News Analysis India

Tag: Parliament

  • Parliament march by Rahul Gandhi most significant for democracy: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: Accusing the central government of undermining democracy, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said the march by Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders outside Parliament was of great significance.

    “They protested against the abrupt end to the Monsoon Session, how opposition MPs were manhandled in Rajya Sabha & how opposition was not allowed to raise people’s issues in Parliament,” Gehlot tweeted.

    “Under NDA, every day is a new low as they continue to undermine parliamentary democracy,” he added.

    Leaders of several opposition parties on Thursday marched in protest against the government on several issues, including Pegasus, farm laws, and alleged manhandling of their MPs in Rajya Sabha, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying the voice of people was crushed in Parliament and democracy was “murdered”.

  • Monsoon session: Despite continuous disruption, Rajya Sabha passes second highest number of bills since 2014

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Despite the highest disruption in the recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament in the last seven years, the number of bills passed per day during this session of Rajya Sabha was the second-highest since 2014, said sources.

    With over 74 hours and 26 minutes lost due to protests by the Opposition on various issues, the Upper House passed 1.1 bills per day in 17 days sitting.

    In 2020, when the nation was reeling under the effect of COVID-19, the Rajya Sabha passed 2.5 bills per day, the highest since 2014, during the monsoon session.

    A total of 19 Bills were passed during the monsoon session in the Upper House, including the Constitutional Amendment 127th Amendment Bill, Tribunals Reforms Bill, Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (Amendment) Bill, Inland Vessels Bill, among others.

    As per sources, the Central government successfully carried out its business during the session. This reflects the commitment, productivity and ability of the government to drive the legislative agenda in the Parliament, which aims to fulfil the aspirations of its citizens.

    However, this session saw a lot of disruption by opposition parties over issues including farm laws, Pegasus spyware, COVID-19, and inflation.

    The highest average time lost per day due to interruptions or adjournments since the 231st session of Rajya Sabha in 2014 is 4 hours 30 minutes.

    The sources said that the unruly behaviour of some members was totally unacceptable.

    “Disruption of House pre-planned, washing out the session was their ultimate goal. Some Opposition members desecrated the sanctity of the House by climbing the Sanctum Sanctorum (Garbhagriha), namely the table located at well of the House and threw the Rule Book at the Chair. This behaviour is highly condemnable,” they added.

    Sources said the House has been a forum for debate but such instances have resulted in lowering the dignity of this great institution Opposition should apologise to the Chairman and people of the country.

    A special committee should be constituted to look into these incidents, they said.

    The Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on Wednesday, two days before the scheduled conclusion of the monsoon session of parliament. The session commenced on July 19.

  • Monsoon session: Highest on hours lost, Lok Sabha session adjourned before schedule

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The sixth session of the 17th Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die two days before schedule, logging in the third best legislative business record and also the maximum hours lost due to pandemonium caused by the government-Opposition showdown over the Pegasus snooping row.

    This denied Prime Minister Narendra Modi the chance to introduce newly inducted ministers, while he was seen largely staying away from the House despite being in the national capital.

    The treasury benches drew the consolation that unlike the BJP forcing a full washout of the session in the wake of the alleged 2G spectrum allocation scam, the Opposition couldn’t disrupt the two Houses fully.

    The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha returned to normalcy during discussions on the Constitution (127) Amendment Bill.

    The Lok Sabha lost 74 hours and 46 minutes of business schedule due to the deadlock over Pegasus. In the past five sessions in the 17th Lok Sabha, the House had a cumulative loss of only about 40 hours.

    Yet, Lok Sabha was on an overdrive in its legislative business, allowing introduction of 13 bills and passing 20 such proposals amid the pandemonium, with most passed within a few minutes without any discussion and mere reading out of the statement of intent by the concerned ministers.

    The heat on the ruling BJP remained intense during the session, with even the fence-sitters in the House showing their disappointment with the passage of the bills amid the din.

