Rajya Sabha adjourned sine die
Parliament updates: Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day following ruckus over triple talaq bill
The fate of the triple talaq bill, that seeks to criminalise instant divorce by Muslim husbands, remained shrouded in suspense on Tuesday.

Highlights
Lok Sabha sat for 13 days, 61 hours during Parliament's Winter Session
As per PRS Legislative, LS sat for 13 days, 61 hours with 78 percent productivity. Sixteen bills were introduced during this time in the Lok Sabha. Twelve bills were passed by the Lower House. Apart from this, 46 starred questions were answered orally during Question Hour.
Both Houses to be adjourned sine die post lunch
According to News18, MPs from Opposition parties have been told that both houses will be adjourned sine die (with no appointed date for resumption) post lunch.
Triple talaq could most likely be taken up again in 2018 Budget Session
Various reports suggest that owing to the lack of numbers and consensus in the Rajya Sabha the ruling party will be forced to send the bill to a Select Committee of the House. And it would only be taken up again in the Budget Session in 2018.
Meanwhile... Supreme Court invalidated triple talaq but never asked govt to frame law
The Supreme Court, in its judgment, held instant triple talaq unconstitutional and invalidated the practice. However, the final ruling by the majority judges catagorically mentioned that there was no need to pass the ball to the legilstaure's court, as this article in News18 points out.
"Justices Nariman and Lalit ruled that since triple talaq could not be construed as an essential religious practice, “the submission on behalf of the Muslim Personal Board that the ball must be bounced back to the legislature does not at all arise.” the article read.
Disabled persons needs place to stay apart from opportunities, says BSP MP Satish Chandra Misra
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, BSP MP from Uttar Pradesh, Satish Chandra Misra says disabled persons need a place to stay apart from opportunities to come up in life.
In Rajya Sabha, questions were raised on persons with disabilities and if there is a need for their Aadhaar identification since their fingerprints are almost always mismatched, according to The Indian Express.
Congress should expect stinging rebuttal to its Gujarat poll campaign
As BJP's chief strategist, Amit Shah, rises to speak from his front-row seat in Rajya Sabha on amending the law to allow for imposing compensation cess on intra-State and inter-State supply of goods and services on Thursday, a BJP leader told NDTV said the Congress should expect a stinging rebuttal to its election campaign.
Amit Shah's maiden speech on GST could have a few pointers for Congress?
BJP president Amit Shah is expected to make his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha today if a bill for the amendments to the Goods and Services Tax law, which has been fiercely attacked by the Congress during last month's Gujarat elections, is taken up by House for debate and voting.
Congress accuses Hindutva outfits of triggering Maharashtra clashes
As several parts of Maharashtra continued to reel under caste violence, Congress on Wednesday accused the RSS and certain Hindutva outfits of triggering it and demanded a probe by a Supreme Court judge into the clashes.
Forcefully raising the issue in Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge also trained his guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, wondering why he was maintaining a studied silence on the issue. Read more here.
Venkaiah Naidu to chair a meeting to discuss triple talaq bill
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu will chair a meeting in half-an-hour to discuss the triple talaq bill, reports News18. MPs from both Congress and BJP will attend the meeting.
Congress to consult other parties before deciding stance on triple talaq bill in Rajya Sabha
The Congress would consult Opposition parties before finalising its stand on the contentious bill which proposed to ban instant triple talaq and make the practice a cognisable offence, party sources said on Monday.
According to the sources, Leader of Opposition in the Upper House Ghulam Nabi Azad has convened a meeting of the leaders of his party (Congress) as well as other parties in his Parliament chamber tomorrow, before the bill is taken up.
Sushma Swaraj delivers powerful statement on Kulbhushan Jadhav, but government's naivety exposed
Given the circumstances detailed above, it seems naive at best — and delusional at worst — not to have expected the very worst from Pakistani hospitality in this situation, because it's clear that Islamabad expected the worst from New Delhi. Ultimately, Pakistan treated the family of someone it accuses of spying on it (and being involved in the deaths of many of its citizens) in a very predictable manner.
This day will be more significant in Muslim women's life than Eid or Bakrid, says victim
Pakistan reporters' ask insensitive questions: Aapke kya jazbaat hain apne kaatil bete se milne ke baad?
