The House discussed two crucial issues today. Lok Sabha on atrocities against Dalits, while Rajya Sabha discussed National Education Policy.
Rajya Sabha passed The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
Updates:
8.15 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day.
8.09 pm: Lok Sabha adjourned for the day.
8.08 pm: Action should be taken against anti-social elements like cow vigilantes: Rajnath Singh
8.07 pm: Socio-economic development of Dalits should be kept in our minds: Rajnath Singh in LS
8.07 pm: Rajya Sabha MPs lay on the table their special mentions.
8.05 pm: We will continue the debate in Rajya Sabha tomorrow: P.J. Kurien
7.53 pm: In RS, Ram Kumar Kashyap, INLD, Haryana, says that our levels of education has come down. Many poor children study in government schools. Only if we lessen the pass percentage, students will work harder to get to a certain level.
7.45 pm: Action should be taken against cow vigilantes: Rajnath Singh
7.33 pm: Rajnath Singh in LS: It is our duty to change the mindset on Dalit atrocities and we should take a resolution to end this.
7.27 pm: Shiv Pratap Shukla, BJP, Uttar Pradesh says in RS, "Many students fail even in Delhi. This country believes in UPSC. If we have a system like this, then it will make way for betterment."
7.17 pm: Asaduddin Owaisi: "PM made a statement saying, 'Shoot me.' I want to congratulate the PM for showing his mindset. Even insulin is made from pancreas of cattle. I'm sure many MPs use insulin here. Would you ban beef export when it make so many millions for the country?"
7.14 pm: Asaduddin Owaisi in LS: "No democracy has prioritised animal life over human life. This is the ideology of the ruling party. What right do they [the protectors of the cow] have on what I eat?"
7.11 pm: N.K. Premachandran, RSP, Kollam (Kerala), "The atrocity against Dalits is politics. Atrocities have to be banned. 'Untouchability is removed but casteism cannot be removed,' said Babasaheb Ambedkar."
7.08 pm: Let us have a broad-based meeting along with academics. What we are trying to do is a policy. In reply to Mr. Yechury, don't mix philosophy with theology. I'd also like to request to revisit the curriculum. No one uses Trigonometry in their lives. But the student has to clear the same: Dr. K Keshava Rao, TRS, Andhra Pradesh in RS.
6.57 pm: Safety of girl children should be seen to. They're being raped in buses and by teachers. We've to ensure that a special audit be done: Vandana Chavan
6.52 pm: We need to ensure right to development and learning. We need to do a downward and an upward extension. The policy seems to be wanting to provide great emphasis on information technology: Vandana Chavan
6.49 pm: Vandana Chavan of NCP, Maharashtra says in RS, "After earlier education policies, we're embarking upon an extremely important exercise. The policy must draw a roadmap on how it plans to achieve the often cited figure of 6% of GDP expenditure on education, which if never done, will never fill the gap that we aim to achieve."
6.42 pm: Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution says in LS, "The Dalit issue is not restricted to a party. This is everyone's issue. Everyone shed tears for Rohit Vemula. But when there was a suicide in the same university, you all ignored the issue."
6.34 pm: Lok Sabha has today adopted a motion referring The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
6.31 pm: In RS, "Do not dilute higher education. This country is united with traditions. Do not try to disturb it by communalising it," says Ali Anwar Ansari, JD(U), Bihar.
6.27 pm: In LS, "There is only one way to end this discrimination. And that is, higher education," says Dharam Vira Gandhi, AAP, Patiala (Punjab).
6.21 pm: Derek O'Brien of AITC, West Bengal says in RS, "There are a lot of Christian schools. There, they never ask you to go to church. There is a secular education. This is the way we've grown up in this country. My one plea is that, education in India is a secular education."
6.15 pm: Supriya Sule of NCP, Maharashtra says in LS, "Discrimination is not just against Dalit and minorities. It is also against women."
6.06 pm: 25% of the people are undergoing humiliation. We want to request the govt to take a solid action so that it won't repeat, says Varaprasad Rao, YSRCP.
6.02 pm: My suggestion is, Let us not politicise this issue. These need not be condoned by anybody. There is a need to create social awareness and challenge and introspect and effectively deal with this situation: M. Venkaiah Naidu
5.56 pm: "Why did your leader who went to Hyderabad, couldn't go to Kerala? My point is, let us not have exceptions. Let us create social awareness among the people," says Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu in LS.
