News Analysis India

Tag: Rajya Sabha

  • Really sad, bids to make Chair dysfunctional won’t succeed: Naidu on remarks against him

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday expressed sadness when his non-partisan approach was questioned by an MP, but said he would not be cowed down by attempts to make the Chair dysfunctional.

    When the Rajya Sabha met for the day, Vijai Sai Reddy of the YSR Congress sought to raise certain remarks made by a TDP member a few days ago and demanded action.

    Without naming anyone or pointing to the remarks, Reddy raised the issue through a point of order.

    He said objectionable parts should be expunged from the records.

    Naidu said this was not a point of order issue and the member should write to him.

    He promised to examine the record and expunge anything that is found objectionable.

    Reddy, however, was not satisfied and continued to speak despite his mike being turned off and the Chair ordering that nothing would go on record.

    During this time, Reddy cast aspersions on the Chair.

    “You are saying the chairman is biased,” Naidu remarked.

    Later, Jairam Ramesh of the Congress said certain references were made at the Chair by the member.

    “They were highly objectionable references. I would request you to take note and take action.”

    He was joined by other members who too demanded an action.

    Naidu said he felt “really sad today.”

    “Never has it happened (before),” he said.

    Explaining the procedure, he said if anything objectionable is said inside the House during a debate or discussion, the same can be brought to the notice of the chairman, who after examining it would expunge such remarks.

    “To my knowledge, nobody raised an objection or protested. Nothing was brought to my notice,” he said, referring to the objectional statement a few days back.

    Yet, the same can be brought to the notice of the chairman even later, he said, adding a notice can be given.

    “I would go through it and take appropriate action,” he said.

    “But this sought of (remarks), in spite of the chairman saying this is not done, (the member continued to) continuously make allegations.”

    The idea, he said, is to make the chairman “dysfunctional.

    “Naidu went on to state that he has no problem if action is initiated for no-confidence in the chairman according to the rules.”

    “But I will not be cowed down by this sort of effort to make the chairman dysfunctional,” he said.

    He said he had resigned from the BJP before accepting the post.

    “Since then I have not been going to political programmes or attending such functions that were affiliated to a particular political party. Because of this constitutional responsibility,” he said.

    This, he said, was proper in his opinion and he has followed it till now.

    “But suddenly if somebody says, ‘your body is here, the heart is there’. My heart is with the country, my heart is with the Constitution, my heart is with the people of India. I don’t worry about this, but as a human being, it pains,” he said.

    “I feel really sad.”

  • Centre held consultations with states, farmers before bringing farm laws: Agriculture Minister Tomar

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Centre followed “due procedure” before bringing the three new agri laws, and held consultations with states and farmers for facilitating barrier-free trade in farm produce to provide choice to the farming community, Parliament was informed on Friday.

    “Due procedure had been followed while formulating the Ordinances/ Bills,” Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

    K C Venugopal from Congress and Binoy Viswam from CPI had asked the government to share the pre-legislative consultations followed before bringing the three farm laws and also the number of individuals/organisations/unions consulted for the same.

    Citing reasons for “urgency” to promulgate the three Ordinances in June 2020, Tomar said due to disruption of markets and supply chains during the COVID-19 lockdown, there was “utmost need to allow free direct marketing outside the mandis to facilitate the farmers in selling their produce near to farm gate at remunerative prices.”

    “As COVID-19 situation may have a prolonged effect globally on demand side, hence the urgency for promulgation of…Ordinances, to provide a new facilitative framework to promote barrier free inter-state and intra-state trade to increase market accessibility for farmers to enhance their income,” he said.

    Further, the minister said the draft of the Ordinances had been circulated to various ministries, Niti Aayog, among others, for their comments.

    ALSO READ: Opposition parties in Rajya Sabha demand repeal of farm laws

    “State governments were also consulted through Video Conferencing (VC) on 21st May, 2020, which was attended by the officials of States/ UTs, to obtain feedback on new legal framework facilitating barrier free inter-State and intra-State trade in agriculture produce to provide choice to farmers,” he noted.

    In view of the COVID-19 situation, the government had also “proactively” undertaken many webinar interactions with farmers and other stakeholders on new farm laws during the period from June 5, 2020 to September 17, 2020, Tomar said.

    Based on the suggestions and feedback received from stakeholders such as farmer unions, the definition of “farmer’ has been amended in Para (b) of The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 and Para 2(e) in case of The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, he added.

    Responding further to CPI leader’s query on the consultation process followed, Tomar said there has been continuous demand for reforming the agriculture marketing system in India to facilitate farmers in selling their produce for better price realisation, as has been suggested from time to time by various committees.

