Day 4: Blame Game Over Kashmir, NIT Bill High Points in Parliament
Catch all the live updates from both the Houses of the Parliament on day 4 of the monsoon session.
- Rajya Sabha adjourned till 11 am, Friday.
- Lok Sabha adjourned for the day.
- Mayawati comments on dismissal of Dayashankar Singh, the rights of Dalits.
- Sharad Yadav, Ahmed Patel commence debate on Dalit violence.
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh delivers statement on the Kashmir turmoil in Lok Sabha.
- Rajnath Singh blames Pakistan for sponsoring the violence in Kashmir.
- Committee to provide report on use of pellet guns within 2 months: Rajnath Singh.
- Congress’ Jyotiraditya Schindia raised violence against Dalits in the Lok Sabha.
- Schindia also condemned Dayashankar Singh’s comments about BSP supremo Mayawati.
Fall in People’s Faith in Politics, says Rajnath Singh
Home Minister Rajnath Singh quoted statistics of Gujarat on murder, rape, and compared it to states like Bihar and the Uttar Pradesh which have a higher rate of these crimes. He also commented on the social and cultural milieu of the country.
Mayawati Responds to BJP’s Decision to Oust Singh After ‘Prostitute’ Comment
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, BSP leader Mayawati addressed two issues. She commented on BJP’s decision to remove Dayashankar Singh to remove him from his position as the Uttar Pradesh Vice President.
The second issue she spoke about reservations for the SC/ST.
She also said that both the Congress as well as the BJP use Dalits as political weapons when they are in Opposition.
NIT Bill Met With Tharoor’s Offensive
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor launches offensive against the quality of education provided by the National Institutes of Technology (NIT) in the country.
Comparing the condition of NITs to that of “small boats which collapse with the first wave”, Tharoor added that we should be building ships that can survive the oceans.
The attack was in response to the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 that was introduced by Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar.
Javdekar Responds to the NIT Bill, Says Students Have “Urge to Learn”
Minister of Human Resource Development also spoke on the NIT bill and said:
Ahmed Patel Attacks Gujarat Model
Congress member Ahmed Patel claimed that the cracks in Narendra Modi’s Gujarat model have started showing through incidents like the violence in Una where members of the Dalit committee were assaulted for allegedly skinning dead cows.
The rate of atrocities against members of Dalit community has increased after 2014, Patel claimed citing crime data. He ended his speech with the following couplet.
Naive are those who feel proud about the heights they have reached. We have seen even the sun set.
Congress on Cow-Vigilantism
Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Yadav of JD(U) draws connection between unemployment and the rise of elements like gau rakshaks. It is the shame of not being able to provide employment that is stopping the government from putting an end of practices like cow-vigilantism.
Abraham Lincoln, leader of a country we try to emulate, gave up his life to save the downtrodden of his country, but India has not learnt nothing from him, Yadav said.
Rajnath Singh on Burhan Wani
Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces who had intel on their position, Rajnath Singh said.
Wani used new age technology and social media to influence the youth of Kashmir, he added.
Rajnath Singh says he will set up an expert committee who will provide a report over the merits and demerits of the use of pellet guns within two months.
He also claimed that the social media is used to spread wrong information like the viral picture of a child being stepped upon by a police official. He claimed that the picture is from an incident from Uttar Pradesh and he is aware of the people involved in the said incident.
Rajnath Singh on Kashmir in Lok Sabha
Home Minister Rajnath Singh makes his statement on the violence and loss of life in Jammu and Kashmir.
Singh repeated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on an international tour when the violence in Kashmir began but made it his first priority as soon as he returned to the country.
The violence in Kashmir is sponsored by Pakistan which was created on the basis of religion, Singh claimed.
DMK MP Seeks CBI Inquiry In Case of Jr Doctor’s Death
DMK member Kanimozhi raised the case of a medical student studying at AIIMS, Sarvanan Ganeshan, who was found dead in his hostel room.
She has demanded that a special team or CBI inquiry into the matter as the police, she claimed, is keen on passing this as a suicide case, despite apparent evidence of this being a murder.
Congress Raises Issue of Weak Legal System
“The collegium has made suggestions but after NJAC judgement, the government seems to be angry,” Congress member Anand Sharma, who has also trained as a lawyer, said.
Sharma reminded the House of the incident where Chief Justice of India TS Thakur broke down in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rigging in Rajya Sabha Election
Allegations of rigging of Rajya Sabha election in Haryana were raised by Congress member Shadi Lal Batra.
Difference of ink was seen in the vote ballot paper. The Election Commission is investigating the matter but has found nothing. Batra has demanded a CBI inquiry in the matter.
Memorial for Mohammad Shahid
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) member Dilip Tirkey, former national-level hockey player, paid tribute to late hockey wizard Mohammad Shahid.
Hockey legend Mohammed Shahid passed away after battling kidney and liver problems at a Gurgaon hospital at 56.
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Shahid, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency of Varanasi, should be honored with a memorial in his homeland, the members demanded.
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi mentions that the government paid for his medical expenses.
What to Expect?
1. Comments about BSP supremo Mayawati by Dayashankar Singh and the protest against the comment may dominate the Parliament, although he has been suspended and the comment has been condemned by party members.
2. The debate and questions raised over violence in Kashmir by Congress member Jyotiraditya Schindia is scheduled to be continued in the Lok Sabha.
3. The following members are scheduled to hold a short-term discussion over the violence against Dalits in Una, Gujarat in the Rajya Sabha:
- Sharad Yadav
- Dr Satyanarayan Jatiya
- Kahkashan Perween
- PL Punia
- Madhusudan Mistry
- Pradeep Tamta
- Mayawati
- D Raja
- Derek O Brien
- Ghulam Nabi Azad
- Anand Sharma
- Shamsher Singh Dullo
- Md Nadimul Haque
- Ahamed Hassan
Other names scheduled to make an entrance in the session are Woman and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh.
Over first three days of the monsoon session of the Parliament, these were the developments:
- The Child Labour (Amendment) Bill was passed
- Debate on the Kashmir issue was inititated
- Violence against members of the Dalit community in Una, Gujarat discussed
- Opposition raised Arunachal Pradesh (and Uttarakhand) issue
- BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned
- Furore in both the Houses over vice president of BJP’s UP unit comparing BSP supremo to a prostitute
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