5.50 pm: Students in 11th and 12th standards need teacher's help in understanding every subject. We need to prep them up. Students should be able to think independently. Higher education should grow: Bhupender Yadav.
5.47 pm: "There is discrimination in 565 villages in 11 states. 47% of the Dalit villages are prevented from selling milk," says Prof Seetaram Ajmeera Naik, TRS, Mahabubabad, Telangana in LS.
5.44 pm: A kid should be well-versed about his neighbourhood, about the agriculture is his area, about his society. Our country is vast. Everyone should get a same level of playing his field. A child studying in a city or a village should get the same level of education: Bhupender Yadav.
5.38 pm: RS goes back to discuss Education Policy. Rajasthan's Bhupender Yadav of BJP says, "Education's reach to every single child in this country is the most important thing."
5.30 pm: "Let us concentrate more on Dalit issues. This is a graded society. The caste system has to be abolished," says Dr. Ravindra Babu Pandula, TDP, Amalapuram in LS.
5.26 pm: UP MPs storm the well and then walkout of the House.
5.24 pm: "Why is UP facing so much troubles? How many megawatts of power generation in the plants there? Have UP's power plants gone up?," asks Rajeev Shukla, INC, Maharashtra in RS.
5.20 pm: "Only 5% of the houses in UP get more than 20 hours of electricity," says D.P. Tripathi, NCP, Maharashtra in RS.
5.15 pm: Arjun Ram Meghwal, MoS (Finance, Corporate Affairs) says in LS, "PM Modi is helping Dalit entreprenuers with so many schemes for startups and loans. This has never been possible before."
5.09 pm: "Every village should get electricity. Thousands of villages have not been provided with energy in UP. The ruling party is not helping states like Uttar Pradesh," says SP's Naresh Agrawal in RS.
5.07 pm: Rajya Sabha discusses electrification of Uttar Pradesh villages.
5.01 pm: "In Maharashtra, social awareness is necessary. Villages should be aware to help Dalits," says Sadasiv Kisan Lokhande from Shirdi, Maharashtra in LS.
4.53 pm: Now we have a CET and SET for teachers. Many of those who are teaching, only 1% have passed it. And you're talking about quality. This is privatisation. Education is not about politics, its about empowerment. Its not about ideology: Kapil Sibal.
4.49 pm: Each institution in this country should be accredited. You should have a system of accrediting schools. I see nothing in this draft that deals with accreditation: Kapil Sibal.
4.45 pm: Kapil Sibal says, "You attacked [Rohith] Vemula. You're attacking the minorities, you're attacking the tribals, and you're saying that you're going to change the textbooks. You say universities should be politics-free. And you're talking about this policy which is independent? You have saffronised every post in this country. When you look at education, never look at it from the point of Governor. Put yourself in the shoes of the child. Make yourselves see through the eyes of the child. Then you'll understand his/her aspirations."
4.39 pm: "What we need today, is what Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did then. We should also remember Gurunanak Dev. We should remember Dayanand Saraswati, who revolutionised the society," says BJD MP from Cuttack, Bhartruhari Mahtab in LS.
4.32 pm: INC MP Kapil Sibal says in RS that he was disappointed with the draft. "There is no direction in this draft. Access, quality and equity should exist in an education policy."
4.22 pm: On a debate on atrocities against Dalits in LS, AITC's Prof Saugata Roy from Dum Dum (West Bengal) says, "Gandhiji spent his life for Dalits' rights. Even in 1989, when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister, we had good laws on the same. West Bengal's culture have always kept Dalits safe there, without any atrocities."
4.16 pm: Sitaram Yechury asks, "What we have today is a sort of centralisation that is coming. This education policy draft that is circulated is a complete lift of the RSS document. This is centralization, commercialization and communalisation. You're talking of India attaining much greater heights. But instead of modernising the techniques, you're converting the study of Indian philosophy. You're reducing it to Indian theology. What is the future that you have?"
4.13 pm: Are we training for knowledge? Education should be used to production process. It should be job related. It should create a level of englightenment. All this is lost in this draft. We've to create a balance. Regional and social disparities exist: Sitaram Yechury
4.09 pm: CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury talks about public education system in RS, "Unless you have an unversal education system, the potential that the country has now, cannot be achieved. Is there any review of RTE Act that is being done by the govt? We unfortunately have one of the lowest literacy rates in the world."
