New Delhi: On Day 2 of the Winter Session of the Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah move the Bill on Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act 2004 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 in the Lok Sabha. On the other hand, Rajya Sabha is discussing India's economic situation on Tuesday.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act provides for reservation in appointment in state government posts, and admission to professional institutions, for certain reserved categories. The Bill provides for reservations in professional institutions for economically weaker sections.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 provides for the reorganisation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The Bill increases the total number of seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly from 83 to 90. It also reserves seven seats for Scheduled Castes and nine seats for Scheduled Tribes.
On Monday, the first day of the Winter Session of Parliament saw two bills being passed. The Standing committee reports on 'The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023', 'The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023', and 'The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023' were tabled in the two Houses. The reports were submitted to the Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on November 10 by Brij Lal, MP and Chairman of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs. The report of the Ethics Committee, which looked into cash-for-query allegations of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, was not tabled in the Lok Sabha though it was in the listed agenda.
Rajya Sabha passed the Bill to repeal the Indian Post Office Act, of 1898 and to consolidate and amend the law relating to post offices in India. The opposition members raised questions over some provisions of the bill and asked if the government wanted to create a "surveillance state". The government rejected the apprehensions of the members.
The bill was passed by a voice vote after a reply by the Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw. The bill provides that the Post Office shall provide such services as the Central Government may by rules prescribe and the Director General of Postal Services shall make regulations in respect of activities necessary to provide those services and fix the charges for such services. The bill provides India Post will not incur any liability with regards to its services, except any liability prescribed through rules.
Lok Sabha passed the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023 which is in line with the government's policy of repealing all obsolete laws or pre-independence Acts which have lost their utility. The Government in consultation with the Bar Council of India has decided to repeal the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879. It has decided to amend the Advocates Act, 1961 by incorporating the provisions of section 36 of the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879 in the Advocates Act, 1961 to reduce the number of superfluous enactments in the statute book The government has 21 Bills on its agenda for the session, including the bills to replace the IPC, the Indian Evidence Act and the CrPC.
- 11 am
Rajya Sabha proceeding begins - 11. 15 am
Zero Hour or Matters raised with the permission of the Chair is taken up. - 11.40 am
Congress MP L. Hanumanthaiah expresses his concern over the inadequate healthcare system, which he said, aggravated malnutrition among mothers and infants. - 11.47 am
BJD MP Muzibulla Khan raises the issue of alleged negligence of Odisha in terms of rail connectivity and urged the Centre to make provision for Vande Bharat train from Puri to Howrah and Puri to Rourkela - 11.52 am
NCP MP Fauziya Khan flags the issue of the disappearance of more than 10 lakh women and more than two lakh girls over the years and seeks the Centre's action - 11.59 am
NCP MP raises the issue of the alleged shoddy role of financial institutions and banks. - 12.05 am
Raut asked if the government provides insurance to the kin of the deceased under the Accident Insurance Yojana. - 12.09 am
BJD MP Sulata Deb wants to know how many health insurance companies are working in India. - 12.12 am
Congress MP Amee Yajnik asks about the functioning of insurance companies in India referring to cases of irregularities. - 12.17 am
Munjapara Mahendrabhai minister of Ayush gives details of Ayush schemes - 12.20 am
Sarbananda Sonowal, AYUSH minister, says under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ministry is eyeing the prevention of disease. - 12.25 am
Sonowal says All India Institute of Ayurveda registered 17.5 lakh footfall in six years. - 12. 29 am
CPI(M) MP Shivadasan asks if the Centre has plans to promote Ayurveda in Kerala. - 12.35 am
TMC MP Jawhar Sircar says bad loan has shot up to 11 per cent. He wanted to know the government's plan of action to address the issue. - 12.43 am
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says the fact that foreign banks are collapsing. She mentioned the health of banks in the USA and Switzerland to elucidate her point - 12.45 am
