Home Minister Amit Shah, meanwhile moved a resolution for approval of President's rule in Jammu and Kashmir for six months. The resolution has already been passed in the Lower House.
Here are the updates:
The Motion by D. Raja is negated by voice vote.
Mr. Shah's statutory motion is approved. The reservation Bill is also passed unanimously.
House is adjourned.
Home Minister Amit Shah says the government doesn't spread any misinformation on former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Mr. Shah says history must be remembered and the mistakes of past must not be repeated.
Mr. Shah says had the then government not agreed for ceasefire in 1949, the situation would have been different. Wasn't it our mistake to approach the UN, he asks.
Mr. Shah asks Mr. Azad why he didn't provide reservation when he was a CM. Mr. Azad says it was because there was no crossfire violation in Jammu when he was the CM.
Mr. Shah says the Narendra Modi government, in a clear departure of earlier governments, carried out surgical strike and airstrikes to hit the root of terror.
He lists out the development works carried out in the State. He also lists out the security measures taken in the region. Mr. Shah says appeals the House to pass the resolution.
Derek O'Brien raises Point of Order. He seeks the House to withdraw the name of Mamata Banerjee from Mr. Shah's speech. The Chair says he didn't make any derogatory remark and hence need not be removed.
Home Minister Amit Shah replies. He begins his speech by condoling the lives lost in Kishtwar. Thanking all those who participated in the debate, Mr. Shah says today's debate reinforces that Kashmir is an integral part of India.
Narendra Modi govt. has a no tolerance policy against terrorism.
The govt. is committed to development of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh and there will be no disparity in development among the citizens.
The Modi govt. is still committed to the Atal Vajpayee's vision of 'Insaniyat, Jamhuriyat, and Kashmiriyat'.
It has been 70 years since 40,000 'panch and sarpanchs' who have been waiting for an administrative position, and the Modi govt. will bring them justice.
Mr. Shah speaks about Kashmiri Pandits. He says one day the Pandits will return to the Valley and live alongside the Sufis.
On Article 356, Mr. Shah accuses Congress of misusing the law. The Congress governments used the law 93 times to dismiss State governments. Mr. Shah says the NDA government has sent more bills to select committees for scrutiny than the UPA government.
Simultaneous elections in Jammu and Kashmir were not possible because the number of contestants would be more and security would be a problem. Mr. Shah assures the House that Assembly elections will be held when the Election Commission decides to do so. When the poll body takes a decision, we will ensure it is carried out in free and fair manner, he says.
It was the people's mandate that led to BJP's alliance with the PDP. When we realised the separatism was rising alarmingly, we pulled out of the government, he says.
Mr. Shah differentiates the violence in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. He says the latter has not witnessed political killings after the BJP government took over.
Ghulam Nabi Azad continues to speak. Congratulating Amit Shah for taking over the Home Ministry, Mr. Azad says probably he was the first Home Minister not to be greeted by any black flags during his visit to Jammu and Kashmir. He asks the Home Minister the reason for the highest number of armymen death, on the 16 attacks on Indian posts. "When there is zero tolerance, how come civilian deaths and militant recruitment are rising," he asks.
Mr. Azad says the Opposition is with the government to end terror in the region. "You were part of alliance for three years and running the State through Governor's Rule and President's Rule for a year. What have you done for confidence building measures," he asks.
He points out the drop in number of tourists arriving to the State.
On government taking credit for the successful conduct of Amarnath Yatra, Mr. Azad says Kashmiri Muslims must be credited for the success of yatra. It is these Kashmiris who ferry lakhs of people. But today, you are blocking vehicles are 40 days. This is going to affect the locals.
On one had the government takes credit for the local body polls in Kashmir and the Lok Sabha elections, but when it comes to Assembly elections, the government is hesitant and worries about security, Mr. Azad says. "You want to run government without accountability," Mr. Azad accuses the government. The biggest confidence building measure would be to stop running the government from Delhi, he adds.
He requests the government to take care the families of political workers died in the State, the girls who lost their parents in violence. Mr. Azad says he supports the move to grant three per cent reservation to people living in LoC. He suggests the quota can be doubled to six per cent.
He ends his speech with a Urdu couplet.
Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad speaks.
He recalls Syama Prakash Mukherjee being arrested in Jammu and Kashmir in the fifties. Mr. Azad clarifies that Mukherjee didn't have permit to visit the State, which was mandatory back then. The jana Sangh founder was not lodged in jail but made to stay in a guest house. He passed away the next day due to cardiac arrest and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was not in the State at that time.
