Alleging a conspiracy to disqualify Indian medal hopefuls from the Rio Olympics, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari today demanded a probe if wrestler Narsingh Yadav and two other athletes were found to have been given banned drug-spiked food without their knowledge.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, he alleged that the banned substance was mixed in 'dal fry' in the Sports Authority of India (SAI) kitchen and a thorough probe has to be carried out to get to the root of the issue.
If the banned substance was consumed by the athlete unknowingly, then he should be given a fair chance to represent. But if he did it knowingly, then he should be punished, Tiwari said.
Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said it was a very relevant issue. "If there is a conspiracy, it needs to be investigated," he said.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said he will make the concerned minister aware of the feelings of the House.
Mohd Nadimul Haque (TMC) raised the issue of four lakh minority students in West Bengal being denied scholarships due to a technical glitch in the National Scholarship portal.
Stating that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had first written to the minority affairs minister in August last year and then to the Prime Minister recently, he said states must be allowed opt out of the National Scholarship Portal and disburse scholarships to students using DBT.
In his speech, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said last date of application for the national scholarship was extended to August 31 on the request of states.
As many as 56.27 lakh students were given Rs 37 crore worth of scholarships in 2015-16 and government will take action if any shortcoming is pointed out, he said.
JD(U) and SP members alleged that OBC candidates in the
UPSC were being discriminated against in the name of 'creamy layer', a charge refuted by the government which said there was no change in the reservation policy.
Ram Nath Thakur (JD-U) said that 314 succesful OBC candidates in the UPSC were being discrimanted in the name of creamy layer, adding "this government is anti-reservation."
Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) that despite being selected in UPSC, OBC candidates were not sent for training. He asked the government to immediately resolve the issue.
In his response, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government has made no changes in the reservation policy. "There is no question of change in reservation policy and there is no effort to make changes either," he said.
The minister said government policies should not be evaluated on news reports, in response to Thakur's statement that he had learnt about the plight of successul OBC candidates from a TV programme.
As several opposition members, including those from JD-U, SP and the Left were making their points on the issue, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien asked the government to "examine" the issue and inform the House.
Palvai Govardhan Reddy (Cong) said while the government has reduced prices of DAP fertilizers, private companies were still selling the farm nutrient at higher prices.
This is because the two government companies - Rashtriay Chemical Fertilizer Limited and National Fertilizer Limited -- have only five per cent market share in the DAP segment. "Price is decided by private companies based on market forces," Reddy said.
He said the contention of private companies was that they were not getting the subsidy from the government.
D Raja (CPI) spoke about the problems faced by students of Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) after the UGC declared their degrees invalid. FDDI has 12 campuses and the decision has affected 4,000 students, he said, adding that FDDI had entered into a MoU with a private university in 2012 without obtaining legal advice.
The intention behind entering the MoU with the private university was "malafide and vested", he claimed. It was only in 2014, the FDDI informed UGC about the MoU and the University Grant Commission declared the degrees awarded to the students invalid, he added.
(Reopens PAR9)
Harivansh (JD-U) highlighted the threat of cyber attacks, including on computer networks of sensitive establishments.
Citing a report, he said five lakh professionals were required for cyber security and added that India was considered fifth most vulnerable country for cyber attacks.
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel talked about erosion on either side of the banks of Narmada river in Gujarat. He made a case for raising the protection wall to save land on either sides of the river banks.
He also said environmentalists were seeking plantations on both sides of the river.
Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu (Cong) raised the problems of the people of Jharkhand due to non-completion of the first phase of four-laning of a national highway. He also said people were being given meagre compensation for their land acquired for the second phase of the four-laning project.
Ali Anwar Ansari (JD-U) said the staff of 255-year old Khudabaksh Oriental Public Library in Patna were not getting salary as grant has not been released from the Centre. He also said the post of Director has been lying vacant since 2014.
He aid the candidate for the post of director approved by the selection committee has not been cleared by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet.
Dola Sen (TMC) talked about accidents due to unmanned level railway crossings.
Raising concern over widespread sickle cell anaemia among the tribal population in the country, Dilip Kumar Tirkey (BJD) asked the government to formulate a National Tribal Health Policy.
