News Analysis India

Tag: Pralhad Joshi

  • India is self-sufficient to face threat of cross border terrorism, says Pralhad Joshi

    By ANI

    HUBLI: Amid the ongoing Afghanistan crisis, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday said that India is self-sufficient to face the threat of cross border terrorism.

    Speaking to ANI, Joshi said, “India is quite strong and self-sufficient to contain the situation, also to face the threat of cross border terrorism.”

    He further said that India follows the policy of zero-tolerance towards terrorism.

    “They will try to create problem in other countries but as we in the last 7 years at least, we have approached the policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism,” said the Minister.

    Afghanistan government collapsed on Sunday with President Ashraf Ghani leaving the country and the Taliban’s entry into the capital, according to media reports.

    They seized the presidential palace. Several countries evacuated their diplomatic personnel from the country. Panic gripped the Afghan capital and hundreds of people on Monday flocked to the Kabul airport in an attempt to leave Afghanistan.  

  • INTERVIEW| Government was ready, Opposition did not allow debate: Union minister Pralhad Joshi

    Express News Service

    HUBBALLI: Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi held opposition parties responsible for the washout of the monsoon session of Parliament, and specifically pointed out some Trinamool Congress and Congress members for creating a ruckus in the Rajya Sabha.

    While advocating punishment for MPs who behave in an unruly manner, Joshi said he will continue to talk with “sane and sensible opposition leaders” for smooth functioning of Parliament. Excerpts from Joshi’s interview:

    The monsoon session was a complete washout with continuous disruptions. Did the treasury bench fail to reach out to the opposition for smooth conduct of the House?

    I don’t agree that the session was a complete washout. Several bills were passed and amendments brought to the Constitution. Parties such as BJD, TRS, YSRCP and others took part in discussions and passing of bills.

    Lok Sabha deputy leader Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to opposition leaders for smooth conduct of the Houses. Rajya Sabha leader Piyush Goyal and I were also holding talks with them. The government was ready to discuss every issue, including the COVID situation and vaccination, farm laws and economic situation, as they demanded.

    Even on the Pegasus issue, the government made a suo motu statement, but a TMC member misbehaved with the IT minister. The intention of the opposition was quite clear: not to allow the Houses to function. It was clear right from the first day. 

    Opposition leaders are recalling how Pramod Mahajan and Sushma Swaraj would manage floor coordination. Did you fail in your duty in holding an uninterrupted session?

    When they were in charge of floor coordination, the opposition used to behave responsibly. They respected Atalji’s government. But after 2014, the behaviour of the opposition has changed.

    They are not ready to digest the mandate given to the NDA-BJP government in 2019. If they are not in agreement with the policies and programmes of the government, let them go to the people on these issues. 

    Why did the Prime Minister not call an all-party meeting to end the logjam?

    Earlier, no Prime Minister would attend the all-party meeting before the session. PM Modi started this tradition and at the meeting before the monsoon session, he made it clear that discussions and debates are necessary before the passing of any bill.

    But some opposition leaders tried to disrupt that meeting also. As floor leader, Modi deputed Singh and Shah to break the logjam. This is the practice being followed for 72 years.

    Will you initiate action against the MPs responsible?

    The government has taken it quite seriously, and allegations by opposition parties that marshals manhandled the MPs is obnoxious. We will appeal to the Rajya Sabha chairman to hold an inquiry by a separate committee.

    I am not blaming the entire opposition for the ruckus on August 9, but the unruly behaviour of 10-12 members of the TMC and a few Congress MPs. 

    Both treasury and opposition benches are adamant. What is the way forward?

    We will inquire into the Rajya Sabha incident and ensure punishment for the persons responsible, to send a clear signal. The Modi government believes in debate and discussion and is ready to create a congenial atmosphere in the Houses. There are sensible leaders in the opposition, I will hold talks with them.

