Parliament Session Update: Govt Not Contemplating Population Control Bill, Says MoS Health

The government is not contemplating any legislative measures for population control, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. 
(PTI)

"All General Secretaries were called by the organising secretary for a meeting & future plans of the party are with them. They can give you details about it. All I can say is that tomorrow again we'll raise the issue of price rise in Parliament," said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge

Nearly 742 km of metro rail lines are operational in 19 cities across the country, according to a parliamentary panel report tabled in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Also, about 1,037 km lines, including 82 km Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor, is under construction in 27 cities, as per the 13th report (17th Lok Sabha) of the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs (2021-22) on the subject, 'Implementation of Metro Rail Projects - An Appraisal'.

The first metro rail stretch was commissioned in Kolkata in 1984 between Esplanade and Bhowanipur, covering a distance of 3.40 km with five stations under Metro Railway, Kolkata.

At Present, 27 cities have either operational or under construction network, the report said.

Also, a total of 291 km of RRTS projects -- Delhi-Panipat (111 km) and Delhi-Alwar (180 km) -- is under planning stage, it said.

"Metro project proposals of several cities, such as Delhi Phase-IV (balance three corridors), Kochi Phase-II, Chennai Metro Phase II, Bangalore Metro Phase-2A and 2B, Nashik, Nagpur Metro Phase-II, Thane, Pune Metro Extension, Jammu, Srinagar, Kochi Phase IA, Noida Metro Aqualine extension, etc, are under consideration," it added.

Many more cities like Varanasi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Guwahati, and Chandigarh are aspiring to have metro rail system, the panel report said.

On Delhi Metro's ridership, the report said, "Actual Average Daily Ridership (AADR) of Delhi Metro was 26.14, 28.00, 25.86, 25.93 and 50.65 lakh in 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20, respectively, against Average Daily Ridership required for break-even of 16.07, 18.59, 16.26, 17.03 and 38.24 lakh, respectively, in the same years." 

Despite a lapse of more than four years, six of the 12 states where metro rail networks are either operational or under construction were yet to constitute Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) as a statutory body, according to the report.

These six states are Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra (in Mumbai only) and Rajasthan, it said. 

For Delhi Metro, the report said that "the process of setting up of UMTA has been initiated in September, 2021. The proposal is under consideration of GNCTD (Delhi government) for taking necessary action".

(Input: PTI)

"Opposition is not concerned about the issues facing the farmers or the common man. They're just interested in playing politics, in a bid to stall the progress & welfare of the public. PM Modi & BJP committed to ensuring benefits to the farmers," said Union Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar after Parliament proceedings. 

Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha adjourned till tomorrow following sloganeering by Opposition MPs over issues of price rise & inflation.

Hours after being adjourned due to Opposition ruckus, both Houses of the Parliament have resumed proceedings.

Newly nominated Rajya Sabha MP, former Olympic track and field athlete, PT Usha called on BJP President JP Nadda in Delhi.

"Radicalisation by global terrorist groups like ISIS, Al Qaida is one of the most challenging problems faced by countries in the world. In Indian context,some foreign agencies inimical to India along with global terrorist groups making efforts to radicalise people," said MoS Home Nityanand Rai in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. 

"However, inclination towards radical ideologies is minuscule as compared to the population of the country owing to various factors," he added.

MoS Home Nityanand Rai on Tuesday revealed the number of major terrorist incidents, number of security force personnel martyred and injured & number of civilians who lost their lives and who were injured in incidents in the hinterland and in Jammu and Kashmir during the last two years 2020 and 2021.

MoS Nityanand Rai told the Lok Sabha, "Combating terrorism is a continuous process. Govt has taken various steps incl strengthening the legal framework, streamlining of intelligence mechanism, setting up NIA and prosecution of terror-related cases, having various hubs of NSG, stepping up border and coastal security, modernization of police forces and capacity building of state police forces, etc," 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will hold a review meeting of Central police training institutes in the Parliament Library building today.

"The government formed a committee on farm laws that consists of all BJP supporters. There is no representation of Punjab. All those who support the three black laws are part of the committee. It should be dismissed. A new balanced committee should be formed," demanded AAP MP Raghav Chadha.

Union Minister Pashupati Nath slammed the Opposition for creating a ruckus in the Parliament and said such disruptions send a wrong message to the nation. 

"The Opposition is only capable of creating ruckus and drama in the Parliament. They should not disrupt the proceedings. Parliament is the temple of the Constitution and the citizens look up to their representatives. Such behaviour sends a wrong message to the country,"  Pashupati Nath told Republic.

