Amit Shah in Lok Sabha on Saturday. (Photo: LSTV via ANI)Parliament Live Updates: The Lok Sabha passed theJammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021, on Saturday. During discussion, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Saturday urged the members not to oppose the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021, just for the sake of politics. Highlighting that the bill does not mention anything about not granting statehood to the Union Territory, Shah said, “I will reiterate again that this bill has nothing to do with the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, in due time J&K will be given statehood.”
Taking a jibe at the Congress party, the Home Minister said, “you are asking us what we did in the last 17 months, what have you done in the last 70 years.”
During discussions on the Bill, opposition party members slammed the BJP for making empty promises in the Union Territory and giving a tainted picture of “Vikas” happening there. Congress pointed out at increase in internet bans, ceasefire violations, curfews as well as the shrinkage of industries since the abrogation of article 370. Congress MP Manish Tiwari urged BJP to restore statehood in Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier in the day, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mocked Rahul Gandhi for talking about farm laws, when the Congress party itself does not know where it stands on the issue. “When he stood up, my expectations were that he would explain why Congress has taken a U turn on their position for farmers when in their manifesto they talked about similar reforms brought by us,” Sitharaman said. She also slammed the Congress party for promising “farm loans” in order to get votes and then never implementing those in states like Madhya Pradesh. Her speech invoked reactions from the opposition.
Sitharaman, in her reply to the Budget discussions in Lok Sabha, said that Covid-19 pandemic did not stop the Centre from making the necessary reforms. “The Prime Minister has not lost the opportunity due to the pandemic in bringing reforms,” Sitharaman said. She highlighted that these reforms were reflected in policies to make India one of the top economies in the world. “This Budget coming post pandemic has set the pace for India to become aatmanirbhar,” she added.
The first leg of the ‘Union Budget 2021’ session in the lower house will end on Saturday with both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha set to reconvene on March 8.
Parliament this week witnessed both the best as well as the worst of our political culture. (RSTV/PTI)
Lok Sabha adjourned till 4 pm on March 8.
Don't waste resources on protecting just me, protect everybody. I don't need anything special, I don't take security. If you're surveilling me, ask me&I'll tell you. Indian democracy is already under threat, don't make us feel like we're living in Russian Gulag, said Mahua Moitra,TMC.
Whoever fought elections on basis of bringing back Art 370 were wiped out: Amit Shah
Amit Shah requested not to politicise J-K and Ladakh. “If you want a political fight, come in the ring & let’s compete. Nobody is scared. It’s (J-K & Ladakh) a sensitive part of our country. They have been hurt and have doubts. This House’s responsibility is to comfort them, not scrape their wounds,” Shah said.
Talking about the first democratic excercise in the UT after its abrogation, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Panchayat Elections happened "peacefully and fearlessly" along with recording a 51 per cent turnout. "No one, not even our rivals can say that there was fraud or unrest during the elections, Shah said highlighting that those who wanted to bring back article 370 perished in elections.
Giving out details of the 'vikas' done in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation, Shah said that in the healthcare sector much like the work done in rest of the country, the people of the UT were given benefits through the PM’s health Yojna. “Jammu and Kashmir is one of the few places where almost everyone has been included in the Swasth Yojna created by the government,” Shah said.
Highlighting the “unrest” in Jammu and Kashmir during UPA years, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said “recall Congress days, thousands were killed and curfews were imposed for days.” “Peace in Kashmir is a big thing, '' Shah said, assuring that such situations won’t be repeated under the BJP rule.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that when there is no mention in the bill that the UT will not be given statehood, why is the opposition bringing this up.“I will reiterate again that this bill has nothing to do with the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, in due time J&K will be given statehood,” Shah said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaking in Lok Sabha urged members to not oppose the bill just for the sake of politics. Taking a jibe at the Congress party he said, “you are asking us what we did in the last 17 months, what have you done in the last 70 years.”
AIMIM's leader Asaduddin Owaisi speaking against the Jammu and Kashmir Re-organisation Amendment Bill 2021 in Lok Sabha said that the abrogation of article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir was done unconditionally and maintains his position of it being a “constitutional breach.” Owaisi said that even though the UT was a Muslim majority area, they are represented in minoority in government posts.
