New Delhi: The Parliamentary proceedings in both the Lower and Upper Houses began at 11 am on Friday. The Parliament will take into consideration the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill 2022, Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fourth Amendment) Bill 2022, and Anti Maritime Piracy Bill 2019 for passing today.
The proceedings in Rajya Sabha were adjourned twice as Congress MPs trooped into the well of House, demanding a debate on the border situation with China. The opposition parties have been trying to raise the issue since December 13, following after of clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh. In the initial days, they staged walkouts but have forced adjournments since Thursday. They initially shouted slogans and disrupted issues of public importance but later, trooped into the Well of the House, forcing Deputy Chairman Harivansh to adjourn proceedings for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW) Chief Swati Maliwal had written a letter to both Houses requesting to suspend the proceedings for the day to discuss the issue of crime against women in the country. The NCW had proposed this to mark the 10th anniversary of the heinous Nirbhaya Gangrape incident that shook the nation in 2012.
A young woman was brutally gang-raped and left to die on the streets of Delhi, triggering nationwide protests and stringent rules. Maliwal highlighted that even after 10 years of the infamous case, the crimes against women in India are as rampant as ever and that more severe measures are required in the matter.
Here are some important issues and/or questions raised in the Parliament today:
11:24 AM, Rajya Sabha | Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress
Demands immediate steps to deal with the issue of Chinese transgression in Arunachal Pradesh is of extreme importance for national security. The Deputy Chairman refused to allow the matter on December 14 citing the absence of a prior notice. But immediate steps need to be executed now.
11:51 AM, Rajya Sabha | Nadimul Haque, TMC
Digital lending apps are becoming a problem. Their rates of interest are much higher than traditional banks. The change in interest rate is quite high per annum amounting to 14.5-38.5 % per annum. These apps are mostly Chinese and don't fall under the ambit of RBI. They get access to the personal data of their users and have been also been reported to harass them with help of those. They also have no paperwork in place.
Responds Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister
We are putting coordinated efforts with the RBI to monitor such apps and take action against them. I have had personal meetings with RBI officials in the past few months. Have also sought insights from the Corporate Affairs Ministry in these regards.
1:00 PM | Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2:30 PM
2.31 PM | Rajya Sabha session resumes
3.19 PM | Santosh Kumar P of CPI alleges that the Centre is indifferent to the plight of farmers in Kerala
3.35 PM | The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022 passed in Lok Sabha
6.05 PM | Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day