    Except for the JD (U), the BJP is now without any large ally in the NDA.Despite agreeing for discussions on three topics — issues arising out of the passage of the three farm laws, Covid-19 pandemic and price rise of petroleum products — the Lok Sabha failed to see MPs raising any of the public concerns.

  • Parliament passes bill to restore states’ power on OBC list

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A constitutional amendment bill to restore the powers of the states to make their own OBC lists was passed by Parliament on Wednesday, with the opposition and treasury benches joining hands in the Rajya Sabha to approve the legislation.

    The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed by the Lok Sabha, a day before.

    Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar said the bill will help restore the powers of states to have their own lists of OBCs which was negated by the Supreme Court.

    The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha, with 187 members voting in its favour, and no one opposing it.

    Some amendments moved by the opposition were negated.

    The Rajya Sabha, which has been witnessing a logjam over issues such as Pegasus and farm laws, on Wednesday discussed the bill for about five hours as members from both treasury as well as opposition benches participated in it.

    Kumar said the legislation will help 671 communities, almost one-fifth of the total OBCs in the country, get reservation in jobs and educational institutions.

    The 102nd Constitution Amendment Act of 2018 inserted articles 338B, which deals with the structure, duties and powers of the National Commission for Backward Classes, and 342A that deals with the powers of the president to notify a particular caste as Socially and Educationally Backward Communities (SEBCs) and the power of Parliament to change the list.

    Article 366 (26C) defines SEBCs.

    The Supreme Court had dismissed the Centre’s plea seeking a review of its May 5 majority verdict that held that the 102nd Constitution amendment took away the states’ power to notify SEBCs for the grant of quota in jobs and admissions.

    During the discussion held in an amicable atmosphere, Leader of Opposition and senior Congress Leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the legislation would benefit 65 per cent people in the country.

    Taking a jibe at the ruling BJP, he said the debate on the bill had deviated from the subject and it was limited to criticising the Congress.

    Kharge also asked the government to add one line in the bill and make provision that the state government can go beyond the 50 per cent limit.

    “Add one sentence, that the state government can give (reservation) beyond 50 per cent,” Kharge said.

    The Congress leader asked the government to prepare for reservations in the private sector as well, since the number of PSUs were on decline.

    The PSUs generated lakhs of employment but they don’t exist today.

    “We will support it like we are supporting the bill today,” Kharge said and demanded that the government fill all backlog vacancies.

    The Congress MPs also asked the government why was it “quiet” and “running away” from a caste-based census, which was mooted by a woman MP of the ruling BJP in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday and even by the chief ministers of Bihar and Odisha.

    A caste-based census is required to assess the exact ground situation because in at least 30 states and Union territories, the reservation for backward classes has crossed the upper limit, the opposition party said.

    Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi raised the issue while initiating the discussion on the Bill, 2021.

    Asserting that there is a demand for a caste-based census from all quarters, Singhvi said the exercise is needed because the quota for backward classes has exceeded the determined limits in many state.

    In 30 states and Union territories, it is more than 50 per cent, he said, while referring to Nagaland and Chhattisgarh in particular.

    Similarly, while there is a 17-per cent quota for the backward classes in jobs, in reality, their percentage is higher, the Congress leader said.

    “This brings us to an important issue — a caste census. Why are you running away from a caste census? Your chief minister in Bihar, another chief minister in Odisha and your woman MP said you are going to do this. Why is the government keeping quiet today?” he asked.

    Meanwhile, the ruling BJP tried to corner the Congress for allegedly not doing enough for the SCs, STs and OBCs despite ruling the country for decades, and claimed that it was only the governments of which the Jan Sangh or the Bharatiya Janata Party was a part that actually worked for the uplift of the deprived sections of the society.

    Countering Singhvi’s contention that the government was late in bringing the legislation, senior BJP leader Sushil Modi stressed that the government was quick to introduce the bill.

    He said the Centre filed a review petition in the Supreme Court on May 13, within eight days of the decision on the matter by the apex court.