Alleging that Kashmir is one of the firsts in BJP’s rule to get converted into a Union Territory, Asaduddin said that other cities like Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad will also suffer the same fate.
Congress MP Manish Tiwari slammed BJP for making empty promises in Jammu and Kashmir. "In the last 17 months, not a single industry has been set up in the Ut,”he said. Tiwari also said that at least 60 per cent of industries in the UT have been shut down in the last 2 years. Tiwari also pointed out at the multiple internet bans under the BJP administration.
Members of parliament discuss the Jammu and Kashmir Re-organisation Amendment bill 2021 and voice their viewpoints on the state of the Union Territory post the abrogation of its special status.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will move the Jammu and Kashmi re-organisation bill in Lok Sabha today.
AITC MP Sougata Ray speaking in the Lok Sabha slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his current selective focus on the election bound state of Bengal. Ray also criticized the abolition of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. “I want to ask the home minister, Almost two years after the event, what have you achieved, he said.”
In this year’s Budget,Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that “total allocation for minority affairs is Rs 4,811 crores in 2021-22 which is an 8.6% increase for the ministry, higher than actual expenditure.She also said, that allocation provided for welfare of SCs have shown an increase from Rs 83,257 cr in 2020-21, compared to Rs 1,26,259 in 2021-22. Overall allocation provided for welfare of STs have also shown an increase from Rs 53,653 cr from 2020-21 to Rs 79,942 cr in 2021-22.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mocked Rahul Gandhi for talking about farm laws, when the Congress party itself does not know where it stands on the issue. “When he stood up, my expectations were that he would explain why Congress has taken a u turn on their position for farmers,” in their manifesto they talked about similar reforms brought by us, Sitharaman said. She also slammed the Congress party for promising “farm loans” in order to get votes and then never implementing those in states like Madhya Pradesh.
Taking a jibe at Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that “shedding crocodile tears for farmers does not help when money(from PM Kisan Yojana) is lying there.” She accused states like Bengal to not let the farmers avail the benefits of the scheme enjoyed by rest of the country.
On the agriculture allocation in the Budget, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that benefits worth 1.15 lakh crore to over 10 crore farmers have been given through PM SVANidhi Yojana. She also added, “for those who are constantly accusing us of dealing with cronies, SVANidhi doesn't go to cronies.”
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that the Govt is taking a "holistic approach" for healthcare. The Budget therefore, is addressing preventive and curative healthcare along with looking at the overall well-being, she added.
Unlike the congress, "our belief in reforming the economy" have been consistent from the Jana Sangh days to the current administration,Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. Sitharaman said that the BJP gave the Indian enterprises the freedom they needed to grow.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took a jibe at the Congress party for boasting about the 1991 liberalisation of the economy when it “constricted Indian reforms since 1948.” Sitharaman also slammed the party for accusing the BJP for not bringing in reforms and not knowing economics.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that this budget is a shift from the license quota raj that policies of socialism that restricted our economy and business and particularly hurt the small and medium enterprises. “This Budget draws from the experience of the PM when he was CM - on the ground in Gujarat, seen so many revivals happening at a time when the license quota raj was going away post-1991,” she said.
Speaking about reforms, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam said that these were not just “knee jerk reforms” but they were reflected in policies to make India one of the top economies in the world. Hailing the government's approach as “courageous,” she credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for spearheading these reforms.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that that Budget brought focused on “stimulus plus reforms” and that a “challenging situation like a pandemic didn't deter Government from taking up reforms for sustaining long term growth for this country”A slew of measures announced as part of the aatmanirbhar Bharat schemes are all part of these reforms, she added,
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday said that as compared to the rest of the world, India has seen a “retraction” of the pandemic and thereby managed to bend the curve. Through this year’s Budget, she says, “the revival of the economy looks more sustainable as the Budget gives the necessary impetus.”
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her reply to the Budget discussions in Lok Sabha on Saturday said that Covid-19 pandemic did not stop the Centre from making the necessary reforms. “The Prime Minister has not lost the opportunity due to the pandemic in bringing reforms, ” Sitharaman said. “This Budget coming post pandemic has set the pace for India to become aatmanirbhar,” she added.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam began her speech by thanking all the members who have taken keen interest in discussing this year's Budget