Rajya Sabha will take up the National Sports University Bill and The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill. Both Bills were passed in the Lok Sabha.
A Bill to prohibit unregulated deposit schemes is likely to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Here are the live updates:
Sirajuddin Ajmal of the AIUDF rises to speak about Deoria and Muzaffarpur rapes, and lynchings. He also speaks about the NRC exercise. He asks for fund allocations for Assam.
Heena Gavit of the BJP says she supports the Demands for Grants.
Jayaprakash Narayan Yadav of the RJD speaks about black money being stashed abroad.
Deputy Speaker M. Thambidurai is in the Chair.
Piyush Goyal introduces amendments to the SGST, IGST and the Union Territory GST laws, and the GST Compensation to States Act. An Opposition Member says the amendments should not be introduced.
Mr. Goyal says he is surprised that the Member opposes the introduction of these amendments which are meant to help small and tiny industries. The Bill is introduced.
Next, TRS Member Vinod Kumar says that for the Polavaram project, Andhra Pradesh was allocated funds, but not for Telangana.
Mr. Muniyappa asks those Members who want to lay their written speeches on the table to do so.
M.B. Rajesh of the CPI(M) says demonetisation and rising prices have devastated the economy.
Shivaji Patil of the Shiv Sena speaks about lack of jobs. He also cites growing NPAs as a problem that the government should look into.
Murali Mohan Maganti of the TDP says that he is disappointed by the response of the Prime Minister during the debate on the no-confidence motion. he asks for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to look into the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission on giving Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh.
He asks why the Centre showing indifference towards Andhra Pradesh.
Bhartruhari Mahtab of the BJD is up next, and he begins listing allocations to different departments.
P.R. Sundaram of the AIADMK speaks in Tamil.
Saugata Roy of the Trinamool Conress says Piyush Goyal is the burdened Minister in independent India, citing the various portfolios he currently holds. He says the Rafale deal is one of the biggest scandals of the country.
He says that GST collection last month was down by 40%. He then mentions Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. He says inflation is at 5.8%, and NPAs have risen to 11.6% of the advances. Many banks have stopped giving advances, he says.
India’s share in world exports is 1.8%, he says. Bank credit growth has hit a 20-year low. He remarks that the government’s MSP announcement falls short of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations. He says the government could not find a global buyer or partner for Air India.
K.H. Muniyappa is in the Chair. Mr. Roy says that “all is not well in the state of Modi.”
House reconvenes. Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu adjourns the House for the day.
House reconvenes and discussion begins on The Supplementary Demands for Grants - First Batch of 2018-19 and Demands for Excess Grants 2015-16.
K.C. Venugopal of the Congress brings up the Rafale deal. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank of the BJP speaks next.
Members are still in the Well as the House reconvenes. Chair asks them to go back to their seats. A din erupts as Trinamool Members begin shouting slogans.
Chair asks Members to participate in the discussion. Mr. Naidu begins asking Members for suggestions as to what to do. Anand Sharma, when asked by the Chair, says that once the House is in order, they can begin the discussion.
Ram Gopal Yadav says that they can take up the Trinamool Members’ demands tomorrow. Navaneethakrishnan of the AIADMK agrees with Mr. Yadav.
Rajya Sabha adjourned till 3 p.m.
The Rajya Sabha has been adjourned twice, now till 3 p.m. over the Trinamool’s demand for suspension of business to discuss the issue raised by them. The Chair pointed out that this was happening despite the fact that it had allowed the discussion for tomorrow and the Trinamool member who had raised it was satisfied by the ruling.
BJP’s Amit Shah then initiated the discussion on MSP to farmers and had spoken for almost five minutes when Trinamool members again stood up to raise their issue and also gathered into the Well. The Chairman then took the sense of the House through leaders of the political parties most of who were for the MSP debate happening today.
However, TMC members didn’t relent despite Chair’s repeated warning to name them.
Rajya Sabha takes up short duration discussion on challenges in agricultural sector. BJP chief Amit Shah kickstarts the debate. He goes on to list the steps taken by the government to improve the lives of the farmers. He lauds the decision to hike the minimum support price for Kharif crops.
His speech is interrupted by Trinamool Congress members. They troop the Well.
Ministers Prakash Javadekar and Ravi Shankar Prasad object to Trinamool members' protest.
House is adjourned for 10 minutes.