Mr. Azad also makes note of political parties of Jammu and Kashmir and their contribution in preventing infiltration.
Throughout the years I have heard many-a-discussions on J&K on various issues. The fight is not personal, but ideological, and that shall go on. Everyone wants Kashmir to be peaceful. Constituent Assembly Debate in 1947, even then Nehru asked why there was no minorities from J&K in parliament. He immediately made sure there was.
Whole of Kashmir, I want to take the names of a few people who are part of making Kashmir a part of the country: Nehru, Sheik Abdullah, Col. Ranjeet Rai, people of Kashmir.... Before the accession a lot had happened; there was rebellion to stop the separation. There was fighting all over. When you read the history of the State, our army cleared the whole valley of this uprising.
You can blame Nehru for a number of things. But it was because of him Kashmir is an integral part of India. Mr. Azad traces the history of Kashmir, how every inch of land was captured over the years. "This is history. History cannot be distorted," he says.
Aparajita Sarangi (BJP) speaks about water logging in Bhubaneswar. A former bureaucrat, Ms. Sarangi says the reason is because of clogging of drains that prevent free flow of water to the river.
Speaker Om Birla allows more members to make special mentions.
Lok Sabha adjourned for the day.
Satish Chandra Misra, BSP , says it's important to notice that people of Kashmir want peace. There are only a select number of "terrorists" who incite violence. There is a need to incite "terror within these terrorists." There have been various developmental policies that have been implemented in the state, and the party endorses it, but it should reach the lowest denominator
We support the issue of reservation. The Kashmiri pandits who have been displaced must also have reservation, maybe 2% so that they can reclaim the home that they have lost.
Subramanian Swamy , nominated Member says that the house has forgotten that the Narasimha Rao's resolution was passed unanimously that all members were committed to returning the land that the Kashmiris lost to Pakistan. The members have the opposition, have spoken contrary to the belief of their own former leader.
The 1st Article of J&K's constitution states that it is an integral part of the India, and hence all the arguments of the opposition stands to be irrelevant.
HRD Minister asks that the Bill be passed. Congress Floor Leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury asks where the EWS will fit in the existing reservation system. The House turns down his amendments.
The Bill is put up for voting clause-by-clause. The Bill has been passed. Speaker asks that the House be extended by half an hour to leftover Zero Hour issues.
Congress Member Shashi Tharoor speaks about data leakages and lack of data protection.
Sudhir Gupta speaks about rise in population in India. He wants a stringent law on population control.
Meenakshi Lekhi speaks about the acute water crisis, and the amount of water used for sugarcane farming. She suggests millets as an alternative crop.
Binoy Viswam, CPI , says that Article 370 is there for a reason. The article is the only reason why Kashmir is still a part of India.
Forget the guns, Forget the ideology of RSS, India is a country of diversity and there must be a dialogue - that's the only solution to the problems of J&K.
Sanjay Singh, AAP , says that it's a waste of time to discuss who is the reason behind the current condition of J&K - blame games are a waste of time. The president's rule on Kashmir throughout the history is justified by the PDP's weak rule. The rule on the state has been running on pressure. The way 370 implimented initially has changed drastically over time, over 350 clauses of the article have been changed.
V. Vijaysai Reddy, YSRCP: There is no conducive atmosphere for elections to be conducted.
Parliamentary elections cannot be compared with Assembly elections because the issues are localised. There could be a constitutional crisis if the Bill is not passed.
Cross border tension which adversely affect the education and lives of the citizens. Regulatory body needed for solving the many livelihood related problems that they face.
A BSP Member mentions the UP Assembly. Ravi Shankar Prasad asks the Chair to expunge it as another House cannot be referenced here.
Minister rises to respond to Members. He says that Ms. Sule asked the government whether it decided to bring this Bill only after High Court order. Minister says that the government had been working on this long before the court order.
Mr. Nishank also says that the poor are a caste unto themselves, and the government will not rest until they are empowered.
Shamsher Singh Manhas, BJP , says that in Jammu and Kashmir, the vital issue is that of development. Healthcare was neglected and the money allocated for it disappeared. We have made 15,000 bunkers for the citizens for their safety. The last 70 years of ruling was a rule of discrimination and war - pitting the citizens against each other.The 2008 Amarnath protests were because of the neglect of the people of Jammu. In the last 5 years, there have been improvements in roads and national highways. Information and Broadcast Ministry have played an important role in connecting the people near the border with our country.
Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena , says that the voice of the J&K citizens is not weak, the entire country are with them. Why do the youth of the state pick up stones? Forget the last 70 years. I refuse to believe that unemployment is the reason for the rampant violence. It's a problem throughout the country, but you don't see them chanting anti-national slogans. You don't see the youth in rest of the country picking up guns and stones. What has not happened in 70 years will be done by Modi and Amit Shah. Scrap 35A and throw it away. If J&K is ours, it should entirely be ours. Every State has it's own identity, J&K should have its own.
Praveen Kumar Nishad of the BJP lauds the government for providing 10% reservation for economically weaker sections.
Ajay Bhatt of the BJP speaks next. He says the Prime Minister holds everyone equal.
Mir Mohammad Fayaz of the PDP says that in the 70 years that the Congress ruled, if they asked what the people wanted? He says Delhi has ignored Kashmir. He says the people are tired. He says that after the Pulwama attack, the national highway was closed for two days a week. “Our people could not go anywhere.”
The DMK’s T.K.S. Elangovan asks why so many Ordinances were passed. The government did not take the House into confidence, he says.
Ram Mohan Naidu brings to the government’s notice the number of vacancies, and says that the government needs to implement it. He also wants to know if non-teaching staff will also be considered by the government.
Mr. Naidu asks why certain institutions are not included.
Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal speaks about the way reservation was implemented in Indira Gandhi National Tribal University after the 13-point roster, as against the 200-point roster.
Opposition erupts in protests as BJP Member Bhupender Yadav blames the Congress for Kashmir issue.
Mr. Yadav says those on the border require affirmative action, and that this has been pending for them for a while.
Supriya Sule of NCP speaks about the ordinance.
We are not opposing the Bill, we are supporting the Bill but we need to know that the truth behind ordinances. She mentions that this is not the success of the government but the win of the common men who went ahead agitating, forcing the Centre to form an ordinance. She concludes her argument asking 26% of the Maharashtra government posts are vacant, “how will this Bill help these vacancies?”
Ganesh Singh of BJP accuses Congress of not caring about the backward class reservation. He further congratulates the Prime Minister and the party to have come up with the ordinance. He goes on pointing out other projects taken up bu the government for the benefit of the SC/ST.
Manoj Kumar Jha of RJD from Bihar requests the House not to go about blaming each other and specially "the great leaders such as Nehru, Mahatma, Patel who are no more."
The deputy Chairman interrupts the leaders asks him to speak on issue.
Swapan Dasgupta , Nominated Member, now speaks calling the discussion being guided by history. Mr. Dasgupta mentions the late Syama Prasad Mukherjee who passed away in Srinagar. He further claims that "looking at Jammu and Kashmir through the prism of the Valley has disappeared. Now Jammu, Leh and Laddak are also included in the State of J&K." Now everyone living in the State are all equal citizens.
Nazir Ahmad Laway of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party begins with stating the fact that, "It's been a year since President's rule in election."
He raises a few questions: why has the Valley been on fire since 1987 polls? Why have people become mutant? We need hope. We need representatives of the Valley here. Today the youths of Kashmir will watch the session witha lot of people. We have avertything, we aren't beggars. What we need is love.
Lok Sabha discusses Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre) Ordinance, 2019.
A Raja of DMK, points out how without discussion the resolution is brought in at the Lower House. Calling it fishy, he suggests that without bringing the resolution it rather needs to introspected. He concludes by opposing the Bill.
Pratima Mondal of AITC speaks in agreement of the Bill, however asks the Minister to elaborate on the Bill and asks why wasn't the Bill was introduced before when the SC had already given a verdict on teh issue. Accuses the government of politicising the issue adding that the ordinance was promulgated and used as vote banks.
Ram Gopal Yadav of SP from Uttar Pradesh points out how issuing Article 356 is problematic, "one should at least try to have an alternative government instead of having Presidential rule."
"Many a times there is a situation manufactured by the government in politics that the circumstances are such that the Opposition has to comply by the options laid out by the government, this is one such situation and so I stand in support," Mr. Yadav says in the conclusion.
TMC's Derek O'Brien begins by mentioning the deadly accident that has killed atleast 35 as vehicle rolls down gorge in Jammu's Kishtwar. Points out at creating better infrastructure so that families don't have to "mourn the deaths of near and dear ones."
The Speaker nudges him to speak to on the issue, to which Mr. O'Brien smiles in agreement.
