Rajya Sabha proceedings were briefly adjourned on Friday morning after Bharatiya Janata Party MP Roopa Ganguly broke down in the House while talking about the Rampurhat killings in West Bengal.
Several questions regarding the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Communications were raised during the Question Hour.
The MPs also discussed India’s cultural practices in relation to education.
Here are the latest updates
Rajya Sabha adjourned
Proceedings will resume on Monday, March 28, 2022 at 11.00 a.m.
India spends the lowest on research and development among large economies, says BJD MP Sujeet Kumar.
The MP has also expressed his displeasure at reading about Rajaraja I of the Chola dynasty and Mahmud Ghazni in the same paragraph in his son’s history textbook.
“Ethnocentrism is a temptation that has ended many people,” says MP Manoj Kumar Jha.
Speaking during a debate on culture and education, Mr. Jha says invokes Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar and says, “Baba Saheb was of the view that India’s future lies in western education and western institution. His photos are garlanded but his views challenge your ethnocentric approach.”
The MP has also raised the issue of caste-based discrimination. “We are Indians, there is a lot in surnames,” he adds.
No concept of caste in south India, says Tamil Nadu MP T.K.S. Elangovan.
The MP has made the statement during a debate on the culture of India. “We have to preserve Indian culture. India is a vast country with a huge population. There are many languages because every culture has created a language. I don’t want to be put into this Manu (Smriti) dharma concept,” he says.
Rajya Sabha resumes proceedings
Question Hour ends, House adjourns till 2.30 p.m.
5G service in India by year end, says govt
Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan says 5G services will be implemented in India by the end of this year and BSNL will soon have 4G services, during Question Hour.
He was replying to a question by Binoy Viswam, Communist Party of India (CPI) MP, about equipping BSNL and MTNL with 5G technology.
War in Ukraine and its impact on import of sunflower oil
To a question about the impact on the war in Ukraine on the import of sunflower oil in India, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal says sunflower oil constitutes only a smaller proportion in India’s overall edible oil basket. He says prices of edible oils have “shot-up” all across the world.
He congratulated the country’s farmers for enhanced mustard crop sowing this year. He also calls this an opportunity for India and calls upon States to encourage farmers to diversify their crops to include edible oil seeds and pulses.
Responding to another question about people who have left their businesses in Ukraine and returned to India after the war, Mr. Goyal says no person has approached the ministry complaining about their business dislocated due to the war and asked for the details from the member who posed the question (P. Wilson, DMK).
He also says that the business being done in a foreign land is an independent activity and the government will not be able to intervene. He said that the government is also in talks with importers and exporters who are impacted by the situation and measures have been taken to ensure payments come on time.
Rajya Sabha resumes with Question Hour
Following a brief interruption, Rajya Sabha resumes with Question Hour.
House adjourns till 12.10 p.m. as Trinamool MPs protest
Rajya Sabha adjourns till 12.10 p.m. amid protest by TMC MPs. The vociferous protest erupted after BJP’s Roopa Ganguly raised the Rampurhat killings in the House. Ms. Ganguly also broke down while talking about the killings.
Jaya Bacchan demands water purification plant in all districts of Uttar Pradesh
Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Jaya Bacchan says 78% population depends on ground water in India, but the country is also the second in arsenic contamination of water. “UP has high arsenic contamination affecting 2.34 crore people. Using activated carbon and bauxite is a good solution, installation of water purification plant in every district is a must,” she says.
Zero Hour: AAP’s Sanjay Singh talks about insurance companies, TMC’s Mausam Noor raises data privacy issue
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member Sanjay Singh says Insurance companies are fleecing consumers and the government is not paying attention to the issue. “Insurance companies in collusion with IRDAI fix the appointment of surveyors and cheat the consumers. 9,000 surveyors are there, survey should be done fairly,” he says.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mausam Noor says that the personal data of minor girls was leaked in Karnataka during the hijab row. “Personal photographs of Muslim women were leaked through Bulli Bai App, Tekfog also showed this,” she says.
She also urges the government to protect the data rights of everyone, particularly of minor girls and women, are protected.
580 fishermen from Gujarat in Pakistan jails, says Shaktisinh Gohil
Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil, during his Zero Hour submission, says 580 fishermen from Gujarat are lodged in Pakistan jails and many are serving their sentence in Pakistan despite completing their maximum sentence of three months.
He also says one of the fishermen died around one-and-a-half months ago and his mortal remains should be brought back to India.
Sushil Modi’s submission during Zero Hour
BJP’s Sushil Modi says 30,000 admissions in Kendriya Vidyalayas are done on the basis of MPs quota. He also says that ten seats can be filled on MP quota. “We are overwhelmed by requests. I demand that this privilege of MPs should be removed,” he says.
He also says that Scheduled Castes (SC) or the Scheduled Tribes (ST) or the Other Backward Classes (OBC) don’t get reservation through these quotas.
Proceedings begin in Rajya Sabha
Proceedings begin in Rajya Sabha. Delhi Municipal Corporation Amendment Bill to be tabled in Rajya Sabha next week, says Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. Prisoners (Identification) Bill also to be tabled next week.
List of Business
- Papers and reports of the Parliamentary Standing Committee to be laid on the table
- Statements by ministers regarding parliamentary standing committee reports
- Anupriya Singh Patel to move the motion for election to the coffee board
- V. Muraleedharan to make a statement regarding Government Business for the week commencing Monday, the 28th of March 2022.
- Question Hour
- Private Members’ Business: MPs to move resolutions on various issues
Day 8 recap
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, in reply to a question, spoke on India’s stand in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw addressed Rajya Sabha. He said privatization of railways has not been planned.
