Page 37 - Rajya Sabha

'INDIA' alliance MPs walk out of RS during Question Hour over Manipur issue

Members of the INDIA bloc parties on Tuesday walked out of the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour over their demand for a discussion on the Manipur issue and a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the House. When the House reconvened at noon after a brief adjournment for about 35 minutes, opposition parties continued with the sloganeering but Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar continued with the Question Hour despite the din. The INDIA bloc parties staged a walkout at 12.30 pm. The Rajya Sabha members were on their feet from the beginning of the Question Hour, shouting "Manipur, Manipur". The Congress' chief whip Jairam Ramesh, said, "Today, too, the INDIA parties demanded the prime minister's presence in the Rajya Sabha to make a statement on Manipur, to be followed by a discussion." He also alleged Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge was not allowed to speak. "All INDIA (alliance) parties walked out around 12:30 pm," Ramesh said in a tweet later. The Rajya Sabha was ear

Rajya Sabha proceedings adjourned till noon amid Oppn protest over Manipur

Rajya Sabha proceedings on Tuesday were adjourned till noon amid protest by opposition parties demanding discussion on the Manipur issue in the House. Soon after the listed papers were tabled in the House, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed anguish over repeated disruptions of the proceedings in the House on the "same issue". He said a short-duration discussion on the issue was scheduled the previous day, but it could not take place. Dhankhar also did not approve 60 notices for taking up discussion on the Manipur issue under Rule 267 of the Rajya Sabha which allows for suspension of the day's business to debate on any issue suggested by a member. Meanwhile, opposition members started raising slogans. Around 11.25 am, the Chair adjourn House proceedings till noon.

ICCs against sexual harassment of women at workplace in all forces: Centre

The Internal Complaints Committees for the prevention of sexual harassment of women at the workplace are functional in all forces, PSUs, ordnance boards, autonomous bodies, subordinate offices and all other organisations under the Ministry of Defence, the government informed Parliament on Monday. Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said this in a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha. He was asked whether it is a fact that under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013, ministries are mandated to have an Internal Committee, to which he replied in the affirmative. "Internal Complaint's Committees for prevention of sexual harassment of women at workplace are functional in all forces, PSUs, Ordnance Boards, Autonomous Bodies, Subordinate Offices and all other organisations under Ministry of Defence," he said in his response. On the number of cases referred to the internal complaints committee in the last three years, he said, the figure stood at "1

No plan to give autonomy to the National Statistical Commission: Centre

In line with the Rangarajan Commission's recommendations on June 1, 2005, the Centre set up a NSC to serve as a nodal and empowered body for all core statistical activities of the country

PM must make statement on Manipur, INDIA parties want debate in RS: Cong

Parties belonging to the opposition bloc INDIA want a discussion on Manipur under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha, which means that all other business of the House gets suspended till the debate is over, the Congress said on Monday and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "running away" from giving a statement on the violence in the state. Both Houses of Parliament have been experiencing repeated disruptions since the start of the Monsoon session on July 20.The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day on Monday as the opposition insisted on discussing the Manipur issue under Rule 267 of the House. In a tweet, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "The INDIA parties stuck to their position in the Rajya Sabha this afternoon. PM must make a statement in the House on what has happened in Manipur over the past 90 days on which he has maintained an eloquent silence. Thereafter, there should be a debate and discussion." The INDIA parties want this under Rule 267, which means given the

44% of rural households in ST areas yet to get tap water connection: Govt

About 44 per cent of the rural households in the Scheduled Tribe areas in the country are yet to get tap water connection, according to government data. Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel said 1.2 crore out of 2.17 crore (55.3 per cent) rural tribal households have tap water connection According to data, the states where more than half the rural tribal households are yet to get tap water connection are Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal, the minister said. To enable every rural household in the country to have potable tap water supply by 2024, including those in tribal areas and areas, the government is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Har Ghar Jal in partnership with the states. Responding to another question, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu said the Central Water Commission (CWC) monitors live storage status of 146 important reservoirs in the country on a weekly basis and ...

Monsoon Session: RS adjourned till 3.30 pm over uproar on Manipur issue

The Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the fourth time till 3.30 pm on Monday as the opposition kept insisting on a discussion on the Manipur issue under Rule 267 of the House. As the House reassembled at 2 pm after the second adjournment, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the government has agreed to a short duration discussion on the Manipur issue under Rule 176 and called for the initiation of the discussion. "The government is extremely keen (for a discussion on the Manipur issue)," Dhankhar said amid uproar by the opposition. When members from the opposition parties insisted on a discussion under Rule 267, he responded, "Notices under Rule 267 have not been admitted by me. They have been declined by me". As the uproar continued, the Chairman first adjourned the House till 2.30 pm and then again till 3.30 pm.

RS adjourned till noon, govt says ready for discussion on Manipur issue

The government on Monday agreed to a discussion on the Manipur issue in the Rajya Sabha at 2 pm but the opposition insisted on a debate only under Rule 267 of the House, forcing the chairman to adjourn proceedings till noon. Rule 267 of the Rajya Sabha rulebook allows for the suspension of the day's business to debate on any issue suggested by a member. After the papers were laid, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said he received 65 notices under Rule 267 and also noted that this rule is evoked on the rarest of occasions. The last time it was evoked was in 2018. Meanwhile, Leader of House Piyush Goyal said the government was ready for a discussion on the Manipur issue at 2 pm but the opposition did not agree. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge insisted that the discussion should only be held under Rule 267 of the House.