Kirron Kher says that in Chandigarh, residential houses were allowed to come up earlier on agricultural lands, which are now being demolished.
House is adjourned till 2.30 p.m.
Sugata Bose of the Trinamool Congress speaks about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. He says the younger generation must learn about Netaji’s life. He asks the Speaker to mention Subhash Chandra Bose in the House remembering the 75th anniversary of the Azad Hind Movement.
Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy of the YSR Congress says that staff of Navodya Vidyalaya Samiti have been requesting access to CGHS.
Kalyan Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress speaks about a notice from the Centre citing the shortage of anti-rabies vaccine in West Bengal.
A TDP Member says a separate railway zone needs to be created in Visakhapatnam.
Other TDP Members begin to show placards, but Speaker asks them to refrain from doing so.
The next Member, Innocent, speaks in Malayalam.
M. Veerappa Moily of the Congress says that Kannada should be made a classical language.
Sudip Bandhopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress raises the issue of skimmers attached to ATMs. He says the government should direct banks to take necessary protections.
An MP from Telangana, Nandi Yellaiah, speaks in Telugu. An AIADMK MP speaks in Tamil.
Ripun Bora of the Congress asks a supplementary question on price rise of essential food items. Finance Minister Piyush Goyal says prices have actually fallen.
Nadimul Haque of the Trinamool Congress says the WPI is at a 54-month high. He asks if this rise in inflation will impact GDP growth. Mr. Goyal responds that in almost all items inflation came down significantly. He says India is slated to grow at 7.3% this year and 7.5% next year.
Binoy Viswam of the CPI says that India has dropped five places in the Global Hunger Index. The Minister says that everybody has come under the food security scheme.
The next question is on increasing healthcare expenditure. K.C. Ramamurthy of the Congress asks when spending on public health has remained at 2% of the GDp since 2009, how does the government expect to increase it to 2.5% by 2025.
Health and Family Welfare Minister J.P. Nadda says the scenario will change after Ayushman Bharat, the Centre’s health insurance scheme is launched.
Satish Chandra Mishra of the BSP asks if the Finance Ministry has released any funds for Ayushman Bharat. Mr. Nadda says that the tending process is on, 80% of beneficiaries in rural areas and 60% in urban areas have been verified.
Vikas Mahatme of the BJP asks what percentage of the GDP is allotted for primary and preventive healthcare. Mr. Nadda says that right from the day the mother conceives till the child reaches adulthood, all medical intervention is taken care by the government. He says sub-centres will be converted into wellness centres.
Vijila Satyananth of the AIADMK speaks about nurse vacancies in Delhi hospitals. She asks what the Centre is planning to do to fill these vacancies. Mr. Nadda says primary healthcare is taken care of by ASHA workers. In tertiary healthcare, appointments are being done in a phased manner, he says.
House is adjourned till 2 p.m.
Lok Sabha takes up Zero Hour. Dharmendra Yadav of Samajwadi Party takes up the issue of shelter home rapes reported in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria. Mr. Yadav narrates the statement of the abused children. He demands an impartial probe.
RJD's Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav joins the issue. He says the issue is similar to Muzaffarpur.
MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra says the Deoria shelter home's licence was cancelled last year. But the management went to the court. Mr. Mishra represents Deoria in the House. He also adds the Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a magistrate-level probe.
The Chair says it is a serious and sensitive issue and every parliamentarian should check if shelter homes are properly run in our constituencies.
Congress leader Mallkharjun Kharge says the issue must not be politicised. He says since the issue is being raised in the House continuously for the past three days, let's have a parliamentary panel to inspect the issue and submit a report.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh says these incidents are unfortunate and serious. He says he lauds Uttar Pradesh government for taking quick action on the issue. The District Planning Officer has been suspended. The woman running the shelter home has been arrested. Her husband has also been arrested. No one will be spared, he says.
He says the concerned ministry will send advisory to all the States to check the status of shelter homes.
Unhappy with the statement, SP and RJD members raise slogans.
A members says many jobs are vacant in PSU banks. Finance Minister Piyush Goyal says banks take a call on recruitment. Some posts have become redundant due to banking reforms, so those vacancies are not being filled up. He also says comparison of pay scale between public and private banks are unwarranted.
AIIMS-like institutes across India
Rajya Sabha reconvenes. Question Hour is in progress. Shanta Chhetri asks if AIIMS in Kalyani will be functional in 2019. MoS Health Ashwani Kumar Choubey says the work will end by 2020 and will be functional thereafter.
