 "Is Shashi Tharoor’s breakup with Congress inevitable?")
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Parliament LATEST Updates: Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, Surya said for a long time there have been many “credible” allegations made against Twitter, Facebook and their affiliates of “arbitrary and unilateral regulation and censuring” of content posted by third party users, especially those with a “nationalistic approach” The government should have consulted all parties, farmer leaders before bringing the farm bills, Ghulam Nabi Azad said after meeting the President Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die, eight days ahead of schedule in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In his concluding remarks, Venkaiah Naidu said 25 bills were passed and six bills were introduced. He went on to add that 3.15 hours were lost due to disruptions in this session. Venkaiah Naidu referred to the unruly conduct by Rajya Sabha MPs on Sunday and appealed to members to ensure that “such unseemly behaviour is not repeated”. Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu started concluding remarks after the House passed the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill and the the Appropriation (No 3) Bill and Appropriation (No 4) Bill were returned. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad will meet President Ram Nath Kovind at 5 pm on Wednesday over the farm Bills and the suspension of the eight MPs, sources told PTI. The Rajya Sabha passed the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code Bill, 2020, Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020 and The Code of Social Security, 2020. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a written reply to a question by MP Fauzia Khan that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited 58 countries since 2015 and Rs 517.82 crores have been spent on them in total. Rajya Sabha discussed three labour codes, that are a part of the government’s codification of 29 labour laws into four codes. Meanwhile, MPs from the Congress and other Opposition parties held a meeting to discuss further strategy on farm bills and also held a protest in the Parliament Complex. The FCRA regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign funds by individuals, associations and companies. AIADMK’s SR Balasubramaniyan said the FCRA Amendment Bill shouldn’t be used to antagonise the political parties. “There may be some bad NGOs, but majority are genuine NGOs doing good work. Such NGOs should not be bulldozed,” he said. The Rajya Sabha will discuss The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020, a day after the House passed seven Bills as Opposition Benches remained empty following a walkout. The House is also scheduled to take up The Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill, 2020, The Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2020 and The Appropriation (No.4) Bill, 2020. Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha’s List of Business states three Bills that will be taken up for consideration and passage - The Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020, The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020 and The Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Monsoon Session is likely to conclude on Wednesday, eight days before it is scheduled to end, amid concerns of spread of coronavirus among lawmakers, sources told PTI. Rajya Sabha is likely to adjourn sine die after taking up five bills, while the Lok Sabha is likely to be adjourned sine die around 5 pm after taking up an extended Zero Hour, sources said. The session which began on 14 September, witnessed passage of several bills in both Houses, including those which sought to replace ordinances issued recently. The decision to curtail the session has been conveyed to floor leaders of parties in the lower house, the sources said. The Monsoon Session was otherwise scheduled to end on 1 October. Several MPs, including a few ministers, have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last few days. On Monday, eight members of Rajya Sabha were suspended over their “unruly behaviour” during the passage of the two key farm bills on Sunday. A number of opposition parties on Tuesday staged a walkout from Rajya Sabha and decided to boycott proceedings of the House till the suspension of the eight members is revoked, even as the government insisted on their apology.
Parliament Updates: Lok Sabha adjourned sine die after House passes Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020; Monsoon session cut short by 7 days
Parliament LIVE Updates: The Monsoon Session of the Parliament was adjourned sine die on Wednesday, 7 days before the schedule, amid concerns of the spread of coronavirus among lawmakers
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Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
Lok Sabha adjourns sine die; Monsoon session ends
Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
Rs 142.32 cr spent for implementation of environment education scheme in 2017-19: Govt
A total of Rs 142.32 crore was spent between 2017 and 2019 for the implementation of the Environment Education, Awareness and Training scheme, the ministry of environment told Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Under the National Green Corps programme of this scheme, about 1.6 lakh eco clubs have been established in schools and colleges across the country, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo said in a written reply to a question.
Nature camps are also organised for schoolchildren in protected areas under this scheme, he said.
“The Ministry of Environment is implementing Environment Education, Awareness and Training Scheme with the objective to promote environmental awareness among all sections of the society, especially school and college level students and to mobilise people’s participation for conservation of environment,” Supriyo said.
