After a three-day break, the Parliament reassembled on Tuesday, the first session in the new year.
The Lok Sabha has referred the National Medical Commission Bill, a controversial bill which upset lakhs of practicing allopathy doctors, to the Standing Committee.
The Rajya Sabha did not take up the The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, popularly known as the triple talaq bill, which has already been cleared in Lok Sabha. The bill now be tabled in the Upper House tomorrow.
While the Lower House cleared the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill, the House of Elders cleared the NABARD (Amendment) Bill, 2017.
The Rajya Sabha has also passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 Bill, which was cleared by the Lok Sabha last week. The Bill now be sent for Presidential approval.
The Rajya Sabha created a record of sorts as it took up all the Zero Hour issues and special mentions listed in the agenda for that period.
Live updates:
Special mentions are being made. Special mentions is a “device through which a member can raise an issue of public importance in the House” . Special mention by DMK member Tiruchi Siva, the House is adjourned till 11 a.m. tomorrow.
Shiv Pratap Shukla (MoS, Finance) is responding to the debate on the NABARD (Amendment) Bill, 2017. This is the first time Mr. Shukla is replying as Minister.
After the Minister’s reply the NABARD (Amendment) Bill, 2017 is passed. Chair congratulates the House on constructive conduct in passing the bills.
The Upper House is continuing the debate on the NABARD (Amendment) Bill, 2017.
V. Vijaysai Reddy (YSRCP, A.P.) says the bill is an enabling provision and not a mandatory one.
He seeks to draw attention to the fact of indebted farm households. Quoting NSSO data, he says against the national average of 51% indebted farmers nationally, A.P. has 91% farmers indebted and wants the govt. to look into this alarming situation.
After the introduction and a brief debate on the bill on Supreme Court and High Court judges’ salary , the House is adjourned till 11 a.m. tomorrow.
Treasury side says the bill on Supreme Court and High Court judges’ salary be taken first. Opposition accuses the Treasury benches of changing the House’s business agenda. And the Chair rules that the bill be taken first and the Law Minister will address the need to take it up first. The bill seeks to amend the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954 and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958.
Law Minister Ravishankar Prasad resorts to rhetoric saying members should not expose themselves before the nation that they would not allow revision of others’ salaries till theirs is not revised.
K.V. Thomas (Congress) suggests that there should be live telecast of proceedings in the Supreme Court as electronic media often takes a stand which may be contrary to the views expressed by the members.
Government should also have a say in the appointment of judges as it is manned by elected representatives who are responsible to the people, he says.
Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma has been called to reply to the debate. Says India is proudly at the 6th place in the world in terms of number of Unesco heritage monuments — 36. Takes the example of Rakhigarhi in Hisar district, Haryana, the biggest Harappan civilisation site, to stress his point that the govt. is serious in heritage protection.
He seeks to clear the confusion of authority and competent authority. By authority the bill means the National Monument Authority and by competent authority it means a team of officials, he says.
Mentioning the Keezhadi site in T.N., the Minister says the Centre has assured of a museum at the site. The Minister goes on to name members who took part in the debate, and responds to the issues mentioned. Most members took the opportunity to mention the heritage sites and monuments in their States and even in their constituencies.
Minister concludes his reply.
Bill is passed by voice vote. Now clause by clause passage taken up are taken up. Mr. Premachandran commends the Minister and withdraws his first amendment. But he moves his second amendment, which is negatived.
Rajeev Shankarrao Satav’s (Congress, Hingoli, Maharashtra) amendments on authority and competent authority are negatived.
House passes the The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Bill as amended.
N.K. Premachandran (RSP, Kollam, Kerala) is opposing The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill as “it’s against environmental protection”.
Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav (RJD, Madhepura, Bihar) asks the government not to destroy the country’s heritage in the name of vikas (development). He says India’s history couldn’t be imagined without Bihar’s history. Mr. Yadav invokes Ashoka, Magadh empire, Chanakya, Savitribhai Phule, and Periyar to drive home his point that the government should not bulldoze into the heritage. Mr. Yadav refuses to conclude despite remainders by the Chair and the other speaker is called.
Boora Narsaiah Goud (TRS, Bhongir, Telangana) laments the lack of funds for maintenance of heritage monuments. He cites the slow renovation work of the thousand pillar temple in Hanamkonda town.
The Bill goes to vote now.
Clause-by-clause consideration begins.