Will locals be employed in the hospital, she asks. Health Minister J.P. Nadda says though the target is Deptember 2020, we are likely to complete it earlier. On recruitments, he says all posts will be filled up on the basis of merit. We will not dilute the standards, he adds.
Santanu Sen (TMC) says the AIIMS is not under the MCI, there are reports of irregularities. Will it be brought under MCI, he asks. The AIIMS is autonomous in nature. The same standards is maintained in every AIIMS, says Dr. Nadda.
K.K. Ragesh asks will AIIMS come up in Kozhikode? He says the land has also been acquired. The minister says the project will be undertaken in a phased manner.
Fire tenders in Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep member Mohammed Faizal asks whether the Government has any plan to ensure the smooth functioning of the fire and emergency services or to create a separate Department for the same in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. He says the fire personnel are being asked to take care of law and order too.
MoS Hansraj Ahir says fire tender vehicles have been provided in 10 islands were people reside. He also says fire and rescue personnel are used for law and order only in the case of emergency. There have been three instances of fire, and it was handled well, he claims.
Mr. Faizal claims there is no use of fire tenders without dedicated rescue personnel. He also says it is a privilege matter since he has taken up with the government many times.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh says 10 new tenders have been ordered and will be deployed soon. He says he has sought a proposal from Lakshadweep administration on providing incentives to personnel who perform dual duties of rescue and law and order.
e-NAM platform
Trinamool Congress member Ratna De Nag asks about e-NAM platform. The electronic National Agriculture Market or e-NAM is available in 14 States. It is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.
The NAM Portal provides a single window service for all APMC related information and services. This includes commodity arrivals & prices, buy & sell trade offers, provision to respond to trade offers, among other services. While material flow (agriculture produce) continue to happen through mandis, an online market reduces transaction costs and information asymmetry.
Over 1 crore farmers have registered themselves in the platform, says MoS Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Congress) points out that West Bengal has the lowest enrollment in e-NAM. He claims the contribution of e-Nam platform is miniscule. Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh says had the platform was operational ten years back, it would have helped farmers more.
'Where is the consumer protection Bill?'
In Lok Sabha, BJD member Bhartruhari Mahtab asks about the status of Consumer Protection Bill. Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan says the bill has passed the standing committee's scrutiny and will be introduced soon. In a lighter vein, he adds if the Opposition assures the Bill will be passed, we will bring it in a day or two.
A member alleges that manufacturers are not passing the benefits to the consumers. Mr. Paswan says the companies have been asked to mention the old and new price so that consumers know that prices have slashed.
Rajya Sabha adjourned
In Rajya Sabha, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu makes three requests to members: please be punctual, please don't distract the proceedings, and please stay back while passing Bills!
Mr. Naidu had earlier also expressed displeasure when members don't stay back during the discussion. He cites Monday's example where only 156 members were present for a crucial bill on constitution amendment.
As he proceeds with Zero Hour, members want to take a discussion on Muzzafarpur rapes. House is adjourned.
N.K. Premachandran poses a question on consumer rights. He says consumers file a compliant using toll free number, but consumer forums seek documentary evidence. Will the government make the manufacturer, dealer and the service agency liable for the damage, he asks.
Minister C.R. Choudhury suggests Alternate Dispute Redressal (ADR) to address issues arising out of warranty period. There is a national consumer helpline number and consumers can avail this feature. The docket numbers given during complaints can be shown as an evidence, he adds.
Obituary reference
Rajya Sabha mourns the death of Congress veteran leader R.K. Dhawan. He was a former member of the Rajya Sabha.
Lok Sabha pays tribute to its former member Krishna Kumari.
Ahead of the parliament session both the BJP and Congress members held separately meetings. While the BJP members felicitate the Prime Minister for smooth passage of Bills in both the Houses, Congress is learnt to have discussed the issues to be raised in the House.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi, on Monday, took to Twitter to ask the government "where are the jobs?" It was raised by Congress leader on Lok Sabha Mallikharjun Kharge too on Monday during a discussion on the SC/ST Amendment Bill.
RJD members protest against Muzzafarpur child shelter home rapes.
The RJD members protest against the sexual abuse reported at a shelter home in Muzzafarpur. They staged a walk out from Lok Sabha on Monday.
