Waiver of passport requirement for Kartarpur pilgrims sought

BJP MP Shankar Lalwani on Wednesday asked the Centre to work to waive passport requirement for pilgrims visiting Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.

Making the demand in Lok Sabha, Lalwani also urged the government to take up the issue of waiving fees for pilgrims visiting the shrine while noting that Pakistanis visiting religious places like the Sufi shrine in Ajmer are not required to pay extra fees.

Congress members from Punjab were seen raising their hands in an endorsement of the Indore MP's plea.

Among other issues raised during the Zero Hour, Satabdi Roy of the Trinamool Congress said the Ministry of External Affairs has refused to give her a no-objection certificate for attending a film festival in China.

The MP said she had to face a lot of harassment for getting the visa and when it did come she was not given the required NoC without being offered any reason.

She said Modi was getting pictures clicked with Chinese president Xi Jinping while she has been denied a visit to China.

At this point, Speaker Om Birla stopped her from speaking further even as another TMC member Saugata Roy was seen supporting her.

AIMIM's Imtiyaz Jaleel sought construction of an express highway between Aurangabad and Shirdi, the home of revered Sai Baba, saying the current highway is in a very bad shape.

Hanuman Beniwal of Rashtriya Loktantrik Party expressed shock at the death of thousands of migratory birds in Rajasthan and sought the Centre's intervention.

Mohan Delkar, an independent MP, said the administration in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli was not consulting elected representatives for implementing central government schemes.