News Analysis India

Tag: Rajya Sabha

  • Congress raises issue of ministers not laying officials papers in Rajya Sabha

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram on Thursday raised the issue of ministers not being present in Rajya Sabha for laying of official listed papers.

    Chidambaram raised the issue when Parliamentary Affairs Minister V Muraleedharan was called to lay official papers on behalf of six of his ministerial colleagues.

    “We can understand that the parliamentary minister occasionally laying a paper on behalf of his colleagues who are unable to attend the House for some reason.

    But every day we find the parliamentary affairs minister lays the papers for half a dozen ministers.

    “Those half a dozen ministers don’t respect RS. Every day it is happening, How can you do it,” he asked.

    ALSO READ | Rajya Sabha adjourned twice in pre-noon session

    Deputy Chairman Harivansh said the matter was raised even on Wednesday and Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had stated that the parliamentary affairs minister has been allowed to lay papers mentioned against the names of other ministers because of the Covid situation.

    The practice started in the last session when working of the House was curtailed and MPs were seated in the lobbies as well as in Lok Sabha to allow for social distancing.

    However, the House has reverted to its normal functioning hours and all members and ministers are present in the House now.

    On Wednesday, Anand Sharma of Congress had stated that “the rules clearly say that the papers will be laid by the concerned minister.

    Only when specific permission is taken, another colleague or the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs shall lay the papers”.

    ALSO READ | 20 bills passed in monsoon session without debate

    He said those ministers who are present in the House should not be given this luxury of not laying the papers.

    “This is disrespecting the House,” he had said.

    Naidu had responded to him saying the Chair allowed the parliamentary affairs minister to lay the papers mentioned against the names of other ministers because of the Covid situation.

    “That has been announced,” he said.

    When other Congress MPs tried to object to the continuing of the practice despite House resuming normal functioning, Naidu said, “You are not supposed to comment on this. Your leader has brought it to my notice. Leave it there. Don’t stretch it too much. It has been already mentioned in the bulletin also.”

  • Rajya Sabha adjourned twice in pre-noon session

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha on Thursday saw two adjournments in the pre-noon session after a row broke out over a suspended TMC MP breaking the glass of a door of the Chamber, an act that the chair called “highly deplorable and condemnable”.

    While Deputy Chairman Harivansh said the unnamed TMC MP broke the glass after she was stopped from entering the House after it was adjourned for the day on Wednesday, TMC leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said the concerned MP was suspended for the remainder of the sitting of the House and she had gone to fetch her bag after the proceedings were adjourned for the day.

    As the TMC and other opposition MPs opposed the remarks and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge cited former finance minister Arun Jaitley’s statement of disruption in Parliament being part of democracy, Harivansh adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes.

    When the House reassembled, Bhubaneswar Kalita, who was on the chair, said aspersions cant be cast on the chair and adjourned the proceedings till 12.00 hours.

    On Wednesday, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had suspended six TMC MPs for the day for carrying placards into the well of the House while protesting along with other opposition MPs over the Pegasus issue.

    The MPs suspended were Dola Sen, Md.Nadimul Haque, Abir Ranjan Biswas, Shanta Chhetri, Arpita Ghosh and Mausam Noor.

    Harivansh on Thursday said a “very unfortunate” incident took place on Wednesday after the adjournment of the House for the day.

    “One of the members of Rajya Sabha who was earlier suspended from attending the meeting of the House for the day under rule 255 of Rajya Sabha rules tried to enter Rajya Sabha chamber and on being stopped by security personnel broke the glass of one of the doors of the inner lobby of the Rajya Sabha chamber,” he said.

    While he did not name the MP, the incident involved Arpita Ghosh.

    A woman security officer was hit by the glass piece and got injured, he said.

    “She has lodged a complaint and the matter is under consideration of the chairman.”

    “This is unbecoming conduct of the member of Rajya Sabha, it is highly deplorable and condemnable,” he said.

    Roy countered this saying the MP was “suspended for the remaining period of the meeting (or sitting of the House on that day)”.

    “So, the house was adjourned yesterday at 3.35 pm. They were not allowed to enter (the House when the proceedings were on). They were sitting in Central Hall. Their ladies’ bag was here in the House. They were supposed to come and take away their bags after the adjournment,” he said.

    And they came to collect the bag and tried to enter when there was no meeting.

    “House was adjourned for the day (but) they were not allowed by the security people. And, in the commotion, the glass plane was broken. And how come responsibility lies on her and for that she will be suspended again today. What is going on,” he said.

    At this point, opposition MPs started protesting. Harivansh said the matter is under consideration of the Chairman.

    Leader of the House and Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the chamber was closed to sanitisation and it was not acceptable that MPs break glass and that injures an employee.

    An inquiry should be conducted and MPs behaviour should not affect the morale of the employees.

    Kharge said disruptions are not new as he alluded to continuous obstruction of proceedings by the BJP when it was in the opposition.

    Parties and their MPs try to raise their issues in the House using their democratic rights, he said.

    “This is not my saying. On this same place, Jaitley had had said disruption is part of democracy.”

