Yesterday, the Lok Sabha passed the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and the Rajya Sabha passed a Bill banning the manufacture and sale of electronic cigarettes , but not their possession and use.
Bills passed in the Rajya Sabha today:
Rajya Sabha passed The Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019,
The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019.
The Lok Sabha passes the Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019.
Here are the live updates:
After taking up Issues of Public Importance, The Lok Saha is adjourned for the day.
The Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 passed by voice vote.
The Bill seeks to regulate recycling of ships according to international standards. The Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the proposed law will help the ship recycling industry and generate more jobs.
While most of the amendments moved by the Opposition were withdrawn, some which were tabled were defeated. Mr. Mandaviya said protection of environment and safety of workers are the soul of the Bill.
(With inputs from PTI)
Rajya Sabha passes The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019.
The members take up their Special Mentions in the House.
House adjourned till December 4, 2019.
Tiruchi Selva (DMK): "I support the bill. I'd request the Home Minister to consider the long pending demand of giving statehood to UT Puducherry. Compared to two other states, Puducherry's GDP and per capita income is higher. There are so many other genuine reasons."
Amee Yajnik (INC): "Healthcare system has collapsed, the condition of the roads are bad and they have the lowest sex ratio. The bill doesn't address these issues. The bill is speaking about the administrators to govern the UTs. But that doesn't reflect that what cost it would be to uplift the social indicators."
MoS, Home Affairs, G. Kishan Reddy: "I thank the members for not opposing this bill. All the existing policies in the administration will remain the same."
Manoj Kishorbhai Kotak (BJP) says safety measures need to come into place. "Shipbreaking will become bigger soon and make Maharashtra port an important part of the industry with this bill."
N.K. Premachandran (RSP): "As far as ship breaking is concerned, India's position is number 1. I support the bill. All the breaking shipyards should be certified."
House discusses The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019 that was passed in Lok Sabha last week.
MoS, Home Affairs, G. Kishan Reddy: "Officers take turns every week 3 days in a place and 2 days in another. They have to travel every now and then. Even expenditures will become less once it is merged. So for administrative convenience and speedy development, I request this Bill be passed."
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu in the Chair.
Dr. Vinay P. Sahasrabuddhe (BJP): "When it comes to Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, they face many issues. We are clearing a historic backlog with this bill."
Home Minister Amit Shah on SPG Bill: "SPG law not being amended keeping in mind the Gandhi family. Security from Gandhis was withdrawn after the threat assessment analysis even before bringing this bill. Threat and security cover should be delinked; SPG cover should only be for head of state.
Sometimes even a citizen would have a bigger threat than the Prime Minister. Would he be given SPG cover then? Security cannot be status symbol; Why this clamour for SPG.
After 5 years, Mr. Modi's SPG security will also be withdrawn. Now Manmohan Singh's security was also withdrawn and replaced it with ‘Z plus’ security cover."
"CPI(M) talk about political vendetta. They don't have the authority to talk about this."
Members of the CPI(M) oppose his remarks, as Speaker says, "Nothing is going on record," and asks them to take their seats. "Without the permission of the Chair, you can't talk."
Amit Shah says: "120 BJP workers were killed in Kerala. I was not in power then. B.K. Hariprasad asked a question. Even his security is my concern. Every citizen's security is my concern."
The Home Minister explains the measures taken after a security incident at Priyanka Vadra's house. He says that probe was ordered into security breach at Priyanka Gandhi's house.
"There is no political vendetta behind this. The entire country's security is the govt's responsibility."
The Congress, which criticised the amendment, walked out of Rajya Sabha saying it is dissatisfied with the Home Minister’s reply on the amendment to the SPG Act.
Rajya Sabha passes The Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
The Lok Sabha is discussing the Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019.
Poonamben Hematbhai Maadam (BJP): "There are shortcomings in the Shipbreaking Code. Recycling used to take place all over the world. This industry is very important to India. In India 240 ships were recycled in 2018 and 2019. The govt plans to further increase the share. This will also create employment. India is a leader in this segment."
SPG Bill is the Special Political Gagging Bill, says B.K. Hariprasad. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is under continuous attack from communal forces.
P. Wilson (DMK) says he opposes the Bill as it targets only one family. How can legislature perceive the threat, he asks. Only a competent authority can do so.
Dr. Subrahmanyan Swamy (BJP) speaks of Indira Gandhi's assassination. He brings up the Congress’ alliance with the DMK after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. He also cites Sonia Gandhi’s letter to the President asking for the assassins’s death sentences to be commuted. He also says Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Nalini in jail, and the LTTE is no longer a threat.
Islamist forces are not a threat because they are very secular, he says.
“We want them to stay alive because they have to go to jail for corruption,” says Dr. Swamy.
A. Navaneethakrishnan (AIADMK) reads out Home Minister Amit Shah’s reply in Lok Sabha to questions raised on this Bill. He supports the Bill.
Prasanna Acharya (BJD) speaks about the protests during the time of the Mandal Commission report.
K.K. Ragesh (CPI-M) asks the government what its intentions are to bring such a Bill. He says the PM has violated SPG protocol many times, and it's called heroism. When others do so, it is called disregard.
Lok Sabha reconvenes and takes up the Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019.
The House reconvenes and takes up the The SPG (Amendment) Bill, 2019 for consideration and passing.
Vivek Tankha (INC) says he is saddened that party politics have come to such a point that leaders’ safety and security is not being taken seriously.