  • Team of eight ministers defends Modi government, calls for action against ‘unruly’ Opposition MPs

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  With the Opposition hitting the street over Wednesday’s Rajya Sabha ruckus, the government fielded a team of eight Union ministers on Thursday who alleged that the agitating MPs had attempted to strangulate a woman marshal in the upper House, while calling for stringent action against the erring members.

    Union ministers Pralhad Joshi (Parliamentary Affairs), Piyush Goyal (Commerce and Textile), Anurag Thakur (Information and Broadcasting), Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (Minority Affairs), Bhupender Yadav (Environment and Labour), Arjun Ram Meghwal (MoS, Parliamentary Affairs), Dharmendra Pradhan (Education)  and V Muraleedharan (MoS, External Affairs) were pressed into service by the government.

    “Marshals do not belong to any party. They are for the security of the House, Chair and members. But attempts were made to strangulate a woman marshal. The MPs stood on the table of the reporters. Some of them threw rule books at the Chair, which could have even hurt if they hit the presiding officer or the secretary general. This is unprecedented and unruly behaviour, which requires a thorough probe and stringent action,” said Goyal.

    “A lady marshal was manhandled by opposition MPs. Opposition’s behaviour in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday was a new low for parliamentary democracy. Opposition’s approach of my way or highway is highly condemnable,” he added further.

    Rejecting the opposition’s allegations that people were brought from outside the Parliament, Goyal, who is also leader of the house, said there were 30 marshals in the Rajya Sabha at the time of ruckus, 18 men and 12 women.

    “No one from outside was brought in,” he said, adding he and the group of ministers met Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the House and made an earnest appeal that the strongest possible action should be taken against the opposition MPs for their deplorable behaviour and manhandling marshals.

    Trouble in the upper House unfolded after the Insurance Amendment Bill was taken up for discussion and passage in the Rajya Sabha, with scores of marshals throwing a ring around the reporters’ table and the Chair. Joshi said they had called on Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and demanded a probe.

    “The Opposition should apologise to the country for their actions in Rajya Sabha. We demand a special committee be constituted to look into all aspects of the unruly behaviour of the Opposition MPs. Actions which may deter a repeat in future should be taken against the erring MPs,” said Goyal.

    The tumultuous Monsoon session of Parliament was curtailed by two days on Wednesday, after opposition MPs jostled with marshals in the well of the house when they were trying to move towards the chair and the treasury benches.

    Echoing similar sentiments, Joshi said a strongest action is must against those who broke the rules.

    It was predecided by the Congress and its friendly allies that Parliament should not be allowed to function in the monsoon session, Joshi alleged.

    Talking about ruckus in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, he said, “Yesterday morning, we were literally threatened that if you dared to pass more bills after passage of the OBC bill there will be more damage.

    ” Referring to an incident when an opposition leader was seen above a table inside the upper house, Thakur said the secretary general’s table in Rajya Sabha is not meant for dancing and protesting.

    He alleged that “anarchy from streets to Parliament” was the Opposition’s only agenda during the monsoon session.

    He demanded that the Opposition must apologise to the nation for its disruptive behaviour during the monsoon session.

    Earlier in the day, a group of union ministers, including Joshi, Goyal and Naqvi, called on Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairperson M Venkaiah Naidu at his official residence here.

    Separately, a group of opposition leaders also met Naidu and complained against the alleged heckling of MPs including some women.

    The ministers, on the other hand, are believed to have complained against the alleged unruly behaviour of some opposition members in the House on Wednesday.

    On Wednesday, Naidu broke down over the ruckus in the House and equated the act of some opposition MPs to “sacrilege in the temple of democracy”.

    Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was also likely to meet Vice President Naidu in the evening.

    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”.

    Top leaders of several opposition parties met in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and then walked in protest from Parliament House to Vijay Chowk.

    Those who attended the meeting included Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Kharge, Sanjay Raut, Tiruchi Siva, Manoj Jha and other opposition leaders.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Hopeful of holding Monsoon Session of Parliament on schedule in July: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The government is hopeful that the Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin on its normal schedule in July, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Tuesday amid the second wave of COVID-19.

