Both Houses of the Parliament were adjourned until 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday as Opposition members continued their protests on the second day of the Winter session on a range of issues.
Rajya Sabha members from the Opposition parties staged a walkout after their demand to revoke the suspension of 12 MPs was not accepted by Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu. The Opposition members then boycotted the day's proceedings.
Members of the Congress party also staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha.
In Lok Sabha, disruptions by TRS members over paddy procurement led to adjournment.
Here are the updates
Lok Sabha adjourned till tomorrow
Amid the continuing protests by Opposition members, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla adjourns the House until 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021 introduced in Lok Sabha
Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju introduced the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021, in the Lok Sabha.
Speaker Om Birla, however, said he would only conduct a discussion on the Bill if decorum is maintained in the House.
Several Opposition members continue their protest and slogans in the Lower House. Several members chant "We want justice" in the House.
Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla requests the members to let the House function in a positive environment.
Proceedings resume in the Lok Sabha.
Om Birla holds meeting with leaders of all parties
After two adjournments, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla convened a meeting of floor leaders of all the parties. The House is likely to function from 3:00 p.m.
Rajya Sabha adjourned till tomorrow
Noting the absence of Opposition members from the House, Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh adjourns the Rajya Sabha until 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister says Govt open to constructive criticism
Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Prahalad Joshi, says the Government is open to constructive criticism and would like to run the House with Oppositions' support.
"We are open to constructive criticism. Our party is the most democratic party in the country. Our leader is also very democratic. The Opposition has boycotted for a day so we can take up the Dam Safety Bill tomorrow," says Mr. Joshi.
Leader of the House Piyush Goyal speaks
Leader of the House, Piyush Goyal, condemns the behaviour of Opposition members during Monsoon session of the Parliament.
Defending the Chair's decision to suspend Opposition members, Mr. Goyal says it is regrettable that the Leader of Opposition lowered the dignity of the House by making allegations regarding suspension of 12 MPs.
Describing the events of August 11, during Monsoon session, he alleges Opposition members of misbehaving with the staff of the House.
"The whole House would like the MPs to return. They should apologise for their behaviour on August 11. They should apologise to the House, the chair and the country," Mr. Goyal says on the floor of the House.
Lok Sabha adjoured for another hour
Lok Sabha is adjoured until 3:00 pm amid protests by Opposition members.
Rajya Sabha proceedings resume.
Ministry of Home Affairs informs Lok Sabha that since 2017, over 6 lakh Indians gave up their citizenship and 1.11 lakh renounced Indian citizenship as of September 30, 2021.
Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2:00 p.m.
Question hour comes to an end, Rajya Sabha is adjourned till 2:00 p.m.
Sanjay Seth asks if the government is ready to provide tax exemption for factories producing medical equipment. Minister says that PLI schemes have been put in place to encourage manufacturers
Sushil Kumar Modi asks whether the government will come up with a separate framework for NFTs and asks the Minister to mention the number of people who paid taxes on cryptocurrency. Minister confesses that she does not have any data at the moment and that discussions are being held with respect to NFTs.
Swapan Dasgupta notes that cryptocurrency is popular among young people today and asks whether an outright ban will be preferable or will it be far better to regulate it.
Minister Sitharaman says that once the government proposes the bill, the House can discuss the issues and refrains from commenting on the issue further. Minister says that the bill will be proposed soon. The Finance Minister notes that it is important for people investing in cryptocurrency have been advised to be cautious while going into the field.
G.V.L Narsimha Rao notes that banks classify everyone in political field as PEPs (Politically Exposed Persons) and questions why many people present in the Parliament who would otherwise be eligible to get loans are not given loans. He asks why the rule exists and whether RBI can take any steps to solve it.
MoS Finance replies that banks look at "track record" of PEPs and that in case they don't have a good record they might face problems while getting loans. The House erupts in laughter.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says that this is the case only when huge amount of money is being transferred. She adds that banks make their own assessment that there is no specific instruction given to banks to refuse loans to PEPs.
Roopa Ganguly asks whether the government can create an app along the lines of CoWin to tackle Tuberculosis. Mr. Mandaviya agrees that awareness is important.
MP Nadimul Haque asks whether the government has taken any steps to increase the efficiency of Tuberculosis testing in the country. Health Minister replies that the government wishes to eradicate TB by 2025 and that the government is working alongside States to work towards the goal. He also notes that an Indian company is working towards making a vaccine for Tuberculosis. He also adds that the first three trials have already been completed. He notes that Lakshadweep is already free of Tuberculosis.
Vijaysai Reddy asks if the Indian government plans to provide the population with a dengue vaccine like the United States of America. Minister Mandaviya notes that they will do so after consulting experts.
T.G. Ventakesh asks the Health Ministry to mention the precautions taken by the government in light of the Omicron variant.
