by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : The revised triple talaq bill, which the government is keen on pushing through Parliament, could not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on Monday as the opposition insisted on sending it to a select committee. The treasury benches said the passage of the bill is being delayed deliberately.
The stalemate saw heated arguments between the opposition and the government, forcing Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh to adjourn the house for the day. Both sides accused the other of “doing politics”.
When the House met for the post-lunch sitting following an earlier adjournment, the Deputy Chairman said that the House will be taking up the triple talaq bill, passed by the Lok Sabha last week. However, opposition members were on their feet demanding that the bill be sent to the select committee.
Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the government has been disregarding since 1993 the practice of sending important bills to the standing committee for legislative scrutiny.
“Since the government does not send such bills to the standing committee, the opposition in the Rajya Sabha is forced to fight for sending them to select committee,” he said.
Azad said the bill would affect crores of people in a positive or negative way and its scrutiny by parliament was essential. He said the opposition parties want to move a resolution that the bill should be sent to select committee.
Referring to the protest in the House by AIADMK members over a proposed dam on Cauvery river, he said 90 per cent of the opposition parties want the House to function.
Trinamool Congress member Derek O’Brien said most opposition parties are united in their demand for select committee and are willing to debate and pass it after due parliamentary scrutiny. He said he had given notice for sending the bill to select committee.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said that the opposition is delaying the passage of the bill by demanding scrutiny by select committee.
“A message should go to the country that the opposition is creating road blocks to the passage of the bill. They are not in favour of Muslims. They are not in favour of giving women their rights. They are doing politics,” he said.
“We are ready to debate it. The debate should begin now,” he added.
As the stalemate persisted, the Deputy Chairman adjourned the House for 15 minutes. When the House reassembled, opposition members were again on their feet, persisting with their demand.
Congress leader Anand Sharma said the minister has cast aspersions on the opposition and made false allegations.
He said the opposition is not opposed to the bill. “The government is doing politics. Without legislative scrutiny, the bill cannot be passed,” he said.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the issue concerns humanity.
“Triple talaq is taking place despite Supreme Court outlawing it. The bill should not be delayed. The government is willing to consider suggestions of the opposition,” he said.
Harivansh had earlier expressed his anguish over repeated adjournments of the House, saying the entire country is watching.
He said people are seeing that Lok Sabha is conducting its business but the upper house is not functioning.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Panaji : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed the BJP for what he described as an orchestrated attack on his party workers at a demonstration organised here by the state BJP to protest against his allegations of irregularities in the Rafale fighter jet deal.
In his message shared on Facebook, Gandhi also said that he was proud of the “spirit of Gandhigiri” displayed by Congress’ state women’s chief Pratima Coutinho, who was allegedly attacked by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters during the clash on Thursday afternoon.
“Democracy frustrates the BJP. This designed, deliberated and organised attack on Congress workers in Goa is an exemplification of that feeling. The attempt is to instil fear,” Gandhi said on the social media site.
“The cowards who came to attack us in Goa, and their bosses sitting here in Delhi, should know, fear is alien to the workers of the Congress party,” Gandhi said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should “read about the fate of those rulers who chose to attack non-violent Congress workers in this country”.
Meanwhile, the state Congress legislative party and the Pradesh Congress Committee on Saturday met to condemn Friday’s attack on the party’s workers.
“It was a completely state-sponsored mob which included members of the Chief Minister’s Office, Speaker’s Office, MLAs, Ministers, top BJP functionaries including the state president and was supported by the police machinery,” state Congress President Girish Chodankar said.
Congress leaders also met state Director General of Police Muktesh Chander and demanded action against senior BJP functionaries named in the complaint.
Both the Congress as well as the BJP leaders have filed First Information Reports against each other following the clash, with each accusing the other of rioting, assault, and outraging the modesty of women.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : Stating that conviction of party leader Sajjan Kumar in an 1984 anti-Sikh riots case should not be politicised, the Congress on Monday raked up the 2002 Gujarat riots demanding punishment for BJP leaders alleged to be involved in the communal violence that claimed over 1,000 lives.
On a day when the Delhi High Court convicted and sentenced Kumar to life imprisonment, Congress leader and former Union Minister Kapil Sibal pointed finger at Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was at the helm of Gujarat during the 2002 riots.
“Kumar doesn’t hold any office nor was given ticket by the party to contest polls, whereas the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, who were involved in the riots, have been given positions of power. The one who was the Chief Minister then has become the Prime Minister now,” Sibal told the media here.
While Modi, the then Gujarat Chief Minister, was given a clean chit by the special investigation team (SIT) in connection with the 2002 Godhra riots, it has been challenged before the Supreme Court which has adjourned the matter till January.
The clean chit to Modi has been challenged by Zakia Jafri — widow of Congress leader and former member of Parliament Ahsan Jafri — who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre, one of the worst incidents during the riots.
Reacting to Kumar’s conviction, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi also said that the matter should not be politicised.
“His conviction is not a political issue, the cases have been on for over 20 years and there have been several convictions and acquittals. This should not be seen in a political context and people should not try to seek political mileage from it,” Singhvi told the media here.
Kumar was sentenced to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life, with the Delhi high Court holding that the violence was a “crime against humanity” engineered by politicians with assistance from police.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Guwahati : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday accused the Congress of playing with the country’s security and said that the opposition party is shying away from a debate in Parliament on the AgustaWestland and other defence deals signed during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime.
Addressing a press conference here, Yoga Adityanath held the Congress responsible for delaying the Rafale deal which was initiated in 2007. “Post Kargil war, the country’s security forces needed modernisation and induction of 4th and 5th generation fighter jets. However, the UPA regime kept the deal on hold from 2007 to 2014, jeopardising the country’s security,” he said.
The UP Chief Minister added that now that the Supreme Court has given a clean chit to the government over the deal, the Congress and its President Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the people of the country for dragging in the issue of the Rafale deal unnecessarily.
He also pointed out that while most of the defence deals signed during the UPA regime had middlemen or agents, the Rafale deal was a deal signed between two governments.
“The Rafale deal is a transparent one signed between two governments. There was no Quattrocchi or Christian Michel involved in the Rafale deal and that was probably the reason why the UPA government kept it on hold till 2014,” Adityanath said.
“The BJP is ready for a debate on any issue in Parliament. However, the Congress is not interested to debate. In a democracy, there cannot be a better place than Parliament to debate on any issue. However, the Congress is shying away from debate as they want to escape from controversies like AgustaWestland and other defence deals signed during their tenure,” he said and demanded the resignation of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for misleading the people of the country and unnecessarily dragging in the issue.
Asked about the SC judgement regarding the anti-Sikh riots in 1984, the UP Chief Minister said that the Congress has been dividing the country on religious lines since long. “The Congress had its hands stained during the anti-Sikh riots. The truth cannot be hidden,” he added.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Kamal Nath
Bhopal : Immediately after taking over as the new Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath on Monday waived loans of farmers to the tune of Rs 2 lakh each, delivering on the Congress pre-poll promise of cancelling farm loans within 10 days of coming to power.
“The Madhya Pradesh government hereby takes the decision of waiving of loans taken by farmers up to Rs 2 lakh from nationalised and cooperative banks,” read the letter signed by Rajesh Rajora, Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Horticulture and Food Processing.
Kamal Nath, who was instrumental in the Congress’ victory in Madhya Pradesh, was on the day sworn in as its 18th Chief Minister, bringing to an end 15-year Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule in the central state.
Riding on its promise of farm loan waiver, the Congress won 114 seats, two seats short of majority in the 230-member House.
—IANS