    “How much faster can it be?” he quipped.

    The Supreme Court dismissed the review petition on July 1.

    The Centre, Modi said had made its intention clear in the Select Committee, the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, in the review petition and on other occasions as well that it does not want to deprive the states of the right to prepare their own OBC lists.

    “Can any central government deprive the state governments of their rights?” he asked.

  • Bill for privatisation of state-run general insurance companies gets Parliament nod

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A bill to allow privatisation of state-run general insurance companies got parliamentary assent on Wednesday after Rajya Sabha passed it with a voice vote amid tearing of papers and vociferous protest by opposition parties.

    The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021 was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 2.

    The upper house passed the legislation with a voice vote in the din, in a matter of minutes, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman not replying to points raised by MPs briefly.

    Opposition members from TMC to DMK to Left parties opposed the bill and some wanted it to be referred to a select committee but the motion was rejected by a voice vote after which they indulged in slogan-shouting, stormed into the well, tore papers and moved dangerously close to the presiding officer’s chair.

    Rajya Sabha personnel were deployed around the presiding officer and the house table to prevent repeat of Tuesday’s ugly scenes when some MPs had climbed on the table.

    The bill was taken in the upper house soon after it passed the Constitutional amendment bill regarding OBC list.

    The Constitution amendment bill was passed after a nearly five-hour discussion in an amicable settings in the House, which otherwise had witnessed disruptions since the start of the monsoon session on July 19.

    However, moods changed soon after the passage of the OBC related bill, and Opposition returned to the Well of the House leading to a brief adjournment.

    The chair was forced to adjourn the proceedings as opposition kept raising slogans and threw papers in the air.

    When the House re-assembled at 6.26 pm, some MPs spoke briefly on the insurance bill amid uproar, while speakers from the opposition benches chose not to.

    In the meanwhile, Tiruchi Siva (DMK) moved a motion to send the bill to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha, but it was rejected by a voice-vote.

    The bill was passed amid the ruckus even as the Finance Minister did not dwell on the bill.

    According to the statement of objects and reasons of the general insurance amendment bill, it seeks to remove the requirement that the central government should hold not less than 51 per cent of the equity capital in a specified insurer.

    To provide for greater private participation in the public sector insurance companies, enhance insurance penetration and social protection, better secure the interests of policyholders and contribute to faster growth of the economy, it has become necessary to amend certain provisions of the act, according to the bill.

    The finance minister in the Budget 2021-22 had announced a big-ticket privatisation agenda which included two public sector banks and one general insurance company.

    There are four general insurance companies in the public sector – National Insurance Company Limited, New India Assurance Company Limited, Oriental Insurance Company Limited and the United India Insurance Company Limited.

  • Parliament passes bill to bury ghost of retrospective taxation

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Parliament on Monday cleared a bill to burry the ghost of retrospective taxation which had created “discontent” among foreign investors even as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured the Rajya Sabha that the legislation does not dilute the sovereign right of India to levy taxes.

    The Rajya Sabha returned The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 after a brief discussion.

    Opposition parties, Congress, DMK and TMC had walked out of the House to protest against listing of the bill in the supplementary business circulated just hours before the House took it up.

    The amendment bill, passed by the Lok Sabha last week, will enable the government to withdraw all tax demands made on companies like Cairn Energy and Vodafone using a 2012 legislation on indirect transfer of Indian assets prior to May 28, 2012.

    The 2012 legislation, commonly referred to as the retrospective tax law, was enacted after the Supreme Court in January that year rejected proceedings brought by tax authorities against Vodafone International Holdings BV for its failure to deduct withholding tax from USD 11.1 billion paid to Hutchison Telecommunications in 2007 for buying out its 67 per cent stake in a wholly-owned Cayman Island incorporated subsidiary that indirectly held interests in Vodafone India Ltd.

