Uttarakhand, Ishrat and Odd-Even Dominate Parliament Proceedings
Catch the live updates from Day 1 of Parliament’s second half of the Budget Session.
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Lok Sabha has been adjourned for the day. Proceedings for both the houses will resume on Tuesday at 11:00 pm.
The Parliament Ethics Committee meeting reached the conclusion that Vijay Mallya’s Rajya Sabha membership should be cancelled, said Dr Karan Singh, Chairman Ethics Committee.
The Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016 has been passed by the Lok Sabha with unanimous support.
Lok Sabha passes the Sikh Gurudwara (Amendment) Bill 2016.
Rajya Sabha Adjourned for the Day
The Upper House was adjourned for the day following continuous disruptions by opposition members over imposition of President’s rule in Uttarakhand.
Ruckus in RS Continues After Break, House Adjourned till 3 PM
After a brief discussion on inconvenience to Parliamentarians due to ‘odd-even’ policy, members of opposition again descended to the well of the house and started raising slogans against Centre and PM Modi.
The deputy speaker has adjourned the house till 3 pm.
Odd-Even Policy Discussed in Rajya Sabha
Naresh Agrawal of Samajwadi Party raised the issue of inconvenience to the MPs due to Odd-Even policy of Delhi government. He stated that alternate means of transport provided by Delhi government do not have safety clearance to enter the Parliament premises.
Congress leaders Rajeev Shukla and Anand Sharma have requested for an exemption for Member of Parliaments from ‘odd-even’ rule till the Parliament in session.
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the Centre will talk to concerned authorities to ensure that duties of Parliamentarians are not affected.
Lok Sabha adjourned till 2:10 pm after Pappu Yadav makes controversial remarks on Delhi Government’s ‘odd-even’ policy and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Puttingal Fire Issue Discussed in the Lok Sabha
KC Venugopal of Congress has requested the Prime Minister to declare the Puttingal fire tragedy as a national calamity.
Centre Accused of Destabilising Non-BJP Govts
Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, drew the attention of the House towards the “series of unconstitutional events” in the country, accusing the Centre of destabilising states where the BJP is not in power.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said no discussion can take place on the issue as the matter is sub-judice.
Replying to Kharge’s allegations, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that Uttarakhand crisis is a result of an internal clash in the Congress and the Centre has no role to play in it. He welcomed the Speaker’s decision to not discuss the sub-judice issue.
Ishrat Jahan Case Raised in Lok Sabha
BJP leader Kirit Somaiya raised the affidavit issue on Ishrat Jahan case. He accused Chidambaram of changing affidavit within three months.
Somaiya sought a response from the government on who exactly concealed that she was a “terrorist.” The Congress leaders protested his demands.
Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal has raised the issue of delay in possession of the house by real estate builders in the NCR area. She also requested that celebrity endorsement of such builders and real estates should be regulated as the endorsements affects the buying behaviour of consumers in India.
Rajya Sabha Proceedings Adjourned Till 2 PM
Proceedings resumed in the Upper House at 12 noon but was again adjourned to 2 pm as protests by the opposition continued despite repeated requests from the Speaker of the House and Vice-President Hamid Ansari.
Ruckus in Rajya Sabha
Members of opposition have entered the Well in the Upper House holding placards and shouting slogans of ‘Modi teri tanashahi nahi chalegi’ (Down with the dictatorship of the Modi government).
The House was adjourned till 12 pm.
The Rajya Sabha was discussing the imposition of President’s Rule in Uttarakhand. The Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the matter is still sub-judice and hence it will not be right to discuss it. To this, CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat and Congress Leader Anand Sharma pointed out that sub-judice matters have been discussed in the past.
The leader of the Upper House Arun Jaitley then pointed out that the imposition of President’s rule can be discussed only after the proclamation has come. At this point, the opposition entered the well, holding placards, and voiced protest slogans against the government.
Budget Session Resumes
Lok Sabha proceedings begin with the opposition raising slogans of ‘kendra sarkar hosh mein aao (Centre, come to your senses)’ over the Uttarakhand crisis. Congress MPs entered the well of the Lower House in the protest against BJP-led NDA government.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan informs the leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge that discussion on Uttarakhand will take place after the Question Hour.
Earlier, the JD(U) gave notice in the Rajya Sabha on the issue.
New Members Take Oath in Rajya Sabha
Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma and eight other members recently elected or re-elected to the Rajya Sabha took oath or affirmation of allegiance to the Constitution on Monday.
Others who took oath included Pratap Singh Bajwa, Congress leader from Punjab who was accommodated in Upper House by the party after Amrinder Singh was made state president of Congress.
Naresh Gujral (SAD), who too was re-elected to the Upper House took the oath. Besides Bajwa and Gujral, others who were elected from Punjab include Shamsher Singh Dullo (Cong) and Shwatt Malik (BJP).
Delhi Transport Ministry arranged six buses to ferry MPs to Parliament in light of Odd-Even Rule. MPs are not exempted under the scheme which started its second phase on 15 April.
BJP MPs Choudhary Babulal,Prahlad Patel,Udit Raj,Ashwani Chopra,Paresh Rawal,KP Maurya and BC Khandoori were found to be violating the rule. BJP MPs Ranjan Bhatt and Hari Om Singh Rathore availed DTC bus service.
Paresh Rawal drove to the Parliament in the even numbered car when it was an odd number day.
Deadlock Assured
The second half of the Budget session of Parliament, beginning today, is all set to be a stormy affair with opposition parties closing ranks over the imposition of President’s rule in Uttarakhand, the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case as well as the drought situation in the country.
Even as the government has listed a heavy agenda for the session, including the passage of 13 bills in the Lok Sabha and 11 bills in the Rajya Sabha, there is an understanding among its floor managers that pushing contentious measures like GST Bill won’t be possible in the first few days.
The Congress, backed by the Left, JD(U) and other opposition parties, is determined to corner the Centre over the imposition of President’s rule in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh, calling it an “assault” on the federal structure.
New Faces
Three fresh members in the Rajya Sabha – Subramanian Swamy, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Swapan Dasgupta – are expected to spice up the Upper House proceedings this session.
Five-time World Champion boxer Mary Kom will also be joining the Rajya Sabha.
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Published: 25 Apr 2016,09:52 AM IST