New Delhi: The Parliament proceedings kicked off in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday at 11 am while Opposition parties protested in front of the Gandhi statue at the Parliament premises, demanding a detailed discussion on the Chinese intrusion at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh last week. The Lok Sabha, however, was adjourned till noon.
In the Congress parliamentary party meeting held Wednesday morning, Sonia Gandhi expressed concerns over Chinese transgression in Arunachal. "Government is being adamant and not holding a discussion on the issue. Thus, citizens, as well as the House, are kept in dark about the real situation," she said. Meanwhile, Congress MP Manish Tewari and Manickam Tagore have given Adjournment Motion notice in the Lok Sabha seeking a discussion on this issue.
Here are some key developments in the parliamentary proceedings today:
11:00 AM, Rajya Sabha | Proceedings of the Parliament commence in both houses
11:11 AM, Lok Sabha | Lok Sabha adjourned till 12 noon amid ruckus by Opposition parties
The Lower House was adjourned minutes after it commences as the opposition caused a ruckus over their demand asking PM Narendra Modi to comment on the Indo-China border dispute.
11:20 AM, Rajya Sabha | Manoj Kumar Jha, RJD raises the issue of mental health problems faced by children, especially in post-COVID times.
11: 22 AM, Rajya Sabha | Jawhar Sircar, TMC speaks on the Central deputation of IAS officers deputed from states which are leading to disproportionate shortages of civil service officers in the states.
11:31 AM, Rajya Sabha | Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar asks to be informed about the tree plantation initiatives by MPs
"I urge all of you to plant a minimum of 100 trees a year. The numbers may not be much but it will surely send a message, which will be motivational and inspirational. I'd be happy to be informed by the members about their performance on this count."
11:53 AM, Rajya Sabha | BJD MP Sujeet Kumar demands stricter regulatory policy for OTT platforms advertising tobacco and cigarettes
"Advertising tobacco and cigarette without restrictions on OTT platforms has become rampant. According to the Global youth tobacco survey, 14 lakhs Indians die every year because of the consumption of tobacco. Most of these are young people, who are impressionable and are likely to get influenced by what they watch."
"The consumption of OTT content by youth has increased considerably post-pandemic. Rules that apply to television should also apply to OTT platforms. Urge the govt to plan stricter measures and regulate the advertisements on OTT platforms."
12:00 PM, Rajya Sabha | Question Hour begins
12:00 PM, Lok Sabha | Proceedings resume after adjournment
12:15 PM, Rajya Sabha | KR Suresh Reddy highlights how Telangana was not funded at all for relief operations during 2019-20 floods in Hyderabad.
"Govt of India clearly states that disaster management is a state subject, while logistics and financial support are provided by the centre. An unusual flood hit the city of Hyderabad in 2019-2020. But the state received not even a rupee's help for relief operations. Why is this discrimination?"
Nityanand Rai, MoS Disaster Home Affairs, says the government has recently decided to grant money to cities with high population density. "Hyderabad is one of them and is granted an amount of Rs 250 crores. Besides, there is no SDRF (State Disaster Relief Force) set up in Telangana yet. The state usually grants funds under the SDRF authorities. It's not that we are discriminatory against certain states."
12:43, Rajya Sabha | INC MP Imran Pratapgarhi asks why Home Ministry is interfering in Bilkis Bano gangrape case if prison and judiciary are not centre's responsibility.
"I had asked for the number of prisoners in India who completed their terms but are still in jail. The NCRB statistics in the submitted answer say 80% of prisoners in jail have served their term but not been released, and most of them are Dalits, Muslims, and Adivasis. What are the efforts being put in to reduce this number?"
Ajay Kumar, MoS Home Affairs, responds, says, "As per the Indian Constitution, all matters of prison are typically a state responsibility. The Centre just monitors it. The stats are true. But the judiciary is an independent body and is typically responsible in these matters."
"If it's a matter of state, why is Home Affairs interfering with Bilkis Bano's case? Isn't this just convenience?" asks Pratapgarhi, to which the Minister says that NCRB does not have the data for the number of prisoners, their genders, their numbers, etc. as it is not calculated by NCRB. That is typically state responsibility. Bilkis Bano case is not the right example here," Mishra says.