-PTI
Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
States should also be taken into consideration in development of ports, says YSRCP MP
As per The Hindu, YSRCP MP Krishna Devarayalu on Wednesday said that , \India’s rank declined to 44 from 35 as per the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index. Hope the government will look into this matter, he says.
Port Board can’t decide alone on development of ports, States should also be taken into consideration in development of ports, says the YSRCP MP. 75% of India’s cargo is taken care in Visakhapatnam Port, where another ship with ammonium nitrate will reach soon, he added
Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
India’s current COVID-19 testing rate six times the WHO recommendation: Govt
India is conducting COVID-19 tests at a rate of 875 per million population per day, which is more than six times the figure recommended by the WHO, Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended testing of 0.14 samples per day per 1,000 population or 140 tests per day per million population, Union Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey said in a written reply in Lok Sabha. In response to another question, Choubey said that average test conducted by a district in a day is 1,053.
“Presently, the rate of COVID-19 test conducted per 1,000 persons in India is 0.875 test per day (as on 19 September),” he said in response to a question on whether the rate of tests is commensurate with testing levels in countries with similar number of active COVID-19 cases.
India’s current COVID-19 testing rate six times the WHO recommendation: Govt
Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
Lok Sabha passes the Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020
Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
Joint Committee of Parliament on personal data protection bill gets extension
The Joint Committee of Parliament examining the Personal Data Protection Bill was on Wednesday given an extension to submit its report during the winter session of Parliament.
PP Chaudhary of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) moved a motion seeking extension up to the winter session of parliament for the panel to submit its report.
“That this House do extend up to the second week of the Winter Session of the Parliament, 2020 the time for the presentation of the Report of the Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019,” the motion read. It was passed by a voice vote.
The panel has 20 members from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha. The Personal Data Protection Bill seeks to regulate the use of individual’s data by the government and private companies.
The JPC was constituted in Lok Sabha in December last year and was expected to submit its report in the Budget session. After one extension, the committee was asked to submit its report by the second week of the monsoon session of Parliament.
Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
Twitter, FB can’t arbitrarily censor free speech: BJP’s Tejasvi Surya
BJP member Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday raised the issue of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook allegedly arbitrarily censuring content posted by users, especially those with a “nationalistic approach” and sought government intervention for protection of such content.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, Surya said for a long time there have been many “credible” allegations made against Twitter, Facebook and their affiliates of “arbitrary and unilateral regulation and censuring” of content posted by third party users, especially those with a “nationalistic approach”.
“This poses a significant constitutional challenge not only on the grounds of unreasonable restriction of free speech but also amounts to illegal interference during elections,” he said.
Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
Lower House discusses Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020
The Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020, is now being discussed in the Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to provide for regulation, operation and planning of major ports in India and provide greater autonomy to these ports
Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
The Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020 introduced in the House for discussion
Rajya Sabha LATEST Updates
Congress not worried about MSP, concerned over BJP govt bringing reforms: Smriti Irani
Union minister Smriti Irani tells ANI that the agriculture bills allow the farmers to trade their produce freely. “[It secures the farmers’ land and ensures that traders have to mandatorily pay farmers within maximum three days,” she adds. “Then, why is the Opposition opposing these bills?”
“Narendra Modi Ji in his six years as PM has worked in the interest of the nation, not for political gains. In 2014 & 2019, Modi Ji had promised to make India middlemen-free. Congress in its 10 years in power didn’t implement Swaminathan Report. Modi Govt implemented the report & gave 1.5 times higher MSP. Under Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme, more than Rs 90,000 Cr was transferred into the accounts of more than 10 Cr farmers.” she added.
Congress party is not worried about the Minimum Support Price system, but their only concern is that why is the Modi government implementing reforms, she said.
Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
Tejasvi Surya raises concern over free speech on social media platforms
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya raises the concern of free speech on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook in the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha. “This poses a significant constitutional challenge not only on the grounds of unreasonable restriction of free speech but also amounts to illegal interference in elections,” he said.
Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
Pandemics caused by new virus infect humans in multiple waves: Govt
Pandemics caused by a new virus have the propensity to infect human population in multiple waves and some countries which initially successfully contained the COVID-19 outbreak are now reporting a resurgence of cases, the Lok Sabha was told on Wednesday.
Government of India has accordingly advised states to upgrade health infrastructure based on the case growth trajectory in respective states and districts, besides taking stringent containment measures, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey said in a written reply. He was responding to a question on whether the government has anticipated and is ready for the second wave of COVID-19 during the winter months in India.
“Pandemics caused by a new virus have the propensity to infect human population in multiple waves, each time affecting a cohort of susceptible population.
“Some countries, which had initially successfully contained the COVID-19 outbreak earlier are now reporting a resurgence of cases,” the minister said in his reply.
Giving details of the steps taken by the government to provide funds and medical equipment for COVID-19 care management, Choubey said states and UTs are being provided required technical and financial assistance to manage the public health challenge.
-PTI
Rajya Sabha LATEST Updates
Govt proposes to formulate retail trade policy: Piyush Goyal
The government has proposed to formulate a National Retail Trade Policy and stakeholder consultations are being held for the same, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the government has set up a National Traders’ Welfare Board with the objectives of welfare of traders and their employees, simplification of the Acts and rules applicable to traders, reduction of compliance burden and improvement in access to funds.
“Yes. The government proposes to formulate National Retail Trade Policy,” he said in reply to a question. Replying to a separate question, he said the government is in the process of finalising a National Logistics Policy which will help bring down logistics cost significantly.
-PTI
Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
Next time House assembles, Bihar will have BJP govt, says party MP
BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that when the House will meet next time, it will see the BJP government in Bihar.
“PM Modi had announced ₹1,70,000 crore package for Bihar. The Prime Minister has provided every details of the fund,” he added.
Rajya Sabha LATEST Updates
Ghulam Nabi Azad meets president Ram Nath Kovind
Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha met President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing boycott in the Lok Sabha, reports ANI.
“There was no division of votes, no voice voting. Constitution was undermined in the temple of democracy,” he said. “We [the Opposition] have given a representation to President that Farm Bills have been passed unconstitutionally and that he should return these bills.”
Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
NCPCR received 111 complaints of child marriage in 2019-20: Govt informs LS
A total of 111 complaints of child marriage have been received by the apex child rights body NCPCR during 2019-20, the Women and Child Development Ministry said on Wednesday.
The highest number of 26 complaints were received from Uttar Pradesh, according to state and union territory-wise details provided by WCD minister Smriti Irani to a question in the Lok Sabha.
Replying to another question, Irani gave data according to which 684 one-stop centres, which help women in distress, have assisted 3,05,896 women since its inception in 2015.
-PTI
Lok Sabha LATEST Updates
Lok Sabha assembles
Lok Sabha Latest Updates
Harsh Vardhan to move Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan will move –The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation)Bill, 2020 – the Bill for the regulation and supervision of the assisted reproductive technology clinics and the assisted reproductive technology banks, prevention of misuse, safe and ethical practice of assisted reproductive technology services and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, be taken into consideration and passing.
Lok Sabha Latest Updates
Major Port Authorities Bill to be moved in House today
As per the Lok Sabha website, Mansukh Madaviya, Minister of State for Shipping (Independent Charge) will move – The Major Port Authorities Bill,2020 – the Bill to provide for the regulation, operation and planning of Major Ports in India and to vest the administration, control and management of such ports upon the Boards of Major Port Authorities and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, be taken into consideration and passing.
Lok Sabha Latest Updates
Bills to be taken up by Lower House today
The Lok Sabha’s List of Business states the three following Bills that will be taken up for consideration and passage
- The Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020
- The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020
- The Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020
Parliament Latest Updates
Opposition leaders hold protest in Parliament premises over farm Bills
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
JP Nadda hails passage of key bills in RS
BJP president J P Nadda on Wednesday hailed the passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill as “historic”, and said this is an important step for developing the regional languages of the union territory.
Parliament passed the bill for the inclusion of Kashmiri, Dogri and Hindi in the list of official languages in Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to the existing Urdu and English.
