Thaawarchand Gehlot in the Lok Sabha during Parliament’s Budget session on Monday. (LSTV screengrab)
Parliament Budget Session 2020 Highlights: Union House, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot Monday informed the Lok Sabha that it was not a party in the Supreme Court which has ordered that states are not bound to provide reservation in appointments.
Making a statement in the House, Gehlot said the Centre was also not asked to file an affidavit on the issue. He also said the top court order pertains to a decision of the Uttarakhand government taken in 2012 when the Congress was in power in the state. This led to protests by Congress members who walked out of proceedings.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that it is in the DNA of the BJP and the RSS to try and erase reservations and asserted that his party will not allow doing away with quota.
Congress leader P Chidambaram Monday said the government is 'living in denial' on the state of economy and is unwilling to admit its mistakes.
The Lower House of the Parliament has been adjourned for the day.
BJP MPs in Rajya Sabha have been told that "some very important" Legislative work will be brought to the House on Tuesday, 11th February 2020. The party has issued a three-line while to all its MPS, asking them to be present in the House, news agency ANI reported.
Central universities have organised debates and lectures to create awareness among students about the amended citizenship law, Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. The Union HRD minister was replying to a question about the steps taken by the government to overcome the situations in university campuses in the country in response to the Citizenship Amendment Act. (PTI)
BJP has issued three-line whip to all its MPs of Rajya Sabha, asking them to be present in the House tomorrow and "support the stand of the government."
There will be no lunch hour in Rajya Sabha tomorrow. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will reply in the House, on Budget, at 4 PM tomorrow. The Budget Session of Parliament will go into recess on February 11 and resume on March 2 to enable standing committees to go in to demands for grants of various ministries.
Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 11:00 AM on February 11.
Congress party on Monday accused Union Social Justice Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot of misleading Lok Sabha on the issue of reservation and said it would move a privilege motion against him. The party said it would stage protests and agitations at the district level on the issue in the coming weeks to "expose" the Modi government's "conspiracy to end reservation" for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes.
"I had thought that he will say that the govt will go to SC today and get this reversed; if SC doesn't reverse this then they'll bring a Bill into the House to make this null void," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the Rajya Sabha, adding that government's "taken a view on the highest level" resonse in unsatisfactory.
"It's a serious matter pertaining to the future of 1/4th population of India. I request centre to hold a cabinet meeting and say that they'll move to Supreme Court, asking them to review and withdraw it. If that doesn't happen then they will bring a Bill to make it null & void," Azad said in the Rajya Sabha.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram on Monday tore into the Modi government's handling of the economy, saying it was close to collapse and was being attended by "very incompetent doctors."
Initiating the debate on the Union Budget for 2020-21, he said rising unemployment and falling consumption was making India poorer The economy, Chidambaram said, is facing demand constraints and is investment starved. The economy is facing a fall in consumption and rising unemployment.
Congress MPs walked out from the Lower House after Union Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot said, "The case arose due to Uttarakhand Government's 2012 decision to not implement reservation in promotions, in the state. In 2012 Congress was in power in Uttarakhand".
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot Monday informed Lok Sabha that it was not a party in the Supreme Court which has ordered that states are not bound to provide reservation in appointments. Making a statement in the House, Gehlot said the Centre was also not asked to file an affidavit on the issue. He also said the top court order pertains to a decision of the Uttarakhand government taken in 2012 when the Congress was in power in the state.
On Supreme Court's order on a reservation in job promotions, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot in Rajya Sabha said: Govt is not involved in the SC order. The matter was opened with respect to the Uttarakhand government's decision in 2012. The central government will take appropriate measures in the direction after holding a high-level meeting.
In Rajya Sabha, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot said he will give the Centre's written response to the Supreme Court's order on reservation in job promotions at 4 pm.
The government on Monday introduced the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill in Lok Sabha which seeks to confer the status of institution of national importance to a cluster of Ayurveda institutions in Gujarat. The three institutes which would be clubbed are Institute of Post Graduate Teaching and Research in Ayurveda, Gulabkunwerba Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya, and Institute of Ayurveda Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Opposing the Bill, TMC's Saugata Roy said there is no reason for setting up the institute in Gujarat when Ayurveda has strong roots in West Bengal, Kerala, Varanasi, and other regions.
