Today's list of Parliament business:
Rajya Sabha
- Discussion on demonetisation of currency
- The Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014
- The Employee's Compensation (Amendment) Bill, 2016
Lok Sabha
- The Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2016
- The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016
Speaker P.J. Kurien takes the Chair. Papers are laid on the table.
Speaker announces that discussion on demonetisation of currency is to begin. The Prime Minister is still in attendance.
Opposition MPs begin slogan shouting, demanding the PM's apology. Members storm the well. House is adjourned till tomorrow.
Rajya Sabha resumes, even as Opposition members shout slogans. House is adjourned till 2 p.m.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar requests Opposition parties to initiate the debate. "Please do not try to stop the fight against black money. The entire country is behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We are ready to debate on the issue, but we are not for the way the Opposition wants to take. It will take us nowhere."
Opposition demands voting. Speaker asks why voting is necessary. Members start shouting.
"Three-fourths of the House is ready for discussion, only they (pointing to Congress benches) are not ready," says Ananth Kumar.
Lok Sabha adjourned for the day.
Prime Minister is in the House.
House adjourned for 15 minutes.
Lok Sabha resumes. Speaker disallows notices for Adjournment Motion. Zero Hour begin, amidst protests. Speaker says first papers should be laid on the table of the House.
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge raises the issue of hardships to people due to problems in withdrawal of cash. Mr. Kharge again asks for debate with vote.
RJD member Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav demands debate under Rule 56. Says people are dying.
AIADMK member P. Venugopal also asks for a debate. TMC member says black money hoarders are happy that they have got relief as they have been allowed to keep 50 per cent of cash.
He also raises the issue of Rahul Gandhi 's Twitter account having been hacked
CPI(M) member Karunakaran also demands discussion. Speaker says that yesterday she had said the debate should begin immediately keeping aside rules, but that wasn't done.
TRS member says the debate should begin without any rules as many members what to give suggestion. Our CM in Telangana has already started steps to make the State cashless, he says.
BJD member Bhartruhari Mahtab says the discussion should begin, requests government to approach Opposition parties to develop a consensus for the debate. Government has taken a good decision of demonetisation.
Speaker: Article 110 is clear. Speaker's decision is final. There is financial Bill category 1. Those Bills can introduced only in the Lok Sabha.
Question Hour begins. Vice President Hamid Ansari takes the Chair.
"When PM came for question hour last time...," begins Ghulam Nabi Azad. BJP Members begin shouting. "It is a convention that leader of house or LoP are heard despite Question Hour," says Mr. Ansari.
"Opposition has been demanding for 15 days. Demonetisation decision came, but without preparation. Banks and ATMs are cashless. 82 people have died," says Mr. Azad.
"There was a small demand that was neither anti-national nor unconstitutional. There is a new fashion of anti-national tag these days. Whom should we tell if not the PM? He should hear us."
"He meets his party MPs. We demand he should be here and hear us. PM has said Opposition supports black money." Treasury benches protest. Shouting begins.
"I support what LoP has said. Statements are being made outside. We want a debate," says Mr. O'Brien.
"On previous occasion, an unfinished debate was there. Government has no problem continuing it," says Mr. Ansari.
Sharad Yadav says he agrees but a debate can't be one way traffic.
"PM makes remarks against all Opposition leaders," says Mr. O'Brien.
"You have allowed my notice. Now house decides if the motion is accepted. By allowing my 267 notice, you have ordered me to put the motion before the House," says Naresh Agarwal.
"I allowed notice, not to move a motion," says Mr. Kurien.
"Speaker is the one with powers. But there are traditions and perceptions. People should not feel the ruling party is trying to undermine RS," says Ram Gopal Yadav. "So, a committee is required to look into RS' prestige."
"You cannot cast aspersions or criticise Chair's ruling. It is expunged," Mr. Kurien.
P. Chidambaram raises a point of order. "I can understand why the Chair is sensitive to a statement, that perhaps the ruling is not correct. All Mr. Ramesh pointed out that a ruling can be reconsidered. We are before high constitutional authorities. I want to support Mr. Ramesh on this. There is a vast difference between a financial Bill and a money Bill."
"If the Speaker has not certified a Bill as a money Bill and the Secretary General describes it as a financial Bill, that ruling may be wrong.".
"I respect Mr. Chidambaram's wisdom. But Mr. Ramesh made an accusation against the Chair," says Venkaiah Naidu. "How can Mr. Chidambaram support that?"
A ruling cannot be discussed or criticised: Speaker.