Jadhav's mother and wife were also harassed and subjected to outrageous questions by Pakistani journalists after they were forced to wait for their car. The family faced questions hurled at them like - "Aapke patidev ne hazaron begunah Pakistaniyo ke khoon se Holi kheli ispar kya kahengi? (your husband killed thousands of innocent Pakistanis, what do you have to say about that?)'" and "Aapke kya jazbaat hain apne kaatil bete se milne ke baad? (How do you feel after meeting your killer son?)".
RECAP: The Nation's editorial focussed on 'cacophony of opinions'
The Nation commented on the "cacophony of opinions" circling the issue. The piece in The Nation took a more balanced view of the issue at hand and wrote, "Ultimately however, these are all irreconcilable opinions and each can be considered “correct” if viewed from their subjective angle."
The editorial lauds the Pakistan government's attempts to do what was "necessary in the international scheme of things" and "ignoring the deafening cacophony to do what was necessary."
RECAP: Pakistani newspapers too covered Kulbhushan-family reunion
The diplomatic strain over Jadhav's meeting with his family grabbed headlines not just in India, but also in Pakistan. Almost all major Pakistani newspapers gave prominence to the issue and carried reports of the Foreign Office issuing statement after India claimed that Jadhav's responses were "clearly tutoured" that the alleged spy was "under duress" during the meeting.
RECAP: India slams Pakistan for hurting religious and cultural sentiments
The external affairs ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that Pakistan went so far as to have the mangal sutra, bangles, and bindi of Jadhav's mother and wife removed before they could meet him.
India also accused Pakistan of disregarding cultural and religious sensibilities of family members under the pretext of security.
"This included removal of mangal sutra, bangles, and bindi, as well as a change in attire that was not warranted by security," it said.
RECAP: Pakistan rejects India claims as 'baseless'
In the statement, Pakistan had rejected as "baseless" India's contentions that Jadhav's wife and mother were harassed and claimed that his wife's shoes were confiscated on security grounds as there was "something" in it.
"There was something in the shoe. It is being investigated. We gave her a pair of replacement shoes. All her jewellery et cetera were returned after the meeting," Faisal said.
RECAP: Pakistan claims Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife's shoes had 'metallic substance
Pakistani authorities have sent the shoes worn by Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife for forensic examination to determine the nature of the suspected presence of a foreign object, a media report said on Wednesday.
The authorities were ascertaining whether the "metallic object" in the shoes was a camera or a recording chip, Pakistan Today quoted Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mohammad Faisal as saying.
PTI
Opposition parties to raise Kulbhushan Jadhav issue in Parliament
The Opposition, led by the Congress, plans to corner the central government in Parliament over the issue of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a report on India Today said. Congress leader Pramod Tewari was quoted as saying the party wants the government to clear its policy on how it plans to bring Kulbhushan Jadhav back from Pakistan.
"Once the deadlock in the Parliament is resolved, we will raise the issue of Jadhav in Parliament. What has happened to Jadhav's family in Pakistan is inhuman. We will demand a discussion on this issue in the House and will ask the Centre and the international community to ask an explanation from Pakistan on this matter."
Triple Talaq criminalisation bill absent in Lok Sabha's revised list of business
In the revised list issued by the Lok Sabha, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights of Marriage) Bill, 2017 was removed. In the original list, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was scheduled to introduce a bill to "protect the rights of married Muslim women and to prohibit divorce by pronouncing talaq by their husbands and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto".
On Thursday, a bill to double judges' salaries was introduced
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the bill which will double the salaries of judges of the Supreme Court and 24 high courts, reported The Indian Express. The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill 2017 provides for increased salaries as recommended by the Seventh Pay Commission.
Sachin Tendulkar was not allowed to make his maiden speech in Rajya Sabha
Vociferous sloganeering on Thursday disrupted Sachin Tendulkar's maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha since his nomination. Members of the Opposition shouted "BJP sharam karo" as sloganeering continued in the Upper House of Parliament on the fourth day. Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 11 am on Friday following stormy scenes on the floor of the House.
Lok Sabha passes bill to repeal 245 old laws
The Lok Sabha also passed two Bills to repeal 245 obsolete and archaic laws, including the 158-year-old Calcutta Pilots Act of 1859 and the 1911 Prevention of Seditious Meeting Act.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the old and many irrelevant pre-Independence laws were the "unfortunate part of the colonial legacy" and repealing them was a progressive move that reflects the "pro-reform" approach of the government.
