Parliament session Day 8: Lok Sabha passes Benami Bill, Lokpal and Lokayukta Amendment Bill

Barring the slogans raised by the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday over the Mandsaur incident, the parliamentary proceedings went smoothly with Lok Sabha passing the Lokpal and Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill. In the Rajya Sabha, MPs debated price rise and discussed the CAMPA Bill towards the end of the day. Key issues discussed in Lok Sabha: Wrestler Narsingh Yadav’s doping scandal  Lok Sabha members joined the row over wrestler Narsingh Yadav failing a drug test, with one of them seeking a CBI probe, prompting Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs SS Ahluwalia to assure the House that he would ask the government to make a statement on the issue. Ranjeet Ranjan (Congress) raised the issue in the Zero Hour and sought a CBI inquiry into the matter while referring to the allegations that brother of another international player had a role in spiking Yadav’s food and drink intake. “Whether he (Yadav) has been framed or not we do not know. There should be a CBI inquiry and the guilty must be given most stringent punishment. It is a heinous crime,” she said. As many other members joined her and sought the government’s response, Ahluwalia said he will convey their sentiments to the government and seek an official response. He noted that the matter was raised in the Question Hour too. Responding to the questions,  Sports Minister Vijay Goel said the government will consider a suggestion made by members for keeping a check on anabolic steroids which are available openly in the market. The final report would be coming in the next two days, the minister said, adding that till then Yadav will remain under provisional suspension. [caption id=“attachment_2919308” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Finance Minister Arun Jaitley replying to questions raised by other MPs on Benami Bill in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. PTI[/caption] Plan for Rs 17.5k-crore funds for telecom R&D, manufacturing: The government has dropped a proposal to create three funds worth Rs 17,500 crore for promoting production of telecom equipment in the country as it can be covered under the Electronic Development Fund, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. “Since the EDF would also take care of R&D and manufacturing of telecom products, the proposal to set up three separate funds was dropped,” Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. Amendment to Lokpal Act: Lok Sabha approved an amendment to the Lokpal Act to allow the deadline for filing asset declarations beyond 31 July for 50 lakh central government employees and NGOs receiving government funds. While the House provided immediate relief by approving the amendment to Section 44 of the Act, the provision will be examined in detail by a Parliamentary Standing Committee which will submit its report before next session of Parliament. Moving the amendment for consideration, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said the government has received representations from members of Parliament and other stakeholders and on 25 July, a delegation of MPs had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding deletion of the provision. The amendment pertains to Section 44 of the Lokpal Act which deals with declaration of assets and provision of making the assets public, he said. “Till the present impasse is overcome, the deadline with regard to government servants can be deferred,” Singh said as he moved amendments to the Act. Floods in various parts of the country: Members in the Lok Sabha expressed concern over the flood situation in various parts of the country and asked the government to take urgent steps to tackle the situation. Cutting across party lines, members raised the issue of incessant rains in various parts of the country and the problems caused by it. Rekha Verma, Ganesh Singh (both BJP), Ninong Ering, Gaurav Gogoi (both Congress), Rajesh Ranjan (Jan Adhikar Morcha) and CK Sangma (NPP) raised the issue during Zero Hour. Sangma said the home minister should especially visit the North East to see the situation so that the  Centre can take pro-active measures. Gogoi sought a short duration discussion in the House so as to get government’s response on how it was tackling the flood situation. He said the situation in Assam was really very serious. Ering said that Arunachal Pradesh was under the influence of heavy floods and five villages have been washed away. Since the state does not have sources of revenue, the Centre should help it at the utmost to tide over the situation. Providing help to distressed Indians: Sushma The NDA government has given highest priority to provide help and assistance to distressed Indians abroad, including those who are defrauded in marriage, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in Lok Sabha. Swaraj said her ministry has been receiving petitions from Indian women stating that their non-resident Indian spouse has hidden the fact that he is already married or has a partner. Since the NRI spouse resides outside India, the government faces legal and other constraints while addressing this complex issue, she said. Swaraj said inspite of all these constraints, the External Affairs Ministry is taking various steps to provide assistance to the aggrieved women. Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill Seeking to check black money, Lok Sabha passed a comprehensive Benami Transactions Amendment Bill, with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley assuring the House that genuine religious trusts will be kept out of the purview of the legislation. Moving the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill 2015 for consideration and passage, the minister said the legislation was predominately an anti-black money measure and its purpose is to seize benami property and prosecute those indulging in such activities. “A lot of people who have unaccounted money buy benami property in the name of fictitious persons … these transactions have to be discouraged,” he said. On concerns expressed by certain members about religious properties or those owned by deities or religious institutions, Jaitley said under this Bill, the government will exempt such bonafide entities. Call drops situation: There will be positive results in the next three to four months in addressing the problem of call drops, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha told the Lok Sabha, while expressing commitment to get rid of the “black spot”. “We will resolve the problem of call drops. In the next three to four months we will see some positive results…. Ye kaala dhabba hum mita kar hi rahenge (We will certainly remove this black spot),” he said during Question Hour. Sinha said telecom operators will invest around Rs 20,000 crore to improve their infrastructure and install one lakh base transceiver station (BTS) to offer better services to customers. Replying to a supplementary, Sinha said the telecom ministry is in touch with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to ensure enhancement