Sircar asks if the government could give a year-by-year comparison of details of the IMF standard of gross NPA. - 12.49 am
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh wants to know about the government's steps to deal with wilful defaulters. - 12.52 am
Sitharaman says 11, 483 cases were sorted out of a total of 13,971 cases of wilful defaulters. Over 15,000 crore was confiscated by the agencies, she said - 12.57 am
BJD MP Amar Patnaik says Odisha has 1.5 lakh solar energy potential which is way larger than the estimated capacity. - 2.06 am
TMC MP Derek O'Brien says the richest 1 per cent in India controls the wealth of 40 per cent. Farmers' welfare has taken a beating in the country, says the TMC MP, adding India has the highest number of poor people. “But, if you look at the economy through the eyes of any family in the country...those eyes will tell you that from 2014 to 2023, the price of rice gone up by 56%, the price of wheat by 59%, milk by 61%, tomatoes by 115%...” O’Brien says. - 2.14 am
BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi says the Indian economy registered over 6 per cent economic growth when the USA and China's financial growth faltered. Infrastructure push has catapulted the country to a new height, he adds. He said that in the 1990s the "Nehruvian model" collapsed. - 2.36 pm
Sudhanshu Trivedi. who is a BJP member in the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, further says at a time when the Ram Mandir temple is being constructed, India's rank in G20 is rising. "We all feel that India should become the number one economy in the world," the BJP leader quipped. - 2.45 pm
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram took a swipe at Sudhanshu Trivedi saying he should get a ministerial berth. "The worker population rate in this country is 46 per cent, it is quite low. Of it, male population is 69 per cent, female is 22 per cent. Effectively 23 per cent of people work," Chidambaram said. He further asked that if India has scintillating growth, why are these numbers not increasing? "Why is the scintillating growth not turning into jobs? The second one is about price rise, yes inflation has come down in the past two months...food inflation is 9.2," he further asked. - 2.52 pm
DMK Rajya Sabha member from Tamil Nadu Dr Kanimozhi MVN Sonu says that very few people are lucky to get employment in government and private jobs. "This government behaves like a good salesman but not good Samaritan," Sonu said as he took a jibe at the Narendra Modi-led government. She was speaking during the discussion on economic situation in the country. - 3.02 pm
AAP Rajya Sabha member from Punjab Dr Ashok Kumar Mittal said he was speaking as a 'common man'. "We explain growth through - GDP, but for a common man GDP means - Gas, Diesel and Petrol and their prices are rising," he quipped. - 3.10 pm
Sujit Kumar, BJD Rajya Sabha member from Odisha, says that India is very likely to become a five trillion dollar economy. "By the end of Amrit Kaal, we will become a developed economy," he said. He urged the government to strengthen the MSMEs. "The Prime Minister spoke of four castes. We need to take care of youth and job creation," Kumar added. 48-year-old Kumar, a noted lawyer, further said in Odisha, the state government has doubled farmer's income. - 3.20 pm
V Vijaysai Reddy, Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) member from Andhra Pradesh, said that in the next five years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is poised to become the third largest economy. "Last year, our GDP growth stood at 7.2 per cent," he said. Vijaysai also took a dig at former Finance Minister P Chidambaram saying he does not realise growth. He concluded by speaking about widening trade deficit. - 3.25 pm
Prof Manoj Kumar Jha, RJD member from Bihar said that when members speak about economy, I sees food for the poor more than foreign exchange. "If you have to provide food for 80 crore people, I do not have any comments to make. The Prime Minister had promised to provide 2 crore yearly jobs and I demand a white-paper for it," added Manoj Kumar Jha. Manoj Kumar Jha further said that in Bihar, a caste survey took place and I urge the treasury benches, to go through it. "You know the tact how to win elections without addressing key issues," he said as he took a swipe at the Centre. - 3.35 pm
Elamaram Kareem, CPI (M) member from Kerala said that there are broader concerns about the economy of the country. He also said that jobs in manufacturing have declined. - 3.41 pm
Anil Prasad Hegde, JD (U) member from Bihar, said that in 1985, the then government of Rajiv Gandhi, India was self-sufficient in oil. He demanded that the government should grant a special status to Bihar. - 3.45 pm
Abdul Wahab, IUML member from Kerala, raked up India's loss at the World Cup final at Ahmedabad and "that is going to happen in 2024". - 3.48 pm
