Page 78 - Parliament

No-confidence motion against Modi govt: The last arrow in Oppn's quiver

Moving the goalposts or scoring a self-goal, no-trust votes are not just about the government having the numbers and winning the motion arithmetically

Preserve democratic values

Gagging critics weakens democratic credentials

Issues should be discussed, there should be no disruption in Parl: Om Birla

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday said every serious issue should be discussed, but there should be no disruption in state assemblies and Parliament as people have a lot of expectations from these "temples of democracy". Birla's remarks came against the backdrop of ongoing impasse in Parliament over Manipur violence. He said agreement and disagreement on various issues is the speciality of India's democracy. The Lok Sabha speaker was addressing MLAs and MPs from northeastern states and other dignitaries at the Assam Legislative Assembly after inaugurating its new building here. "In the temple of democracy, there should be debates, discussions, dialogue and interactions on every serious issue. But there should not be any disruption or impasse in state legislative assemblies and Lok Sabha," Birla said. "People have a a lot of expectations from the state assemblies and Lok Sabha. People send you here with lots of hopes," he said, adding that "this is my request". An intensive deb

Stage set for stormy week as parliament set to take up Delhi services bill

The Monsoon session of Parliament which saw many disruptions since it began on July 20 over the Manipur violence issue, is set to become more turbulent with the government likely to introduce a bill in the Lok Sabha to replace the Delhi services ordinance. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill has become a rallying point for a united opposition against the BJP-led NDA. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's AAP, which is a part of the opposition coalition INDIA, has reacted strongly against the ordinance. The Congress and other opposition parties have also come out against the ordinance. The government has also listed 13 draft legislations for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha even as a notice for moving a no-confidence motion is pending before the House. Amid the impasse in Parliament over the violence in Manipur and the opposition's demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement in the House, Home Minister Amit Shah has asserte

Delhi services bill circulated among MPs before introduction in Parliament

The draft bill to replace the ordinance which mandated the creation of an authority for transfers and postings of senior officers in the Delhi government is ready and has been circulated among the MPs before its introduction in Parliament next week. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2023 will have the identical provisions for the appointments and postings of the senior officers in the Delhi government like the ordinance promulgated on May 19. According to the bill, all transfer and postings of senior officers in the Delhi government will be done by a three-member committee headed by the Delhi chief minister. The Delhi ordinance was promulgated by the central government a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services in Delhi excluding police, public order and land to the elected government, headed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. "With a view to give effect to the intent and purpose behind the provisions of article 239AA of

We hope PM speaks in Parliament soon on Manipur situation: Farooq Abdullah

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said opposition parties want peace in strife-torn Manipur and hoped Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks in Parliament soon on the situation in the state. A delegation of 21 MPs from the opposition bloc INDIA reached Imphal on Saturday to assess the ground situation in the state. They will visit several relief camps to meet with victims of the ethnic clashes that broke in the northeastern state on May 3. "A delegation of the opposition has gone to Manipur. When they return, we will get to know from them about the situation there," Abdullah told reporters here. "We want peace to be established there so that those who live there can live in peace and the communal fight which has started be stopped. We should try to live together. A solution will come only when all the communities there live with dignity," the Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar said. Referring to the recent video of two women being paraded in Manipur, Abdullah said

Lok Sabha adjourned for the day amid opposition protest over Manipur issue

Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Friday amid a protest by opposition members over the Manipur issue. As the House reconvened at 12 noon after the first adjournment, Rajendra Agrawal, who was in the Chair, took up the Mines and Mineral Amendment Bill for consideration. The bill was passed amid the din. The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023 and the National Dental Commission Bill, 2023 were also passed by Lok Sabha. As opposition members continued their protest, Agrawal adjourned the House for the day. Soon after the House met at 11 am, the opposition members were on their feet demanding an immediate discussion on the no-confidence motion moved by the Congress against the Modi government. Speaker Om Birla asked the opposition MPs to take part in the proceedings. "Don't you want to allow the House to function? Question Hour, where government replies to the questions of the members, is very important," he said. Congress leader in the House Adhir Ranjan Chowd

RS chairman Dhankhar's all-party meeting fails to break Parliament logjam

Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday reached out to various parties to break the deadlock in Parliament. The Rajya Sabha has been witnessing repeated disruptions ever since it met for the Monsoon session on July 20. The House has not been functioning normally amid uproar caused by opposition members seeking a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Manipur violence and a discussion under Rule 267. "Chairman Rajya Sabha, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar convened an all-party meeting in his chamber today in an attempt to break the deadlock in the Upper House," the Vice President's office said and shared pictures of the interaction. Representatives of various parties, including Leader of the House Piyush Goyal, Congress deputy leader in the House Pramod Tiwari and chief whip Jairam Ramesh, besides leaders of the BJD, NCP and other parties were present during the meeting. However, no solution to end the stalemate in the House could be reached, sources said

110% increase in number of MBBS seats in India since 2014, Centre tells LS

There has been an 82-per cent increase in the number of medical colleges in the country, from 387 before 2014 to 704 now, and a 110-per cent increase in the number of MBBS seats, from 51,348 to 1,07,948, in the same period, Parliament was informed on Friday. In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said there has also been an increase of 117 per cent in the number of post-graduate (PG) medical seats in the country -- from 31,185 before 2014 to 67,802 as of now. Mandaviya said 101 medical colleges have been approved in the last five years under a centrally-sponsored scheme (CSS) for the "establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals", including one in Assam. "The government has increased the number of medical colleges and subsequently, increased the MBBS seats," he said. "There is an increase of 82 per cent in medical colleges, from 387 before 2014 to 704 as of now. Further, there is an .

