External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the Winter Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. (PTI)
Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed a Bill which the government said would provide an effective legal instrument to combat maritime piracy. The Bill provides for stringent punishment to those convicted of such crimes.
The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha earlier this week.
Moving The Maritime Anti-Piracy Bill, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, “Ensuring maritime security is key to safeguarding India’s security and economic well-being.” He said the security of sea lanes of communication is critical as more than 90 per cent of India’s trade takes place by sea routes and more than 80 per cent of the country’s hydrocarbon requirements was sea-borne.
Linking the huge pendency of cases in courts to vacant posts of judges, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, referring to the Supreme Court’s Collegium system of appointments to the higher judiciary, told Rajya Sabha Thursday that this issue will not be resolved until a “new system” on appointments is evolved.
He also said “there is a feeling among people of India that the long vacation which the courts obtain is not very convenient for justice-seekers” and it is his “obligation and duty to convey the message or sense of this House to the judiciary”.
Rijiju’s remarks in the House came days after he criticised the Collegium system as being “opaque” and the Vice-President called the Supreme Court’s 2015 judgement striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act a “severe compromise” of parliamentary sovereignty and disregard of the “mandate of the people”.
Lok Sabha MP Ravneet Singh Bittu. (Screenshot)
Two issues related to Punjab were raised in Parliament on Friday. Lok Sabha MP Ravneet Singh Bittu raised the issue of Latifpura demolition drive in Jalandhar and Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney protested over no representation being given to Punjab in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) committee and Commission for Agriculture Cost and Prices (CACP).
Bittu said that in Latifpura locality of Jalandhar, several houses were razed to the ground under the Aam Aadmi Party government. He appealed to Union Minister of Housing and Urban Development Hardeep Singh Puri to intervene in this matter and provide shelter to those rendered homeless. “Our Punjabis settled abroad are offering help but why can’t we do it? Are we dead?” asked Bittu.
Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda (PTI)
The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022, aimed at inclusion of the Hattee community of Trans Giri area in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district in the Scheduled Tribes list, was passed by Lok Sabha on Friday.
Replying to the debate on the Bill, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said the Bill seeks to provide justice and facilities to those who have been deprived for years. The Bill, introduced in Lok Sabha on December 9, was soon passed by a voice vote.
The government’s move to introduce the Bill came after the Himachal Pradesh government requested the Centre to include the Hattee community in the ST list.
Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury indulged in a spat in Lok Sabha on Friday over the use of the word ‘gentleman’. While responding to a supplementary question by Chandra Sekhar Sahu of the BJD on fortified food for children, Irani referred to him as “gentleman” which was objected to by Chowdhury who said that as per parliamentary procedures she should have referred to him as “honourable member”.
The Congress on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “running away” from a debate in Parliament on the situation along the border with China and said he and not the defence minister must answer on this issue. The opposition party also posed questions to the government on the Sino-India border issue, saying the nation demands and deserves answers to them. In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asked after two years of a protracted “disengagement”, what emboldened the Chinese to try taking over the Indian post in the Yangtse area of Tawang.
The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill to make special provisions for the repression of piracy on high seas with the government adding life imprisonment along with the provision of death penalty for those convicted of the crime. Speaking on the bill, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said whoever commits any act of piracy shall be punished with fine, imprisonment or death sentence depending on the nature of the circumstances. In the Rajya Sabha, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved the Appropriation (No.5) Bill, 2022, and Appropriation (No.4) Bill, 2022 for consideration and return, aimed at authorising payment and appropriation of certain further sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the services of the financial year 2022-2023.
Former Finance minister P. Chidambaram on Monday asked the government in Rajya Sabha whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping discussed the border situation when they met at the G20 Summit in Bali, leading to objections and disruption from the Treasury benches. Citing an additional Rs 500 crore sought for border roads in supplementary demand for grants, Chidambaram said he had the right to raise the conditions at the border while clarifying that he did not want any sensitive information.
Responding to the walkout by Opposition party members in the Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar Monday said India’s jawans should not be criticised directly or indirectly. “Our soldiers are standing at a height of 13,000 feet in Yangtse and guarding our border. They should be respected and appreciated,” he added. Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha walked out of the House on Monday after the Chair rejected demands for a debate on Chinese incursion on the borders. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar rejected all the nine notices under rule 267 saying they were not in order. However, Congress and other parties kept insisting on their demand for the suspension of business so the issue could be taken up.
The Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has raised serious concern on few SC/ST employees being appointed to higher positions in public sector undertakings (PSUs). The committee submitted its report in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The committee chaired by BJP MP Kirit Premjibhai Solanki, which dealt specifically with the appointment of SC/ST employees in the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), said that scrutiny of PSU records show that SC/ST candidates were not promoted to senior positions.
The controversy around actors Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone’s song from ‘Pathaan’ movie and the killings of Pandits in J&K were among the issues that echoed in the Zero Hour in Lok Sabha on Monday, while a BJP MP from Gujarat said the word ‘India’ symbolised ‘British slavery’ and should be replaced with ‘Bharat’ or ‘Bharatvarsh’. Referring to the controversy over the song “besharam rang” from ‘Pathaan’ movie, BSP member Danish Ali said there was a new trend of seeking a ban on movies on trivial issues.
The NCERT will work towards bringing a balanced perspective of all genders in the new National Curriculum Framework (NCF) and in its textbooks, according to a parliamentary committee. The panel had earlier recommended that to address the under-representation of women and girls in school textbooks or them being depicted only in traditional roles, a thorough analysis from the view point of gender bias and stereotypes should be undertaken by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