4.07 pm: "Peraringar Anna developed the movement of rationalism, women's rights and marginalisation of society. Dr. MGR also fought against caste discrimination. There has been no caste dicrimination against Dalits in Tamil Nadu," says Dr. K. Gopal in Lok Sabha, AIADMK MP from Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu.
4.03 pm: Rajya Sabha now discusses New Education Policy/National Policy for Education (NEP).
4:02 pm: Rajya Sabha passes the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
4:00 pm: In Lok Sabha BJP's Udit Raj speaks. Cause of violence against Dalits rarely discussed. Social values are the problem, remains constant though parties change. We must change social values to end atrocities against Dalits. Low mechanisation in agriculture reason why cows so important.
3:52 pm: It appeared like a smooth movement of the Bill. But no, MPs are asking more clarification.
3:50 pm: Derek O'Brien joins in. He says we overlook the aspect. Maybe government too overlooked it. So they should consider it.
3:47 pm: Surrogate mother too needs maternity leave. Don't treat women like child-bearing machine, says DMK MP Kanimozhi. Ms. Gandhi responds a surrogate mother will get sick leave, but not maternity benefit because she is not with the child.
3:45 pm: Mr. Dattatreya gives closing remarks on the Bill. He specifically responds to Ranjani Patil. He says we have used 'entitiled' and not 'allowed'. MPs are getting restless. "Everyone is supporting the Bill, don't worry," says Mr. Kurien.
3:35 pm: Satish Chandra Misra (BSP) asks if commissioning surrogate mother is covered in the Bill. Ms. Gandhi clarified the leave is post-pregnancy and hence the mother who gives birth to the surrogate child is not covered.
3:33 pm: Jaya Bachchan (SP) talks about women working in Parliament. She requests the House to arrange safe transporatation for women working in Parliament. She pitches for extending maternity leave to eight months to one year.
3:30 pm: Anu Aga, nominated member suggests if 28-week leave can be shared by both parents. Men leave the burden of bringing up kids to women. By bringing paternity leave, we can sensitise men on parenting, she says.
3:25 pm: Mr. Kurien allows three more 'sisters' to speak. Vandana Chavan speaks. She says it is discriminatory to restrict the benefits to only two surviving children. She says the the creche clause is conflicting the Factory Act which makes it mandatory to have a creche which employs minimum 30 employees.
3:20 pm: Narendra Budania asks when Rajasthan has modified its labour laws, will this Act be implemented in Rajasthan.
3:17 pm: In Lok Sabha, K.H. Muniyappa speaks. He recalls how Gen (Retd.) V.K. Singh compared Dalits to dogs. He recounts several incidents across the country, inclusing research scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide, beating up of Dalits in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. "Dalits across the country feeling a sense of insecurity. Conviction rate as low as 3% in Dalit atrocity cases," he says.
3:16 pm: Wansuk Syiem from Meghalaya says though late, this Bill is a welcome move.
3:15 pm: Next to speak in Rajya Sabha is D. Raja of CPI. He says unorganised wome should also be included in the Bill. Centre should adopt schemes implemented in various States. He says successive governments in Tamil Nadu have enacted welfare schemes on women's health. Ms. Gandhi responds: she says Central benefits for pregnant women will soon be expanded throughout the country.
3:10 pm: Meanwhile in Lok Sabha P.K. Biju continues to speak. He raises the Una incident when three Dalits were beaten up by caste Hindus for allegedly skinning dead cow. "Skinning was their traditional profession. You are not allowing even to do their traditional job," he says. He modifies Martin Luther King Jr. speech 'I have a dream', and says my dream is that I want all Dalits can do any job he wishes to do.
3:05 pm: Ashok Siddarth, BSP, says a woman feels elated and happy when she becomes pregnant.
3:00 pm: Women and Child Welfare Minister Maneka Gandhi speaks supoorting the BIll. Maternity leave is not a holiday, it is a very stressful time for a woman, she says.
2:54 pm: BJD MP Sarojini Hembram welcomes including adoptive and surrogate mothers in the Bill.
2:53 pm: Tapan Kumar Sen requests "more magnanimity" by not exempting MSME from law law protection.
2:50 pm: Meanwhile Lok Sabha has reconvened. Short duration discussion on the situation of Dalits across the country is underway. P.K. Biju narrates his own example of how he was refused to be admitted to a private school back home. He says his mother enrolled him in a government school. "Without that government school, I would not be pursue my PhD now," he says.