    Since the pandemic began, three sessions of Parliament were curtailed and the winter session last year had to be cancelled.

    Last year, the Monsoon Session, which usually starts in July, had begun in September.

    Sources said the modalities of holding this year’s Monsoon Session are still being discussed.

    “I am hopeful that Parliament session will be held as per its normal schedule starting in July,” Joshi told PTI.

    The authorities are confident of holding the session in July itself as most of the parliamentarians, staff members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats and other stakeholders have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine.

  • Pralhad Joshi slams Rahul, says he is trying to become an ‘actor on tractor’

    By PTI
    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after Rahul Gandhi took out a tractor rally in Wayanad in solidarity with protesting farmers, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress leader, saying he was trying to become an “actor on tractor”.

    He also hit out at the poll-bound state’s two rival fronts, ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and opposition Congress-led UDF, saying they were “fighting ‘Kushti” in Kerala but have ‘Dosti’ in Delhi” and described it as “hypocricy”.

    “Rahul Gandhi is trying to become an actor on tractor,” Joshi, the BJP’s Kerala Assembly election incharge, told a press conference here.

    After taking out a tractor rally in his constituency on Monday in solidarity with the agitating farmers, Gandhi had said agriculture is the only business that belongs to “Bharat Mata” and called upon the people to “force” the government to take back the three farm laws.

    He alleged that the laws were designed to destroy the agriculture system in India and give the entire business to two to three friends of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    Hitting out at the anti-BJP alliances at the centre and various states including poll-bound Kerala and West Bengal, Joshi said Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, who is supporting the Congress in Delhi, was not ready to accommodate that party in her state as it was becoming a “liability” for her.

    “LDF and UDF are fighting ‘Kushti’ in Kerala but have ‘Dosti’ in Delhi.”

    “Mamata Banerjee is supporting Congress party in Delhi and she is not ready to accommodate that party (in West Bengal) because Congress party is becoming a liability in the whole country for various regional parties,” he said.

    “Do you believe in democracy or do you believe in hypocrisy. You are trying to mislead the people,” Joshi said.

    Later, addressing a party meeting here, he alleged that both the LDF and the UDF have ruined Kerala with corruption, nepotism, scam and favouritism.

    “LDF is lying Democratic Front. UDF is Ulta-pulta Democratic Front”, he said, taking a jibe at both the alliances in the state.

    Joshi also interacted with leaders of NDA in the state and discussed the BJP-led front’s strategy in the upcoming elections.

    In a tweet, he said Kerala and its people should benefit from the “double engine government” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

  • BJP slams Rahul, calls him a ‘migrant leader’ who has taken refuge in Kerala

    By PTI
    THRISSUR: BJP on Tuesday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, calling him a “migrant leader” who has taken “shelter” in Kerala after being rejected by people of Amethi, once a stronghold of his family.

    Targeting Gandhi, who represents Kerala’s Wayanad seat in Lok Sabha, on the Sabarimala women entry issue, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi claimed that the national leadership and state leadership of the Congress have taken two different stands on the matter.

    He urged Gandhi to clear his position on the issue of faith.

    In a bid to woo Christian votes in the state, Joshi, who is the party’s election incharge for Kerala, also cited the “appeasement of Islamist fundamentalists” by the Congress and ruling Left in the state while raking up the issue of conversion of the Hagia Sophia church into a mosque in Turkey.

    In this context, he cited the statement of a leader of Muslim League, a key Congress ally, reportedly favouring the Turkish President Erdogan’s controversial decision.

    Addressing a press conference here to highlight the preparations for the BJP’s ‘Vijay Yatra’ from Kasaragod on February 21, Joshi claimed Rahul Gandhi was a migrant leader who did nothing for the development of Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh despite being elected thrice from there.

    “There was no development. In fact, there was no X-Ray machine in the public health facility in his constituency,” Joshi alleged.

    He said after being rejected by the people there, Gandhi has now taken “shelter” in Kerala and claimed people of the state will also understand that by supporting Congress party, they are not going to gain anything.

