Parliament Monsoon Session Highlights: Rajya Sabha adjourned till tomorrow

The Parliament on Wednesday passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023 that allows the private sector to mine key atomic minerals, including lithium, and deep-seated minerals such as gold, silver, copper and zinc.

The bill was passed by Rajya Sabha by a voice vote after Lok Sabha passed it on July 28. It has amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.

The discussion on the bill, which was moved by minister of coal and mines Prahlad Joshi, took place amid the Opposition staging a walkout demanding a discussion on the situation in Manipur and a statement by the Prime Minister.

There was no formal system of Vedic education in the country before the Narendra Modi led government established Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Veda Sanskrit Shiksha Board ( MSRVSSB) last year, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan informed the Parliament on Wednesday.

Responding to questions related to the vedic education by several members of the upper house, Pradhan said that Vedas are the “basis foundation” of Indian knowledge, and it is the priority of the government to take the Indian knowledge tradition to the next generation and connecting Veda Vidya with the mainstream modern education system.

“There was no formal system of Vedic education in the country earlier. Maharishi Sandipani Rashtriya Ved Vidya Pratishthan was given recognition by the Board of Education under the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister. Veda Vidya and Sanskrit education should reach every section of the society without any discrimination, it is the priority of this government,” he said.

As many as 3,112 civil servants from foreign countries have been imparted training by the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday.

Of them, 2,099 participants were from Bangladesh, 818 from the Maldives, 97 from Myanmar, 49 from Gambia, 19 from other African countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia and Seychelles) and 30 from Cambodia, he said,

Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day

The Jan Vishwas (Amendmend of Provisions) Bill, 2023 passed by Rajya Sabha, by voice vote.

BJP Member of Parliament Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday urged the government to set up a mechanism to regulate the ‘obscene’ content published on Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms.

During zero hour in Rajya Sabha, the MP said, "There is censorship for films by the Censor Board of Film Certification made under the Cinematography Act 1972. Similarly, there is the Cable Television Network Regulation Act 1995 to review the content to be telecasted on television. However, currently, there is self-regulation and no mechanism for the Government to censor or review the content published on these OTT platforms."

He added that the content on these platforms depicts violence, vulgarity, obscenity, abusive language, glorification of killings, and the use of drugs, which makes it difficult for the content to be viewed with family. “The kind of abuses that we do not even use in our real life are heard in the serials run by these OTT platforms,” Modi said.

Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, while divulging details on the 2021 Mundra Port drugs case, said that two containers of a consignment of heroin weighing 2988.21 kilograms were seized, National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed four chargesheets and 27 accused have been arrested.

"The drugs had originated from Afghanistan," he added.

MoS Rai made the remarks in reply to a written question put forth by Congress MP Kumar Ketkar to the Minister of Home Affairs in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Ketkar asked if the Government has found about the prime accused of three consignments of drugs landed that he alleged had landed at the Mundra Port.

The Bill empowers the central government to specify, by order, the terms and conditions subject to which any survey, such as reconnaissance, prospecting, investigation or exploration including seismic survey, shall not be treated as non-forest purpose.

Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill that exempts land within 100 km of the country's borders from the purview of conservation laws and permits setting up of zoos, safaris and eco-tourism facilities in forest areas.

The Upper House passed the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 after a brief debate, though the opposition had walked out over the ethnic violence in Manipur.

The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on July 26.

During the debate, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said the Bill exempts certain types of land such as forest land along a rail line or a public road maintained by the government and providing access to a habitation, or to a rail and roadside amenity up to a maximum size of 0.10 hectares.

The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 passed in Rajya Sabha by voice vote.

Lok Sabha MP and Chairman of the Department related parliamentary standing committee on Information Technology, Prataprao Jadhav took a swipe at Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader John Brittas who had challenged the IT panel’s recent report on the Data Protection Bill and said it was disheartening that the CPI(M) leader had questioned the committee and argued that the report cannot be adopted without the Bill being introduced in either House of the Parliament and it being referred to the members of the Standing Committee.

In a statement issued by his office on Tuesday, Jadhav said, “I wish to clarify that our Committee has not examined the final version of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, as it is scheduled for introduction during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament. The Committee has tendered its recommendations on the general principles and provisions of the draft bill. Therefore, any claims suggesting otherwise are unfounded.”

Rajya Sabha chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday explicitly ruled out issuing any directive for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be present in the Upper House to discuss the situation in Manipur as has been demanded by the opposition parties, claiming by doing so he would be “violating” the oath of office.

Dhankhar, who had a day earlier referred to the opposition’s demand for the PM to make a statement in the House as “constitutionally ill-premised" said, “I had in categorical terms indicated very firmly on a proper constitutional premise and precedent that from this chair, I will be violating my oath if I impart a directive for the presence of the Prime Minister.”