14 new bills including maintenance in triple talaq likely to be placed
The new bills listed for introduction and passage include Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2017, Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriages) Bill, 2017 and Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States_Amendment Bill), 2017.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriages) Bill gives women from the community the right to seek maintenance from their husbands in case of triple talaq, while the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2017 prohibits certain persons, including promoters of defaulter companies, from submitting a resolution plan, the PRS added.
Winter Session of Parliament to see 40 bills
According to PRS Legislative, on agendar are some 40 bills focussing on areas such as overseas citizenship, consumer protection, rights of compensation for Mulsim divorced women, education, surrogacy, bankruptcy, corruption, and labour and transgender rights among others.
The Winter Session will see some 19 amendment bills as part of the agenda. Some of these amendment bills such as the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013 — makes prior sanction necessary to in order to investigate officials — and the Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015 — specifies grounds under which disclosures related to corruption may not be made — may attract a lot of flak from the anti-corruption brigade. Both the bills, have also been criticised for their half-hearted attempts to curb corruption.
LIVE NEWS and UPDATES
Ram Gopal Yadav, SP MP from Uttar Pradesh flags issue of passengers being drugged on trains
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal replies that action against such oganised gangs will be taken and if any member has information about it, they should come forward and inform the ministry. The ministry is also trying to bring in a network of CCTV surveillance on trains and stations, Goyal informed the Rajya House.
Jairam Ramesh, Viplove Thakur raise questions over MSP provided to farmers
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Lok Sabha sat for 13 days, 61 hours during Parliament's Winter Session
As per PRS Legislative, LS sat for 13 days, 61 hours with 78 percent productivity. Sixteen bills were introduced during this time in the Lok Sabha. Twelve bills were passed by the Lower House. Apart from this, 46 starred questions were answered orally during Question Hour.
The Bhima-Koregaon violence issue has caused an uproar in the Parliament, creating a ruckus in the Parliament throughout the day. Rajya Sabha has been adjourned thrice.
The Rajya Sabha was supposed to debate the triple talaq bill on Wednesday, a week after it was passed by the Lok Sabha.
The fate of the bill that seeks to criminalise instant divorce by Muslim husbands remained shrouded in suspense on Tuesday as the government virtually rejected an overwhelming demand from the Opposition for referring it to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha for detailed consideration and rectify "lacunae" in the controversial legislation.
A meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of the Rajya Sabha ended without a consensus on the issue as the government was keen that the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 be adopted as passed last week by the Lok Sabha.
At the meeting, Leader of the House Arun Jaitley, also the Union Finance Minister, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HN Ananth Kumar were believed to have told the Opposition that they should not insist on amendments to the bill or to recommend its reference to a parliamentary committee.

Representational image. PTI
However, the entire Opposition, including those friendly to the ruling BJP like TDP and AIADMK, demanded that the bill be referred to a select committee so that "lacunae" in the legislation could be rectified.
In the BAC meeting, the Congress and other Opposition parties put up the proposal to send the bill to a select committee, sources privy to the discussion told IANS.
The government insisted on bringing the bill to the House and take its sense before deciding about its final fate.
The sources said the ministers were learnt to have told the Opposition members that the bill cannot be sent to a select committee on the basis of views expressed in the BAC and if they want to do so, they can defeat it on the floor of the House.
The sources said there was a view in the treasury benches that most Opposition parties in case of a division will not vote against the legislation "for gender justice".
The BAC has allotted time of four hours for a discussion on the bill on Wednesday.
However, the picture may become clear at the meeting that Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu is going to have with floor leaders on Wednesday morning.
Earlier, Ananth Kumar said the government was in talks with the Congress and other parties for ensuring smooth passage of the bill in the Upper House.
"We are in talks with the Congress and others for the triple talaq bill, and hope for a smooth passage in the Rajya Sabha. It can be taken up tomorrow (Wednesday). May be tomorrow," he told reporters outside Parliament.
He also said the Congress did not press for amendment in the Lok Sabha and should similarly ensure smooth passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha.
The Opposition parties are said to be planning for either amendments against criminalising triple talaq or referring the bill to a select committee for detailed consideration.
CPI leader D Raja said the Left wants the bill to be referred to a select committee and accused the government of "bypassing" parliamentary panels on crucial bills.
"As far as Left parties are concerned, we want this bill to be referred to a select committee. But the BJP-led NDA government is bypassing the committee system," he said.
"They are saying 'don't send bills to the standing committee for closer scrutiny'. When it comes to the Rajya Sabha, we will demand that it should be sent to a select committee," he said.
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