On the issue of GST and inflation, the Union Minister said, the government is aware of the situation and is taking necessary steps.

Delhi | TRS MPs held a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament on the issues of price rise and inflation.

Delhi | Aam Aadmi Party MPs protest against the Centre in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament against the delay in nod for Singapore visit to Arvind Kejriwal.

Minutes after the Parliament's Monsoon began, the Rajya Sabha proceedings were disrupted by Opposition protests, forcing Chairman Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn the House till 2 PM. The opposition parties are insisting on the discussion on price rise, GST hike and other issues.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla objected to raising placards inside the House as the Questions and Answer round went underway. Quoting the rulebook, Birla requested the agitating MPs to protest outside the Parliament. The Lower House has been adjourned till 2 PM.

Opposition MPs raised slogans against price hikes and inflation in Lok Sabha as house proceedings begin on the second day of Parliament. Heavy slogans were raised during the Question and Answer round.

PM Modi is discussing government strategy in Parliament with his top ministers, for the ongoing Monsoon session.

Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda has given the suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha over the Centre's Agnipath recruitment scheme for entry into the Armed Forces.

Delhi | Congress leader Rahul Gandhi joins Opposition protest over the issues of inflation and price rise, at Parliament, on the second day of the Monsoon session.

Monsoon session of Parliament | AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha gives suspension of business notice, demands discussion on the committee on MSP constituted by the Government of India

Monsoon session of Parliament | RJD MP Manoj Jha has given suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha to discuss implications of Agnipath scheme and denial of opportunities to RRB aspirants.

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem has given a suspension of business notice under rule 267 on the issue of price rise and imposition of 5% GST on essential items. 

Monsoon session of Parliament | RSP MP NK Premachandran has given adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha on "the incident of forcing girl students to remove innerwear before entering the examination hall during NEET examination in Kollam yesterday."

Monsoon session of Parliament | DMK Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva has given a suspension of business notice under rule 267 on the issue of "hike in the price of petroleum products leading to increase in the price of essential commodities.

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh hit out at the Central government on Tuesday over the Public Sector Banks' Privatisation Bill and said selling off PSUs to a chosen few will be 'disastrous' for the country. He stated that Congress will oppose the bill in the ongoing Monsoon Session. 

Hitting back at the Congress leader, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the party was only opposing the Bill, due to its "long dubious record of crony lending and using PSUs as piggybanks for crony friends" during the UPA regime.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore has given an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha on the issue of imposition of 5% GST on some essential items. On Monday, the Lower House was adjourned owing to the Opposition protest on GST and inflation.

An all-party meeting under EAM Dr S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the current crisis in Sri Lanka will be held in the Parliament today.

Two bills were set to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on its first business day. Union Law Minister introduced 'The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022' shortly after which proceedings were disrupted due to protest by Opposition members. Union Minister for PMO Dr Jitendra Singh was to introduce 'The Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022' that remained pending.

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said his party will stage a demonstration at the Gandhi statue outside the Parliament, as well as in the Well of the House, demanding a discussion on price rise and GST hike. 

The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022 was to be introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Monday by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The bill passed by Lok Sabha in April was to be taken into consideration.

Former finance minister P Chidambaram and cricketer-turn-politician Harbhajan Singh were among the 28 recently elected Rajya Sabha MPs who took oath on Monday.

On the opening day of Parliament's Monsoon session, Kapil Sibal, Chidambaram's former colleague in the previous UPA government, also took oath as a member of the Upper House. Sibal quit Congress and was elected to Rajya Sabha as an independent candidate from Uttar Pradesh with the support of the Samajwadi Party.

Harbhajan Singh, who was elected to the Upper House from Punjab as Aam Adami Party (AAP) nominee, took oath in Punjabi.

Others who took oath were Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, former Union minister Praful Patel, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti and Congress leader Rajeev Shukla.

The list also included YSRCP's Masthan Rao Beeda and V Vijayasai Reddy, RJD's Faiyaz Ahmad, JD-U's Khiru Mahto, JMM's Mahua Maji, BJD's Sasmit Patra, AAP's Sandeep Kumar Pathak and Vikramjit Singh Sahney  DMK's R Girirajan, S Kalyanasundaram and KRN Rajeshkumar as well as AIADMK's C Ve Shanmugam, and Javed Ali Khan of the SP.