of the validity of mobile and mobile data from present 90 days to 365 days. Key issues discussed in Rajya Sabha: Uproar over beating up of two women in UP  Opposition BSP and Congress created uproar in Rajya Sabha, protesting against beating up of two Muslim women in Madhya Pradesh in the name of cow protection. No sooner had listed papers been laid on the table of the House, Mayawati (BSP) said after beating of Dalit youths in Gujarat, gau raksha (cow protection) groups beat up two women in Madhya Pradesh over suspicion of possessing beef. She asked Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to respond to targeting of women of his community in the name of cow protection. As she completed her submission, BSP members trooped into the Well of the House, shouting anti-government slogans. Congress members too joined them in the well. “Mahila virodhi yeh sarkar nahin chalegi, nahin chalegi (This anti-women government will not be tolerated)”, they shouted. “Dalit virodhi yeh sarkar nahin chalegi, nahin chalegi (this anti-Dalit government will not be tolerated).” Probe Narsingh Yadav’s drug test issue: Congress Alleging a conspiracy to disqualify Indian medal hopefuls from the Rio Olympics, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari demanded a probe if wrestler Narsingh Yadav and two other athletes were found to have been given banned drug-spiked food without their knowledge. Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, he alleged that the banned substance was mixed in ‘dal fry’ in the Sports Authority of India (SAI) kitchen and a thorough probe has to be carried out to get to the root of the issue. Four lakh minority students being denied scholarship in West Bengal Mohd Nadimul Haque (TMC) raised the issue of four lakh minority students in West Bengal being denied scholarships due to a technical glitch in the National Scholarship portal. Stating that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had first written to the minority affairs minister in August 2015 and then to the Prime Minister recently, he said states must be allowed opt out of the National Scholarship Portal and disburse scholarships to students using DBT. Higher FDI limit in brownfield pharma to attract latest tech The government said it has raised FDI limit in existing pharmaceutical companies to attract required capital, international best practices and latest technologies in the sector. The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in brownfield pharma was recently raised to 74 percent under the automatic route from 49 percent earlier. Beyond 74 percent, foreign investment is permitted under the approval route. The move is “aimed at attracting required capital, international best practices and latest technologies in the sector”, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply. 100 percent FDI in defence sector Defending government’s policy to allow 100 per cent FDI through automatic route in defence and retail sectors, Sitharaman said, “Greater the investment, greater the opportunity for employment generation”. Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, she said the new FDI policy does not compromise national security, nor does it affect employment opportunities. Kashmir violence: 3,550 police, 2,309 civilians injured in stone pelting As many as 3,550 security force personnel and 2,309 civilians were injured following severe protests and stone pelting incidents in Jammu and Kashmir till 25 July, 2016 Rajya Sabha was told. Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said there were 1,029 incidents of severe protests and stone pelting in Jammu and Kashmir so far this year in which 48 civilians and two security personnel were killed. There were 730 incidents of severe protests and stone pelting in the entire 2015 in which five civilians were killed and 240 injured while 886 security forces personnel were also injured. Ahir said, replying to a written question, that various steps have been taken by the police authorities which nclude organising police-public meetings to avoid such incidents. Debate over price rise The Opposition got together to take on the NDA government over the issue of price rise, with some accusing it of “fudging” numbers and calculations on inflation to suit itself. Initiating a short duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha, TMC leader Derek O’Brien said it is worse to be vegetarian in India than a non-vegetarian because even though prices of meat and fish seem to be under control, the prices of vegetables and pulses have sky-rocketed. Congress leader Ranjani Patel slammed the government over the rise in prices of essential commodities and dubbed the Modi government as “a government of slogans”. She said it was the fourth time Rajya Sabha was discussing price rise since the Modi government took over two years ago. Prabhat Jha of the BJP defended the government claiming that contrary to opposition’s allegations, price rise was prevalent in the 10 years of UPA rule. Citing figures, Jha said the Modi government has taken a number of steps to bring down the prices. Naresh Aggarwal of the Samajwadi Party, in a lighter vein, said while he would have preferred to hear from the finance minister, he was glad that he could hear from the “would be finance minister” Jha. He also took a dig at LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan saying that he hoped the union minister will remember his politics favouring the Dalits and the poor and not give a reply on the price rise with a “capitalist mindset”. Discussions over afforestation bill  A bill to utilise funds for compensatory afforestation came under criticism in Rajya Sabha with former minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claiming that it does not empower forest dwellers, tribals and gram sabhas. As the House took up for discussion the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAMPA) Bill which could pave the way for funds upto the tune of Rs 42,000 crore to be unlocked, Ramesh said while he supports the important legislation, he also has a “problem” with it. “My problem with the Bill is that it ignores the Forest Rights Act of 2006,” Ramesh said. The former environment and forests minister said that in its present form, the legislation introduced by the BJP-led government empowers state governments and forest departments but “does not empower forest dwellers, tribals or gram sabhas.” Referring to Environment and Forests Minister Anil Dave who recently took over the ministry, Ramesh used a cricket analogy and said that when the key Bill is passed, his innings would have started with a six and there would be newspaper headlines as well. Appealing to different political parties, Ramesh proposed an amendment suggesting that CAMPA funds should be used only in consonance with the implementation of Forest Rights Act. “It should be ensured that, without the permission of  gram sabhas, no expenditure is allowed in the CAMPA funds,” he said. Ramesh claimed that the role of gram sabha was quite important as per the Forest Rights Act, which was passed with support of parties across the political spectrum. -With inputs from agencies