The Debate on the no-confidence motion moved by the Congress against the Narendra Modi government continued in the Lok Sabha for the second consecutive day today with the opposition alleging government inaction in Manipur and the ruling alliance countering it strongly.
 
In an attack against the BJP over violence in Manipur, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that its ruling party's politics had "murdered Bharat Mata" in the north-eastern state and termed members of the BJP as "traitors".
 
Gandhi also slammed Prime Minister Modi for not visiting Manipur and alleging that he does not consider the state to be part of India.
 
"I went to Manipur a few days ago. Our prime minister has not gone there, he has not gone there till now. He does not consider Manipur part of India. I used the word Manipur, but the reality is there is no Manipur left. You have divided Manipur into two parts, you have broken up Manipur," Gandhi said.
 
Gandhi said he visited Manipur and met women and children at the relief camps, but the prime minister had not done so.
 
As the treasury benches protested and slammed Gandhi, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Congress leader should apologise for his remarks as it is the Congress that is responsible for insurgency and other problems in the northeast.
 
Continuing his no-holds-barred attack against the government in his over 30-minute speech, Gandhi went on to say that it is the Army that can bring peace to Manipur but the government is not deploying it.
 
The former Congress president also said the Bharat Jodo Yatra is not over and he undertook the cross-country march to  understand what it was he loved and for what he had faced abuse for 10 years.
 The Congress leader also thanked Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for reinstating his membership of the House.
 
Soon after Rahul, Union Minister Smriti Irani came down heavily on the Congress leader for his "murder of India in Manipur" remark, saying this is for the first time in parliamentary democracy that someone has made such a statement.
 
Speaking after Gandhi during the debate, she also attacked the Congress, saying the party's members were clapping and thumping desks when the remark was being made.
 
"I condemn the behaviour that was displayed. This is the first time in Parliament's history that someone talked about the murder of Bharat Mata, and Congress leaders were thumping desks," the BJP Member from Amethi said and asserted that Manipur is an integral part of India. 
 
The Minister for women and child development also trained guns at the Wayanad MP after he blew a flying kiss towards the treasury benches which were booing him while he was leaving the House.
 
Later, many women Members of the BJP sought "stringent action" against Gandhi in a complaint to Speaker Om Birla.
 
In the complaint, signed by more than 20 women parliamentarians, it was alleged that the Congress member made the "inappropriate gesture" towards Irani when she was speaking in the House.
 
During the debate, Irani accused Congress leaders of supporting the idea of dividing India and said "Manipur is not divided, it is a part of this country".
 
Mentioning Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, she said, "I will not speak on joint pains. the valley that India has seen to be soaked in blood, when they went there, they were playing with snowballs. That was possible after Prime Minister Narendra Modi abrogated Article 370."
 
Irani also said the government was ready to discuss the Manipur issue and alleged that the opposition was running away from a debate.
 
Participating in the debate, Janata Dal (United) MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' slammed the Centre over the violence in Manipur, saying unrest in the state could spill over to Nagaland and Mizoram, and impact the whole northeastern border.
 
The JD(U) leader also questioned the "silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the matter. "Manipur is burning and not a single word has been uttered. Such a big incident happened and not a single word was spoken by the PM," Singh said.
 
Participating in the debate, opposition Trinamool Congress and DMK  accused the Modi government of not doing anything to resolve the crisis in Manipur and maintaining stoic silence on the issue.
   
TMC member Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar alleged that the "double engine" government in Manipur has failed and the Centre is covering up the real situation in ethnic violence-hit Manipur.
 
The TMC member also wanted to know why the members of the treasury benches are not talking about the situation in Manipur. "Why does the government not talk about Manipur? Why is the government giving a report card? This is not election time," Dastidar said.
 
DMK member Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said Manipur has the highest ratio of police personnel to civilians in India, but the government has failed the people.
 
BJP MP Ram Kripal Yadav said that the 140 crore people of India have faith in Prime Minister Modi and the opposition is just stoking the fire in Manipur for political gains.
 
Home Minister Amit Shah has questioned the character of the opposition alliance, saying its true face was seen when it indulged in corruption to save its governments.
 
