Parliament Monsoon Session Day 13: LS adjourns briefly over Muzaffarpur rape cases; polls to RS deputy chairman on 9 Aug

The Lok Sabha was briefly adjourned for 10 minutes on Monday after rgw Congress and other Opposition members created a ruckus in the Lok Sabha over the alleged sexual exploitation of girls at a shelter home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur.

During the Zero Hour, Congress leader Ranjeet Ranjan wanted to talk about the case and was allowed by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. After Ranjan, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) member Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav also spoke about the same issue.

The alleged sexual abuse of young girls at a state-funded shelter-home in Muzzafarpur recently came to light following which 14 officials were suspended.

Medical examination of 34 out of the 42 shelter home inmates have confirmed they were sexually exploited. The owner of the shelter home, run by NGO ‘Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti’, Brajesh Thakur, is the main accused in the case.

The Speaker did not allow Opposition members to continue discussing the case, saying since it is already being probed by the CBI there was no need to discuss the issue every day.

However, an agitated Ranjan walked into the Well and began speaking in a loud voice. A few minutes later, she also threw a book and some papers kept on the table of Secretary General Snehlata Shrivastava.

Ranjan also demanded a reply from Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was present in the House.

Later, a few Congress members and Narayan Yadav joined her in the Well. Holding placards, TDP members were already there as they sought to raise issues related to Andhra Pradesh.

Amid the ruckus, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings for around 10 minutes till 12.30 pm.

Bill to amend Juvenile Justice Act introduced in Lok Sabha

A bill seeking to empower district magistrates to pass orders for adoption of children to reduce the time taken for issuing such directions was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Currently, there is an inordinate delay in issuing adoption orders by the courts due to “heavy work load”. Against this backdrop, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2018, was introduced by Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi.

As of 20 July, as many as 629 cases relating to passing of adoption orders are pending in various courts. The bill seeks to amend the Juvenile Justice Act to empower district magistrates to issue orders for the purpose of adoption.

“This would ensure timely processing of adoption cases and provide orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children with familial care and protection,” the bill’s Statement of Objects and Reasons said.

Besides, the bill provides for transferring of all the proceedings pending before any court relating to adoption orders under certain provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act to the district magistrate having jurisdiction over the concerned area.

“Due to delay in issuing the adoption orders by the courts, the child continues to languish in the child care institutions, even after getting a family,” the statement said.

Under the Juvenile Justice Act, the adoption proceedings should be disposed of by the court within two months from the date of filing of an application. The Act came into effect from 15 January, 2016, with comprehensive provisions for the children allegedly found to be in conflict with law as well as those in need of care and protection.

Election for Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha on 9 August 

The election to the post of Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha will be held at 11 am on 9 August, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu announced on Monday. The nomination papers will have to be filed before noon on 8 August, he said in the House soon after it assembled for the day.

The post of the Deputy Chairman has been lying vacant since June 2018 following the retirement of PJ Kurien, who was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on a Congress ticket from Kerala.

Guard people’s personal data, TMC tells Centre

The government should safeguard the data shared by people while booking railway tickets and other services through online platforms, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Upper House, O’Brien also demanded that the Aadhaar identification not be made mandatory for farmers to get crop loans. He also expressed concern over the personal details of members of Parliament being at the risk of being exposed as they are allowed to submit Zero Hour issues and questions via email.

He said that even the IRCTC railway database was exposed while booking tickets.

Maintaining that there was no data protection, the TMC leader mentioned that whenever one shares data, he or she gets alerts.

With inputs from PTI