Health Minister notes that no Omicron case has been reported in India and that the ministry is doing genome sequencing and promised that they will take steps to control the pandemic situation. Mansukh Mandaviya notes that 70-80 lakh people are being inoculated everyday.
Question Hour commences in Rajya Sabha
Deputy Chairman is in Chair in Rajya Sabha.
D.R. Patnaik notes that even though economic recovery is taking shape, the pressure on rural jobs has increased and the pressure on MNREGA jobs has increased manifold in Odisha. "We have seen it in Odisha", he says. He adds that Naveen Patnaik made a suggesstion to the centre that they give 25 lakh crore man days of labour budget to Odisha. He requests that the central government consider this demand.
Chairman notes that majority of the House wants the Parliament to run and it is the minority that is becoming violence. "I am not here to defend the government. I am here to see that [they] don't offend the Parliament", he adds. He notes that there have been instances when action was taken against members of the house and mentioned the action taken against a "large number of members" during the Andhra Pradesh bifurcation.
Opposition parties will not join proceedings of the House today.
Venkaiah Naidu reads his remarks from August 11, 2021. He emphasises that he noted the behaviour of the members a day after the events occured. He also notes that the members were named on August 11 itself.
Narendra Jadhav, a nominated member brings the Omicron coronavirus variant's risk to the notice of the house and notes that this has renewed the fears of a third wave of the pandemic. He requests the government to start vaccinating frontline workers and people with comorbidities with booster shots.
Trinamool Congress MPs stage a walkout of Rajya Sabha in protest
Derek O' Brien from Trinamool Congress notes that they want to maintain the sanctity of the Parliament .He adds that the entire monsoon session the opposition was compelled to do what they did because certain issues were not brought up. He adds that the 12 MPs should not have been suspended but that 80 members of the treasury benches should have been suspended. Trinamool Congress MPs walk out in protest.
Luizinho Falerio, MP from West Bengal notes that the transportation of 13 million tonnes of coal through Karnataka, expansion of National Highway and other projects undertaken by the central government that are meant to transport coal to the hinterland is destroying the ecological balance of Goa.
Opposition members walkout of Rajya Sabha
Congress, DMK, RJD, Left and AAP stage a walkout after their request to revoke the suspension of 12 MPs was not accepted by Chairman Venkaiah Naidu. TMC MPs continue to sit in the house.
Among matters being raised with the permission of the Chair, G.K. Vasan from Tamil Nadu and K.C. Ramamoorthy from Karnataka note the destruction caused by rains in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka respectively. Vijayasai Reddy from Andhra Pradesh brings the issue of floods in Andhra Pradesh to the notice of the house. He adds that it is imperative that the Union Government step in and provide a relief package of ₹1,000 crores to the State.
Lok Sabha adjourned until 2pm amid a walkout by Congress members
Mr. Kharge notes that a motion to suspend a member can be moved only on the day of the disorderly conduct. He also notes that the members must be named as per rules of procudures before moving the motion, which he says was not done yesterday. He requests the Chairman to revoke the suspension.
As some sloganeering takes place, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla asks Opposition members to remain quiet and send a positive message.
BJP MP from Hamirpur Pushpendra Kumar Chandel raised a question on milk production and veterinary facilities for cattle in the Bundelkhand region.
Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan replied that a scheme of mobile veterinary clinics/vans and UP has over 500 such clinics.
Under Rule 256, Mallikarjun Kharge raises a procedural issue on the suspension of 12 MPs. He notes that moving a motion to suspended the members is a gross violation of rules of procedure. He adds that he sought to raise a point of order under the provisions of Rule 258. He adds that every member who seeks to raise a point of order has to be allowed and notes that he was not allowed to do so.
Question Hour begins in Lok Sabha.
Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha resume
Both the houses are in session on the second day of the winter session of the Parliament. Papers are being laid on the table in Rajya Sabha. Lok Sabha starts with new MP Kalaben Mohan Delkar of Dadra Nagar Haveli taking oath.
Opposition leaders to meet Rajya Sabha Chairman on suspension of MPs
The opposition parties held a meeting at 10:00 a.m. to discuss strategy ahead after the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs. Post the meeting a delegation of leaders are going to meet Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu.
Legislative Business for November 30, 2021 is as follows:
Lok Sabha
Bill for introduction: High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021
Bill for consideration and passing: Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2021
Rajya Sabha
Bill for consideration and passing: Dam Safety Bill, 2019
Day 1 recap
Two important events marked Day 1 of the Winter session. The farm laws were repealed in both the Houses. It was just a five minute affair. The Chair refused to entertain Opposition's demand for a debate on the repeal Bill.
Rajya Sabha suspended 12 MPs belonging to the All India Trinamool Congress, Indian National Congress, CPI, CPI(M) and Shiv Sena for their behaviour during the last day of the monsoon session.