Intervening in the debate on the no-confidence motion against the government, Shah said when the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee faced a no-trust vote in 1999, he chose to step down instead of indulging in corruption to save his government.
 
"The character of political parties and alliances is revealed in such times of crises. UPA's character is to indulge in corruption to save the government by hook or by crook, while the BJP-led NDA's character is to stand up to the principles," Shah said.
 
He said the then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao had faced a no-confidence motion in 1993 and the Congress then chose to remain in power by hook or by crook.
 
"Narasimha Rao won the trust vote, but Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) members had to go to jail. Later, Narasimha Rao also went to jail… today, the Congress and the JMM are sitting in the opposition in the Lok Sabha," he said.
 
Shah said opposition parties do not have confidence in the government, but the people of the nation think otherwise.
 
"Post-independence, if the nation has confidence in any leader, it is Narendra Modi who was elected twice with complete majority. After 30 years, people elected a full majority government," the minister said.
 
Shah said he had heard the speeches of opposition leaders and has reached the conclusion that this no-confidence motion was brought in the House only to create confusion.
   
On the Quit India movement's anniversary, the prime minister has given the slogan 'Corruption Quit India, Dynasty Quit India and Appeasement Quit India', he said.
 
"Modi has ushered in a new era of politics since 2014, that of development which will lead to the creation of India of the dreams of our freedom fighters much before 2047," the home minister said.         
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned three times today as the opposition continued its protest over the Manipur issues and its demand for discussion under rule 267.
   
In the morning, Rajya the House was adjourned till 2 pm amid protests by opposition parties after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that Tushar Gandhi was arrested on a day India marks the anniversary of the Quit India movement. After the listed papers were tabled, opposition Members raised the issue of Tushar Gandhi's arrest. Several members from the ruling side countered them.
   
When the House met at 2 pm, the opposition continued its protest even as Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar called for moving the Bill. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge raised the demand for discussions on the Manipur issue.  He also demanded a statement from the Prime Minister in the House.
   
Kharge, said after the discussion, the home minister can reply but the prime minister should make a statement in the Upper House. He alleged that the government was shying away from discussing the Manipur issue under Rule 267.
   
Responding to this, the chairman said he has already passed a lawful decision on this issue. Following this, the opposition members started protesting inside the House by chanting "India".
   
Leader of the House Piyush Goyal alleged that the opposition members do not want a discussion. He said they are running away from a debate and then disrupting the proceedings of the House.
   
He called for a discussion on the bill, but the opposition continued to protest, following which the chairman again adjourned the House till 2.45 PM.
   
When the House reassembled at 2.45 pm, opposition members continued their protest and the Chairman adjourned the proceedings till 3.15 PM.
   
When the House met at 3.15 PM, Kharge again insisted on his demand for a discussion on the Manipur issue and a statement from the prime minister.
   
Dhankhar said he has already given his decision many times on the matter.
   
As the House met after the adjournment, it took up the discussion on the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill amid a walkout by the opposition. The Bill was subsequently passed by Rajya Sabha.
   
Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has referred to the privileges committee the complaints of Members alleging Aam Aadmi Party Member Raghav Chadha named them in a house panel without their consent in violation of rules.
   
Parliament today passed the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill 2023 to set up a national agency to fund research across universities in the country.
   
It was passed by a voice vote in the Rajya Sabha after being taken up for consideration and passage. Only six members participated in the debate as the Opposition had earlier walked out of the House. This Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha earlier this week.
   
Replying to the discussion for consideration and passage of the Bill, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh termed it "history in the making" and said it is going to have long-term outcomes.
   
As Opposition members were not present in the Upper House during the discussion and passage of the Bill, Singh said the government was looking forward to having more constructive inputs from them as well.
   
Participating in the discussion on the Bill, Sujit Kumar of the BJD said this Bill will bring about an integrated, holistic and a perceptible change in the country's innovation landscape by tapping into universities, higher education and the private sector.
   
Ayodhya Rami Reddy Alla of the YSR Congress Party termed the Bill "transformative" and one that holds immense promise for India's future.
   
Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar of the TDP also supported the Bill.
   
V Vijayasai Reddy of YSR Congress Party, termed it a significant step forward in the direction of revamping the entire R & D ecosystem and said his party, therefore, supports the proposed legislation.
   
G K Vasan of TMC -M and M Thambidurai of AIADMK also spoke in support of the Bill.
   
The Bill will pave the way to establish National Research Foundation (NRF) that will seed, grow and promote Research and Development and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India's universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories.
   
The Bill will establish the NRF, an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research in the country according to recommendations of the National Education Policy at a total estimated cost of 50,000 crore rupees during five years 2023-28.
   
The Department of Science and Technology will be the administrative Department of NRF which will be governed by a Governing Board consisting of eminent researchers and professionals across disciplines.
   
Since the scope of the NRF is wide-ranging – impacting all ministries – the prime minister will be the ex-officio president of the board and the Union Minister of Science and Technology and Union Minister of Education will be the ex-officio vice-presidents. NRF's functioning will be governed by an Executive Council chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.   
   
Parliament today passed Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 by a voice vote following a walkout by the opposition members over the Manipur issue. The Lok Sabha passed the bill earlier on Monday.
   
The Bill seeks to protect the privacy of Indian citizens while proposing a penalty of up to 250 crore rupees on entities for misusing or failing to protect the digital data of individuals.
   
Moving the bill for consideration and passage in the Upper House, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said it would have been good had the opposition discussed the Bill today. But no opposition leader or member is concerned over the rights of the citizens.
   
The bill which comes after six years of the Supreme Court declaring "Right to Privacy" as a fundamental right has provisions to curb the misuse of individuals' data by online platforms.
   
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the bill lays down obligations on private and government entities around the collection and processing of citizen's data. He said the Bill has been brought after extensive public consultation.
   
Underscoring the salient features of the bill, the minister said its language is very simple so that even a common person can understand it.
   
Referring to certain principles on which the bill is based, Vaishnaw said that according to the principle of legality, the data of a person has to be taken based on prevailing laws and cannot be used for the purpose beyond which it has been collected.
   
Parliament also passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to add two synonyms for the Mahar community in Chhattisgarh to the state's list of Scheduled Castes.
   
The Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha by a voice vote. It has already been passed by the Lok Sabha in the ongoing Monsoon session.
   
The bill seeks to add "Mahara" and "Mahra" as synonyms of the Mahar community.
   
Replying to a discussion on the bill in the Rajya Sabha, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar urged for its passage.
   
The proposed legislation will help expand the benefits of government schemes and benefits meant for Scheduled Castes in the state to around two lahks more people, he said.
   
Initiating the debate on this Sulta Dev of Biju Janata Dal said this would benefit more than two lakh people in Chhattisgarh. She also asked the government to consider the demand of the addition of four castes to the list from western Odisha.
    Sumer Singh Solanki of BJP, Kanakmedla Ravindra Kumar of TDP, Subhash Chandra Bose Pilli and V Vijaysai Reddy of YSRCP, M Thambidurai of AIDMK participated in the debate.
   
Parliament also passed the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aims to decriminalise the offences committed in carrying out coastal aquaculture activities and ensure ease of doing business.
   
The Bill was cleared by the Rajya Sabha by a voice vote. It was passed in the Lok Sabha on 7th of August.
   
Replying to a debate on the Bill in Rajya Sabha, Parshottam Rupala, Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, said that India has benefited from green revolution and white revolution.
   
The Bill also seeks to expand the scope, remove regulatory gaps and reduce the compliance burden without diluting environmental protection rules in the coastal areas.
   
To decriminalize the offences, the bill seeks to remove the jail term of up to three years and impose only a penalty of up to one lakh rupees.
     
The Bill also seeks to encourage the establishment of facilities in areas having direct access to seawater to produce genetically improved and disease-free bloodstocks and seed for use in coastal aquaculture besides preventing the use of antibiotics and pharmacologically active substances, which are harmful to human health in coastal aquaculture.