BJP Rajya Sabha member from Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi took a jibe at former Finance Minister P Chidambaram saying he should not view from his party's perspective. Sushil Kumar Modi said that not a single bank is in the red. "Today, 99 per cent mobiles are made in India and we have stopped imports of cell phones. "By 2027, India will become the world's largest economy and will become a five-trillion economy. Our Prime Minister has a dream that India should become a developed economy by 2047 and his government is working in that direction," added Sushil Kumar Modi, a former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. - 4.09 pm
Congress member from Chhattisgarh Rajeev Shukla reminded Sushil Modi that Congress had won in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. "The Congress polled more votes than the BJP. Let us go on promises. The first promise was to bring back black money, that did not happen," said Shukla, also a known cricket administrator. "The second promise was to reduce prices of petrol and diesel, that did not happen," quipped Shukla."The third promise was to give everyone a 'pukka' house, this was made from the ramparts of the Red Fort, but that too did not happen. Another promise was to give Rs crore jobs per year, so 20 crore jobs should have been given, but 40 crore people are unemployed," added Shukla. - 4.24 pm
Kartikeya Sharma, Independent member from Haryana, lauds India's economic growth. He says as per the IMF, India's economy will be third largest by 2027. - 4.29 pm
GVL Narasimha Rao, BJP member from Uttar Pradesh says that 'Amrit Kaal' has begun. "Friends from the Congress, who claim high inflation must look back," he said and took a jibe at the Opposition. "The highest inflation was during Congress regime. 'Jab Congress Aati Hai, Mehengai Lati Hai (When Congress comes to Power, it brings inflation)," the BJP member said. - 4.43 pm
Dr Amee Yagnik, Congress member from Gujarat said that 1991 was the starting point for economic growth. "The agriculture sector is devoid of any reforms," she said. - 4.53 pm
Jose K Mani, who represents KC (M) from Kerala says that the lower strata of people are struggling for survival. "About 40 per cent of national wealth is among one per cent of the population. This shows that the government is pro corporate (sector) and pro industry," said Mani in the Upper House of the Parliament. - 4.58 pm
MDMK leader Vaiko, who comes from Tamil Nadu, says that unemployment is increasing. He says farmers suicides has doubled and banks are suffering. Vaiko spoke on the deluge in Chennai and urged the Centre to rush relief materials to Tamil Nadu. - 5.02 pm
Samir Oraon who represents BJP in the Rajya Sabha and is elected member from Jharkhand, says that many welfare schemes are implemented under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The country's economy is progressing well," he quipped. - 5.10 pm
GK Vasan, TMC (M) member from Tamil Nadu urged Centre to take care of Chennai residents during this unfortunate times. "Delta farmers have been affected due to crop loss. I request both the governments to compensate the farmers for the loss," added Vasan. - 5.13 pm
Rakesh Singh, Nominated BJP member, participated in the discussion on Indian economy in the Rajya Sabha and lauded the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. - 5.31 pm
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar says that the discussion on Indian economy will continue on Wednesday and takes up Special Mentions. BJP nominated member Gulam Ali spoke about measures which can be taken by Food Corporation of India (FCI). - 5.35 pm
Then it was the turn of Subhash Chandra Bose Pillai, a member of YSRCP, who spoke on the need to modernizing food storage. DMK member from Tamil Nadu Tiruchi Siva spoke on the vacancies in Central Universities and gave example of some varsities in the country. He urged the government to look into the matter. - 5.40 pm
Krushna Lal Panwar, BJP member from Haryana urged the Centre to form houses for the poor. DMK's R Girirajan, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu, said that Tamil Nadu was ravaged from Tsunami and urged Centre to help the state. - 5.44 pm
Lahar Singh Siroya, BJP member from Karnataka, said that wedding festivities contribute to service sectors. He spoke on demand to boost destination weddings in India. "I urge the government to take pro-active initiatives which would raise awareness about destinations weddings. - 5.47 pm
Jabi Mather Hisham, a Congress member from Kerala demanded salary revision for Aanganwadi workers. Babubhai Desai, BJP member from Gujarat spoke on air and water pollution in the country. - 5.52 pm
Dr John Brittas, CPI (M) member from Kerala, also made a special mention after permitted by the Chair in the Rajya Sabha. Surender Singh Nagar, representing BJP in the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, spoke on the air pollution in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR). Trinamool Congress member and Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal Dr Santanu Sen demanded that funds should be released under National Health Mission. - 5.59 pm
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar said that other special mentions will be taken up tomorrow and adjourned the House till 11 am on Wednesday, December 6.