    “Government of India has been actively and intensively engaging with the states/Stakeholders for about two decades for reforms in agriculture marketing sector to provide accessible markets and barrier free trade facilitates for selling their produce at better price anytime anywhere,” he said.

    WATCH

    The government had promulgated three Ordinances on June 5, 2020 and subsequently enacted these into Acts on September 27 last year.

    The minister said the government has “proactively” undertaken efforts on series of extension activities through webinars, online conferences, workshops, teleconferencing, social media, print media, electronic media with the stakeholders on the three Ordinances and thereafter on the respective Acts.

    Responding to a separate query, Tomar asserted that these three new laws will benefit farmers.

    However, some of the farmers’ unions have been agitating against the newly enacted farm laws and their main demand has been repeal of these legislations, he said.

    He said the government has engaged itself actively and constantly with the agitating farmers’ unions and 11 rounds of negotiations were held with them to resolve the issues.

    During the various rounds of negotiations, the government has been requesting the agitating farmer unions to discuss the farm laws clause by clause in order to resolve their concerns on the clauses bothering them, he said.

    The government had further explained during the meetings the benefits, including legal validity pertaining to the recently enacted new farm laws.

    “However, farmers’ unions never agreed to discuss the farm laws excepting for demanding their repeal,” he added.

    Thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh, are camping at various Delhi borders seeking repeal of the three laws for over two months now.

  • Rajya Sabha: 50 speakers from 25 parties take part in debate on motion of thanks to Prez’s address

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: The marathon debate in the Rajya Sabha on the motion of thanks to the President’s Address concluded on Friday with 50 speakers from 25 political parties taking part in the discussion which was spread over three days.

    Officials said the discussion is one of the longest such debates with high participation of members.

    Eighteen members from BJP, five of Congress and 27 from other parties participated in the debate for which nearly 15 hours had been allocated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to reply to the debate on Monday.

    The government and opposition parties had agreed to extend the time for discussion on the motion of thanks to 15 hours.

    Opposition parties were initially keen on a separate discussion on new farm laws but later agreed to proposal to have it as part of the discussion on the motion of thanks.

  • Opposition parties in Rajya Sabha demand repeal of farm laws

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Various opposition parties like the Shiv Sena, SAD, NCP, Samajwadi Party and Left parties on Friday demanded in Rajya Sabha that the three new farm laws be repealed and fresh ones brought after wider consultations.

    Participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address, the members of opposition parties attacked the government for dubbing the farmers protesting against the farm laws as “anti-nationals” and for “defaming” their agitation.

    Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut alleged that anyone speaking the truth is dubbed as a “traitor” or “anti-national” and that cases of sedition have been slapped against those criticising the government.

    Participating in the debate, he said farmers fighting for their rights have been branded as anti-nationals or Khalistanis.

    He said the farmers, who were known as ‘warriors’ when they fought the Mughals and the British, are now dubbed as anti-nationals when they are fighting for their rights on Delhi’s borders.

    Raut said farmers from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, who are sitting on the borders of Delhi, are fighting for the peasants from across the country and demanded that their voice be heard and the farm laws be repealed.

    “We heard minister Dharmendra Pradhan asking us to listen to the truth. For the last six years, we have been listening to the truth, even the untruth dubbed as truth.

    The atmosphere in the country today is such that anyone writing the truth is dubbed as traitor and anti-national,” he alleged.

    “When the farmers are uniting and fighting for their rights, you see anti-national acts.

    They are not anti-nationals or ‘khalistanis’ “Till the time this movement is alive, the nation will remain alive and this ‘andolan’,” he said.

    “If you would have built such barricades at the international borders, as those put up at Delhi borders, China would not have dared to come into Indian territory,” the Sena member said.

    Praful Patel (NCP) said the Centre and states have together fought the COVID-19 pandemic along with medical professionals and the mortality rate in the country was low as compared to other countries.

    He said when the government is talking of working for the welfare of farmers, why did it not send the farm laws to the Select Committee for wider consultations to avoid the situation that has arisen now.

    “On our demand, had the government sent the bills to a Select Committee for wider consultations, the scenes witnessed today around Delhi would not have been witnessed.

    What was the hurry to bring these laws,” he asked.

    Patel sought to clarify that former Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar’s letter of 2007 is being circulated to misrepresent the facts.

    “The 2007 letter he wrote to chief ministers was to seek their comments on the amendment to farm laws.