BJP's Shambhu Sharan Patel, Aditya Prasad and Jaggesh, as well as Congress leaders Ranjeet Ranjan, Pramod Kumar and Imran Pratapgarhi and nominated member V Vijayendra Prasad took oath too.

Presiding over his last session as chairman of the Rajya Sabha, M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday urged MPs to be "different and better" than they were in the last five years when 57 per cent of House sittings were partly or fully disrupted.

On the opening day of the Monsoon session of Parliament, he said this is the last session in the 75th year of Independence and MPs should give their best performance to make it a memorable session.

Naidu's five-year term as vice president of India and chairman of the Rajya Sabha ends on August 10.

"During the last 13 sessions, 141 of the 248 scheduled full sittings, accounting for 57 per cent of the total sittings were disrupted partly or fully," he said. "All of you would agree that this could have been better given our mission for the nation. Better late than never. It is time now to be different and better."

Naidu, whose remarks were disrupted by slogan shouting by Congress MPs seeking discussions on rising prices, said he would give a detailed account of the functioning of the Rajya Sabha during the last five years on his last day in office.
 

The Centre should accept the long-pending demand to recognise 'Sarna' as the religion of the country's tribal people as they  have their own way of worship and religious practices, the JMM's newly elected Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji said on Monday.

Speaking to PTI, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, who took oath as the Member of Parliament in the Upper House on the first day of the Monsoon Session, said she will use the platform to raise the voice of the people of her state and also press the government for giving recognition to 'Sarna Dharma Code'.
 

The Monsoon session of Parliament got off to a stormy start on Monday leading to adjournment of the two Houses without transacting much business following an opposition uproar over issues ranging from price rise to the Agnipath scheme.

The uproar broke out even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged MPs before the start of the parliamentary proceedings to make the session as productive as possible and called for debate, criticism and analysis for positive contribution to policies and decisions. In a lighter vein, he remarked that in Delhi rains have begun, but the heat outside is not reducing and wondered whether the heat will come down inside Parliament.

Speaking to reporters, Modi said Parliament functions and takes best decisions with everyone's 'prayaas' (efforts) and urged parliamentarians to make full use of this session in national interest.

"We always consider the House an efficient medium of dialogue, a pilgrimage place. Where there is dialogue with an open mind, there are fierce debates if needed, there is also criticism and by very good analysis of things a very positive contribution can be made to policies and decisions," the prime minister added.
 

The day one of the Monsoon Session of Parliament witnessed a ruckus created by the Opposition party members following disruption in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha proceedings, leading to the adjournment of the Houses for the entire day. 

The Lok Sabha session, which resumed at 11 AM, witnessed opposition uproar over the issue of price rise. Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House for the day.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recommended to the government that it should frame regulations for cryptocurrencies. She was replying to questions on cryptocurrency by MP Thirumaa Valavan Thol in Parliament today.

The Finance Minister said that in view of the concerns about the destabilizing effect of cryptocurrencies on India's monetary and fiscal stability, RBI has recommended framing legislation on this sector. RBI is of the view that cryptocurrencies should be prohibited.

Sitharaman added that cryptocurrencies are borderless by definition and require international collaboration to prevent regulatory arbitrage.

Minutes after the commencement of the Monsoon Session, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned on Monday, following heavy sloganeering by the Opposition.

RS Chairman Venkaiah Naidu was congratulating stakeholders of individual states on achieving 90% vaccination of the country's adult population against COVID-19. 

Opposition MPs soon began protesting and walked up to the Well of the House over inflation and GST rate hikes.

The House will remain adjourned till 11 AM on Tuesday.

The meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha chaired by Speaker Om Birla will be held today, while the BAC meeting of Rajya Sabha will be held on 19th July in the Parliament.

Shortly after paying condolences on the passing away of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 PM for voting in the Presidential election.

On the first day of the Monsoon Session, the Upper House of the Parliament observed 2 minutes of silence in the memory of the departed. 

Chairman and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu made obituary references to former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, ex-UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, legendary Hindustani classical musician Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and others.

BJP MP from Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh) Dinesh Lal "Nirahua" Yadav, TMC MP from Asansol (West Bengal) Shatrughan Sinha, and BJP MP from Rampur (Uttar Pradesh) Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi took oath as Members of the Lok Sabha.

The Monsoon Session of the Parliament began in both Houses on Sunday. In the Lok Sabha, PM Modi and several key ministers are in attendance. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds a meeting with his top ministers on Parliament premises ahead of Monsoon Session. 