The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020 was passed by Rajya Sabha through voice vote. Lok Sabha had cleared the legislation on Tuesday. Nadda said the Modi government is committed to the preservation and development of the region’s culture.
The BJP president also lauded parliamentary nod of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, the Industrial Relations Code 2020 and the Code on Social Security, 2020. These are extensive and historic labour reforms, he said.
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
Opposition to meet President over farm Bills at 5 pm
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad to meet President Ram Nath Kovind at 5 pm today. The opposition parties had requested meeting with the President on farm bills.
Lok Sabha Latest Updates
Current phase of pandemic on multiple trajectories in urban, semi-urban areas: Centre
As per LiveLaw, the Centre has informed the Lok Sabha that the current phase of coronavirus pandemic in India is on multiple trajectories across the urban and semi-urban areas of the country.
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
Mayawati slams both Oppn, govt over Monsoon Session chaos
BSP supremo Mayawati Wednesday hit out at the government as well as the Opposition for the ruckus and chaos during the ongoing Monsoon Session, saying their conduct has harmed the dignity of Parliament and the Constitution.
In a tweet in Hindi, she said “Although Parliament is called the temple of democracy, its dignity has been shredded many times. Even during the ongoing Parliament session, the functioning of the government and the behaviour of Opposition in the House are embarrassing for the dignity of Parliament, Constitution and democracy. Very sad!
Mayawati’s reaction came in the wake of eight Rajya Sabha Opposition members being suspended from the House on Monday for the ruckus during the passage of two key farm Bills a day earlier. The government had brought a motion for their suspension which was passed by the House by voice vote.
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
India’s imports from China have decreased: Piyush Goyal
In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said India’s imports from China during April-July 2020 decreased to US $16.60 billions from US $23.45 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Over 2 lakh urban homeless across 22 states: Govt
The government said in a written reply to an unstarred question that 2,07,847 urban homeless people were identified across 22 states and Union Territories.
The highest numbers were reported in Rajasthan (39,512), Gujarat (35,293) and Uttar Pradesh (28,409).
A third party survey was conducted by urban local bodies under the government’s DAY-NULM scheme of through which urban homeless people have been identified. However, no timeline corresponding with the data was given.
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
House adjourned sine die
Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die, eight days ahead of schedule in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Lok Sabha session will be held from 6 pm onwards.
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
Ensure unseemly behaviour is not repeated: Naidu
Calling the session satisfactory in terms of productivity, Venkaiah Naidu referred to the unruly conduct by Rajya Sabha MPs on Sunday and appealed to members to ensure that “such unseemly behaviour is not repeated”.
“I am pained to see bills getting passed in the din. It pains me more when the Chair is rendered helpless and is forced to take decisions against members,” he said.
Naidu said that to protest is the right of the Opposition or any member. “But how should it be done? The floor of the House is the most effective way, and not through boycott," he went on.
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
Elaborate planning made session possible: Naidu
Venkaiah Naidu said that holding a session during the COVID-19 pandemic required innovative thinking and elaborate planning.
“The previous session was also cut short because of the pandemic. I went ahead with the session after multiple consultations, because of one, constitutional requirement and two, the Prime Minister said when others are working, so should we. That convinced me,” he said.
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
25 bills passed, six introduced: Venkaiah Naidu
Venkaiah Naidu said that in 10 sittings, 25 bills were passed and six bills introduced. He went on to add that 3.15 hours were lost due to disruptions in this session, while 57 percent of total functional time of the House was spent on government legislative business.
The high productivity of the previous sessions continued this time too, with the government giving written replies to 1,567 unstarred questions, Naidu said.
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
Session being concluded in wake of pandemic: Venkaiah Naidu
In his concluding remarks after the passage of eight Bills, Rajya Sabha Chairman said that the Monsoon Session is being concluded in eight sittings instead of the 18 planned sittings in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We made many rearrangements, like working on the weekends, having proceedings from six locations. I was worried about how my members will get used to these new arrangement. I had to do two mock sittings to get used to it,” he said.
