Passage of several Bills are some of the highlights of this week of the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament. Lok Sabha passed the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023 and the National Dental Commission Bill, 2023, which seek to usher in better quality of nursing and dental education. The National Dental Commission Bill seeks to repeal the Dentists Act, 1948 and proposes to set up the National Dental Commission (NMC) to regulate dental education and the profession in the country. It also aims to make dental education affordable and make quality oral healthcare accessible.
The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023 aims at setting up the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission (NNMC) and to repeal the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947. The same day the Lok Sabha also passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023 which empowers the Central Government to exclusively auction the mining lease and composite licence for certain critical minerals. Minister for Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi moved the Bill in the Lok Sabha amid continuous sloganeering by opposition members over the Manipur issue. The Minister said India will produce one billion tonnes of coal this year.
A Bill to amend the Indian Institute of Management Act, 2017 was also introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday amid disruption by opposition members over violence in Manipur. The Bill was introduced by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Following the passage of several Bills, the House was adjourned for the day due to protests by opposition members on the Manipur issue.
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed two Bills-the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill 2022 and the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022 amid opposition protests over Manipur incidents. The Biological Diversity Amendment Bill, 2022 was introduced in the House in December 2021 by Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav. The Bill was referred to a Joint Committee due to concerns that the amendments favoured industry and contracted the spirit of Convention on Biological Diversity. The Minister said the Bill is significant as the world is facing triple crisis of climate change, desertification and ecological imbalance.
Later, the House took up the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill 2022. Piloting the Bill, Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said the provisions in the Bill will initiate a new era for the sector which has been ignored by the previous governments. The Bill was later approved by the Lok Sabha by voice vote amid din. The Bill seeks to strengthen governance, reform the electoral process, improve the monitoring mechanism and ensure ease of doing business in multi-state cooperative societies. As soon as the House met for the day, opposition members sought to raise the Manipur issue amid sloganeering. Speaker Om Birla asked the protesting members not to indulge in sloganeering and requested them to go back to their seats.
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a Bill that seeks to exempt land within 100 kilometers of the country’s borders from the purview of conservation laws and permit setting up of zoos, safaris and eco-tourism facilities in forest areas.
The Congress on Wednesday moved an opposition-backed No Confidence motion in the Lok Sabha against the government. Responding to this, Speaker Om Birla said he will inform the members about the date for a discussion on the matter as per rules after discussing the same with leaders of all parties. On Thursday, the Rajya Sabha passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023.
On Thursday, the Lok Sabha passed two Bills amid protest by opposition disrupting the proceedings of the House for the sixth day over Manipur violence.
PROCEEDINGS IN RAJYA SABHA
Proceedings of the House began with Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar making a reference to the 24th Anniversary of the Kargil Diwas. The Chairman paid tributes to the soldiers who died in action during the Kargil War. The House observed a brief silence in memory of the soldiers. Later, the Chairman said that he has received 42 notices under Rule 267 for discussion on the Manipur situation.
The Manipur violence has rocked proceedings in both the Houses of Parliament ever since the Monsoon Session began on 20th of July with the Opposition demanding a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a discussion on the situation in the North-Eastern State. As many as 47 opposition members in the Rajya Sabha had given adjournment notices under Rule 267 on Manipur violence after suspending the day’s business. Responding to this, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said that he has already agreed to a short-duration discussion on the issue and asked members to rise above partisan interests and agree to discuss the matter under that Rule. The Chairman stressed on the importance of the Question Hour saying that the Question Hour is the heart of Parliamentary functioning.
When the Rajya Sabha resumed, Deputy Chairman Harivansh called on Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda to move for consideration of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said that his party is fully in support of the Bill. Replying to the debate on the Bill, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said that the Bill is an effort to bring justice to members of the Scheduled Tribes who have till now been devoid of reservation. He said that under the Rule of the NDA government, steps have been taken for empowerment of the members of the community. He said that the Narendra Modi government has been working since the last nine years to make the lives better for the common man. Later, the Bill was passed by a voice vote.
The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022 seeks to include some tribes and communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes in the State of Chhattisgarh. Further, the Bill substitutes names of certain tribal communities in the Constitution Order with corresponding names in the Hindi version of the Madhya Pradesh Reorganization Act 2000. The Rajya Sabha continued to witness stormy scenes for the fifth day on Wednesday on the situation in Manipur with the opposition and the Treasury bench members clashing on the Rule under which a discussion should be held. The Opposition demanded the discussion under Rule 267 after suspension of all other business including the Zero Hour and the Question Hour. The Treasury benches wanted a discussion on Manipur developments under Rule 176. They said that a notice in this regard was admitted on the first day of the Monsoon Session.
The House has taken up debate on the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill 2022. The debate was held in the absence of the Opposition which walked out in protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi not making a statement on the Manipur situation despite the demand by the opposition. The Bill seeks to include the Hattee community of Trans Giri area of Sirmour district in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Himachal Pradesh. The Bill, already passed in the Lok Sabha, seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order 1950 with respect to its application to Himachal Pradesh. The Order lists the tribal communities deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in States and Union Territories.