    The Finance Act 2012, which amended various provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 with retrospective effect, contained provisions intended to tax any gain on transfer of shares in a non-Indian company, which derives substantial value from underlying Indian assets, such as Vodafone’s transaction with Hutchison in 2007 or the internal reorganisation of the India business that Cairn Energy did in 2006-07 before listing it on local bourses.

    Using that law, tax authorities in January 2013 slapped Vodafone with a tax demand of Rs 14,200 crore, including principal tax of Rs 7,990 crore and interest.

    This was in February 2016 updated to Rs 22,100 crore plus interest.

    Replying on the debate, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “This (bill) is appealing enough and putting an end to this ghost which we have been carrying all these while from 2012.”

    She stressed that the government has a right to tax, “but to apply it in retrospective has created a lot of discontentment”.

    “I seek support of the House to make India look very clear, transparent and fair taxation land….this whole thing about retrospective amendment bill, which was brought in, since then we were bearing the negativity of this all over the world.”

    The minister also told the House the bill provides for no payment of interest on refunds made under this and the parties seeking relief would not pursue further appeals or litigation in these cases.

    Seeking support of the House for the legislation, Sitharaman assured the Rajya Sabha: “We continue to have the sovereign right intact. That is not getting diluted. This is just a right decision which had to be taken years ago”.

    The minsiter said the government waited for the decision of arbitrations before bringing in the amendment.

    She further stressed that any correction in retrospective taxation “should be through Indian laws and not through any of the court outside”.

    While introducing the bill in the Rajya Sabha, Sitharaman also took a jibe on the Congress party saying it takes different positions in Parliament and outside on the same issue.

    While there was no substantial amount involved in the Vodafone case, in the case of Cairn Energy, the tribunal had asked the Indian government to return the value of the shares it had seized and sold, tax refund withheld and dividend confiscated to enforce the retrospective tax demand.

    With the government refusing to honour the award, Cairn Energy Plc moved a court in the US to seize assets of Air India.

    It got an order from a French court to freeze 20 Indian properties in Paris to recover USD 1.2 billion-plus interest and penalties.

    The move clubbed India with nations such as Pakistan and Venezuela that have faced similar actions by entities seeking enforcement of awards.

    Finance Secretary T V Somanathan said a total of Rs 8,100 crore was collected using the retrospective tax legislation.

    Of this, Rs 7,900 crore was from Cairn Energy alone.

    This money will be repaid.

    As much as Rs 1.10 lakh crore in retro taxes was sought from 17 entities that were levied taxes using the 2012 legislation.

    Of these, major recoveries were made only from Cairn.

  • CM Mamata protests move to place ‘anti-people’ Electricity Bill in Parliament in letter to PM Modi

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Protesting the Centre’s move to place the “anti-people” Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in Parliament, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday shot a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to refrain from proceeding with the legislation.

    She requested the PM “to ensure that a broad-based and transparent dialogue on the subject is opened up at the earliest”.

    “I write this letter to re-lodge my protest against the Union Government’s fresh move to place the much-criticised Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020, in Parliament.

    “It was proposed to be moved last year, but many of us had underlined the anti-people aspects of the draft legislation, and at least I had detailed out all the salient pitfalls of the Bill in a letter to you on June 12, 2020,” she wrote.

    Banerjee had written to Modi on June 12 last year, expressing outrage over the draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020, which, she, said, was an attempt by the Centre to “destroy” the country’s federal structure.

    She claimed that the bill aims to make the entire state electricity grid an appendage of the National Grid.

    “I am stunned to hear that the Bill is coming back without any consideration for our reservations, and in fact with some graver anti-people features this time,” she added.

  • Opposition leaders at Kisan Parliament to show solidarity with farmer protests

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Opposition MPs on Friday joined the farmers’ protest in the national capital and witnessed ‘Kisan Parliament’, where agitating farmers passed a no-confidence motion against the government for not repealing the three farm laws.