    The Bill was never brought in Parliament. The government, however, is unnecessarily raising the issue to misrepresent facts,” he said.

    The NCP leader said if the government is ready to put these laws in abeyance for 1.5 years, why does it not repeal them and bring new ones after proper consultations.

    BSP member Satish Chandra Misra demanded that the government should repeal the three new farm laws and also provide legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) on all crops, alleging that the government’s intention are not clear.

    Misra slammed the government for trying to stop farmers’ protest and alleged that multi-layered barricades, barbed wires and iron nails studded on roads have been put up on Delhi-borders.

    He said water and electricity supplies have been cut and access to toilets have also been stopped.

    “This is a human rights violation.”

    “I am not able to understand when you (the government) are ready to suspend the laws for 1.5 years, what is stopping you to withdraw these Acts,” he said, urging the government to shed its ego and accept the farmers’ demand.

    SAD leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said the prime minister should intervene and listen to the farmers’ demands.

    The Akali Dal member said the government should accept the farmers’ demand to repeal the three laws.

    He said all Opposition parties are also demanding the same.

    Dhindsa said he had written to the prime minister when Ordinances were brought but did not get any reply.

    He said agriculture is a state-subject and the Centre is weakening the federal system by bringing these farm laws.

    Highlighting the sacrifice made by Sikhs during the country’s Independence struggle, Dhindsa rued that Sikhs are being described as terrorists and Khalistanis.

    Dhindsa also said there should be a scientific method to fix the MSP.

    Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa demanded setting up a committee headed by a Supreme Court judge to conduct an impartial probe within two months into the incidents on January 26 that led to violence.

    He compared the barricades set up at the farmers’ protest site at Ghazipur with the Berlin Wall and concentration camps, and took a strong objection to farmers being branded as anti-national and Khalistanis.

    IUML member Abdul Wahab demanded restoration of MPLADs fund.

    Earlier, CPI member Binoy Viswam hit out at the government for terming the economic crisis as an act of God, and said the policies of the government are squarely responsible for the situation and not the almighty.

  • Minister Athavale raised the issue for Kshatriya community in Rajya Sabha, said – reservation should be given

    In the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale has raised his voice for the Kshatriya community. Minister Athawale said, ‘Marathas, Jats, Rajputs and Thakurs want reservation in Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan and UP respectively. For example, the economically weaker section was given 10 percent reservation. Similarly, they should also be given reservation. The Kshatriya community has a large population. ‘

  • Hold talks with farmers instead of building walls, Devegowda urges Centre in Rajya Sabha

    By Express News Service
    BENGALURU: Former Prime Minister HD Devegowda on Thursday raised the issue of the farmers’ protest in the Rajya Sabha during his motion of thanks over the President’s speech. The JDS supremo and Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka implored the Union government to hold talks with protesting farmers instead of building concrete walls. While joining the other opposition parties in condemning the violence that broke out on January 26, Gowda added that the government should not punish farmers for the actions of a few miscreants.

    “I am in the last leg of my life. I demand that the government end this matter peacefully. Let them call for a meeting with farmers’ delegations. Some leaders of this house can also join and we will give our suggestions to close this matter. Else, things won’t run smoothly. The government thinks punishing them will solve issues. But farmers are not responsible for what happened on 26th January,” Devegowda said.

    ALSO READ: ‘We briefly discussed it in team meeting, everyone expressed views’: Kohli on farmers’ protest

    He highlighted that the farm laws were a state subject and the Centre should have sought the concurrence of states first. “The contention is about the three bills enacted by the House, although on that day there were no proper proceedings conducted as the House was not in order,” Gowda said at the beginning of his 18-minute speech. The former Prime Minister asked the House what was the next plan now that the bills have been kept on hold due to the apex court’s orders.

    Even as he said some of the schemes introduced in the last six years by the Narendra Modi government have seen some results, he asked the Prime Minister to take up the matter of linking the Cauvery and Mahanadi rivers to provide a permanent solution to the farmers of Karnataka.

  • BJD MP raises demand in Rajya Sabha for passing of Women’s Reservation Bill

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Member of Parliament Dr Sasmit Patra raised a demand in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday for the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill.

    During the Zero Hour, Dr Patra reiterated the long pending demand of his leader, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the passage of the Bill in the Parliament.

    Speaking in his mother tongue Odia, Dr Patra stated that women’s empowerment is extremely important in India, particularly in the context of economic, social and political empowerment.

    Speaking on political empowerment of women, Dr. Patra stated that BJD had reserved 33 per cent of its seats for women in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He added that the Women’s Reservation Bill is a necessary condition to ensure their political empowerment.