Congress MP in Rajya Sabha, KC Venugopal has given a suspension of business notice under Rule 267 to discuss inflation and the recent increase in GST of some essential commodities.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will move the Bill to amend the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, 2005, in the Rajya Sabha this afternoon. On April 6 this year, the WMD and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022 was passed by the Lok Sabha.

The Bill amends the WMD and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, 2005 which prohibits the unlawful manufacture, transport, or transfer of WMD (chemical, biological and nuclear weapons) and their means of delivery.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast his vote in the Parliament today to elect the next Presidential of India. NDA's Droupadi Murmu and Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha are in the race for Presidential elections. After PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and others also cast their votes.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla arrives at Parliament ahead of the commencement of the Monsoon Session. He is set to chair a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee today. He will also meet officials and MPs before the session begins at 11 AM. 

Monsoon session of Parliament | Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda has given the suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha over the Centre's Agnipath recruitment scheme. He is the third Opposition leader to do so today.

PM Modi addressed the media ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament. He stressed, "This is a very important era. It is the Azada ka Amrit Mahotsav era. It is an era to take an oath of what we want to achieve in the next 25 years". 

PM Modi said there should be dialogue in the Parliament with an open mind, if necessary, there should be a debate. "I urge all MPs to contemplate deeply and discuss during the session," he told media persons.

"This Session is also important because elections for the office of President & Vice President are taking place right now. Voting (for the Presidential election) is taking place today. During this period, the new President and Vice President will begin guiding the nation," PM Modi.

Monsoon session of Parliament | The meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha chaired by Speaker Om Birla is scheduled to be held today.  

Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil gives zero-hour notice in Rajya Sabha over Centre's 'Agnipath' recruitment scheme.

CPI MP Binoy Viswam has given the suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha under Rule 267 over the Centre's 'Agnipath Scheme' and demands discussion on it.

Sanjay Singh, the AAP national spokesperson, lashed out at the BJP for allegedly trying to scuttle Arvind Kejriwal’s Singapore visit. The Delhi Chief Minister has been invited to talk about the Delhi model by the government of Singapore.

“The central government is trying to block Arvind Kejriwal’s visit to Singapore, where he has been officially invited to talk on the Delhi model,” said Singh.

He cited various senior political and illustrious personalities who have acknowledged the benefits of the model, “Personalities like US President’s wife, former PM of Norway, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon have come to witness the Delhi model.” 

A bill to rename National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, as Indian Institute of Management (IIM) is part of the Centre's legislative agenda for the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament starting from Monday.

The Indian Institute of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2022, seeks for "inclusion of NITIE Mumbai in IIM Act, 2017 and renaming NITIE, Mumbai as IIM Mumbai".

The bill is among 24 new bills that have been proposed for "introduction, consideration and passing" during the parliament session.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan who attended the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting on Sunday ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament, asserted that he is not part of the NDA or any alliance.

Speaking to reporters after attending NDA's meeting on Sunday, Chirag Paswan said, "NDA’s meeting was held to discuss the presidential polls. The Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas supported NDA’s candidate Droupadi Murmu. Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas has always worked to bring the poor, backwards, tribals and Dalits to the mainstream."

The Opposition was raring to corner the government on a host of issues related to the economy, security, federal structure, and the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme during the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning Monday.

The row over listing unparliamentary words and circulars disallowing any protest and dharna on the Parliament complex has already set the temperatures soaring, with both the Opposition and the government targeting each other at a pre-session all-party meeting Sunday.

The government while accusing the Opposition of raising "non-issues" said it was ready to discuss all matters within parliamentary rules and regulations, and sought the cooperation of all parties for a smooth session.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday sought the cooperation of all members of the House to ensure a "good" Monsoon session of Parliament, saying this would be their "farewell gift" to him.

A record of 41 leaders and ministers attended an all-party meeting convened by Naidu at his residence, who assured him of their support and lauded his efforts for bringing discipline and order to the Upper House, sources said.

Opposition leaders listed 16 issues for the session beginning Monday.

A day before the start of the monsoon session of Parliament, the government on Sunday said 32 bills have been indicated by various departments for presentation in two houses of which 14 are ready, even as it asserted that it wants discussions on all of them in a democratic way.

After an all-party meeting here, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi also said that some of these 32 bills have already been discussed by standing committees of Parliament.

"Thirty two bills have been indicated by various departments for being presented in this session of Parliament, of which 14 bills are ready, but we will not pass the bills without discussion," he told reporters.