Neeraj Shekhar (BJP) says wanting SPG protection is a sign of entitlement. The BJP wants to end VIP culture.
Nishikant Dubey, BJP, seeks curbs on social media activity, alleging he was harassed by social media users after his comment on GDP not being "Bible, Ramayan and Mahabharat".
Jaskaur Meena, BJP, says there is a climate of fear regarding the exclusion of creamy layer in SC/ST communities while providing them reservation in promotions. She says the BJP will not do anything to harm the communities; alleging that the atmosphere of fear is created by the Congress party.
Anto Antony, INC, speaks on the breach of security at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's residence. He addresses the issue of SPG cover withdrawal for the Gandhi family, saying, "Don't play politics on the safety of the family".
M. Selvaraj, CPI, speaks on the continuous rainfall in Tamil Nadu over the past few days, causing heavy losses to 17 districts, particularly in the coastal regions. He urges upon the government to immediately release compensation.
House is adjourned till 2.30 p.m.
Nominated Member Dr. Rajendra Jadhav asks if the government has undertaken any study of its own to identify areas at risk of submersion, especially the city of Mumbai.
Minsiter of Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, responds, saying Mumbai does not figure under high-risk regions as per ocean vulnerability maps.
Jaya Bachchan, SP, says the information about Mumbai being at risk of submersion has come from foreign countries, no research has been conducted in India. Most of Mumbai is reclaimed land, she says.
Dr. Vardhan says "Whatever we have said is based on long-time data collected by our own scientists. Mumbai is under no risk".
K.K. Ragesh, CPI(M), speaks on the disinvestment in PSUs. 33 PSUs in the country are going to be sold, he says. He seeks information on the issue.
He says many of these PSUs are strategically important and their employees are on strilke. He asks if the government will reconsider its decision.
Rajya Sabha is adjourned till 2 p.m.
BJP MP Poonam Mahajan broaches the issue of leader of Opposition on the floor, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, having allegedly slighted Union Finance Minsiter Nirmala Sitharaman. She also mentions Mr. Chowdhury's statement calling PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah "infiltrators".
Members of the BJP erupt into protests, demanding an apology from Mr. Chowdhury.
Mr. Chowdhury speaks on skyrocketing prices of onions and the plight of common people.
Protests continue in the House.
K. Kanimozhi, DMK, speaks on hostel facilities provided to students in Tamil Nadu being meagre. Women students are the worst-affected, she says. Only Rs 900 to a school student and Rs 1000 to a college student for a meal, which is not enough to secure a nutritious meal, she adds.
Mimi Chakraborty, AITC, speaks on the rights of the disabled on the occasion of International Day of Disabled Persons.
Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh is in the Chair.
Conflict over the practice of integrative medicine is being discussed.
The next question is on new technique for post-mortem.
G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, is answering questions related to a web based app on crime.
He informs a Member upon his query about the number '112' being functional in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He says the State also has a portal of its own.
Question Hour ends. Papers are laid on the table.
Dr. Santanu Sen, AITC, says even after demonetisation, fake currency has come back into circulation. Neither could demonetisation detect actual black money, nor could it remove fake currency from the country, he alleges. It has only ruined the economy, he adds.
K.K. Ragesh, CPI(M), speaks on the prices of onion having sky-rocketed. "We are the largest exporter of onion in the world. We are producing surplus," he says. The price rise is not for the first time; it happens every year around October. He says hoarders and black-marketeers are benefiting from it but the government has not intervened, he alleges.
A question on palm oil production is being discussed.
Shashi Tharoor, INC, says an alternative to palm oil should be found rather than continuing to acquire land in the north-east which degrades the environment.
The next question is on affordable medical devices.
Mansukh L. Mandaviya, MoS, Chemicals and Fertilisers, talks on how prices of cancer medicines have been brought down to aid the poor.
Mahua Moitra, AITC, says the two most widely used medical equipment by the poor in India are pacemakers and knee replacement implants. She asks what the government is doing pertaining to these two devices.
Mr. Mandaviya says 8 medical devices have been identified, the price of which will also be capped in addition to the existing ones.
Gaurav Gogoi, INC, says quality of medical equipment is as important as the prices. He asks from where the cardiac stents and knee replacements are imported. Mr. Mandaviya says the equipment are of good quality. The price of knee replacements has been reduced by 69%.
The next question is on funds under PM-Kisan scheme.
Uday Pratap Singh, BJP, says in Madhya Pradesh thousands of farmers have not received aid under PM-Kisan Yojana. If the State government is of a different party from the central government, will the farmers of the State remain deprived, he asks.
Kailash Choudhary, MoS, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, says if data is not received from the State, funds cannot be released from the centre.
Chairman Venkaiah Naidu is in the Chair.
Partap Singh Bajwa, INC, says that the remains of Maharaja Duleep Singh should be brought back to Amritsar and given proper rites.
Speaker Om Birla is in the Chair.
Question Hour begins.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, INC, asks for relief for the farmers in Chhattisgarh.
Ramvilas Paswan, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, says efforts are underway to implement 'One Nation, One Card' in Chhattsigarh.
Kalyan Banerjee, AITC, says under the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act, powers have been given to State governments to make subordinate legislations. West Bengal has brought a control order. There are two types of ration cards there. If the State Govt. wants to subsidise rates, how can consumers be deprived of that under 'One Nation, One Card', he asks.
Mr. Paswan responds, saying the central rate is at Rs 2 per kilo for wheat and Rs 3 per kilo for rice. However, States like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal give out commodities at different rates.
