Rajya Sabha was adjourned shortly after proceedings resumed. (Video screengrab/ Sansad TV)Parliament Budget Session 2023 Highlights, March 29: Both the Houses of the Parliament — Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha — Wednesday were adjourned for the day amid sloganeering by the Opposition. The sessions will resume on April 3 at 11 am.
Earlier in the day, the Lok Sabha passed the Competition (Amendment) Bill amid a ruckus by Opposition MPs. The Congress, meanwhile, held a meeting of its MPs from both Houses at the Congress Parliamentary Party office in the Parliament House. Rahul Gandhi too arrived at the Parliament to attend the meeting. The day also saw a series of adjournments in both Houses, owing to protests by the Opposition MPs, who continued to push for the constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) over the Adani issue.
Further, the Opposition MPs wore black and waved black stoles as they registered their protest over Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the House. Congress MP Manish Tewari is learnt to have suggested to the leadership that it should give notice to move a no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla. However, sources said, the party had not yet taken a call on pursuing it. Sources said the leadership was not sure as the leaders of some Opposition parties had signalled their reluctance to get behind such a move.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the Parliament on Friday.
Both the Houses of the Parliament — Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha — have been adjourned for the day.
The sessions will now resume on April 3, 2023, at 11 am.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived at the Parliament to attend the meeting of Congress MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at the CPP office.
Lok Sabha has passed Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat Wednesday restored the membership of NCP leader Mohammad Faizal P P. Faizal was disqualified from the lower house in January following his conviction in a criminal case. Faizal, who represents Lakshadweep, had moved the Kerala High Court against the sessions court order and got a suspension of his conviction and sentence, news agency PTI reported.
Lok Sabha reconvenes at 12 noon.
Rajya Sabha too has been adjourned till 2 pm amid ruckus by the Opposition MPs demanding JPC probe into Adani issue.
Congress holds meeting of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha MPs in CPP office
The Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon soon after the House met at 11 am owing to protests by the Opposition parties. The Opposition MPs wore black and waved black stoles to register their protest over Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the House.
More from India
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned again, and will meet at 11 am on Wednesday (March 29).
The Finance Bill 2023 was passed by voice vote in the Lok Sabha last week with 64 amendments. While these amendments warranted extensive debate and examination of their far-reaching consequences, no such discussion took place in the House. Among the amendments passed is the contentious decision to scrap the tax benefit for debt mutual funds. From April 1, investors in debt mutual funds cannot avail the benefit of indexation for calculation of long-term capital gains. These investments will now be taxed at income tax rates applicable to an individual’s tax slab. While this move aims to remove the advantage that such debt funds have over bank deposits, its far-reaching ramifications need to be carefully examined.
Read more here
Congress leader and former Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi has agreed to vacate his official bungalow at 12 Tughlak Lane, after being disqualified as a member last week.
In a letter addressed to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, he wrote, “As an elected member of the Lok Sabha for the last 4 terms, it is the mandate of the people to which I owe the happy memories of my time spent here.” He added, “Without prejudice to my rights, I will, of course, abide by the details contained in your letter”.
Read more
BJP OBC MPs protested before the Gandhi statue in Parliament, seeking an apology from Rahul Gandhi for “insulting OBCs”.
Congress MP from Karur Jothimani on Tuesday said that she has moved an adjounrment motion in Lok Sabha to discuss party leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualificatiion from the House.
At the BJP parliamentary meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was felicitated by party president J P Nadda for the party's recent victories in the Northeast states of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said that his party is "with the Opposition".
"We will abide by whatever decision the Opposition takes. Parliament proceedings are not taking place. The onus lies on the Govt. It doesn't want the Parliament to function. They want to suppress Opposition's voice on all the serious issues - on Adani, on Rahul Gandhi, on democracy," he said.
On Monday, Raut had warned Rahul Gandhi against "dragging" V D Savarkar's name after the Congress leader had said, "I will not apologise, my name is not Savarkar" in a press conference.
Senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party joined the party's parliamentary meeting on Tuesday. In attendance were Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda.
Leaders of at least 18 opposition parties met at the residence of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge here on Monday and alleged that the BJP-led government is destroying democracy.
They also decided to continue with their campaign against the Narendra Modi government.
Among the parties that were represented at the meeting, which was followed by dinner, were the DMK, NCP, JD(U), BRS, CPI(M), CPI, AAP, MDMK, KC, TMC, RSP, RJD, NC, IUML, VCK, SP and JMM.
The leaders raised the issue of their demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into a controversy surrounding industrialist Gautam Adani's business group as also former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha following his conviction in a defamation case and resolved to fight against the designs of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) together.
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) skipped the meeting in protest of Gandhi's remarks against Veer Savarkar. Sena leader Sanjay Raut said they would not attend the meeting.
"To save one man, Modiji is trampling the interests of 140 Cr people. To protect PM's 'Param Mitr', BJP stalls Parliament that discusses people's issues. If NO wrong is committed, why is govt shying away from opposition's demand for a probe by Joint Parliamentary Committee?" Kharge wrote on Twitter after the meeting.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the leaders resolved to fight against the BJP unitedly.
"Tonight floor leaders of 18 Opposition parties met at the residence of @kharge ji and with one voice decided to continue with their campaign against the Modi regime that is destroying democracy and that has subverted all institutions," Ramesh wrote on Twitter.
"They expressed their collective resolve to combat Modi's politics of fear and intimidation. This resolve will be reflected in joint actions outside Parliament beginning now," he added.
Earlier, the Congress's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Pramod Tiwari, said the time has come to herald the end of the Modi regime. He said the leaders of all the parties have expressed unanimity in fighting it out against the Modi government and seeking its ouster.
The comments were repeated by party leader Gaurav Gogoi, who said this is the beginning of the end of the Modi dispensation.
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former party chief Rahul Gandhi were present at the meeting, which was also attended by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has so far kept its distance from joint opposition protests. (PTI)
Days after being disqualified from the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi Monday was asked to vacate the official bungalow allotted to him. According to a PTI report which quotes official sources, Gandhi has been asked to vacate it by April 22.
The notice to Gandhi to vacate the 12, Tughlaq Lane bungalow was served by the Lok Sabha Housing Committee, following the disqualification notice that was issued to him on March 23.
According to the PTI report, while a senior official said that a "disqualified Lok Sabha member has to vacate the official bungalow within one month of losing his membership," another said that "Gandhi can write to the Housing Committee seeking an extended stay, a request that can be considered by the panel."
The notification issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat was marked to various departments, including the Directorate of Estates, and New Delhi Municipal Council. The benefits available to Gandhi as a member of Parliament are also under review, the PTI report said.
The Lok Sabha Monday approved the amendments in the Finance Bill, 2023 as recommended by Rajya Sabha, amid sloganeering by the Opposition members.
Soon after the House reassembled at 4 pm, the opposition members started sloganeering. While dressed in back and carrying placards which read, 'Democracy in Danger,' they protested against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha.
Rama Devi, who was in the Chair, informed the House that several members have given notices for adjournment but the Lok Sabha Speaker has not allowed any of them.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during the session, moved the amendment as recommended by the Upper House, to be taken into consideration, amid chants of 'Modi, Adani bhai, bhai' in the Lower House. The Rajya Sabha, which was adjourned earlier in the day, had recommended an amendment in clause 174 of the Bill, which was approved by the Lok Sabha with a voice vote, PTI reported.
After approving the Bill, the Chair adjourned the session till 11 am on Tuesday.
The Lok Sabha session Monday resumed at 4 pm amid chants of 'Modi, Adani bhai, bhai' and 'Band karo, band karo' by the Opposition members of the Parliament.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman Monday moved an amendment to the Finance Bill in Rajya Sabha to correct the figures with regard to the rate of Security Transaction Tax (STT) that is to be levied on the sale of options as well as futures, according to a report by news agency PTI.