RJD MP gives suspension of biz notice in RS, seeks discussion on Manipur

The RJD MP in his notice emphasised that House should discuss the ongoing situation in Manipur claiming that its impact is spreading to other states of the Northeast

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

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

Next Opposition meet of INDIA coalition in Mumbai on Aug 25-26: Report

Opposition parties will hold the next meeting of their 26-member INDIA coalition in Mumbai on August 25 and 26, sources said on Thursday. The third meeting of the bloc will be hosted jointly by the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP's Sharad Pawar faction, with support from the Congress, they said. This is the first time that the opposition meeting will be held in a state where no member of the INDIA bloc is in power. While the first meeting of opposition parties was hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) in Patna, the second was held in Bengaluru and hosted by the Congress. The Mumbai Summit -- as it is being called by INDIA bloc parties -- is significant as discussions regarding seat sharing are expected to be taken up.

Opposition boycotts Rajya Sabha Business Advisory Committee meeting

Opposition alliance INDIA on Thursday boycotted a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Rajya Sabha to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi not making a statement on Manipur violence in Parliament, a senior leader said. The Rajya Sabha BAC has 11 members, including the Vice-President who is its ex-officio chairman. Three MPs from the 26-member opposition front INDIA are on the BAC committee -- Jairam Ramesh (Congress), Misa Bharti (RJD) and Derek O'Brien (TMC). They and BRS's Keshav Rao gave the meeting a miss. This was the latest in a slew of meetings that members of the opposition bloc either walked out of or boycotted over the last few weeks. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday met some leaders of political parties as he worked on deciding the date on which the debate on the no-confidence motion will be held. Parliamentary sources said a decision will be taken later. On Wednesday and Thursday, some opposition members in the Lok Sabha objected to the govern

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

Rajya Sabha passes bill with stringent provisions to curb film piracy

Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill which has provisions for up to three-year jail term and a fine of up to five per cent of the production cost of a film for persons making pirated copies of movies. The bill also has provisions to introduce three age-based certifications under the 'UA' category, namely 'UA 7+', 'UA 13+' and 'UA 16+', and to empower the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to sanction a film with a separate certificate for its exhibition on television or other media. "The film industry is facing a loss of Rs 20,000 crore annually because of piracy," Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said, responding to a brief debate on the bill in Rajya Sabha. The opposition staged a walkout over its demand for a discussion on the situation in ethnic strife-torn Manipur when the bill was taken up for discussion. Thakur said, "The bill has been brought to stop the loss of Rs 20,000 crore which occurs due to piracy. The ...

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amid ruckus created by Oppn parties

The Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the second time till 2 pm on Thursday amid continuous sloganeering by members of both treasury benches and the opposition. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, who was allowed by the chair to raise questions on the statement made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the latest developments in India's foreign policy, could not speak in the House due to the uproar. Soon after the House met at 12 noon, after an initial adjournment, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar allowed Kharge to speak but treasury benches started raising slogans. The opposition members also countered them and raised slogans, which led to a pandemonium in the House. Slogans like "kaale kapde, kaala kaam, nahin sahega Hindustan" were heard in the House when the Leader of Opposition rose to speak. The reference was towards the opposition members who were wearing black clothes as a mark of protest for not allowing them to raise the Manipur issue in the House. After

Costing Rs 2.5 lakh per minute, logjams in Parliament are a costly affair

The Lok Sabha overall recorded a productivity of 34 per cent, while the Rajya Sabha's productivity was 24.4% during this Budget Session

INDIA alliance likely to boycott RS Business Advisory Committee meeting

Opposition alliance INDIA is likely to boycott a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of Rajya Sabha to be held on Thursday morning to protest against the prime minister not making a statement on Manipur violence in Parliament, a senior leader said. The Rajya Sabha BAC has 11 members including the Vice President as its ex-officio chairman. Three MPs from the 26-member INDIA are on the BAC committee -- one each from Congress, RJD and TMC. Sources said the parties may send someone who is not a member as an "observer" to the meeting. However, it is not clear if such an "observer" will be allowed to attend the meeting. On July 20, several opposition leaders had walked out of a BAC meeting to protest against Modi not making a statement on the Manipur issue in Parliament and the Centre bringing a bill to replace an ordinance on the control of services in Delhi despite it being sub-judice. Leaders of the Congress and other opposition parties including the Left, TMC, DMK, RJD,

Delhi Court awards 4-yr jail to ex-MP Vijay Darda, son for coal scam

A Delhi court on Wednesday sentenced ex-Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, his son Devender Darda, and businessman Manoj Kumar Jayaswal to four years in jail in a case related to irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh, saying the convicts obtained the block by cheating the government of India. All three convicts were taken into custody immediately after the court order. Special Judge Sanjay Bansal also awarded three-year jail terms to ex-coal secretary H C Gupta and two former senior public servants K S Kropha and K C Samria in the case. The three convicts were, however, granted bail by the court to enable them to challenge their conviction and punishment before the high court. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh on the company, JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd, which was convicted in the case. The court imposed a fine of Rs 15 lakh each on the Dardas and Jayaswal. The other three convicts were directed to pay a fine of Rs 20,000 each. The present case relat

Monsoon Session: Rajya Sabha proceedings adjourned briefly amid din

Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday claimed he was "insulted" as his mic was turned off while he was speaking in the House the previous day. In the morning session, the House also witnessed acrimonious exchanges between opposition and treasury benches and sloganeering by the two sides, leading to a brief adjournment. Referring to Tuesday's proceedings, Kharge said he was not allowed to speak in the House and "my mic was turned off". "It was a breach of my privilege. This is my insult. My self-respect has been challenged. "If the House is run on the instructions of the government, then I will understand that it is not a democracy," the Congress president said. Other opposition members supported Kharge with many of them raising slogans. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asked them to take their seats. When he informed Kharge that several MPs were standing in the rows behind him, the Congress leader said, "Mere peechhe khade agar nahi