Will assess Manipur situation to make recommendations to govt: Oppn leaders

The delegation of INDIA bloc MPs which will visit Manipur over the weekend will assess the ground situation first-hand and then make recommendations to the government and Parliament for a solution to the problems in the violence-hit state, opposition leaders said on Friday. Ahead of the visit, Congress' deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi called for an inquiry under a retired Supreme Court judge into the violence in Manipur. The delegation is likely to include Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Gaurav Gogoi of the Congress, TMC's Sushmita Dev, JMM's Mahua Maji, DMK's Kanimozhi, NCP's Vandana Chavan, Jayant Chaudhary of RLD, Manoj Kumar Jha of RJD, N K Premachandran of RSP and T Thirumavalavan of the VCK. Gogoi said, "The BJP wants to give the picture that everything is fine in Manipur but it is not so with violence continuing. That is why we want that an inquiry should be conducted under a retired Supreme Court judge as to how did the state government fail, how did people got access to

LS passes National Dental Commission Bill for better quality education

The Lok Sabha on Friday passed the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023 and the National Dental Commission Bill, 2023, which seek to usher in better quality of nursing and dental education. The National Dental Commission Bill seeks to repeal the Dentists Act, 1948 and proposes to set up National Dental Commission (NMC) to regulate dental education and the profession in the country. It also aims to make dental education affordable and make quality oral healthcare accessible. The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023 aims at setting up National Nursing and Midwifery Commission (NNMC) and to repeal the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947. The Bill provides for regulation and maintenance of standards of education and services by nursing and midwifery professionals, assessment of institutions, maintenance of a national register as well as state registers. Moving the bills for consideration and passing, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said these would help

Biological Diversity Bill: What is it, and what are the changes made to it?

The new bill will amend the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, which provides for the conservation of biological diversity in India

Bill to replace Delhi services ordinance to be taken up in LS next week

Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Friday said a bill to replace the ordinance promulgated for the creation of an authority for transfers and postings of Group-A officers in Delhi will be taken up by Lok Sabha next week. The law and justice minister was informing the House about the business listed for the coming week. A number of notices submitted by opposition leaders to move a statutory resolution opposing the controversial ordinance will also be taken up when the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill is tabled in the House. The Lok Sabha Secretariat has admitted notices submitted by several opposition leaders including Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, TMC's Saugata Roy and DMK's A Raja, N K Premchandran and Dean Kuriakose. The Union Cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, which will replace the ordinance promulgated by the Centre on May 19. The controversial ordinance was promulga

Rajya Sabha adjourned for day after spat between chair, Derek O'Brien

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday abruptly adjourned the House for the day after a spat with TMC leader Derek O'Brien who was pressing for discussion on the Manipur situation. Dhankhar was interrupted by the TMC MP who thumped the desk to make a point over non-admission of notices given by opposition members under Rule 267 to discuss the Manipur situation, prompting him to adjourn proceedings. As many as 47 MPs from parties, including the Congress, Left parties, TMC, SP, AAP, NCP and DMK, had given notices on Friday under the rule that calls for suspension of the listed business and taking up the issue being raised. A visibly perturbed Dhankhar termed O'Brien's behaviour "theatrics" that would not be tolerated. "We can't suffer this," he said and adjourned the proceedings for the day. The House had met for just 27 minutes during which birthday greetings were extended to two members, farewell accorded to retiring Vinay Dinur Tendulkar (BJP), official papers were laid

Stormy monsoon sessions likely again over Manipur, no-confidence motion

Members of the grand Opposition alliance, I.N.D.I.A, have been adamant on the demand that all listed businesses in both Houses be aside for a discussion on the Manipur situation

Meet S Phangnon Konyak, Nagaland's 1st woman MP to preside over Rajya Sabha

The first woman MP from Nagaland to preside over Rajya Sabha, Konyak will likely become a leading BJP woman's voice from the Northeast, soft but insistent

Tax dept should conduct evasion searches with caution: Parl panel

"The committee are of the view that while stepping up enforcement action against wilful or chronic evaders, honest taxpayers should not be alienated," the report said

Parl Panel urges govt to review use of NMMS app for attendance, issues

A parliamentary committee on Thursday urged the government to review the use of the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app for recording attendance in MGNREGA in light of the "difficulties" being faced by workers. It asked the government to come out with an acceptable provision at the earliest after ascertaining the issues. In a report tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday, the Parliamentary Committee on Rural Development noted the introduction of the NMMS app is aimed at capturing two time-stamped and geotagged photographs of the MGNREGA workers in a day. The Committee said it was understood that through the introduction of a new attendance system, the Department of Rural Development wanted to usher in increased transparency. However, they found that the actual success of this app depended upon various extraneous variables like the availability of smartphones, proper internet connectivity and the mandatory presence of MGNREGA workers at both the specified times to name a few. "Ta

Closely monitor capex to boost growth, employment: Parliamentary panel

The Standing Committee, headed by Jayant Sinha, highlighted the need for forward-looking surveys by industry and region to anticipate future trends

Compromise on road quality under PMGSY completely unacceptable: Parl panel

Flagging "poor quality" of many roads built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, a parliamentary panel has said that such compromise was "completely unacceptable" and suggested that the thickness of roads under the scheme be increased from existing 20 mm to 30 mm. In its report tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday, the Department Related Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj also stressed on the need for better centre-state cooperation to properly implement the scheme. The panel, which is headed by DMK MP Kanimozhi, stated that it is "constrained to note that the quality of road construction under PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) is an important issue affecting the entire country". "This glaring issue which casts aspersions on the marquee scheme of the central government has wider ramification on the hopes of rural populace of the country," the committee said. It also said the compromise in the quality of construction of roads was completely unaccepta