Bhupinder Yadav of BJP said the opposition was constantly obstructing the proceedings despite discussion on Manipur being admitted. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, clarifying on a member saying that Sanjay Singh was suspended because he wanted to raise an issue, said the member was suspended because of his behaviour and misconduct. He said that such behaviour could not be tolerated.
The fourth day of the Monsoon Session of the Rajya Sabha continued to witness stormy scenes with the opposition demanding suspension of the business in the Zero Hour and Question Hour for discussion on the situation in Manipur. The day also witnessed the passage of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (5th Amendment) Bill 2022 that seeks to include some tribes and communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes in the State of Chhattisgarh. The Bill was approved by the Upper House amidst a walk-out by the Congress and several opposition parties in protest against non-acceptance of their demand for a discussion on the Manipur situation under Rule 267 of the rules and procedures of the House. With the passage in the Rajya Sabha, the Bill has been approved by Parliament. The proceedings of the House began with the Aam Aadmi Party protesting against the suspension of its member Sanjay Singh for the rest of the Monsoon Session.
Later the opposition members raised uproar in the House on their demand for discussion on the situation in Manipur forcing the Chair to adjourn the House till noon. With the uproar persisting in the House, the Chairman allowed the Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to speak. Kharge said that when 50 members of the House have submitted notices for a discussion on the Manipur situation, the discussion should be allowed. Responding to this, Leader of the House Piyush Goyal said that the discussion on atrocities against women in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh should also be allowed.
Thereafter, the Chairman allowed the Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to speak. Kharge said that when he was speaking yesterday, his mike was switched off when he wanted to speak about the Manipur situation. Following this, a clash ensued between the Opposition and Treasury benches. Amid noisy scenes, the Chairman adjourned the House till Noon. When the House reassembled, the Chairman called for the Question Hour. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said that it was sad that members were not availing the opportunity to question the government during the Question Hour.
Responding to opposition demand for discussion on the Manipur issue, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said that he had decided not to admit the notices under Rule 176 for a discussion on the issue. He said three notices have been received under Rule 176 for discussion on atrocities against women in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Leader of the House Piyush Goyal said that the Chairman should also admit notices for discussion on atrocities against women in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. P Chidambaram of Congress said that the Chairman should admit the notices for discussion under Rule 267 for a discussion on the situation in Manipur.
The Rajya Sabha on Friday bid farewell to its member Vinay Dinu Tendulkar, who represented Goa. He has been a member of the house since July 2017. Tendulkar in his farewell remarks said it was a privilege for him to be a member of the upper house.
The Rajya Sabha also greeted Dineshchandra Jemalbhai Anavadiya on his birthday. He has been a member of the house since February 2021. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar also wished M Mohamed Abdulla whose birthday falls on July 30. The Chairman said it has been his privilege and satisfaction of greeting members personally on their birthdays.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took exception to the language used by an Opposition member against a Ruling Party member. Tiruchi Siva of the DMK raised a Point of Order on the Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s mike being switched off during his speech the previous day. Responding to this Rajya Sabha Chairman said that with a sense of responsibility, I state that the mike was not switched off.
Thereafter, the Chairman called for taking up Special Mentions amid the opposition uproar. Raising a Point of Order P. Chidambaram of Congress said that a list of questions raised in the House since the start of the Monsoon Session shows that not a single question was asked on the situation in Manipur. This led the Treasury benches to raise an uproar on Chidambaram’s statement saying that the member has cast aspersions on the Chairman. To this, the Chairman said that he was seized of the matter. He then adjourned the House till 2 PM.
Later, when the House resumed, Deputy Chairman Harivansh called on Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda to move for consideration of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill 2022. Initiating the debate on the Bill, Mamata Mohanta of the Biju Janata Dal said that the Bill was a step towards empowerment of the tribal community. Sumer Singh Solanki, Ramilaben Becharbhai Bara, Samir Oraon and Vinay Dinu Tendulkar all BJP are among others who participated in the discussion.
Replying to the debate, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said that the Bill is in line with the commitment of the Narendra Modi government to take steps towards empowerment of the tribal communities in the country. The Minister said the intention of the government is to take all sections of the society on the path of progress.
Amid repeated adjournments, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar made a suo motu statement on the latest developments in India’s Foreign Policy in both the Houses. The Minister said despite the unprecedented and complex geo-political situation, India is now recognized as a voice that speaks for all and stands for peace, security and prosperity. He said India’s G-20 Presidency has served as a catalyst in invigorating the country’s foreign policy and also realizing the vision of Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat. He said India’s stature has been rising globally and the country is emerging as a credible and effective development partner. The Minister said today the world recognizes that when India speaks, it speaks not only for itself but for many others. And that India speaks as a voice of peace, security and prosperity for all. The Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also accorded the rare privilege of addressing the Joint Session of the US Congress for a second time. Jaishankar further said in 2022, at the beginning of Amrit Kaal, India assumed the landmark G-20 Presidency.
