Updated: September 17, 2020 10:54:28 pm
MPs are silent during an obituary reference for the late YSRCP MP Balli Durga Prasad Rao in Lok Sabha at the current Monsoon Parliament Session, amid the coronavirus pandemic, in New Delhi on Thursday. (Photo: LSTV via PTI)
On the fourth day of the Parliament session, which takes place amid strict Covid-19 protocols, Lok Sabha approved two contentious legislation ––– Draft Law on Trade in Agricultural Products and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation), 2020, and Agreement on the Agreement of Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) on Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services, 2020 by voice vote. Moving the bills in the Lower House, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that they are aimed at making agriculture profitable and clarified that these bills would have no impact on the Minimum Support Price mechanism ( MSP), which will continue. In addition, he assured that these legislations would not invade the laws of the Agricultural Products Marketing Committee (APMC) of the states.
In Rajya Sabha, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that China does not recognize the traditional alignment of the Royal Line of Control (LAC) with India and that the recent conduct of PLA troops reflects a disregard for bilateral agreements between the two sides. .
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP and PDP leader Mir Mohammad Fayaz demanded the release of all political leaders and workers, including their party chief Mehbooba Mufti, and said they are being held in Jammu and Kashmir for more one year.
MPs are silent during an obituary reference for the late YSRCP MP Balli Durga Prasad Rao at Lok Sabha in New Delhi on Thursday. (Photo: LSTV via PTI)
These are the main developments of Parliament today:
Harsimrat Kaur resigns from government in protest of agricultural ordinances
While opposition parties including Congress, Trinamool Congress, RSP opposed the bills, Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur, belonging to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), who is a member of the NDA led by BJP, resigned from the government in protest of the ordinances. Addressing the president of the SAD, Sukhbir Badal and his wife Harsimrat, the Congress, the AAP and the SAD (Democrat) had demanded that the latter resign from the Union Cabinet, as his position is “untenable” following his position. party against agricultural bills.
Ludhiana, Punjab Congressional MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, RSP MP NK Premachandran, among others, opposed government-approved farm ordinances that called the move an attempt by the Center to destroy agriculture.
“The government is using the COVID pandemic situation to demolish agricultural sector reforms through ordinances and thus misuse presidential power under Article 123 of the Constitution,” Premachandran said in Lok Sabha. “My humble submission to the government is that the bills are sent to the standing committee for scrutiny; otherwise it will be another disaster for the farming community in India, ”said Premachandran.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal told Lok Sabha that Harsimrat would resign from the Union Cabinet. (Photo: Screengrab / LSTV)
TMC MP Krishnanagar Mahua Moitra of West Bengal said that by introducing such legislation, the government is attacking the spirit of federalism. “By legislating on the agricultural sector, the government has once again done what it does best, that is, enlarging the authority that is simply not conferred by the Constitution.”
Explained | Why Akali Dal is also protesting the NDA’s farm ordinances
Moitra noted that government interference on a state issue will create unnecessary ambiguity and rural division. She also said the bill does not mention licensing in this new business area, which will make farmers vulnerable to unscrupulous practices, given that state governments will not be able to regulate.
Punjab Cong MPs burn copies of agricultural bills
Punjab congressional parliamentarians burned copies of the Center’s proposed agricultural bills inside the Parliament complex on Thursday, even as the party staged a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue. MPs Jasbir Singh Gill, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Gurjit Singh Aujla and Amar Singh burned copies of the bills and said they will oppose the proposed legislation tooth and nail. They also wore black robes, saying “I am a farmer and a field laborer and don’t betray me.” They also criticized the leadership of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for continuing in the BJP-led NDA even after the government proposed these bills.
China’s actions ignore several bilateral agreements: Rajnath in Rajya Sabha
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in Rajya Sabha said on Thursday that China does not recognize the traditional alignment of the Royal Line of Control (LAC) with India and that the recent conduct of PLA troops reflects a disregard for bilateral agreements between the two parties. Singh also said that India’s timely actions had thwarted attempts to change the status quo in Pangong Tso.
“I would like to assure Parliament that India will not back down from making any tough decisions and that our forces are in a better position to retaliate,” Rajnath Singh said, adding that China has built war machines and troops near LAC.
During his speech, Singh also said that China continues to illegally occupy a large area of Ladakh. “China continues to illegally occupy approximately 38,000 square kilometers in the territory of the Ladakh Union. Furthermore, under the so-called “Boundary Agreement” between China and Pakistan of 1963, Pakistan illegally gave up 5,180 square kilometers. from Indian Territory in PoK to China. China also claims approximately 90,000 square kilometers. of Indian territory in the eastern sector of the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh Chinese actions reflect a disregard for our various bilateral agreements, “Singh added.
We reject Islamabad’s obsession with territorial aggrandizement: government in the new Pak map
The government said it has rejected Pakistan’s “obsession” with “territorial aggrandizement” supported by cross-border terrorism, in a reference to Islamabad unveiling a new political map that claims Indian territories. Responding to a written question on the subject in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs V Muraleedharan said that the Center continues to respond “appropriately” to Pakistan’s malicious actions and propaganda, including the Jammu and Kashmir issue, in various international forums. . On August 4, Pakistan had published the new map claiming the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and parts of Gujarat. “The government has rejected Pakistan’s obsession with territorial aggrandizement supported by cross-border terrorism,” Muraleedharan said in the written response, calling the publication of the map by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan “absurd”.
The PDP deputy demands the release of the political leaders detained in JK
MP Rajya Sabha and PPD leader Mir Mohammad Fayaz demanded the release of all detained political leaders and workers, including their party chief Mehbooba Mufti, and said they have been detained at J&K for more than a year. Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Upper House of Parliament, Fayaz said that J & K’s special status under Article 370 was repealed on August 5 last year and thousands, including political leaders, were arrested the same night. “… A year has passed. Still many leaders are detained under the PSA (Public Safety Law) or under house arrest,” he said.
Mufti, a former prime minister of J&K and a three-time member of Parliament, has been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), Fayaz said. He further said that while many have been released, there are still hundreds who are still in detention. “Those arrested must be released,” demanded the deputy of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP).
Aiming to reduce the mortality rate to less than 1%: hard
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government aims to reduce India’s COVID-19 death rate to less than 1 percent from the current 1.64 percent, which is still the highest. under the world. Responding to a debate at Rajya Sabha, he said that the nation’s recovery rate of 78 to 79 percent is one of the highest in the world. He added that although the total cases may have exceeded 50 lakh, he stressed that active cases are less than 20 percent of total cases.
Deaths in India due to the coronavirus pandemic are lower than in many nations in Europe and the government was determined to beat the US testing rate, he said.
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