The amended Finance Bill 2023 by correcting the STT rate was returned to the Lok Sabha. The amended Bill will likely be taken up either today or tomorrow in the Lower House, thereby, completing the Budgetary exercise. The Lok Sabha had been adjourned till 4 pm today.
The Finance Bill 2023, was passed by the Lok Sabha on Friday, where it was proposed that the STT on options would be increased to 0.0625 per cent from 0.05 per cent and on futures contracts to 0.0125 from 0.01 per cent. (PTI)
The Finance Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha with 64 official amendments on March 24 and was sent to the Rajya Sabha. It gives effect to tax proposals for the fiscal year, beginning on April 1.
Key points about the Finance Bill -
The Rajya Sabha passed Finance Bill, 2023 as Opposition MPs continued their uproar over the Adani issue.
Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 11 am on Tuesday, after the Opposition continued its uproar over various issues, including Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification and the Adani issue.
Rajya Sabha reconvened after morning adjournment amid unruly scenes on Monday, with chants of 'Modi Adani bhai, bhai' in the House.
Union Minister Hardeep Puri lashed out at Rahul Gandhi and said, "You are getting an ass to run a horse's race...They really deserve to do some serious introspection...People of India would judge them for what they are...Fight Court's action in the Court, you are invoking Mahabharat and Savarkar."
After his disqualification over a 2019 remark on the Modi surname, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had said that he was not Veer Savarkar and that he will not apologise.
The INC leaders led a march to Vijay Chowk after the adjournments, in presence of Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Manickam Tagore. They protested against various issues, including Gandhi's disqualification and the JPC-Adani row, and raised slogans by saying, 'Yeh dadagiri band karo, yeh Modi-giri band karo'.
Along with Congress members, MPs belonging to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Left and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) also wore black. Trinamool Congress MPs covered their mouths with black bands. The MPs held placards that said, ‘Jago ED’ and ‘ED Modani Bhai Bhai’.
Congress President and Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge addressed mediapersons at Vijay Chowk, and turned his ire at PM Modi saying, "The PM has no answers to the questions that Rahul Gandhi has raised.""Why are you scared of a JPC on Adani? You have a two-thirds majority in the Parliament, then why are you scared? This means that something is awry," Kharge said.
Seconds after the session began on Monday, Congress MPs descended to the well of the House and hurled papers at the Chair.Congress parliamentarians T N Prathapan Hibi Eden, Jothi Mani S and Ramya Haridas were seen tearing the papers in their hands and throwing them at the Speaker. Some of the MPs also waved black cloth at the Speaker, and a leader threw his banner at the Chair.The house was adjourned till 4 PM soon after.Meanwhile, in Rajya Sabha, the MPs targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by shouting slogans like, “Modi-Adani bhai, bhai”.
Read more here.
Seconds after the Parliament resumed its proceedings, Lok Sabha adjourned till 4 PM. Rajya Sabha was also adjourned till 2 PM.
Speaking on the BJP’s Dahod MP Jasvantsinh Bhabhor and his brother Shailesh Bhabhor, BJP MLA from Limkheda sharing a stage with one of the 11 convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gangrape case at a government event last week, Congress MP Manish Tewari said, "the fact that an elected representative decides to share the stage with someone who has been convicted of such a henious crime is something that is reprehensible and should be condemned in the strongest possible way."
"When we speak in Parliament, they don't let the House function. When we speak outside, they take a decision that leads to disqualification. When we sit in protest in black clothes in front of these black-hearted people who butcher democracy, I'll show them my black watch and tell them that your time is up and democracy would come to the country after 2024. Opposition would form the Govt with a 3/4 majority," says Congress MP Pramod Tiwari. (ANI)
AAP MP Raghav Chadha files suspension of business notice under Rule 267 in Rajya Sabha to discuss "the attempts being made by the ruling dispensation to eliminate political opponents through frivolous criminal cases across the country, disqualifying them as elected representatives and putting prominent members from the opposition behind bars in order to suppress the voice of the opposition."