Mr. Biju talks with numbers. 37% Dalits live BPL. Do not get power in 44% of villages, literacy rate of women as low as 38%. 44% increase in crimes against Dalits. 2 Dalit men beaten & urinated upon by caste Hindus in Bihar.
We have enough legal protection. But who will protect? The Prime Minister, the custodian should protect Dalits, he says.
2:45 pm: Here are 5 takeaways from the maternity benefit amendment.
12 weeks Maternity Benefit to a 'Commissioning mother' and 'Adopting mother'.
Increase Maternity Benefit from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for two surviving children and 12 weeks for more than two childern.
Facilitate 'Work from home' if such a provision is provided by the Employer.
Mandatory provision of Creche in respect of establishment having 50 or more employees.
The amendments is believed to help approximately 1.8 million women workforce in organised sector.
2:40 pm: Kahkashan Parveen (JD-U) notes that for the first time in 18 months the House is discussing an issue related to women. Make sure even corporates give paid maternity leave, she adds. How will 'work from home' work for rural women? she asks.
2:35 pm: Dola Sen of Trinamool Congress says West Bengal implements paternity leave. It is a progressive, which Centre should also consider. She also suggests this maternity leave should be flexible and the working woman should be able to choose.
2:31 pm: Vijila Sathyananth highlights how Tamil Nadu government takes care of pregnant women. All expectant women are being vaccinized in the State. We have breast feeding rooms in all bus terminus across the State. We are considering to increase maternity leave to 39 weeks for State employees, she says. The government is providing baby kit for all mothers. She expects every State to follow Tamil Nadu.
2:30 pm: I am amused how men are discussing a Bill on women at a time when we know how women are being treated here. This is hypocracy, says Jaya Bachchan.
2:24 pm: Narayan Lal Panchariya of BJP lauds the extending of meternity leave to six months. He mentions an anecdote involving Chatrapati Shivaji and his mother Jijabai. MPs object to it claiming it is discriminatory.
2:20 pm: Two key takeaways from her speech. "Your Bill mentions women will be allowed to... who are you to allow?" "Motherhood is not restricted only to mothers. Fathers should also take the responsibility," she says and pitches for paternity leave.
2:14 pm: Rajani Patil kickstarts the discussion on the Bill. She suggests that if an establishment employs 10 women, then there should be provision to run a creche. Some companies are not willing to employ married women because they have to be given maternity benefits. She suggests maternity benefits should be extended to unorganised employees too.
2:13 pm: Bandaru Dattatreya moves The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Rajya Sabha.
2:10 pm: This is called constructive cooperation. This is called constructive opposition, says Kurien after the Bill is unanimously passed.
2:05 pm: Rajya Sabha passes Central Agricultural University (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that would facilate establishment of an agricultural university in Nagaland.
12:32 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm.
12:30 pm: Yogi Adityanath, Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur speaks on spread of encephalitis in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. He urges the government to take up immunisation programme on the lines of what is being done for Polio eradication.
12:20 pm: It was a smooth-functioning day for Lok Sabha. At least, till now. Power Minister Piyus Goyal says that the government is moving toward adopting international safety standards for coal mining. He says the government is working toward reducing the risk of accidents among workers. He says the workers were not trained enough. They would come from villages and work in mines. Goyal says the gov't has set up training workshops for new workers and is augmenting the mining equipment as well.
12:00 noon: Rajya Sabha adjourned again. This time till 12:32 pm.
11:36 am: Rajya Sabha reconvenes. Slogan shouting continues. Kurien wants to take up Zero Hour. He says no other option but to adjourn House till 12 noon.
11:30 am: Lok Sabha proceedings have begun. Question Hour in progress.
11:20 am: Uttar Pradesh MPs storm the Well, shout slogans. Rajya Sabha adjourned for 10 minutes.
11:16 am: Salem steal plan finds mention in Rajya Sabha. Pramod Tiwari raises the issue in upper House. How can such huge amount be transported without proper security, he asks.
11:15 am: Bihar MP Sharad Yadav says same issue in my State too. Ali Anwar Ansari, another Bihar MP raises the issue.
11:12 am: Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) raises the issue of Centre not granting enough aid to Uttar Pradesh. The Centre is being partial to the State, he says. We will not allow the House to function if this kind of attitude persists, says Mr. Yadav. MPs protest.
11:10 am: Ministers lay on table various reports from their ministry. This is followed by MPs laying on table Parliament Standing Committee Reports.
11:00 am: Rajya Sabha proceedings begin. In the Chair: Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien
