Parliament LATEST Updates: Joint session of both Houses of Parliament to be held tomorrow on the occasion of Constitution Day. The moment the Lower House assembly post-lunch, ruckus ensues in the Lok Sabha with Opposition MP’s resorting to sloganeering against the ongoing developments in Maharashtra. Lok Sabha Chairman Meenakshi Leekhi adjourned the House till 2 pm tomorrow. The Upper House of Parliament gets adjourned till 2 pm on 26 November. After reassembling for the second half of the day, heckling by the Opposition parties continue, forcing Deputy Speaker Harivansh Narayan Singh to adjourn all proceeding of the House till tomorrow. The BJP attacked the Congress for “unruly” behaviour of its MPs in Lok Sabha and asked all parties to come together to maintain Parliament’s sanctity and great tradition. Speaking to reporters, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hit out at the opposition party soon after Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned due to vehement opposition by Congress members over the swearing-in of a BJP government in Maharashtra. Prasad also said that it is the Congress, not the BJP, which “murdered” democracy in the state. The minister asserted that popular mandate was in favour of a BJP-Shiv Sena government under Devendra Fadnavis but the Congress “stole” it by joining hands with the Sena which, he added, is driven by political greed and opportunism. According to multiple reports, women MPs Jyotimani and Remya Haridas have alleged that they were manhandled by the marshals and have registered a complaint with the Speaker. A section of Congress MPs clashed with Lok Sabha marshals during question hour on Monday after Speaker Om Birla ordered them to be removed from the House. As members of the Congress raised slogans and carried placards, what invited Speaker Om Birla’s ire was a big banner that two MPs held across the Well. Rajya Sabha proceedings were on Monday adjourned till 2 pm after the Congress and other opposition parties stalled the functioning of the House over developments in Maharashtra. Lok Sabha gets further adjourned to 2 pm. Earlier in the day, Congress members in Lok Sabha stormed the well carrying placards to protest the swearing-in of a BJP-led government in Maharashtra, leading to adjournment of House proceedings till noon. Congress members in Lok Sabha on Monday stormed the well carrying placards to protest the swearing-in of a BJP-led government in Maharashtra, leading to adjournment of House proceedings till noon. Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 2 pm. Speaker Om Birla ordered the removal of two Congress members Hibi Eden and T N Prathapan- who were holding a big banner with ‘stop murder of democracy slogan - by marshals. Intense protests by Congress members resisting their removal prompted the Speaker to adjourn the House 12 pm Congress chief Sonia Gandhi finally broke her silence on the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra, and called it a “murder of the democracy.” She is currently holding protests outside the Parliament with other party leaders against the Centre’s move of forming Mahrashtra government with NCP’s Ajit Pawar in a dramatic turn of events that spun overnight over the weekend. Meanwhile, Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 pm. While the Opposition’s is likely to attack the Centre over government formation in Maharashtra, which is to be the dominated discourse in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha on Monday, here are some of the other bills and matters listed before the Upper House. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will move and seek to withdraw The International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019 that provides for the establishment of an authority to develop and regulate the financial services market in the International Financial Services Centres in India. She is to take up the same bill in Lok Sabha too. Meanwhile, the Congress party on Monday has given adjournment notice in the Lok Sabha on Monday over the political situation in Maharashtra following the unanticipated oath-taking ceremony of BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister and NCP’s Ajit Pawar as his deputy. Following, Congress, CPI’s Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam has given a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha under rule 267 over ‘Maharashtra government formation’. The second bill of importance in the Rajya Sabha is the Transgender Bill. BJP leader Thaawarchand Gehlot is to move The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 for further consideration and to be passed. The Bill pertains to providing protection of rights of transgender persons and their welfare and has been passed by the Lok Sabha. [caption id=“attachment_7667571” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Winter session of Parliament. PTI[/caption] Meanwhile, in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman at the Lower House will move two bills— The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill and The International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019 to provide for the establishment of an authority to develop and regulate the financial services market in the international financial services centres in India. According to PRS