Parliament Winter Session Day 6 updates | December 11, 2023

Proceedings will resume on Tuesday, December 12, at 11 a.m.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 have been passed through a voice vote after the Opposition walked out of the Upper House.

Amit Shah continues his response after discussion on Jammu-Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and Jammu-Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

“If he talks like this, we are going to walk out,” Mr. Kharge says. Opposition protests as Mr. Shah accuses the Congress party of being “anti-OBC”.

The minister praises efforts by PM Modi’s government and says that they have improved the lives of locals.

People of Kashmir now talk about democracy and development and do not pay heed to those who want to popularise separatist behaviours, Mr. Shah says.

The minister makes the statement while explaining the delimitation of seats in the region. “Jammu now has 43 seats (up from 37), and Kashmir has 47 seats now (up from 46). Twenty-four seats of PoK are kept reserved because we still believe it’s a part of India,” Mr. Shah says.

The House agrees with a resounding thumping of desks.

Gujarat and Rajasthan have borders with Pakistan, and states like Uttar Pradesh, Assam, etc. have more Muslims than Kashmir. These are not the reasons behind separatism, Article 370 is, Mr. Shah says.

“Separatism in Kashmir led to terrorism,” he adds.

The President is fully authorised to abrogate Article 370 and the Supreme Court has upheld the validity of this provision, says Mr. Shah.

The minister also points out that he has said in Parliament that the statehood will be restored at an appropriate time, and the Supreme Court also acknowledged his stand in its judgement.

This is a landmark day since the Supreme Court upheld the power of the President to abrogate Article 370 in August 2019, Mr. Shah says as he begins his address.

The 2019 decision led to the reorganisation of the full-fledged State of Jammu and Kashmir to two Union Territories and denuding it of its special privileges.

The Supreme Court has recognised that Article 370 was a temporary measure, the minister adds.

BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi, speaking in the Parliament said the Congress party has been against Other Backward Classes, and the Modi government has provided equal opportunities to people from all castes. 

CPI (M) MP from Kerala Dr. John Brittas, speaking in the Parliament said if there was no Nehru then, there would be no discussion on Jammu and Kashmir today. 

Replying to Mr. Brittas, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Communist government led by E.M.S. Namboodiripad was removed by then PM Nehru in 1951, and, ironically, the CPI (M) is supporting Nehru. 

Proceedings will resume on Tuesday, December 12, at 11 a.m.

Reacting sharply to her expulsion, Ms. Moitra had equated the action with hanging by a “kangaroo court” and alleged that a Parliamentary panel was being weaponised by the government to force the Opposition into submission. Read more here

Nationalist Congress Party MP Dr. Fauzia Khan speaking in the Parliament said militancy is that cancer that is eating away the beauty of Kashmir. 

Sanjay Seth, the BJP member from Ranchi, raised the issue during the Zero Hour, seeking a reply from the Congress. The Congress has already distanced itself from the issue. Read more here

Congress MP Rajani Ashokrao Patil, speaking in the Parliament said it has been four years since Article 370 was abrogated, and the Statehood of Jammu and Kashmir has not been reinstated. 

“I want to remind the Union Home Minister to announce elections in J&K,” Ms. Patil said. 

Until J&K gets back its Statehood, the idea of India will not be achieved, she said. 

BJP MP Gulam Ali supports the J&K Reservation and Reorganisation Amendment Bill, saying, the Bill will benefit the people of Kashmir. 

“I thank the Supreme Court for upholding the abrogation of Article 370,” Mr. Ali said. 

Mr. Ali added that Kashmir is developing because of the leadership of PM Modi. “Militancy in Kashmir has come down,” he said. 

We need to thank the Home Minister for the development in Kashmir, he added. 

“I urge you (the government) to look at not just infrastructure projects but also the bottom of the pyramid, be it the pensioners, women, etc., who really need help,” she says.

INC MP Syed Nasir Hussain objects to Mr. V. Vijayasai Reddy’s remarks, alleging he has not read Nehru and Patel about this matter. He asserts that it is because of Nehru that Kashmir is now a part of India.

The Chair asks him to submit on a piece of paper what he wishes to be authenticated. 

YSRCP MP V. Vijayasai Reddy rises to support both the Bills and express the support of the party and Jagan Mohan Reddy for the same. 

