Parliament roundup: Opposition holds ‘Jan Sansad’ at protest site; both Houses adjourned

New Delhi, Dec 17: Another day of protests was seen in the Parliament on Friday as the Opposition demanded the resignation of MoS Ajay Mishra. Suspended MPs protest outside on the Parliament premises, against privatisation and merger plans of Public Sector Banks. Meanwhile, the opposition in Rajya Sabha also protested against the suspension of the 12 MPs demanding a revocation of the order.

The winter session of Parliament started on November 29 and will continue till December 23.

Naidu calls for consensus between government, Opposition

The proceedings of Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the day soon after the laying of papers on Friday, with Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu urging the government and opposition to arrive at a consensus over the issue of suspension of MPs.

Soon after the tabling of listed papers, the chairman said he has met the leader of the house Piyush Goyal and some senior members of the opposition and asked them to hold discussions.

"Today, I had a talk with the Leader of the House and also some senior members of the opposition. I would like to appeal to each one of you to please arrive at some sort of consensus to see that the house functions normally," he told the members.

"In order to facilitate discussion among yourselves, I am adjourning the house to meet on Monday," the chairman announced within minutes after it met for the day.

The opposition protests

The opposition has been disrupting the proceedings of the house for the last many days.

There has been a stalemate in the upper house over the issue of suspension of 12 MPs and the functioning of the house has been affected due to the protests by the opposition members seeking revocation of their suspension.

The opposition is demanding that the suspension of MPs be revoked as the action is undemocratic and against the rules while the government wants them to apologise for their behaviour first, saying they were open to revoking their suspensions.

Twelve MPs of various opposition parties in Rajya Sabha were suspended on the first day of the winter session over their unruly behaviour on the last day of the Monsoon session on August 11.

Opposition disrupts question hour

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned on Friday till 2 pm amid vociferous protests by Opposition members demanding the removal of Union minister Ajay Mishra in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh.

The Question Hour in the Lower House was disrupted for the third straight day as Opposition members demanded the removal of the minister whose son Ashish Mishra is among the accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh in October.

Opposition members trooped into the Well of the House

Soon after the House met for the day, Opposition members started shouting slogans and displaying placards, demanding the sacking of the minister.

Many members also trooped into the Well of the House.

Amid the din, Speaker Om Birla told the protesting members that the Question Hour was important and it was not a good practice to indulge in sloganeering.

"You don't want to run the House, you don't want discussions," a peeved Birla asked the protesting members.

The Speaker also warned the members protesting in the Well against damaging any properties of the House.

"If any property of the Lok Sabha is damaged, then it will be your responsibility," he told the members.

Four questions and their supplementaries were taken up during the Question Hour.

As the ruckus continued, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings till 2 PM and later adjourned for the day amid opposition protest.

Anti-doping bill introduced in Lok Sabha

A bill which seeks to provide statutory framework for the functioning of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) besides strengthening measures to tackle drub abuse in Indian sports was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The bill was introduced by Sports Minister Anurag Thakur amid protests by the opposition over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

Litigation policy under consideration to control, reduce court cases: Rijiju in LS

A litigation policy is under consideration to lay down guidelines for preventing, controlling and reducing court cases in a cohesive and organised manner, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said in Lok Sabha on Friday. Ministries and departments such as the Railways and Department of Revenue, involved in a high number of litigations, have been taking several measures for reducing the number of court cases, he said. The Ministry of Railways has issued instructions for effective monitoring of court cases at all levels.

Rajya Sabha hails Kolkata Durga Puja getting UNESCO heritage tag

The Rajya Sabha on Friday lauded the inclusion of 'Durga Puja' in Kolkata on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Raising the issue at the start of the proceedings of the Upper House, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said 'Durga Puja in Kolkata' has been inscribed into the coveted 'Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity' by UNESCO.

Bill seeking to better manage protected areas for wildlife introduced in LS

A bill which seeks to conserve and protect wildlife through better management of protected areas and rationalise schedules which list out species under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, was introduced in Lok Sabha on Friday. The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021, was introduced by Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav amid din created by the Opposition over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence issue.

Parliament passes Surrogacy Bill

Parliament passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 on Friday, with Lok Sabha passing it with voice vote amid a protest by opposition members demanding the removal of Ajay Mishra as Union minister in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

The bill aims to constitute a National Surrogacy Board and state surrogacy boards, and appoint appropriate authorities for regulation of the practice and process of surrogacy. It was earlier passed by Lok Sabha on August 5, 2019, and transmitted to Rajya Sabha for its concurrence.