Ravi Shankar Prasad says that the Constitution is supreme. "Any Bill altering the mechanism of tax is a money Bill. The Consitution says this. Can the leader of the House and the Chair be questioned? In the garb of review, you are questioning the majesty of the Chair."
All aspersions against the leader of the House and the Chair are expunged. It is the tradition of the House that nobody can question the ruling of the Chair: Speaker.
"Passenger safety is our number 1 priority," says Mr. Sinha. Speaker asks why an inquiry isn't ordered. "DGCA has already ordered an inquiry. We are doing a full inquiry. If there is any action that is required, we are determined to do it."
Naresh Agrawal says that the government is undermining the Rajya Sabha. "They have brought disclosure bill as money bill. Article 110 says speaker of Lok Sabha takes a decision. But nowhere does it say this government cannot discuss it. I propose a committee."
Speaker: You cant move a motion without chair's permission. If you want to move a motion, I will take a decision.
Venkaiah Naidu says, "Once the Lok Sabha passes a Bill, the Rajya Sabha can discuss it, even if it is a money bill. What has been done is parliamentary practice, not a new creation by this government."
In a lighter vein: I would have taught them wrestling in the last one week in which they have not allowed the House to function, says BJP MP Virendra Singh from UP.
Protesting Members shout slogans against Prime Minister Modi, after a momentary pause they again resume hooting.
Lok Sabha adjourned till noon.
A probe has been ordered, says Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Mayawati asks that the matter be taken seriously. Ram Gopal Yadav of the SP says that no insinuations were made, but many people's lives were at stake.
T. K. Rangarajan of the CPI (M) says this proves the inefficiency of the government and the particular department. Navaneethakrishnan of AIADMK agrees. Tiruchi Siva of the DMK asks for a thorough probe, saying such things should not be repeated in the future.
Rajiv Shukla asks how so many planes were running on low fuel. "What is happening in the country?"
"I get the sense of the House. First, CM, MP or citizens — their safety is our responsibility. We are committed to it," says Jayant Sinha. "Not just DGCA standards but global standards are there. All these were followed. Third, when a plane flies, 30-40 minutes hovering fuel plus enough to go to diversion airport should be there, as per standards. Indigo pilot told kolkata ATC that they are low on fuel. At the same time, Air India and Spicejet were low on fuel. Indigo flight hovered only for 13 minutes. At no point was anyone in any danger. Everyone was brought to ground safely."
"There is a DGCA inquiry on why so many planes were low on fuel."
Question Hour begins, and so does the shouting and sloganeering by several Opposition members.
Many Opposition members intensify sloganeering, even as BJD member Tathagata Satpathy raises issue of world-class sport facilities in each State.
Government investing limited resources judiciously to identify and develop sporting talents across the country: Sports Minister. Protesting MPs are now hooting.
Speaker: Please don't do that (to protestors), the question being raised relates to Sports, I will allow it.
Opposition members raise their pitch, demanding the Prime Minister's presence.
Lok Sabha proceedings begin. Speaker makes obituary reference for those killed in Nagrota terror attack. The House condemns the attack.
TMC member Sudip Bandopadhyay raises the issue of emergency landing for a flight in which West Bengal CM was travelling, and requests security for her. Civil Aviation Minister gives statement on the incident. Opposition members raise objection.
"The plane had reported low on fuel and was third in landing sequence. Air India that was second in landing sequence and had also reported low on fuel. The flight with CM on board hover over for only 13 minutes," says the Civil Aviation Minister.
An inquiry has been ordered to determine how flights had low fuel, says the Minister. Opposition Leader Mallikarjun Kharge says the CM's life was in danger, and ATC should have allowed the flight to land first. "VVIPs are given primacy always."
Speaker P.J. Kurien is in the chair. Papers are laid on the table.
TMC's Derek O'Brien rises to say that the Chief Minister of West Bengal's plane was delayed in Kolkata. "An emergency-like situation was created. The question here is, is there more to this than meets the eye?"
"Don't make allegations," says Mr. Kurien.
"Authoritarianism is happening in many spheres. This is the Chief Minister of a state. If a Chief Minister is under such pressure, what happens to normal people. I am not insinuating anything, but there is a school of thought that this is a conspiracy," says Mr. O'Brien.
"The matter is serious, but you can't make any insinuation," says Mr. Kurien.
"He did not make any insinuation, but this is a very serious case," says Ghulam Nabi Azad, demanding an inquiry.
Jayant Sinha says everything was done to ensure safety. "Two other flights were before it," he says.
Interruptions abound in the House.