Legislative, The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill provides for the reduction in rates of corporate income tax as an additional fiscal stimulus to attract investment, generate employment and boost growth. provides for the establishment of an authority to develop and regulate the financial services market in the International Financial Services Centres set up in Special Economic Zones in India. The bill was introduced in Upper House by the Piyush Goyal, on 12 February 2019. This bill was slated to be introduced in the Lok Sabha only after its withdrawal from the Rajya Sabha. Approval for the same was granted by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill provides for a reduction in rates of corporate income tax as an additional fiscal stimulus to attract investment, generate employment and boost growth. The other bill listed for today is by the ban of e-cigarette bill. Union minister Harsh Vardhan to move The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Bill, 2019. The bill seeks to prohibit the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of electronic cigarettes in the interest of public health. The last session of parliament on 22 November saw for the second consecutive day, air pollution was discussed at length in the Lok Sabha, while electoral bonds were discussed in the Rajya Sabha. The issue of electoral bonds resonated not just inside Parliament but also outside it, as Congress MPs held a protest outside the building holding placards that read “Electoral bonds — the new name of corruption” and “Break your silence, prime minister.” Environment minister Prakash Javadekar gave a detailed statement in the Lok Sabha on air pollution, a day after he spoke on the issue in the Rajya Sabha . Javadekar on Friday said a mass movement is needed to tackle the problem. Meanwhile, the ongoing protests by students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) also became the subject of heated debate in the Rajya Sabha. The issue has been highlighted in Parliament throughout the week, since the beginning of the Winter Session on Monday. Immediately after this, Prabhat Jha of the BJP raised the issue of “defacement” of a yet-to-be-unveiled statue of Swami Vivekananda on the JNU campus. He then went on to raise issue of alleged anti-India slogans being raised by students of JNU and demanded the central government’s oversight of activities in JNU. This was strongly countered by Left members. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu first cut short Ragesh, who was speaking on the police action on JNU students and after Jha had spoken, said that only submission on the JNU fee hike and defacement of the Vivekananda statue was admitted.
Ragesh said JNU students have been protesting for over one month demanding rollback of the fee hike and restoration of democratic rights on campus. He asked why civil liberties were being “suppressed” after declaring an “undeclared emergency”. JNU students during a march to Parliament were lathi-charged by police and student leaders have taken to the police station and brutally beaten up, he alleged.
As he demanded a judicial probe into the police action, Naidu cut him short, saying he had not spoken on the subject admitted: fee hike. Ragesh’s mike was switched off even though there was time remaining of his allotted three minutes. Jha was called next, who said that Vivekananda’s statue was painted red and ‘go away’ saffron slogan painted. As Left party members countered his contention, he alleged that JNU has over the past five years witnessed anti-India sloganeering such as “Bharat tere tukde honge". He was countered by Left parties but was allowed to continue his submission. ‘Electoral bonds threat to democracy’ The Opposition asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come clean on the allegations surrounding the electoral bonds scheme and accused the government of legalising corruption. Opposition parties led by the Congress, which protested in Parliament premises and described the issue as a “threat to democracy”, sought to raise the matter in the Rajya Sabha but were not allowed to do by the Chair. The CPM along with the CPI also hit out at the government over the issue of electoral bonds and said it was “legalised political corruption”.
Several senior Congress leaders, including Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari, protested against the government inside Parliament House premises.
Tewari said there should be a discussion in the House. “These electoral bonds are a threat to democracy,” he told reporters. Bill to ban e-cigarettes introduced in LS A bill to ban the production, import and sale of electronic cigarettes and similar products was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Bill, 2019, seeks to replace an ordinance issued on 18 September. The bill was introduced by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. The bill makes the manufacturing, production, import, export, distribution, transport, sale, storage or advertisements of such alternative smoking devices a cognisable offence, attracting a jail term and a fine. First-time violators will face a jail term of up to one year and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. For subsequent offences, a jail term of up to three years or a fine of Rs 5 lakh, or both, according to the ordinance. With inputs from agencies