He says that he will highlights the blunders of the Congress government. It is Nehruvian pseudo-secularism that prevented the Kashmir issue from being resolved, he says. He highlights Article 370 as another blunder, as well as not taking back Kashmir during the Second War with Pakistan. He also says that it could have taken back Kashmir during the signing of the Shimla Declaration post the Bangladesh War.

The Home Minister has taken the right steps to undo the wrong steps of the Congress government, he says. 

He offers a suggestion, saying that 24 seats are not going for election in PoK, and that members should be nominated for these seats. He also requests an increase of cash relief given to migrants.

AAP MP Sanjay Arora requests the Home Minister to also provide for the Punjabi people, the Sikhs who suffered during the same time when Hindu Pandits. He also asks that the election in J&K be conducted along with the Lok Sabha election.

DMK doesn’t need to be given other colour, we want to achieve any rights of the States within the framework of the Indian Constitution, DMK leader Tiruchi Siva clarifies in the House. 

Tiruchi Siva, DMK Leader in Rajya Sabha, expresses that a very ordinary statement has been hyped. Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar says he had given enough opportunity to the member to reflect and withdraw, he did not. 

Mr. Siva points out that the Chair highlighted that the remark about Article 370 was against the order of the Supreme Court. What if Article 370 is reinstituted, he asks? Home Minister Amit Shah asks if he is expressing the view of his party or the INDIA grouping. 

Mr. Siva questions what is wrong with the DMK member quoting Periyar. 

INC leader Digvijaya Singh says that you can expunge the remarks if they are unparliamentary and unconstitutional, why prevent the member for speaking. The Chair says that this is beyond unparliamentary, it is an attack on the soul of Bharat. 

INC MP Jairam Ramesh says they do not support the quote of Periyar used by the DMK members. 

Does Congress support the statement of DMK MP Mohammed Abdulla, asks Home Minister Amit Shah. 

LoP Mallikarjun Kharge says that the members quoted the written and spoken words of Periyar. You can agree with it, or not, he says, but the words were quoted by him, not written by him. Maybe he doesn’t agree himself, he says. Preventing him from speaking is undemocratic and against the freedom of speech, he said. 

The MP makes the comment as he rises to speak during the discussion on supplementary demands.

“What is the point of speaking if the ruling party does not stay,” he says, pointing out the absence of Finance Minister during the discussion.

DMK MP Mohammed Abdulla quotes Periyar to say each race has the right to self-determination. Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar objects very strongly to his words, calling it unconstitutional and saying that it cannot be countenances. He says that the freedom of speech is not unqualified. He asks the remarks to be expunged from the record. 

Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge urges the Chair to listen to every member, and says that Home Minister Amit Shah is there to rebut and reply to the speeches of all the members. 

Leader of the House Piyush Goyal questions the figures pertaining to lack of electricity, power-cuts, unemployment and tourism mentioned by AITC MP Nadimul Haque in his speech. Following his objection, the Chair asks Mr. Haque to authenticate the figures offered by him in the House. 

Sudhanshu Trivedi, BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh, says that there are three issues with Kashmir, delimitation, domicile and development. Our government has started thinking about these since 2019. 

He highlights the various measures being taken for the benefit of Jammu-Kashmir, including the GI-tagging of saffron.

INC MP Vivek Tankha rises to speak about the J&K Bills, thanking the Chair for the opportunity given to a Kashmiri Pandit to speak about this issue. 

He refers to the Supreme Court’s recent judgment about the order abrogating Article 370 and says that it is in consonance with our beliefs. He points out that Court remarked that the statehood was taken away from Jammu and Kashmir and that an election should be held before the end of 2024. 

He highlights that there are many problems in the region, including lack of electricity, and that the individuals there don’t get the benefits of a Union Territory. Think a little more about the issues of Jammu and Kashmir, he says. 

Rajya Sabha commences proceedings at 2 pm with Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar presiding. 

Home Minister Amit Shah introduces Jammu-Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and Jammu- Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill as passed by the Lok Sabha, for consideration and passing by the Rajya Sabha. Both Bills shall be discussed jointly. 

With the conclusion of the Zero Hour, the lower house stands adjourned until 2 p.m. 

The House shall meet again at 2 p.m., having adjourned for a lunch break.

