News
Lok Sabha
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju responded to the Adani nexus claims by stating Adani’s business expanded during Congress’ tenure.
Congress MP KC Venugopal criticised the BJP government for not taking action on the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chief only because of one person, indicating towards Adani.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey criticised the former Congress government for not handling Bangladesh’s independence carefully. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra responded by pointing out the atrocities on the Hindu population in Bangladesh currently. She was stopped between her speech by the Speaker.
The Speaker of the House intervened when Congress MP Tariq Anwar attacked the BJP-JDU (Janata Dal (United)) for not prioritising his district.
Fatehgarh Sahib MP Amar Singh brought up the issues of people living by the Budha Nala River
Aazad Samaj Party MP Chandrashekhar Azad also raised concerns over human-animal conflicts.
The opposition protested against BJP MP Sambit Patra’s claim that MV Rajan took away 51 carton boxes of important holdings in March 2008 from the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library.
Priyanka Gandhi, Wayanad’s Lok Sabha MP, expressed concern about the conflict between humans and animals. She claims that the wild animal incident in the Wayanad area has impacted roughly 90 people.
Discussion and voting on the Supplementary Demands for Grants - First Batch for 2024-2025 began in the House.
The House discussed job migration in Karnataka, elephant intrusions, the Climatic Intervention project in Andhra Pradesh, health security and the gender gap in the formal job sector, informal job sector and drought relief funds in Telangana. The House will hear action taken statements of the standing committees on chemicals and fertilisers and coal, mines and steel.
At 4 p.m., the Estimates Committee will discuss the consideration and adoption of draft Action Reports of the Committee.
From 3 p.m., the Standing Committee Meeting on Social Justice and Empowerment is set to discuss demands for grants of the Ministry for the year 2024-25.
Lok Sabha functioned smoothly during the question hour.
Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha (Upper House) Constitution debates continue as MPs take jabs at rival parties.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge warned that uncritical devotion to Prime Minister Narendra Modi could lead to dictatorship, accusing the BJP of undermining the Constitution, mishandling the Manipur crisis, and distorting the legacies of national leaders.
Kharge paid tribute to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on Bangladesh Liberation Day. He urged the BJP to take inspiration from her leadership to help minorities in Bangladesh. Kharge also criticised the BJP for being against reservation and the caste census, accusing them of misleading the public and twisting history for political gain.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman accused the Congress of using constitutional amendments to protect the political dynasty, rather than strengthening democracy. She criticised Congress for denying Muslim women alimony rights and claimed the party's amendments were aimed at preserving power. Sitharaman also slammed Congress for its role in the Emergency, asserting that the amendments were made to extend the Lok Sabha term while the opposition was jailed. She further criticised the Congress party for failing to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) amendment and for curtailing freedom of speech, citing arrests of individuals like Majrooh Sultanpuri and Balraj Sahni for opposing the government.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began the discussion on the "Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India" by paying tribute to the Constituent Assembly members, especially the 15 women members. She noted that while the Constitution has withstood the test of time, it required amendments over the years. Quoting BR Ambedkar, she stated that the effectiveness of a Constitution depends on the quality of those working on it.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman initiated a debate on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha. This follows a two-day heated discussion in the Lok Sabha last week, where Congress MPs Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi voiced their opposition, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded the debate on behalf of the government on Saturday.
The Rajya Sabha commenced its proceedings on Monday with six newly elected members taking their oath. Among them were three members from Andhra Pradesh — Sana Sathish Babu, Masthan Rao Yadav Beedha (both from the Telugu Desam Party) and Yaga Krishnaiah (BJP). Rekha Sharma, former Chairperson of the National Women’s Commission, from Haryana, and Sujeet Kumar, former MP from Odisha. Additionally, Ritabrata Banerjee, a former MP from West Bengal was sworn in.