Monsoon Session of Parliament Latest updates: In Rajya Sabha, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, “Our government will fulfill commitment by the current and the former prime ministers. We want all states to progress because we believe that unless they all progress, the country won’t develop.” His statement came after former prime minister Manmohan Singh asked the Centre to honour promises made by the UPA government. Extending his support for the demand for special status for Andhra Pradesh, CPM leader D Raja said, “I share the agony of the people of Andhra Pradesh. We wanted both states (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) to prosper without bitterness. The promises given by then prime minister should be honoured and fulfilled by the present government. I was present when the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act was discussed.” In Rajya Sabha, TMC leader Derek O’Brien lashed out at the BJP for not keeping promises made to states like West Bengal. “BJP’s problem lies in implementation of its promises. This is an implementation issue,” he said. As the Rajya Sabha held short duration discussion on Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act, BJP’s GVL Narasimha Rao said, “Two districts in Andhra Pradesh have got National Investment and Manufacturing Zones. The state government has not moved an inch on this since 2015. I have a letter dated 3 July. Is the state government simply not acting? When you have two investment manufacturing zones, which can transform the area, why are they not being worked upon? Is this not special focus for Andhra Pradesh?” On the fifth day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on Tuesday, Congress is likely to move a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafale deal issue on Tuesday. Home minister Rajnath Singh told Lok Sabha lynching incidents have been going on for years and the biggest incident happened in 1984 during anti-Sikh riots. As proceedings began in Rajya Sabha after lunch, TDP leader YS Chowdry (TDP) initiated the debate. He thanked 5 crore people of Andhra Pradesh and criticised Centre’s “blatant violation of reorganisation Act”. The Rajya Sabha is expected to take up the long-pending Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2017 for further discussion. The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018, which will be moved by interim finance minister Piyush Goyal, is also on the agenda. In Lok Sabha, Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013, Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018, Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-third Amendment) Bill, 2017 will be taken up for consideration while in Rajya Sabha a discussion on the non-implementation of the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Re-organization Act, 2014 is likely to take place. The fourth sitting of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on Monday saw the government giving a push to its legislative agenda with six bills introduced and two passed in the Lok Sabha while three bills were taken up for passage in the Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha did not witness any adjournment while the Upper House saw one over demands related to special category status for Andhra Pradesh and Congress allegations on the misuse of Central agencies. [caption id=“attachment_4801741” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
File image of the Parliament House, in New Delhi. PTI[/caption] Unlike the second half of the Budget Session which was washed out, this session has seen smooth functioning with members from both the ruling NDA and the Opposition eagerly taking part in discussions. Five of the six bills introduced in the Lok Sabha will replace the ordinances brought by the Narendra Modi government earlier this year. These bills are the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018, Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018, National Sports University Bill, 2017, Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018 and The Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2018. Apart from these five bills, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2018 was also introduced in the Lok Sabha. During the introduction of amendments to the insolvency law, Opposition members targeted the government over its intentions. They alleged that some changes had been brought to “help one industry”. interim finance minister Piyush Goyal rebutted their charge, saying the amendment had been brought on the recommendations of a committee, and that the bill was initially introduced as the banking sector was going through a crisis due to “indiscriminate lending” during the UPA rule. The bill allows home buyers to be recognised as financial creditors. The Lok Sabha passed the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2017 and the National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017 following brief discussions. The Monsoon Session has been productive for the government. The first day of the session on 18 July saw three bills being introduced in the Lok Sabha. The House passed the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill last Thursday and the Rajya Sabha passed amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Lok Sabha had witnessed a lively debate during the no-confidence motion on Friday. With inputs from IANS
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