Parliament Session Highlights: Rajya, Lok Sabha adjourned till 11 am on August 8

Parliament Session Live Updates: The Finance Bill 2024 introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the fiscal year 2024-2025 was passed in the House on Wednesday.

Parliament Session Live Updates: Rajya Sabha proceedings have been adjourned for the day. House will reassemble on August 8 at 11 am.

Parliament Session Live Updates: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that before GST was introduced, each state imposed its own pre-GST tax on medical insurance. She said that this issue is not new as all states had similar taxes before GST and those now protesting against it had not previously raised concerns in their states about removing these taxes.

Parliament Session Live Updates: JMM MP Mahua Majhi said that the way Vinesh Phogat fought her battle and left the government “red-faced”, only to be disqualified from the finals due to a slight weight increase, raises suspicion. She suggested that there should be an inquiry to determine if there was any conspiracy involved.

Parliament Session Live Updates: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that the government has brought in transformation changes in the tax governance in the last decade. She also said that without drastically increase taxes, government has focused on simplified taxation.

Parliament Session Live Updates: INDIA bloc parties led by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge walked out of the Rajya Sabha over the Vinesh Phogat issue and staged a protest on the Parliament House premises.

Parliament Session Live Updates: The INDIA bloc staged a walkout after sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya's statement on Vinesh Phogat's disqualification. The opposition says it had sought clarification, but minister allegedly refused.

Parliament Session Live Updates: Union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has lodged a strong protest with United World Wrestling against disqualification of Vinesh Phogat from Paris Olympics.

Parliament Session Live Updates: The government has notified the Lok Sabha's Business Advisory Committee that the Wakf Bill will be introduced in the House on Thursday. Opposition parties are calling for the Bill to be referred to a standing committee.

Parliament Session Live Updates: Attacking the central government in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said the Enforcement Directorate has allegedly made a mockery of itself and has been playing into the hands of the government. Banerjee alleged that under government direction, it is raiding places and ensuring their photos are properly clicked like a photo session.

Parliament Session Live Updates: “I visited Wayanad with my sister some days back and I saw with my own eyes, the pain and suffering that resulted from this tragedy. More than 200 people are dead and a huge number of people are missing. I would like to commend the work of the Union and State Govt, NDRF, SDRF, Army, Navy, Cost Guard, Fire Department and others and assistance from the neighbouring states including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. This is a huge tragedy. I would urge the Union Govt to support a comprehensive rehabilitation package for Wayanad including building disaster-resilient infrastructure and helping the communities. I would also like to urge the Govt to declare the Wayanad landslide as a national disaster,” says Congress leader and ex-Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi.

Parliament Session Live Updates: Union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya will speak in the Lok Sabha at 3pm on the Vinesh Phogat issue.

Parliament Session Live Updates: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge raises the issue in Rajya Sabha, where is the Leader of Opposition.

“The objectives stated by the Preamble are to secure justice, liberty, equality to all citizens and promote fraternity to maintain unity and integrity of the nation,” Kharge said, and called the Preamble 'the soul and foundation of the Indian Constitution.'

Parliament Session Live Updates: “It is the country's misfortune that the Opposition is playing the role of a 'tukde-tukde gang' for votes. We supported the Palestine when the issue came, but it was made an issue. Manish Tewari spoke but he did not speak on Hindus in Bangladesh. He (Salman Khurshid) said that India can also have a situation like Bangladesh, I know that he spoke on the instruction of Rahul Gandhi,” says BJP's Giriraj Singh.

Parliament Session Live Updates: The government will introduce the Waqf (amendment) Bill, 2024, in Lok Sabha today, reports Livemint.

“Any government property identified or declared as Waqf property, before or after the commencement of this Act, shall not be deemed to be a Waqf property,” reads the new bill.

Parliament Session Live Updates: "They (govt) have already circulated the bill with a new name and so many amendments disempowering the existing Waqf Board and the councils. It is very interesting to see that non-Muslims are also included in the Waqf Board. It is a religious freedom envisaged in Article 26 of the Constitution and it is right of a particular religion or a community being infringed. It is against the fundamental rights... so, we will strongly oppose it," says RSP MP NK Premachandran.

Parliament Session Live Updates: “We are seeing that even Union government is following the West Bengal's model. Their 'Ayushman Bharat' scheme is following Mamata Banerjee's 'Swasthya Sathi', their 'PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana' is our 'Krishak Bondhu'...so, all other states are also following Bengal,” says Dola Sen, TMC Rajya Sabha MP.

Parliament Session Live Updates: Congress MP Hibi Eden gives an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha to discuss the issue of 'Mullaperiyar Dam'.

"The Mullaperiyar Dam, a century old structure, poses an imminent threat that we can no longer afford to ignore. The need to reconstruct the Mullaperiyar Dam is not just an engineering challenge but a moral and humanitarian imperative. The reconstruction of the Mullaperiyar Dam is not just a regional issue; it is a national priority. We must act decisively and swiftly to prevent a potential disaster that could claim countless lives and cause irreversible damage," his notice stated.

Parliament Session Live Updates: Manickam Tagore, a Lok Sabha member from the Congress party, has given an adjournment motion notice to discuss caste census.

"I hereby give notice of my intention to ask for leave to a motion for the adjournment of the business of the house for the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent importance, namely: Today I address the urgent need for a caste-based census," Tagore stated.

Parliament Session Live Updates: The Finance Bill for the financial year 2024-2025, moved by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the previous day, will be taken into consideration and passing in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

The bill will give effect to the financial proposals of the central government for the financial year 2024-25.

Parliament Session Live Updates: The bill to amend the Waqf Act was circulated among members of the Lok Sabha on Tuesday night, according to PTI.

As per PTI, the legislation is set to be renamed, in addition to seeing ‘far-reaching’ changes, including Muslim women and non-Muslims being represented in such bodies.

The Waqf Act, 1995, is set to be renamed as the ‘Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.’