The amendment is passed.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley makes concluding remarks on insolvency code amendments. He says the bill is aimed to keep out wilful defaulters from resolution.
The insolvency committee is looking at Mr. Ramesh's suggestion on MSME sector. With regard to large companies. They belong to two categories: companies with large assets, or trading companies with little assets.
For the latter cases, there are few takers. The logic is we wanted to fetch best possible price for assets held by the company.
He thanks parliamentarians for unanimously supporting the bill.
Shashi Tharoor asks who will decide if the "public work" will actually help the public. The cabinet note cites two examples. First one is a bridge that passes by Akbar's tomb in Agra. "Imagine the pollution that is going to be caused by the vehicles plying on this road. How will it affect the historic structure," he says.
"The ASI dug up the site near the demolished Babri Masjid and found remains of a temple. Had we constructed a road near this structure, we wouldn't know about this at all!"
The National Monument Authority will certainly give recommendations, but the government has the power to overrule them. The posts of seven members in the NMA is lying vacant.
Jairam Ramesh raises to say he is supporting the Bill. Members are clearly surprised as Mr. Ramesh has a history of questioning Bills. He goes on to say he has three specific questions. "Just questions, no suggestions?' the Chair asks.
His first question pertains to "hair-cuts". There are cases of 75% loans being waived-off. Will this become a norm?
Is the Finance Minister worried that the sectors will be limited to just a few major players in the industries.?
The MSME sector is worried about the Bill. Is there going to be a differentiated criteria between the MSME and the large sector? he asks.
A. Sampath (CPI-M) speaks in Malayalam. A generation that forgets its history will soon turn into history, he says. In the name of development, we should not forget the history, he says.
D. Raja of CPI says the government does not appear serious in recovering loans from corporate companies. The earlier bill was passed in a hurry. Now, you are back with another bill because the same borrowers are back.
In insolvency cases, banks are losing money. In common man's term, 'big hair cut' only means writing off corporate loans. "Are you in a position to take action against wilful corporate borrowers? Why don't you publish their names," he asks.
Tapan Kumar Sen (CPI-M) asks why 'hair cut' is necessary? If companies are under stress, hair cuts will strain the banks as well. Only public sector banks are suffering, he says.
Satish Chandra Mishra (BSP) asks if a resolution is not correct, will all promoters be penalised? The Bill is too general, he says.
Anil Desai (Shiv Sena) says the government should ensure jobs are not lost due to insolvency.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley makes a statement. He says the government has allowed electoral bonds. The State Bank of India will be issuing these bonds. The bonds are tax-free. The donor's name will remain anonymous, he says.
Mallikarjun Kharge asks why the name of the donors of political parties are not revealed.
Mr. Jaitley says this step will ensure clean money flows in the system. The donor's bank sheet will reveal he has donated money. Only the name of the party will remain unknown, he says.
Kalyan Banerjee (Trinamool) says he supports the Bill as it will help Kolkata to expand its Metro rail operations. Kolkata is the first city in India to have a Metro.
Prabhas Kumar Singh of BJD wants the government to specify who this "competent authority" would be, which will be deciding on whether a place is prohibited or not.
Naresh Agrawal asks who decides the value of company. He cites the example of Sahara's Amby Valley. "They aren't able to sell the property due to the high value set," he says. He says he welcomes the Bill and also wants the government to ensure companies get another chance to revive them.
AIADMK's Navaneethakrishnan says he welcomes the Bill. "What is hair cut? Why is not made applicable to education and agri loans?" he asks. He also suggests that names of borrowers who owe more than Rs. one crore should be made public.
The Lok Sabha is discussing The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill. The bill seeks to permit construction of public works in ‘prohibited areas’ for public purposes. The minister clarifies that only government will be allowed to undertake construction activities and assures the House that private players will not be allowed.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress is the next speaker. He says in India over five lakh monuments are lying unprotected.
Chandrakasi (AIADMK) warns this law should not be misused to take up large-scale construction activites.
Rajya Sabha takes up Bankruptcy and Insolvency Code amendments. The Bill has already been passed by the Lok Sabha.
Congress member P. Chidambaram speaks. Certain clauses are over-inclusive, he says.
While we are supporting the Bill, I request the Finance Minister to consider our concerns as well.
Initially the RBI sent 12 companies to insolvancy. I don't think it is a great to send so many companies in one go. We are sending a wrong signal, he says.