"In the spirit of the resolution taken as 'one nation, one poll', we support the idea of having the poll."
He goes on mentioning failure of security that brought upon the Pulwama attack.
He then insists on speaking on Bengali to which some of the members opposes saying that there is no translation. "I am not responsible for the translation, the House is suppose to provide it."
The Speaker ensures that the translation is in.
Mr. O'Brien goes on giving examples of BJP leaders giving open theats in Bengal and followed by pointing out how govenrment is not taking in considering the Hindus affected by the NRC.
The Speaker interrupts asking him again to come to the point and discuss Kashmir issue.
Ravi Kishan demands inclusion of Bhojpuri in Eight Schedule
BJP MP and Bhojpuri movie actor Ravi Kishan sings a song in his native language to draw attention to his demand for including Bhojpuri in the Eight Schedule of the Constitution.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, the actor-turned MP mentions that Bhojpuri is spoken by over 25 crore people of the country. However, Speaker Om Birla immediately interrupts him and asks him to sing later. Mr. Kishan counters saying the song is meant to show the sweetness of the language.
Fun fact: The Eight Schedule of the Constitution comprises 22 languages: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telegu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithali and Dogri.
DMK member raises issue of drilling in Delta region
DMK's T.R. Baalu criticised the Union government over the issue of drilling in the delta region, saying it yields little oil but hurts farmers.
He protests the “unruly and unlawful” action of the government, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan says it will not do anything forcefully and invites DMK members for a transparent discussion on the issue.
Mr. Baalu said drilling in the region gets only 0.6% of the total oil produced by Tamil Nadu, adding it has no socio-economic or financial returns.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah moves a resolution for extending President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir and the amendment bill of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004.
Mr. Shah, seeks extending Presidential rules by six months in Jammu and Kashmir, citing circumstances in the State. He adds that the government has no other option. The motion has been moved and the Speaker of the House assigns five hours for the discussion to take place.
Viplove Thakur of INC from Himachal Pradesh takes the lead the discussion attacks the government asking that "if the Lok Sabha election can take place why cannot the Assembly Elections be held?"
She accuses the government of misleading and providing excuses.
BJP's Rakesh Sinha counters Ms. Thakur mentioning the development projects funded by the Modi government. "Few people, hailing from Pakistan, with the idea of terrorism have ruined the 'fiza' of the Valley. I don't have to dwell further on who is responsible for the situation in the Valley, Amit bhai (Amit Shah) has spoken about it in details," he says.
On the missing AN-32 aircraft
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says that 13 people lost lives in the crash, and their mortal remians have been recovered and sent to their families. It's a tragedy, and often leads people to question the air-worthiness of the plane. I want to clear the air on this — this airplane was completely airworthy. The Minister goes on to cite statistics to support his statement.
AP MLA Mohammed Ali Khan (INC) follows up his previous question, asks when the Court of Inquiry report will be released and what the reason for the crash is. Minister replies saying that the CoI was put together within hours of the crash, and the reason can be known only after the enquiry report is out.
More questions on the air crash. The AP airspace is notorious for such fatal crashes. Will the Defence Minister discuss with the Air Force chief measures to address this? Also, will the Minister order a check into the entire fleet to ensure the safety.
Minister states that the he will definitely review the CoI reports of previous accidents and try and understand further what went wrong.
On displacement of villagers from protected areas
Mr. Javadekar answers a question measures are being made to rehabilitate villagers who have been displaced.
House is adjourned till 2 p.m.
Kunwar Pushpendra Singh, BJP , from Hamirpur, UP, asks for two separate 26 bogey trains be run in his constituency.
Queen Oja, BJP , from Gauhati (Assam), says Guwahati Smart City Ltd has not spent enough money to convert Guwahati to a smart city. She requests that Guwahati roads be given LED lights.
25 crore people understand and speak Bhojpuri in India, says Ravindra Shyamnarayan, BJP, Gorakhpur.
S. Venkatesan, CPI(M) , Madurai, speaks in Tamil.
Raju Bista, BJP , says Darjeeling's Trinamool authorities spread conflict and endorse political violence. He speaks on 12 Gorkhas killed on the road. He requests the formation of a fact-finding committee to inquire into police atrocity and politically-motivated crimes.
Indra Hang Sabba, SKM, Sikkim, asks for the establishment of Central University campus there.
Sukanta Majumdar, BJP, Balurghat (West Bengal), talks about Atrai river. A rubber dam constructed in Bangladesh is obstructing water in India's direction.