He went on to say that such a directive has not come from the Chair in the past and the opposition’s insistence that he be present in the House is “ill-advised.”

BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri says, "Conspirators and hooligans should not be spared. A few people there have suffered losses in the riots. Rioters should be made to compensate for the losses. Action should definitely be taken otherwise such rioters will get emboldened. The rioters come from outside and incite youths, their parents should also get to know. Such rioters should get no place in the country and an Uttar Pradesh-like formula should be used -- their houses should be checked whether they are eligible to live there or not."

As many as 1,14,245 posts are lying vacant in various organisations under the Ministry of Home Affairs and these include the CRPF, the BSF and the Delhi Police, Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra said in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Mishra said in 2023, advertisements for about 31,879 posts have been published, and out of these, 1,126 posts have been filled up.

The Ministry of Home Affairs and its organisations, including the Central Armed Police Forces such as Border Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force, Assam Rifles and Central Industrial Security Force, and central police organisations, including Delhi Police, has approximately 1,14,245 vacant posts at present, he said in a written reply.

The Ministry of Education on Wednesday told Parliament that a total of 14,000 school children have been displaced due to the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur. The data released by the Ministry reveals that Churachandpur (4099) topped the list of the no. of displaced children, followed by Kangpokpi (2822) and Bishnupur (2063).

In a written response, the minister of state for education Annpurna Devi said: “As per information provided by the State Government of Manipur, a total of 14763 school-going children have been displaced due to the current Manipur situation. A nodal officer has been appointed for each relief camp to facilitate the admission process of the displaced students. 93.5% of the displaced students have been admitted to the nearest feasible school, free of cost.”

A total of 880 flats have been constructed in the Kashmir valley in the past three years for Kashmiri migrant employees who wish to return, Union Minister Nityanand Rai told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Rai also said 5,248 two-room tenements were constructed in Jammu region -- Purkhu, Muthi, Nagrota and Jagti -- to accommodate the people who had migrated due to terrorism in 1989-1990 from their ancestral places of residence in Kashmir. These tenements were constructed in two phases till 2011.

More than 2.27 crore students from the EWS category enrolled in private schools in the last five years, with Madhya Pradesh accounting for the highest number at over 53 lakh, followed by Rajasthan, the Union Ministry of Education said on Wednesday.

The information was shared by Union Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi in response to a written question in the Rajya Sabha.

According to the data, 2,27,72,124 (2.27 crore) students from the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category enrolled in private schools from 2018-19 to 2022-23.

The enrolment of Muslim students in higher education institutions increased to 19.22 lakh in 2020-21 from 17.39 lakh in 2016-17, Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar said on Wednesday.

The number of teachers from the Muslim community also increased significantly to 86,314 in 2020-21 from 67,215 in 2016-17, he said.

The minister shared the statistics from the All India Survey on Higher Education, 2020-21, in response to a written question in the Rajya Sabha.

Members of the opposition INDIA bloc parties walked out of the Rajya Sabha for the second time on Wednesday demanding a discussion on the Manipur issue besides alleging that the leader of the opposition was not allowed to speak in the House.

When the Upper House, which saw opposition members walk out in the pre-lunch period, reassembled at 2 pm, Union Minister for Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi moved The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023, for consideration and passage.

The Opposition members intensified their demand for a discussion on the Manipur issue and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in the House.

Leaders of the opposition bloc INDIA on Wednesday met President Droupadi Murmu and submitted a memorandum over their demand for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in Parliament on Manipur and to list steps needed to restore peace in the violence-hit state.

They also demanded that the prime minister visit the strife-torn state and make an appeal to the warring communities to end violence and promote brotherhood.

In the memorandum submitted to the President, 31 leaders of the opposition bloc also raised the issue of communal tension in Haryana's Nuh and alleged that the Central government was not bothered about the developments that are taking place "barely 100 km from the Prime Minister's Office".

A bill that seeks to allow the private sector to mine six out of 12 atomic minerals, including lithium, and deep-seated minerals such as gold and silver was passed by Parliament on Wednesday, amid a walkout by opposition members demanding a discussion over the Manipur violence issue.

Union Minister for Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi moved the The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023, when Rajya Sabha reassembled in for the post-lunch period.

Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav moved the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 in the Rajya Sabha for its consideration and passage to amend the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Earlier, the Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on July 26.

Passed by voice vote in upper house, Opposition members earlier staged a walkout over the Manipur issue, but debate on the bill continued followed by mines minister Prahlad Joshi's reply and subsequent passing.

Rajya Sabha passes the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023 to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. Earlier, the Bill was also passed by the Lok Sabha on July 28.