The Parliament's budget session resumes on Tuesday. Opposition to the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act continued today as well, after the Rajya Sabha was adjourned four times yesterday when Chairman Venkaiah Naidu refused to hear any debates on it.
The opposition members raised anti-CAA and anti-NRC slogans today and encircled the Well of the House.
After commencing, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12:00 p.m. due to objections over Mr. Hegde's remarks on Mahatma Gandhi. After reconvening, the House erupted in protest again after leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury passed an objectionable comment about Mr. Hegde.
In a written reply, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai says, “Till now, the government has not taken any decision to prepare National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) at the national level.”
Both Houses begin deliberations over Motion of Thanks for the President's address.
Papers to be laid on the table at the Rajya Sabha:
DR. HARSH VARDHAN for Ministry of Science and Technology;
PRAHALAD SINGH PATEL for Ministry of Culture;
ANURAG SINGH THAKUR for Ministry of Finance.
Bills to be introduced in the Lok Sabha:
The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020
Here are the updates:
Special Mentions are being laid in the House.
The House is adjourned till 11 a.m., February 5.
'Telangana govt. will pass resolution against CAA'
Dr. K. Keshava Rao of the TRS says that the Telangana government has decided to pass a resolution against the CAA on the principle that there cannot be a law that can change the Constitution.
He also says that Mahatma Gandhi's statements are being presented in a completely different context today, as Sukhendu Sekar Ray had earlier clarified too.
Kunwar Danish Ali of the BSP says that the present government is not aware of its own history and that the former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee on a visit to Pakistan had gone beyond the protocol to meet the Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, whose works are now being disputed amid the nationwide anti-CAA protests.
Prasanna Acharya of the BJD says that while we mention Gandhi, we must not belittle the contributions of other freedom fighters.
He says that while we quote Gandhi and celebrate 150 years of Gandhi, we are living in an atmosphere of hatred and mistrust. He adds that Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote a letter to leaders of all political parties ahead of the 150th anniversary of the Mahatma, proposing that Gandhiji's non-violent principles must be included in the Preamble of the Constitution.
Dilip Saikia of the BJP says that Assam has progressed under Narendra Modi's leadership.
He adds that the Centre's recent accords with the Bodo and Bru communities will usher in a peaceful environment in the State.
Javed Ali Khan of the Samajwadi Party says that there is a huge gap in the words and actions of the ruling BJP government.
He says that in a reply to his question earlier, the Home Minister had said that the NRC would be implemented across "every inch of the nation." However, later the PM said that there has been no discussion on NRC, he says.
Mr. Khan says that the question of granting citizenship under the Citizenship law was reasonable and did not require a religious clause in addition to relaxing the residence period to 5 years from the existing 11 years. But the BJP's actual intention was to drive a wedge between Hindus and Muslims, he says.
A. Navaneethakrishnan of the AIADMK says that he supports the Centre and that it should look into genuine grivances of the country.
Asauddin Owaisi of the AIMIM says that the failure of the "neighbourhood first" policy of the government is evident from three things: the fact that Nepal has offered to mediate between India and Pakistan; the U.S. Congress and Senators have been discussing India's policy; and that the EU Parliament was deliberating over a resolution against the citizenship law.
He further asks the Prime Minister to clarify if NPR and NRC are two sides of the same coin.
Sukhendu Sekhar Ray of the AITC condemns the disinvestment of public institutions and says that the Centre should make it clear why LIC was forced to provide funds to loss-making enterprises.
The government is on a path to achieve 'Becho India' instead of 'Khelo India', he adds. He says that the PSUs are public-owned entities and the government is only a custodian.
Referring to Mahatma Gandhi's quotes, he says that his statements have been distorted. Citing the book Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, he says that at a prayer meeting Gandhi said: "Assumption of the Hindus that India has become a land of Hindus is erroneous. India belongs to all who live here."
Sunil Kumar Pintu of the JD(U) says that the ruling BJP has taken efforts to extend the Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's vision of "Jal, Jeevan Hariyali" to the entire nation.
He says that the CAA is a step to provide citizenship to persecuted minorities, and not to withdraw citizenship from existing citizens. The Opposition is protesting against the law as it cannot find an issue to rally against, he adds.
Centre has misled the country on DeMo, GST and Jammu and Kashmir, says Ghulam Nabi Azad
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad says that the ruling government has misled the nation on Demonetisation, the GST regime, and the abrogation of Article 370 for Jammu and Kashmir.
Parliamentary system, procedures and democracy were killed on August 5, 2019, when Jammu and Kashmir's special status was withdrawn, he says.
Rename Stand Up India to Sit Down India, Shut Down India and Shut Up India, says Tharoor
Dr. Shashi Tharoor of the Congress says that the President's address failed to address the political and constitutional crisis that the nation is facing in the form of nationwide protests against the citizenship law.
He adds that though the address mentioned India's economic achievements and promised a $5 trillion economy , there was no mention of the drastic fall in the Global Peace Index, the Democracy Index, and the Press Freedom Index and the dip in economic growth.
Dr. Tharoor says that the government's Stand Up India scheme should be renamed "sit down India, shut down India and shut up India."
The President's address fails to address the national aspirations of a new India and hence should be rejected, says Mr. Tharoor.
Dr. Sudhanshu Trivedi of the BJP says that the previous governments suffered with a 'crisis of credibility'. But the ruling BJP does what it says. The government has also taken steps to develop technology and an efficient work culture through schemes like Digital India and Jan Dhan schemes, he says.