Gaurav Gogoi talks about Manju Devi, Durga Khatiwada, many Hindi-speaking people having been excluded from the NRC.
House is adjourned till 2 p.m.
On acute water crisis in the country
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Jal Shakti Minister answers a question on linking of rivers. A Member asks about recharging groundwater. The Minister says that the government is mapping all aquifers.
On initiatives for skill development for war widows
A Member asks if there is counselling for war widows. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says he will get back on this. Shanta Chhetri of the Trinamool Congress asks if OROP is applicable to war widows. Mr. Singh says that those who have more than 40 years’ service get OROP.
Sabari Rail Project commenced in 1997. It connects to Sabarimala. At present Sabarimala is connected only by road and hence worshippers from outside Kerala find it extremely difficult to reach the shrine, says Benny Behanan, of the Congress.
Nishikant Dubey, BJP , says "parties like TMC" are responsible for crimes done by Bangladeshi infiltrators. The entire demography of Bengal and Jharkhand has changed, he says. He asks for the imposition of nationwide NRC.
Thol. Thirumavalan of the VCK speaks about honour killing. He cites the Supreme Court verdict on the same. He asks that the Bill on honour killings submitted by the Law Commission be passed without delay.
On climate change
Minister of Environment Prakash Kavadekar says that unless people come forward to participate, it is not possible to halt climate change.
Rajeev Chandrashekhar says that in Bengaluru, lakes and water bodies are being taken over by vested interests. He asks what the government is doing to enforce existing environmental laws.
Former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh asks what the present level of the forest cover in the country. Mr Javadekar says the government is taking stock of the same.
Ravi Prakash Verma of the SP asks if the government is going to declare a climate emergency. Mr. Javadekar says that India’s per capita emissions are relatively low. He says that though India is not responsible for the problem, we are part of the solution.
On the quality of DD News
Motilal Vora asks what infrastructure the government has given the channel. Mr. Javadekar lists the new studio, sound-proof walls etc. Manoj Kumar Jha of the RJD asks if there is a protocol on how to cover the ruling party and the Opposition.
Mr. Javadekar says that DD News has a committee to make sure that the news covered is balanced. V. Vijaysai Reddy asks if it is true that DD is going to be available in Bangladesh and South Korea.
Zero Hour begins.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress, talks about National Doctor's day. Urges for improvement of doctor-patient relationship. He asks for a road in Delhi and a central hospital, named after Dr. Bidhan Chandra Rai.
Vinayak B. Raut, Shiv Sena , says fishing policies are different for every State. He requests the Centre to make a centralised fishing policy to benefit fishermen and also preserve sea resources.
Mr. Chowdhury speaks again. He says people who depend on interests from small scale savings have been affected. Senior Citizen Saving Scheme interest has also declined.
Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka from the Congress , Koraput, says there is no connection in about 800 villages in Koraput district.
Chandra Prakash Joshi, BJP talks about Adarsh Cooperative Society which swindled its investors. He asks the govt to take strict measures against such fraudulent companies.
Question Hour begins. Deputy Chairman Harivansh is in the Chair.
On the appropriate model for execution of highway projects
Jose K. Mani KC(M) asks about pending projects. Road transport Minister Nitin Gadkari gives the details on these. Mr. Mani says that 1/3 of projects are stalled due to land acquisition and environment clearance issues. Mr. Gadkari says that the government expects more support from nationalised banks. Many projects are still expecting loans. The government wants to allow Scheduled Banks to give bank guarantee.
Manish Gupta of the Trinamool Congress asks about funds for highway infrastructure. Mr. Gadkari says that the government is progressing at 32 km a day.
BJP Member K.J. Alphons asks if four-laning is not unscientific. He says the government should look at six lanes. Mr. Gadkari says that the government is looking at six lanes wherever possible. He also says that in Kerala, land acquisition is a huge issue. Chair asks Ministers to be specific in their answers.
Pinaki Misra, BJD, Puri says public investment can only generate employment in the form of menial labour. He asks what the govt is doing to address land acquisition issues. He asks for a special discussion on the issue.
Rajkumar Chahar, BJP, Fatehpur Sikri, talks about lack of water availability there.
On reservation for EWS
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Minister, Human Resource Development, says EWS has to be implemented by the States, not the Centre.
N.K. Premachandran says CBSE schools haven't been implementing 25% reservation for economically weaker sections where mandatory and compulsory education is concerned.