    On the issue of Social and Economic Empowerment, Dr. Sasmit Patra stated that the Union Government should study the model of Mission Shakti program of Odisha which has empowered more than 80 lakh women through Women Self Help Groups.

    Dr Patra also proposed that just as the Central Government had brought the National Maternity Scheme after considering Odisha’s Mamata Yojana as a benchmark model, it should also bring a National program along the lines of Odisha’s Mission Shakti.

    CM Naveen Patnaik while celebrating the 24th foundation day of BJD last year said: “From now on, in every session of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Legislative Assembly, BJD will raise the women’s reservation issue and give a constant reminder to national parties”. (ANI)

  • AAP MPs marshalled out of Rajya Sabha over unruly behaviour

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Three Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs, including Sanjay Singh, were on Wednesday marshalled out of Rajya Sabha after they disrupted proceedings over the three contentious farm reform laws and refused to heed to Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu’s plea for order.

    The slogan-shouting AAP members stormed into the Well of the House just as the Rajya Sabha took up a discussion on a motion thanking the President for his address to the joint sitting of Parliament.

    Naidu repeatedly asked them to return to their seats and not disrupt the proceedings.

    But with his requests going unheeded, the chairman invoked rules of the House to suspend them for the rest of the day and asked them to withdraw from the House.

    As they refused, he briefly adjourned the proceedings.

    The MPs, however, did not go out of the House and continued raising slogans when the Rajya Sabha resumed functioning.

    Naidu again asked them to withdraw from the House and upon their refusal, he ordered marshals to escort them out.

    The unruly scenes started soon after the Chair announced consensus between the government and the opposition on extending the duration of the debate on a motion thanking the President for his address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at the start of the Budget session last week.

    An extra five hours that took the duration to 15 hours was to allow members to raise the issue of farmers’ protests.

    As the AAP MPs stormed into the Well, Naidu warned that he would name them if they did not go back to their places.

    When a member is named by the Chair, he or she has to withdraw from the House for the rest of the duration of the day.

    But the AAP members refused to heed to his pleas.

    “I am compelled to use Rule 255. Sanjay Singh, Sushil Kumar Gupta, N D Gupta, all of these members are named as per Rule 255. Please withdraw from the House. Please go out of the House,” Naidu said as they continued raising slogans.

    Rule 255 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) is regarding ‘withdrawal of member’.

    Under the rule, the chairman may direct any member whose conduct is in his opinion grossly disorderly to withdraw immediately from the Council, and any member so ordered to withdraw shall do so forthwith and shall absent himself during the remainder of the day’s meeting.

    After asking the three members to withdraw, the Chairman briefly adjourned the House till 9.40.

    When the Rajya Sabha re-assembled, Naidu again asked the three AAP members to leave the House.

    “Please withdraw from the House, otherwise I will have to send you out. Please leave the House. Don’t create a situation where I have to call the marshals and send you out. That is most unpleasant,” Naidu said.

    As the AAP MPs did not withdraw, the Chairman said: “Please Marshals, help them to leave the House”.

    As members continued to raise slogans from the lobby after they were removed from the House, Naidu said that they be cleared from there so as not to distract other MPs.

    The trouble started when Naidu called for taking up the ‘Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address’.

    Sanjay Singh started speaking, but Naidu asked him to return to his seat saying he would get a chance to speak.

    “This is not the way. One person disturbing the House and not allowing the discussion to take place, including on farmers issues,” the chairman said.

    The other two AAP members too joined the issue with Singh.

    “You are not doing anything good to the kisans (farmers). You are hurting their interest by stopping the discussion. We are going to discuss President’s address and also farmer issues,” Naidu said and warned them.

    However, the AAP members continued to protest in the Well.

    “They want a discussion. When the discussion is going to begin, they obstruct the House, and the House, the entire country watches this.”

    “And this is the behaviour of people who want to rule or are ruling in certain parts of the country. This is not fair for anybody, any party. I am not naming any party,” Naidu said before adjourning the House briefly till 9.40 am.

    The chairman said stressed the debate on farmers issue should happen and the government and opposition together should find a solution.

    Later, members started speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address.

    Bhubaneswar Kalita of BJP moved the motion.

  • Central govt has the power to deport illegal foreign nationals: MHA

    MoS for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that there was no accurate data regarding the number of illegal migrants living in the country as they enter without valid travel documents.

  • 93,000 cybercrimes related to sexual exploitation, hate in three years: MHA

    Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said the enhanced use of the internet, the number of cybercrimes was also increasing.