New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha session commenced at 11 am on Thursday, chaired by the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Harivansh. The Rajya Sabha proceedings were disrupted thrice as opposition members created an uproar after the chair disallowed adjournment notices on several issues including on alleged misuse of probe agencies by the government.
The House witnessed three back-to-back adjournments of 15 minutes each in the first hour. Soon after laying of papers, opposition members sought clarifications on why their adjournment notices were not taken up and demanded discussions on various issues. This led to an uproar following which Deputy Chairman Harivansh adjourned the proceedings.
The opposition has been demanding a discussion on the Indo-China conflict, besides other issues like the alleged misuse of probe agencies, interference of the government in appointment in the higher judiciary, concerns of farmers, and other issues.
Here are live updates of the session, with highlights of the important issues and questions raised in the House.
12: 00 PM | Session resumes after three adjournments
12:01 PM | Rajiv Shukla, INC
Pendency of cases high, no disposal to masses. Who is responsible for this? NJAC's old proposal was inclusive in case of collegium appointments. What roadmap does the ministry have to resolve the crisis of pendency of cases? Is the govt planning to revive the NJAC Bill?
Answers Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Law and Justice
The pending cases are nearing the 5 crores mark, which is indeed alarming. The main reason behind this is the appointment of judges. In 2015, the Parliament had passed the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) with majority, but struck it down soon.
As per the Constitution, the appointment of judges is largely a responsibility of the govt, which is not being complied with as of now. We have a limited role in that. We are trying to reduce pendency. But to resolve the issue of Collegium appointments, the courts are to be consulted.
I cannot say whether the NJAC Bill can be revived, this has to be discussed and decided.
12:11 PM | Tiruchi Siva, DMK TN
Question: There is no reservation in place for the appointment of judges, and no representation of SC, ST, and OBC in the judiciary. What is the center doing about it and can the minister submit break-up details of SC-ST, and OBC judges in the judiciary?
Answers Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Law and Justice
There is no reservation in the judiciary. But there are systems that don't need an official reservation. Like the PM's cabinet has no reservations, and yet people from all castes, classes, and religions are included. We have specially requested HC Chief Justices to suggest the names of people belonging to the minority communities to fill in the vacancies of judges.
So far we have had only one judge from the ST community - Justice HK Sema. Today, we four have judges from the SC community as well.
12:43 PM | Raghav Chaddha, AAP Punjab
Question: News has become noise these days. There are several news channels that conduct very provocative shows with aggressive sessions and debates, creating mental disturbance for the audience. Are there any provisions to stop this or any action taken against these channels and TV anchors?
Answers Anurag Thakur, Minister of Information and Broadcasting
There's a 3-step process for this. You have to first approach the channel if you have any complaints against their broadcasting. The matter then proceeds to the inter-departmental committee. You or anyone has not approached us with any such complaints. The third step has even more stringent measures, and any such matter, if received, will definitely be resolved.
12:54 PM | NR Elango, DMK TN
Question: Is the ministry considering declaring the Jallikattu festival -- which has 4000 years of history and is also connected to religious sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu -- a national heritage festival? Or in the alternative, declare it as a preserved tradition under Biodiversity Act.
Answers Meenakshi Lekhi, MoS Culture
Not as of now. If anything of the sort comes, it'll be decided on its own merit. We are a country of diversity. Each village in each region of each state has a specific tradition. We cannot choose one over the other in case of the National Heritage Festival.
1:00 PM | Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 PM
2:00 PM | Rajya Sabha resumes