    On the Sabarimala issue, the BJP leader alleged Gandhi supported the Supreme Court verdict granting entry of women of all age groups into the ancient hill shrine.

    However, the state leadership of the Congress took a different stand on the matter, he said.

    This shows that they have no commitment towards Hindu sentiments, Joshi alleged.

    “So far Rahul Gandhi has not uttered a single word on Sabarimala. I challenge Rahul Gandhi. what is your stand on the issue? You clarify your stand,” he said.

    Accusing the Congress of indulging in appeasement of Islamist fundamentalists in Kerala, the BJP leader alleged senior IUML leader Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal had justified the Turkey government’s controversial conversion of Istanbuls Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

    The BJP leader also attacked the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the previous Congress-led UDF government, alleging both had failed to address the issues of the people.

    “We will expose the failures of the LDF government and previous UDF government. Both the LDF and the UDF have failed miserably,” Joshi said.

    He said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will flag-off the party’s Vijay Yatra, led by state president K Surendran, at Kasargod on February 21.

    Senior party leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will attend the yatra when it reaches Thiruvananthapuram on March 7, he added.

  • BJP appoints in-charges for poll-bound Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Tuesday appointed Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, G Kishan Reddy and Pralhad Joshi its assembly election in-charges for Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala respectively, the party said on Tuesday.

    The party added that Arjun Ram Meghwal has been appointed in-charge for the assembly polls in Puducherry. Union ministers Jitendra Singh and VK Singh will be co-incharges for the assembly polls in Assam and Tamil Nadu respectively, the statement added.

    The party said that Karnataka deputy chief minister CN Ashwathnarayan and Rajeev Chandrasekhar will be co-incharges for Kerala and Puducherry polls respectively. Assembly polls are slated in these states in April-May.

  • Parties with less MPs should get ample time to put forth the issues of their states: PM Narendra Modi

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: During the all-party meeting on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that smaller parties (having fewer MPs in Parliament) should get ample amount of time to present their views and issues pertaining to their states, according to Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi.

    While talking to the media, the Minister gave details about the all-party meeting.

    “During all-party meetings, smaller parties demanded that they should get an ample amount of time to put forth issues pertaining to their states, to which PM Modi said that the government agrees to it. He urged all the big parties including BJP not to disrupt the house as when the house is disrupted, most of the harm is done to small political parties as their time gets deducted. PM Modi said that everyone should appeal that the house should continue to function without disruption,” Joshi said.

    Joshi said that all-party meeting has been conducted in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

    “Almost all parties participated in the meeting. Opposition parties have demanded a discussion on Farm laws and farmers issues. We agreed. In the end, the Prime Minister said that the offer which has been given by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on January 22 still stands and the government is ready for the discussion on all issues,” Joshi said.

    ALSO READ | Proposal to farmers on agri laws stands, says PM Modi at all-party meet

    Joshi said that “In eleventh round of Centre-farmer negotiation, we had said that government is open for discussion. Agriculture Minister had said that he is just a phone call away. Whenever you give a call he is ready for discussion. It still stands good. This is what PM said (in the all-party meet).”

    On January 22, during the 11th round of talks with protesting farmers, the government proposed to suspend the new legislations for one-and-a-half years and also proposed to set up a joint committee to discuss the Acts.

    The Parliamentary Affairs Minister said, “The PM said that in today’s global scenario, India can make great contributions to the world. It will lead to the development and the poor will be benefited with that development. It is not a question of credit to the government but of the success of the nation.”

    “So PM said that everyone must make an effort together to make contributions. The govt is ready for all discussions required for this, the PM said. Almost all parties congratulated PM for the successful rollout of vaccination,” he added.

    Joshi said that PM Modi has strongly condemned the vandalism of Mahatma Gandhi statue in the US (in California). “This is a huge insult. The PM has strongly condemned it,” Joshi said.

    The Minister further said that leaders of all the parties congratulated PM Modi for the successful roll-out of vaccination drive.