NCP MP Priyanka Chaturvedi asks about whether the PM-SVANidhi scheme can be availed in all States of India. To this, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says that the scheme is available pan-India. 

PM-Svanidhi is a government scheme offering micro-credit to street vendors. The aim of the scheme is to facilitate access of affordable working capital to street vendors to once again take up their livelihoods post the COVID-19 lockdown. 

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri fields questions from members about petrol and diesel prices and beneficiaries under central LPG distribution schemes. 

Jawahar Sircar, AITC MP, asks a question about how much of a profit went to private oil refiners like Reliance and Rosneft, buying cheaply from Russia. Mr. Puri shared that Mr. Sircar asks the same queries in multiple letters, and said that he replied stating where the requested information could be found. He says that he can make the communication public, a suggestion later repeated by Mr. Dhankhar. 

In a reply to a question from CPI(M) MP Dr. John Brittas, Mr. Puri shares that a windfall tax, export cesses, and universal service obligations were imposed on private oil companies. The export volumes have also remained constant he said. 

A brief heated exchange ensued between the treasury and opposition benches after BJP MP from Ranchi (Jharkhand) Sanjay Seth asked Congress to come clean about the recent IT raids at Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu’s residence. About Rs 290 crore had been recovered in cash during searches linked to the Odisha-based distillery group owned by Mr Sahu. The raids have also been carried out in properties linked to the upper house MP at Ranchi, Sabalpur, Bolangir, Titilagarh, Boudh, and Sudargarh in Jharkhand, and Rourkela and Bhubaneswar in Odisha. 

Member of Parliament from Baramati (Maharashtra) Supriya Sule urged the government to ensure endowing reasonable and fitting pension to pensioners enrolled under the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995. Describing the present situation from a report, she stated that 1.89 million pensioners are receiving less than Rs 1,000 a month. Furthermore, the pension amounts do not exceed Rs 4,000-5,000. At an average, a pensioner enrolled in the scheme receives only Rs 1,500 each. The Baramati MP argued that considering the increased living costs, this do not provide any reasonable financial stability. Thereby, she urged the government to reasonable re-calculate their expenses. Additionally, also ensure that their spouse is correctly nominated as the next receiver. 

Speaker Om Birla informed that he has not accepted any motions of adjournment. Members are now laying papers of importance on the floor of the house to be facilitated in further proceedings.

BJD MP Sasmit Patra speaks about including ahimsa in the Preamble of the Constitution. In 2021, a resolution was passed in the Odisha Vidhan Sabha to include ahimsa in the Preamble of the Constitution, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to the State in 1921, he shares. 

BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi speaks about the need for judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts to reveal their assets. He highlights that MPs, ministers and government officials have to reveal their holdings. The public has a right to know details about the assets of anyone holding public office and drawing salary from the exchequer, he says. 

Ministry of State for Finance Bhagwat Krishnarao Karad, in response to a question about collateral free loans, told the house that about Rs 8.86 lakh crore have been disbursed. This was accorded to 7.36 crore operative accounts availing the Kisaan Credit Card. Of these, he stated, 58% of the loans were disbursed by commercial lenders, 22% co-operative and 20% regional rural banks. 

Kisan Credit Cards let a beneficiary access up to Rs 1.60 lakh loan without putting forth any collateral. 

Dr. Prashanta Nanda, BJD MP from Odisha, raises the issue of pensions for artistes, under the Artistes Pension Scheme and Welfare Fund. He says that several of them have not received their pensions for a while. 

Two notices under rule 267 were not admitted by the Chair. He informs the members that the panel of vice-chairpersons has been reconstituted (with effect from today). The panel includes Jaya Bachchan, Priyanka Chaturvedi, and Sushil Kumar Gupta, among others. 

The day’s proceedings commence at 11 am, with Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar presiding. 

Leader of the House Piyush Goyal shares that an MP is resigning to take up the post of Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. His second remark is not taken on record and causes uproar in the House, although it is cut off by the Chair. Mr. Goyal also alleges that Congress does not care for the cause of tribal communities. 

Mr. Dhankhar says that rather than speaking of which Chief Minister hails from which party, it is a matter of pride that a tribalwoman is the President of the country. 

The day’s proceedings commence with the Question Hour. Members are posing questions about the inflation and other issues relevant to farmers.