He adds that over the years, the definitions of 'right wing' have changed and what the opposition wrongfully calls 'right-wing' now is in fact 'nationalism'.
He adds that anti-CAA protesters who are invoking the Constitution do not have the complete knowledge of the issue.
Rajeev Singh Ranjan of the JD(U) says the country is made up of its constituent States and as long as each of these are not developed, a developed nation cannot be achieved.
Referring to the Centre's motto of "Sabka saath, sabka vikaas, sabka vishwaas", he says that Bihar as a backward region should be given special packages for its equal development.
He adds that when the Citizenship Bill was introduced in Parliament, nobody opposed it. But some people are now compromising the integrity and unity of the nation for their own political gains.
Bhupendra Yadav says that the ruling BJP government has also enhanced India's defence capabilities and the constitution of the CDS is an important step.
He said that under the previous governments, the two Master Plans developed for Delhi failed to materialise. But the BJP government took steps to authorise over 1700 colonies. He also thanks the government for setting up the Kartarpur corridor.
In his speech on Motion of Thanks, Bhupendra Yadav of the BJP says that the States that passed resolutions against the CAA have violated the Constitution and Kapil Sibal of the Congress had also pointed that out. He says that India has always condemned cases of religious persecution around the world.
He adds that since the Shaheen Bagh protests do not address religious persecution in the neighbouring Islamic countries, people who are opposing the law are only looking for political gains.
Lok Sabha resumes and starts deliberations on the Motion of Thanks. West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh says the Citizenship Amendment Act is a historic step and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be thanked for it.
He calls the nationwide anti-CAA protests a 'drama' and says that BJP workers are not being allowed to hold rallies in support of the PM and the citizenship law.
The House is adjourned for lunch till 2:00 p.m.
Question hour ends in the Rajya Sabha. House will reconvene at 2:00 p.m. to discuss the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
Lok Sabha discusses the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. N.K. Premachandran of the RSP from Kerala urges the Centre to provide sufficient facilities to students who were evacuated from China and are now quarantined near Delhi and Haryana.
He also says that the Centre should issue a formal statement regarding the outbreak.
To a question by Dr. Narendra Jadhav regarding rise in bank frauds and also mooting a separate agency to curb them, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur replies that it was the present BJP government that took up recapitalisation of banks and mergers to help the banking sector. Steps will be taken soon to check such frauds too, he said.
Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury makes an objectionable comment on Hegde. BJP members raise slogans and demand an apology.
Question hour begins. Neeraj Shekhar of the BJP asks Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, if there is any way to bring private hospitals under the ambit of Ayushman Bharat scheme.
Replying to a supplementary question, Dr. Vardhan informs the House that Delhi, West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana are yet to adopt the scheme.
Lok Sabha reconvenes. Members list papers to be laid on the table.
In a written reply, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said “Till now, the government has not taken any decision to prepare National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) at the national level.”
Derek O'Brien of the Trinamool Congress says that he has given a notice under Rule 267, but the Chairman reiterates that he has not allowed it.
Zero hour commences. Opposition members raise 'goli chalana band karo' (stop using bullets) and 'CAA par halla bol' (raise your voice against the Citizenship Amendment Act) slogans and approach the Well of the House. The Chairman says that nothing shall go on record.
Hegde’s remarks on Mahatma Gandhi cause uproar
Lok Sabha proceedings adjourned till noon amid uproar by Opposition members over BJP member Anant Hegde’s remarks on Mahatma Gandhi. In controversial comments on Saturday, Mr. Hegde had questioned the freedom movement led by Gandhiji and described it as an “adjustment” with the British rulers. The BJP then issued a show cause notice to him.
Here's a recap of yesterday's stories
Opposition cries foul as Naidu refuses debate on CAA
The Rajya Sabha Rulebook is redundant if it doesn’t give space to the Opposition, five Opposition parties said on Monday after the Chairman repeatedly refused to allow notices under Rule 267.
Majority of the Opposition parties gave notices under Rule 267, which allows suspension of the day’s business to debate issues of national importance, to debate the nationwide protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens. Following the Chairman’s denial, the House was adjourned four times through the day.
Congress, DMK target in LS Anurag Thakur for his remarks at poll rally in Delhi
Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday said the government cannot silence people’s voice (boli) with bullet (goli) as members of the Congress and the DMK targeted Minister of State for Finance, Anurag Thakur, in the House.
Members of the Congress and the DMK, who were protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR), resorted to sloganeering every time Mr. Thakur answered a question during the Zero Hour for his controversial speech at an election rally earlier.
We’ll not take back CAA. It is a question of country’s integrity, says Parvesh
Opposition members in the Lok Sabha, staged a walkout on Monday as BJP’s Parvesh Verma rose to initiate a discussion on Motion of Thanks on President’s Speech.
The action was against his controversial remarks at a recent poll rally, for which he has been barred by the Election Commission of India last week for four days. The Opposition members, including those from the Congress and the DMK, shouted “sharam karo” (have some shame).
1,800-seat national performing arts centre proposed at IGNCA: Minister
Stating that Delhi did not have a large auditorium, Union Culture Minister of State (Independent Charge) Prahlad Singh Patel told the Lok Sabha on Monday that an 1,800-seat “National Centre for the Performing Arts” would be constructed at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