Read full report: States asked to release prisoners who have completed their sentence: MoS Home in RS
12:51 PM, Rajya Sabha | Raghav Chadda asks about Modi's 2019 promise to release Sikh prisoners
"In 2019, PM Narendra Modi had made a promise on the auspicious eve of Guru Purab. He had said that he will release the Sikh prisoners who completed their jail term. Why is that promise not executed yet?"
Ajay Kumar, MoS Home Affairs, responds, "This is a state matter, we release advisories to guide the center. We wait for their responses and only then can take a decision."
1:00 PM, Rajya Sabha | Question Hour over; House adjourned till 2 pm
2:00 PM, Rajya Sabha | Rajya Sabha commences the proceedings
2:34 PM, Rajya Sabha | Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman replies in Rajya Sabha
"We are not in a bad shape. We have given support to those who needed it in times of the pandemic and the Ukraine war. We are keeping an eye on inflation that is purely extraneous nowadays because of fuel, and fertilizer prices. Private investment capex is happening in India because of favorable policies like PLI. Government's targeted approach to deal with Covid impact helped India in reviving growth without going into recession. Gross NPAs of banks fall to a 6-year low of 5.9 pc in March 2022. Supplementary demand for grants is for food security, fertilizer requirements, and providing support to the Indian economy."
Read full report: Govt keeping eye on inflation: FM Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha
2:45 PM, Lok Sabha | Home Minister Amit Shah addresses Lok Sabha, talks about the issue of drug abuse in the country
Responding to the issue of drug abuse raised by members of the Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah guaranteed that in the next two years, drug traffickers across the state will be behind the bars. "We have mapped the drug network across the states. No matter how big the criminal is, in the next two years there'll be a situation that they'll be behind the bars." the Home Minister said Wednesday while addressing the Lok Sabha.
Read full report: Drug traffickers across states will be behind bars in 2 yrs: HM Amit Shah on drug abuse
3:15 PM, Rajya Sabha | Rajya Sabha passes Appropriation Bills 4 and 5 and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu.
3:15 PM, Rajya Sabha | House nominates 10 members to joint panel of Parliament on Multi-State Cooperative Societies Bill
While moving the motion in the Upper House, Minister of State for Cooperation B L Verma named the 10 members of the Rajya Sabha who will be in the joint panel. These members are Ghanshyam Tiwari, Surendra Singh Nagar, Dhananjay Bhimrao Mahadik and Ram Chander Jangra of the BJP, Rajani Ashokrao Patil of the Congress, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray of the Trinamool Congress, N R Elango of the DMK, Vikramjit Singh Sahney of the AAP, Sujeet Kumar of the BJD and S Niranjan Reddy of the YSRCP.
3:16 PM, Rajya Sabha | External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar moves the Maritime Anti-Piracy Bill, 2022
3:20 PM, Rajya Sabha | 19 members of Rajya Sabha start discussions on Maritime Anti-Piracy Bill, 2022
The MPs discussed several issues and suggestions over the bill before Jaishankar started addressing their concerns. 'The Maritime Anti-Piracy Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on December 19. The bill was initially introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 9, 2019,' Jaishankar told the House before the discussion began. The Standing Committee on External Affairs 2019/20 then took it up for examination. 'The committee examined the bill and made some useful recommendations and observations,' EAM continued.
4:05 PM, Rajya Sabha | First batch of supplementary demands for grants approved, govt to spend additional Rs 3.25 lakh crore in the Financial year 2023
Following Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reply on the Supplementary Demands for Grants on Wednesday, the Rajya Sabha returned it to the Lok Sabha, thereby completing the process of authorizing the government to spend an additional Rs 3.25 lakh crore in the Financial Year 2022-23.
Read more: Govt keeping eye on inflation: FM Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha
5:54 PM, Rajya Sabha| The Upper House passes the Maritime Anti-Piracy Bill, 2022
Read full report: Rajya Sabha passes bill to deal with maritime piracy
6:52 PM Rajya Sabha | Upper House adjourned, to resume at 11 am on Thursday, December 22