    Leaders of 14 opposition parties watched the ‘Kisan Parliament’ at Jantar Mantar, where farmers have been sitting in protest since July 22. The decision to join protesting farmers was taken at a meeting of these parties in Parliament. The MPs sat at the ‘visitors’ gallery’ and witnessed proceedings of the ‘Kisan Parliament’ and passage of no-confidence motion. 

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and other party MPs along with MPs from DMK, SP, RJD, Left parties, NCP and Shiv Sena were present. MPs from AAP and TMC skipped but TMC MPs had met the protesting farmers earlier in the day.

    The agitating farmers have ensured since the start of their protest that politicians and political parties will not be allowed to share their platform, but they can come and sit there to express their support.

    “We have come to convey our support to the protesting farmers and their demand for repeal of the three black laws. You all know what is happening in Parliament. We want Pegasus to be discussed. They are not allowing it,” Gandhi told reporters.

    The Opposition MPs have been protesting in Parliament against the three farm laws and demanding their repeal. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said if the Opposition is really concerned about the farmers, then the government is ready to discuss the issues in both Houses, but they are not ready to talk. “They just want to be in the media’s limelight,” said Tomar.

  • Private member bills suffer in Parliament logjam

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  MPs wait for Fridays for pushing private member bills, but they find themselves in a spot amid this growing trend of both Houses ignoring this unique feature, which is aimed at filling the gap left by the executive in public interest. 

    On Friday, the Lok Sabha had listed as many 246 private member bills, while scores of other proposals await the lottery for listing, but the House was adjourned after quickly passing two legislative proposals brought by the government. 

    “These private member bills, which have been pending since 2019, will now be pushed to the winter session. While the monsoon session is disrupted due to political purposes, there has been a trend of not giving importance to the private member business,” said Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Bhartruhari Mahtab, who had moved a few private member bills, which nevar came up for discussion.       

    Private member bills before the Lok Sabha on Friday concerned issues like fair compensations to dependents of martyrs from all forces including the state police, uniform education from primary sections to higher secondary schools and setting up a national commission for farmers.

    BJP MP from South Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri had piloted a private member bill proposing unemployment allowances for youth with post-graduate degrees. NCP’s Supriya Sule was piloting a private member bill, which proposed to establish an authority to oversee the payment of financial assistance, provision of medical facilities, education and housing allowance, reservation up to five per cent in schools and institutions of higher education and five per cent reservation in jobs in both public and private sector for the dependents of martyrs.

    A law for regulation of use of electronic devices, including mobile phones, by pedestrians, robust mechanism for disposal of electronic waste, compulsory voting, while another proposed mandatory first-aid training in schools. Mahtab, winner of the best Parliamentarian award, told this daily “this is highly discouraging that private member businesses are not being given proper attention”.

  • Rajya Sabha adjourned till Thursday amid opposition protest, passes AERA bill

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till Thursday amid continuous protests by opposition parties over the Pegasus snooping controversy, and issues of farm laws and price rise.

    However, the Upper House passed the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which seeks to encourage smaller airports to expand air connectivity to relatively remote and far-flung areas.

    The House passed the bill after a brief discussion amid protest and sloganeering by the opposition over various issues, including the Pegasus snooping controversy and farm laws. The Lok Sabha had passed the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2021 on July 29.

    When the Upper House assembled after a 15-minute adjournment at 2:56 pm, the opposition continued to protest. Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, who was in the chair, called members for debate on the bill.

    After a short debate and a brief reply from the Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed with a voice vote. Immediately after that the deputy chairman adjourned the House till Thursday 11 am.

    Earlier, the House passed two bills — the Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 — after short debates amid the din.

    As opposition members continued raising slogans, the deputy chairman adjourned the proceedings of the House for 15 minutes till 2.56 pm. He also warned members not to record proceedings on mobile phones as it was against the rules of the Rajya Sabha.

    Earlier, the proceedings of the House were adjourned till 2 pm as slogan-shouting MLAs of the TMC and other opposition parties trooped into the Well, some holding placards, to demand a discussion on the issue of Pegasus spyware being used to snoop on opposition leaders, government critics and journalists.