On illegal recovery of loans
Anurag Thakur, MoS, Finance, says 31 of 200 odd complaints against unlawful behaviour by RBI recovery agents have been settled.
Sudip Bandyopadhyay, of the Trinamool Congress, asks if deployment of bouncers in recovering loans is approved by the government. These bouncers usually target small loan-takers, not the "big guys", he says.
Mr. Thakur says there is no need to deploy musclemen, given the presence of ombudsmen in the States.
On the status of Buddhist Circuit plan
Jagadambika Pal, BJP, talks about the five important places connected to Buddhist ideology. The Member asks if connectivity measures will be taken to connect those places to Lucknow.
Prahalad Singh Patel, MoS, Tourism, says the Buddhist Circuit is being updated. Connectivity to Lucknow will be considered by NHAI. Air connectivity is also being discussed.
Dr. Vikas Mahatme of the BJP says that persons with disabilities are exploited after they turn 18 and wants the government to support them after they reach adulthood too.
Special Mentions are being made now. The AIADMK’s Gokulakrishnan speaks about reservation in Group C posts in Central government departments. He says that people from other States are getting jobs in hospitals in TN, leading to a failure in communication between nurses and patients. He cites the example of JIPMER. Chair reminds him that it is a Central institute.
Elamaram Kareem of the CPI(M) speaks on the financial condition of BSNL. He says that in many circles BSNL is not able to pay its electricity bills and wages to contract workers.
Ahmed Hasan, a Trinamool Congress Member , speaks about West Bengal’s debt. He says that despite the huge debt, the revenue and fiscal deficits of the State has dropped. Plan expenditure of the State has grown five-fold, and capital expenditure has grown eight-fold, says Mr. Hasan.
Wansuk Syiem from the Congress asks for a visa processing centre in the northeast. She is followed by the CPI’s Binoy Viswam who speaks on deaths due to heatwave.
Husain Dalwai of the Congress says Muslims are one of the most underprivileged communities in the country.
Chair says that Zero Hour notices should not be on general issues. It should be specific and recent. He also says that issues conserning the State government should not be brought here. The Vice President says that Ministers should also respond to Zero Hour topics and Special Mentions.
On spending CSR funds
Anurag Thakur, MoS of Corporate Affairs, says the highest amount of CSR money has been spent in Maharashtra. T.N. Prathapan of INC, Kerala, asks whether the government will ensure that companies do not cheat when it comes to CSR funds.
Mr. Thakur responds to this, says stringent measures and provisions to fine such companies exist. He adds that Maharashtra, UP, Gujarat have had the highest amount of funds spent in rural development and associated sectors.
On unemployment
"The official data confirms that unemployment has doubled in the last 2 years and the govt cannot blame Nehru for this," says Adoor Prakash of the Congress.
Is the govt preparing any masterplan for creation of more jobs and a deadline to attain that goal?, he asks
Santosh Kumar Gangwar, MoS, Labour and Employment, says the above information is wrong. The mandate for Mr. Modi is proof of that, he says. “Employment rates in India are good compared to the rest of the world,” he adds.
In the Upper House, MPs are raising matters with the permission of the Chair. The matters raised include the scarcity of water in the country, the high price of flights in Chandigarh-Himachal Pradesh route, on reservation of seats, among others.
"We don't want to be a richer nation, we want to be a healthier nation"
MP Tiruchi Siva (DMK, Tamil Nadu) raises the issue of monsoon failure and depletion of groundwater in the State's agriculture-dependent areas. He says that the hydrocarbon wells being introduced are wreaking havoc due to the salination of
"We don't want to be a richer nation, we want to be a healthier nation," says the MP from Tamil Nadu, urging the government not to give permission to dig new hydrocarbon wells. He also requests the govt to stop the existing wells.
Today in Lok Sabha
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to make a statement regarding the status of implementation of the recommendations contained in the 58th Report of the Standing Committee on Finance on Demands for Grants (2018-19) pertaining to the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
- Ramesh Pokhriyal to introduce the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre) Bill, 2019.
- Ashwini Kumar Choubey to introduce the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
Today in Rajya Sabha
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to make a statement on the status of implementation of recommendations contained in the Fifty-eighth Report of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance on Demands for Grants (2018-19) pertaining to the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
- Amit Shah to move for the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2019 to be taken into consideration and passed. It has already been passed in Lok Sabha.
- Shripad Yesso Naik to move that the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019, passed by Lok Sabha, be considered and passed by the Upper House
Published - July 01, 2019 10:55 am IST