Congress' Shashi Tharoor also protested against the Bill, saying the Government has been selective in the selection of the three institutes. Asking why this institute cannot be set up in Thiruvananthapuram, he said there is no clarity in the definition of institution of national importance. (PTI)
Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 2 pm.
Lok Sabha has been adjourned till lunch after opposition parties accuse government for being anti-reservation, raise slogans against Supreme Court's order on reservation in job promotions.
Apna Dal's Anupriya Patel in Lok Sabha: "Apna Dal does not agree with the Supreme Court judgment. So far, it is the most unfortunate decision given by the Supreme Court."
In Lok Sabha, Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accuses the government on the Supreme Court's order on the reservation in promotions in public posts, saying it is trying to snatch the rights of the SC/STs.
LJP's Chirag Paswan joins the debate, says the SC's order is not acceptable to his party and the Centre should include all the matters pertaining to caste reservation should be included in the 9th schedule of Indian Constitution.
BJP leaders deny any involvement in the SC order.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on coronavirus in Lok Sabha: "There have been three positive cases of coronavirus reported from Kerala and the patients having been quarantined. A panel of Ministers has been constituted to monitor the situation in the country."
He also thanked Air India and the medical staff who were involved in the rescue mission of Indian students from Wuhan.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on coronavirus in Lok Sabha: India is taking all preventive measures. We are monitoring and reviewing the situation daily. Till now 1,118 flights have been screened.
Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal in Lok Sabha on Gargi college case: "It has come to our notice that some outsiders had entered the college, which is not right. The college administration has been asked to look into it."
Students of Delhi University’s Gargi College alleged that dozens of men broke into their college Thursday evening during their annual fest. The alleged incident took place on the third day of Reverie, the annual festival at the women’s college. A social media post by a student also alleged some students were molested by the intruders.
P Chidambaram speaks in Rajya Sabha: "The Chief Economic Advisor for 4 years (Arvind Subramanian) says that the economy is in ICU. Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee said the economy is in bad shape and central ministers started pouncing on him."
"I say the economy is not in ICU, but it is waiting to be pushed into the ICU. It is being kept outside and looked after by incompetent doctors."
P Chidambaram speaks on GST collections: "The economy is demand constrained and investment starved. But the problem is why is the government is unwilling to share with the people the true state of the economy."
Citing high unemployment rate, Chidambaram said the government tried to suppress the report but it was leaked. Was it suppressed in view of the elections (Lok Sabha elections 2019)?
P Chidambaram speaks on GST collections: The government has run out of money. The govt has marked its failure by numbers which are not credible.
P Chidambaram speaks on Union Budget in Rajya Sabha: You are in the management of the economy for the last six years. How long are you going to blame the previous governments for inheriting a bad economy?
P Chidambaram speaks on Union Budget in Rajya Sabha: If every major industry is either going zero or negative, that gives you a good picture of the state of economy. It does not require an MRI machine to witness the state of economy, it is visible through the naked eye.
P Chidambaram in Rajya Sabha: The FM did not pick a single idea from the Economic Survey in the Union Budget. Not even a single idea was discussed in Parliament.
P Chidambaram in Rajya Sabha: I am happy that the finance minister did not mention in her speech 'ache din aane wale hain'. Its good that they have forgotten that empty slogan. But she did mention a new slogan 'sabka sath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas'. Tomorrow, we will know whether this slogan is acceptable to the people, at least from one part of India (in reference to Delhi election results on Tuesday)."
Rahul Gandhi: BJP and RSS's ideology is against reservations. They never want SC/STs to progress. They're breaking the institutional structure. I want to tell SC/ST/OBC and Dalits that we'll never let reservations come to an end no matter how much Modi Ji or Mohan Bhagwat dream of it. (ANI)
Congress leader P Chidambaram Monday said the government is 'living in denial' on the state of economy and is unwilling to admit its mistakes. Speaking during the discussion on the Union Budget in Rajya Sabha, the former Finance Minister also said for six quarters, the growth has declined which has never happened before but the government is unwilling to address the issue.
P Chidambaram on Budget 2020 in Rajya Sabha: I heard the finance minister's Budget speech. It was a tiring speech for her and us alike. I hope she is doing fine now.
After opposition MPs raise the issue of Supreme Court's order on the reservation in job promotions, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot said in Rajya Sabha, "Govt to respond to the Parliament today at 2 pm on the Supreme Court's order on the reservation in job promotions not being a fundamental right."