Lok Sabha reconvenes. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar informs the House that considering the demands of several members and medical faternity, the National Medical Commission Bill has been referred to the parliamentary Standing Committee. He also requests the Chair to ask the committee to give its recommendation prior to the Budget session.
Rajya Sabha reconvenes. Naresh Agrawal raises Point of Order. He asks the government if it is planning to remove Rs. 2000 currency notes. P.J. Kurien, Deputy Chairman, says this cannot be viewed as Point of Order.
Dushyant Chautala asks for a separate women's battalion stating, "We have a woman Defence Minister now."
Sushmita Deb of the Congress, a Member from Assam, asks the government that no genuine citizen should be left out from the NRC.
House is adjourned till 2 p.m.
An MP asks about the fraud in linkage of Aadhaar with bank accounts. Mr. Jaitley says the UIDAI has taken up the issue and Rs. 7.65 lakh of fraud has been reported from 20 banks.
Anand Bhaskar Ropolu raises the issue of fingerprints not being matched with the Aadhaar, especially of that of senior citizens. Mr. Jaitley says the UIDAI is looking at it.
House is adjourned till 2 p.m.
Ritabrata Bandyopadhyay asks if the proposed FRDI Bill will safeguard the interests of depositers. Finance Minister assures the depositors will not be affected.
Anand Sharma asks if the Rs. one lakh provision will be enhanced. Mr. Jaitley replies in affirmative.
Vice President comments there seems to be lot of miscommunication regarding the Bill. It has been referred to the Select Committe.
Ananda Bhaskar Rapolu asks what the Ministry is going to do to prevent hacking.
D. Raja of the CPI asks about wilful defaulters, asking why the government can't reveal the names, and why it can't treat it as a criminal offence.
Mr. Jaitley says that banks themselves regularly releases the names of wilful defaulters.
P. Chidambaram asks if the NPA issue is a scam. "RBI is a regulator. They audit every bank. RBI found that a certain loan is performing/non-performing. Does the Minister have data on how many loans given by banks after April 1, 2014 have become NPAs now?"
The Minister says that the bulk of the NPAs are of loans which were given before April 1, 2014.
S.P. Muddahanumegowda of the Congress rises to make a submission about Karnataka's water scarcity, mentioning both the Mahadayi and Mekedatu disputes.
Question Hour begins. The first question is on easing the compliance burden under GST. Arun Jaitley, the Finance Minister answers the question.
The next question is on policy support and lowering of tariffs for renewable energy generation, followed by a question on the regulation of cryptocurrencies. The Finance Minister says that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in India.
Hardeep Singh Puri, the Urban Affairs Minister says that the government can recommend concessional fares for senior citizens.
Question Hour comes to an end.
Speaker disallows all adjournment notices.
Papers are laid on the table.
The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2017 is introduced in the House.
Zero Hour begins.
Pulwama attack raised; creates ruckus
Jyotiraditya Scindia raises the issue of the Pulwama attack, and says that the government does not respect the lives of the members of the armed forces.
He also blames the government's relations with Pakistan for the attack. "Why did the government not act on information received?" he asks referring to National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's meeting with his Pakistani counterpart in Thailand. He also mentions BJP MP Nepal Singh's statement on the army, terming it disrespectful of the armed forces.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar says that the Congress is trying to politicise the issue, and that the government respects its soldiers.
Hansraj Ahir makes a statement on the attack in the House.
He asks the government to increase sugar subsidy allotment.
Naresh Agrawal of the SP speaks about the killing of journalists.
T. Subbarami Reddy raises the issue of close shaves faced by aircraft in various airports around the country.
Special Mentions are made now.
The supplementary question focuses on the minimum support price paid by the government.
Slogan shouting begins as Opposition Members deem the Minister's answer as unsatisfactory.
Prathap Simha of the BJP says that in the last three years, there hasn't been a single bomb blast in the country. The question pertains to the modernisation of police forces.
The next question is on inter-caste marriages, followed by one on concessions in metro rail fares.
House reconvenes. Chairman of the House M. Venkaiah Naidu is in the Chair.
Zero Hour begins.
Tapan Kumar Sen of the CPI(M) speaks about the closure of government printing presses.
S. Muthukaruppan of the AIADMK speaks on the pricing of sugar and the subsidy borne by the state vs the centre.
House reconvenes. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan is in the Chair.
Question Hour begins. The first question is on crime and criminal tracking systems and network. Hansraj Ahir, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, answers.
The next question is on cultivation of rabi crops.