    He was referring to Jaitley’s statement when he was the leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha. Immediately after this remark, Harivansh adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes.

  • 4,046 applications of Hindus for citizenship still pending: Centre to Rajya Sabha

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A total of 4,046 applications for Indian citizenship from Hindus belonging to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh are pending with various state governments, Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

    Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai also said that 4,171 foreigners were given Indian nationality in the last five years – from 2016 to 2020.

    Of the pending applications for citizenship from Hindus, 1,541 are with the Rajasthan government, 849 with the Maharashtra government, 555 with Gujarat, 490 with Madhya Pradesh, 268 with Chhattisgarh and 123 with Delhi, he said.

    In addition, 10 applications of Hindus for citizenship are pending with the central government, Rai said in a written reply. Referring to those who were granted Indian citizenship in the last five years, the minister said 1,105 foreigners were given Indian nationality in 2016, 814 in 2017, 628 in 2018, 986 in 2019 and 638 in 2020.

    The Indian nationality has been given to these people under the Citizenship Act 1955. However, no one has been given Indian citizenship under the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act as the rules under the 2019 legislation were yet to be notified.

    Of those who were granted Indian citizenship in the last five years, 1,089 were in Gujarat, 751 in Rajasthan, 535 in Madhya Pradesh, 446 in Maharashtra, 303 in Haryana, 301 in Delhi, 146 in West Bengal, 145 in Uttar Pradesh, 75 in Uttarakhand, 73 in Tamil Nadu, 72 in Karnataka and 65 in Kerala.

  • 680 personnel killed themselves in CAPFs in last six years: MoS Home Nityanand Rai in Rajya Sabha

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A total of 680 personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) like the CRPF and the BSF have committed suicide in the last six years, Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the number of personnel who have died due to accidents and encounters during the period — 2015 to 2020 — are 1,764 and 323, respectively.

    According to data provided by the CAPFs and the Assam Rifles, 680 personnel have committed suicides during the last six years, he said replying to a written question. Rai said domestic problems, illness and financial problems could be the contributory factors among others behind the suicides.

  • 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.

  • Citizenship under CAA only after issuance of rules; no more amendments proposed: Government

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Centre said on Wednesday that Indian citizenship to the eligible beneficiaries under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will be given only after rules under the legislation are notified. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai also said there is no proposal under consideration of the government for any further amendment of the Citizenship Act.

    “Eligible persons covered by the Citizenship Amendment Act may submit applications for grant of citizenship after appropriate rules are notified by the central government,” he said in a written reply to a query in Rajya Sabha.

    He was asked whether the government has received new applications for citizenship after the CAA 2019 was enacted. The CAA was notified on December 12, 2019 and came into force with effect from January 10, 2020, the minister said.

    “The Committees on Subordinate Legislation, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been requested to grant further extension of time up to January 9, 2022 to frame the rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019,” Rai said.

    The objective of the CAA is to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities like Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The government got an extension for the fifth time for framing these rules.

    According to the Manual on Parliamentary Work, the rules for any legislation should be framed within six months of presidential assent or an extension of the time must be sought. Those from the mentioned communities who had come to India till December 31, 2014, facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.

    After the CAA was passed by Parliament, widespread protests were witnessed in different parts of the country leading to the death of nearly 100 people in police firing and related violence.

  • Rajya Sabha passes Limited Liability Partnership Amendment Bill

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to encourage the start-up ecosystem and further boost ease of doing business, amid uproar by the opposition on Pegasus snooping row and other issues.

    The bill, which was passed after a short debate, seeks to decriminalise 12 offences under the law and help to improve the ease of doing business by amending the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act, 2008.

    Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved the bill for consideration and passage. The bill was introduced in the House last week. While some MPs, including Ram Nath Thakur, Kanakmadela Ravindra Kumar, M Thambidurai, and Sujeet Kumar, spoke on the bill, several opposition members were raising slogans against the government in the Well of the House.

    The opposition has been protesting on Pegasus issue and three new farm laws, besides other matters, since the start of the monsoon session. Amid the uproar, Sitharaman made a brief reply following which the amendment bill was passed with voice vote.

    The minister said it is a very timely bill and will bring positivity in the LLP eco-system. She stressed that the legislation will lead to ease of doing business. Some opposition members tried to raise their issues when called for speaking on the bill.

    However, Deputy Chairman Harivansh did not allow them. The bill proposes to introduce the concept of “small limited liability partnership” in line with the concept of “small company” under the Companies Act, 2013.

    It will also amend certain sections of the Act so as to convert offences into civil defaults and to convert the nature of punishment provided in the said sections from fines to monetary penalties. Currently, there are 24 penal provisions and 21 are compoundable offences, while three are non-compoundable ones.

    The proposed bill seeks to reduce the total number of penal provisions under the LLP Act to 22, compoundable offences to seven, non-compoundable offences to three and the number of defaults to be dealt with under the ‘In-House Adjudication Mechanism’ will be only 12. Compoundable offences are those which can be settled by paying a certain amount of money.

    Offences that relate to minor/ less serious compliance issues, involving predominantly objective determinations, are proposed to be shifted to the In-House Adjudication Mechanism (IAM) framework instead of being treated as criminal offences.

    The bill also seeks to insert a new section 34A so as to empower the central government to prescribe “Accounting Standards” or “Auditing Standards” for a class or classes of limited liability partnerships. Earlier, this week, the Union Cabinet had approved amendments to the Act including decriminalising 12 offences under the law.

    This is the first time that changes are being made to the Act since it came into effect in 2009. At present, there are relaxations for thresholds up to turnover size and partner’s contribution of Rs 40 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, respectively.

    Once the amendment is in place, the thresholds will be revised upwards.

  • V-P Naidu suspends TMC MPs for the day, Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday suspended some TMC MPs from participating in House proceedings for the rest of the day as they along with other opposition MPs disrupted House proceedings over Pegasus spying issue.

    The proceedings of the House were adjourned till 2 pm as slogan-shouting TMC and other opposition MPs trooped into the well of the House, some holding placards, to demand a discussion on the issue of Israeli-made, military-grade Pegasus spyware being used to snoop on opposition leaders, government critics and journalists.

    Naidu first asked members to go back to their seats and then threatened to invoke rule 255 against those holding placards.

    As the members refused to budge, he ordered that those “disobeying the chair and raising placards shall leave the House under rule 255.”

    TMC members who were holding placard included Dola Sen, Arpita Ghosh and Nadeem ul Haq. He, however, did not name anyone and said Rajya Sabha Secretariat will give the list.

    Earlier soon after taking of oath by new member Jawhar Sircar and laying of official documents on the table of the House, Naidu said though he has not admitted notices given under rule 267 by Ramgopal Yadav and Vishambhar Prasad Nishad of the Samajwadi Party and V Sivadasan of the CPI(M) over farmers agitation over three farm laws, a discussion on the issue under a different rule has been admitted.

    “I have gone through it. It is an ongoing issue but important. So it is admitted for discussion under other provision,” he said.

    A notice under rule 267 calls for setting aside of the business of the day to take up discussion on the issue being raised.

    Naidu, however, rejected 267 notices by Sukhendu Sekhar Roy (TMC), Mallikarjun Kharge and K C Venugopal (both Congress), CPI(M)’s Elamaram Kareem and V Sivadasan and Binoy Viswam of the CPI over the Peagus issue.

    “Now there is agreement about farmers’ agitation. And also about price rise, economic situation. The government has also expressed willingness to discuss. Let us discuss the farmers’ issues. Let us discuss the economic situation, price rise and other issues,” he said.

    Just then TMC and other MPs holding placards rushed into the well.

    Naidu said this is not the way.

    “Please go back to your seats.”

    “All these members who are in the well of the House with placards. All of them are named under rule 255. I direct these members who are in the well of the House to go back to their seats, otherwise, you are named and you are suspended for the day,” he said.

    But the MPs refused to budge.

    “Please obey the chair (and) go back to your seats,” he said as opposition MPs shouted, “We want discussion on Pegasus.”

    Naidu then asked for the names of the MPs holding placards.

    As Rajya Sabha Secretariat started collecting names, Naidu said, “Whoever is in the well, disobeying the chair and then raising these placards, they are all asked to leave the House under rule 255.”

    MPs named under rule 255 have to withdraw from the House proceedings for the rest of the day.

    “You know what will happen. Secretariat will give the list,” he said before adjourning the proceedings till 2 pm. Even after the House proceedings were adjourned, the TMC and other opposition MPs did not leave the House.

  • Nirmala Sitharaman to table three Bills in Rajya Sabha today

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to table three Bills in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

    Sitharaman will move for passage the Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill 2020, Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021, and General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021

    The Bills aim to amend the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2008, Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act 1961 and General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act 1972 respectively.

    The Bill to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 which aims to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes in relation to the state of Arunachal Pradesh will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda today.

    Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will be tabling the Bill to amend the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008.

    The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed by the Lok Sabha on July 28 and by the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday following a brief discussion amid ruckus created by Opposition parties over the Pegasus snooping row and other issues.

    Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday urged both the Central government and the Opposition leaders to collectively resolve the present stalemate in the Parliament.

    For the last few days, the business of both the Houses of the Parliament remained majorly disrupted due to the continuous ruckus created by the Opposition over issues including farmers’ protest, Pegasus spyware, COVID-19 and inflation.The Monsoon Session commenced on July 19, 2021, and will continue till August 13, 2021.

    (ANI)

  • Former Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar takes oath as Rajya Sabha member

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former chief executive of Prasar Bharati and TMC leader Jawhar Sircar on Wednesday took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha.

    He was elected unopposed to the Upper House of Parliament earlier this week.

    Sircar took oath in Bengali and was greeted by thumping of desk by fellow MPs.

    He signed the members’ register and then greeted Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu with folded hands.

    Naidu too responded to his greetings.

    Sircar also greeted other leaders in the House.

    He was elected to Rajya Sabha on a seat left vacant after TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi joined the BJP before the recent West Bengal assembly elections.

    Sircar, who was nominated to the Upper House by TMC, spent nearly 42 years in public service and is known as a vocal critic of the BJP government at the Centre.