Parliament updates: Lok Sabha passes Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill amid sloganeering; House adjourned for the day

Lok Sabha adjourned for the day, to resume at 11 am tomorrow

Amid uproarious AIADMK sloganeering, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned today's session, and announced that the Consumer Protection Bill will be discussed in tomorrow's session. The session will begin at 11 am.

Lok Sabha passes Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2016

Speaker begins taking vote on 2016 Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill amid sloganeering

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey says surrogacy bill drafted based on Indian culture

"The Centre brought in this bill as per Indian culture and tradition. The question of live-in relations, as TMC leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar pointed out, does not fall under this as there is no way to see who lives with whom," said BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.

However, he chose to begin his address by pointing out that the Congress was not ready by deabte on any subject. 

Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar speaks on surrogacy bill

Speaking after the surrogacy bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha, Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar highlighted the need for changes in the bill, pointing out that the current bill has no provision for same sex couples, which was legalised recently. She also pointed out the need to train clinics to prevent malpractice and also stop the trend of "fashion surrogacy", like by some filmstars, because they don't want their "figure to be destroyed".

"We will stand by these women who are suffering. Till today, society looks down upon women who can't bear children."

She also proposed including provisions to include Indian couples living abroad in the bill and also consider the LGBT community. She called for a public debate on the surrogacy bill.

Health Minister JP Nadda introduces Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016

Nadda introduced the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, saying it's a historic day and that all parties wanted commercial surrogacy to be stopped to prevent exploitation of women.

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the Lok Sabha till 2 pm after members laid papers on the table of the House listed against their names. This continued amid growing din in the House, with Congress leaders shouting slogans demanding a JPC probe into the Rafale deal and AIADMK members accusing the Centre of neglecting Tamil Nadu.

Mallikarjun Kharge​ reiterates demand for JPC

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said there were deregularities and corruption in the way the Rafale deal was signed. He pointed out the loss of technology transfer to HAL as well as the loss to national exchequer. He demanded a JPC probe to "fix accountability".

"Kindly allow this and all details will come out. Every file will be checked by Parliament, not the Supreme Court."

Rajya Sabha MPs contributed over Rs 38 crore for Kerala flood relief

When he convened the House, Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu announced that MPs from the House had contributed over Rs 36 crore for relief work for the Kerala floods. Of this, 97 MPs contributed from their Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme and 60 MPs donated a month's salary.

No Rajya Sabha session from 24 to 26 December

Rajya Sabha will not function from 24 to 26 December so members can celebrate Christmas back home, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said. "Let's utilise the time properly," he said, targeting MPs were did not allow the House to function for the first six days of the Winter Session.

This was minutes before Naidu adjoured Rajya Sabha for the day amid chaos, saying "I don't want people to see this".

'It is clear you don't want the House to run'

Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu, irate over the ruckus in the Upper House, said it was clear members were not ready to allow the House to run and adjourned the session for the day, to convene at 11 am tomorrow. He said he didn't want to see the people watch Parliament functioning this way.

Lok Sabha adjourned

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the House till noon after a brief discussion on questions related to development of the North East.

Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha sessions convene

Sessions in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have commenced. While the atmosphere is peaceful in the Upper House, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan is conducting the proceedings in the Lower House amid sloganeering and ruckus.

The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill to come up in Rajya Sabha

The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2018 is to be debated in the Rajya Sabha today. The Bill seeks to amend the Representation of People Act, 1950 and the Representation of People Act, 1951 to allow for proxy voting and to make certain provisions of the Acts gender-neutral. The 1951 Act permits an overseas voter to vote only in person but the bill seeks to amend this.  If it is passed, overseas voters would be able to cast their vote in person or by proxy in the constituency where the poll is taken.

Rajya Sabha to debate two key bills on education sector

The Rajya Sabha will discuss two important bills related to the education sector. Union education minister Prakash Javadekar will move that the National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018 be passed. He is also expected to introduce the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018 for consideration and passing. 

CPM, Congress give adjournment motion notices in Lok Sabha 

The Congress and the CPM have given an adjournment notice for today even as proceedings in both Houses of Parliament were disrupted for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday over various issues, including the Rafale fighter jets deal.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Congress give adjournment motion notices in Lok Sabha over the Rafale deal and demonetisation respectively. The adjournment notice is handed to request an Adjournment Motion, which is the procedure for adjournment of the business of the House for the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent public importance, which can be moved with the consent of the Speaker.