Speaking about the letter from Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad seeking that the three labour Bills not be passed, he said that he went ahead with discussions on the proposed legislations after checking precedents.
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
House returns Bills without discussion
Rajya Sabha returns the Appropriation (No. 3) Bill, 2020 and The Appropriation (No. 4) Bill, 2020 without discussion.
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
House passes Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill
The Upper House passed the Bill, which was cleared by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Akali Dal MP Naresh Gujral said it is unfortunate that Punjabi is not being included in this bill. “The Jammu and Kashmir Constitution included Punjabi and the first Chief Minister of the state was a Punjabi,” he said.
Mir Mohammad Fayaz of PDP said Gurjari, Punabi and Pahadi should be included “so that we win the trust of everyone in Jammu and Kashmir”.
In response, MoS Home Affairs said, “74 percent of the population in Jammu and Kashmir speaks Kashmiri and Dogri and the demand has been to declare these two languages as official languages. Their demand was not heard for 70 years. Urdu, which was spoken by 1 percent of the population, was declared an official language. Since Hindi is India’s official language, we have included Hindi also.”
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
Ghulam Nabi Azad to meet President today, say sources
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad will meet President Ram Nath Kovind at 5 pm on Wednesday over the farm Bills and the suspension of the eight MPs, sources said. “The President has given us time and the LoP in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad will meet him at 5 pm,” a senior Opposition leader told PTI.
Around 16 Opposition parties had submitted a memorandum to the President on these issues.
Lok Sabha Latest Updates
Lok Sabha to convene at 6 pm, discuss three Bills
Lok Sabha will convene at 6 pm today, instead of 4 pm and will discuss three Bills, according to the List of Business. These Bills listed for consideration and passage are:
- The Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020
- The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020
- The Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
House passes three labour codes
The Rajya Sabha passed the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code Bill, 2020, Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020 and The Code of Social Security, 2020. The discussion on the Bill lasted less than two hours.
Ahead of the voice vote on the Bills, with had a total of 411 clauses, MoS Labour and Employment Santosh Gangwar said the Bill will provide social security to 50 crore workers for the first time after Independence. The Minister also said that the bill has provisions for migrant workers to get a yearly travel allowance to go back to their home states as well as for a free health checkup.
Speaking on the provisions of the Bills, Gangwar said the government has not taken away workers’ right to strike, adding that the 14-day notice mandated for a strike is for a chance to solve the dispute.
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
Rs 517 crore spent on PM’s international visits since 2015: MEA
Since 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited 58 countries and Rs 517.82 crores have been spent on them in total, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a written reply to a question by MP Fauzia Khan.
The reply by MoS Home Affairs V Muraleedharan stated that the Prime Minister’s visits abroad have “enhanced understanding of India’s perspectives on bilateral, regional and global issues by other countries, and have strengthened our relations with them across a wide range of sectors including trade and investment, technology, maritime, space, defence collaboration and people to people contact. These in turn have contributed to India’s national development agenda to promote economic growth and well-being of our people.”
Lok Sabha Latest Updates
Patna SSP, Motihari ASP to appear before Privilege Committee tomorrow
Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Upendra Kumar and Motihari ASP Shaishav Yadav are scheduled to appear before Lok Sabha Privilege Committee on Thursday as Bihar BJP President and MP Sanjay Jaiswal has moved a motion against both officials for allegedly issuing an “arrest warrant” to prevent him from attending the Lower House.
Privilege Committee of Lok Sabha served notices to both officials to appear on 24 September and give a detailed explanation regarding the privilege motion moved on 9 December last year by Sanjay Jaiswal.
Rajya Sabha Latest Updates
Workers had become entangled in labour laws so far: Prakash Javadekar
Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar, speaking in the capacity of Member of Parliament, said during the discussion on three labour codes that workers had become entangled in labour laws so far. “Cases would go on in tribunals and workers wouldn’t get justice, but now the cases will have to be disposed off in one year,” he said.
Javadekar said that labourers are getting their rights 73 years after Independence. “When a Bill that assures wage security, social security and health security to 50 crore labourers has been brought, the Opposition is absent because they are distanced from the public,” he said.