully for
commercial mining for all domestic and global companies.

The Mineral laws (Amendment) Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha with 83 MPs voting in its favour and 12 against. The Lok Sabha has passed the bill last Friday.

Around 12 MPs from different parties expressed their views on the bill. The House saw division of votes on the bill after Elamaram Kareem of CPI (M) pressed for it.

The Bill replaces the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. The ordinance, which was cleared by the cabinet in January, had brought amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015. 

13:45 March 12

INC leader Dr. Amee Yajnik in Rajya Sabha raised concerns over the removal of end-use restrictions under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act. 

"Are you exposing the natural and national resources to private investors, specifically, when you are talking about sustainable development you are making a commitment at the international level on climate change. Hence, the removal is completely blatant," commented Yajnik.

13:27 March 12

Minister of Mines Prahlad Joshi in Rajya Sabha moved the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020, and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 for further amendment and to amend the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, as passed by Lok Sabha, to be taken into consideration.

13:24 March 12

Rajya Sabha passed amendments to the insolvency law that will help ring-fence successful bidders of insolvent companies from risk of criminal proceedings for offences committed by previous promoters.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed by voice vote in Rajya Sabha. It was approved by Lok Sabha on March 6.

The Bill replaces an ordinance. Replying to a short debate on the bill, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said amendments are sync with time and also adhere to a Supreme Court order in "letter and spirit".

The minister said need for amendment in the IBC arose because of "changing requirement" and "requirement of fine tunning" the law as several MPs wanted to know why the government was bringing in so many amendments to a new law.

Stressing that the government is "very responsive" and has been talking to the industry, she assured the House that amendments to the IBC are are not being "unthinkingly done".

The IBC, which came into force in 2016, has already been amended thrice.

The bill seeks to remove bottlenecks and streamline the corporate insolvency resolution process. It aims to provide protection to new owners of a loan defaulter company against prosecution for misdeeds of previous owners. The latest changes pertain to various sections of the IBC as well as introduction of a new section.

13:01 March 12

DMK leader P. Wilson said, "The allottees have been treated as a financial creditors and any one of the allottee has got the power to invoke the resolution process. The amendment will reduce the bargaining power of the allottees."

"This amendment is upsetting the judgement of the Supreme Court and hence it is against the Article 50 of the Constitution." added Wilson. 

12:42 March 12

TRS leader Dr. Banda Prakashin Rajya Sabha said, "MSME is now the lifeline for the Indian economy which is very crucial at this juncture as the unemployment is growing in the country."

He requested to Finance Minister to extent all the benefits to the MSME sector.

12:26 March 12

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanraised motion to move the amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill, 2020. 

Economist and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that this is the fourth time that the bill is being discussed in the House.

The insolvency and bankruptcy law has resulted in recovery of just 10 per cent of defaulted loans in case of companies other than the seven big ones referred for resolution, senior Congress leader said in Rajya Sabha.

12:20 March 12

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy gave Zero Hour notice in Rajya Sabha over the "impact of high aviation fuel prices and coronavirus on the domestic air services."

12:12 March 12

Vice president Venkaiah Naiduurged the citizens and Parliamentarians to take the precautionary measures in wake of coronavirus outbreak. He also requested them to stick to all guidelines issued by the Health Ministry.

11:59 March 12

Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Binoy Viswam has given a zero hour notice in Rajya Sabha over demand for free supply of masks and sanitisers in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.

As COVID-19 cases in the country reached 60 as of Wednesday, the government has announced that incoming travellers, including Indian nationals, arriving from or having visited China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain and Germany after February 15 will be quarantined for a minimum period of 14 days.

During the Zero Hour, parliamentarians can raise matters of great importance without the mandatory ten days notice. 

11:29 March 12

Rajya Sabha Live Updates

New Delhi:A discussion will be held on the Delhi violence in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, after more than a week of protest by Opposition in Parliament.

The development comes afterRajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh on Wednesday chaired an all-party meeting to ensure that the Upper House of the Parliament, which has been witnessing frequent adjournments, functions smoothly. The BJP has issued a whip to all its Rajya Sabha members to remain in the House during the important discussion.

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday discussed the Delhi violence, in which 53 people had died while around 200 people sustained serious injuries.

During the discussion,Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that no incident of rioting took place in the national capital after February 25 and added that there was "a deep conspiracy" behind the Delhi riots and no one guilty of violence will be spared.

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, on the other hand, demanded a probe by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court into the Delhi violence.