Parliament HIGHLIGHTS: Centre to come out with permanent solution to stubble burning, says MoS Agri

The Rajya Sabha has been adjourned for the day

Several members in Lok Sabha said that private members' bills should be taken up on Wednesdays instead of Fridays. Many members in Lok Sabha on Friday said that private members' bills should be taken up on Wednesdays instead of Fridays, news agency PTI reported.

India faces competition from countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka that enjoy preferential or duty-free access to key markets like the European Union, Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Friday.

"Apparel exports from competing countries enjoy zero/preferential access to the European Union whereas India faces a duty disadvantage. Besides Bangladesh and Vietnam have a large and productive labour force," Irani said. (PTI)

The entire rail network will be electrified in India which is the only country in the globe that is experimenting to convert diesel engines into electric, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said in Rajya Sabha on Friday.

This is being done in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment towards environment protection, Goyal said during Question Hour.

"Till now six old diesel locomotives have been converted into three twin electric locomotives at Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi which is a production unit of Indian Railways," Goyal said. (PTI)

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal Friday said that the last 2.5 years have been safest in the history of Indian Railways as there has been least number of accidents during this period.

Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, the minister also said a Real-time Train Information System (RTIS) developed in collaboration with ISRO is being installed on locomotives for automatic acquisition of train movement timings at stations, including arrival and departure or run-through.

Facing opposition attack for her comments on Nathuram Godse, BJP MP Pragya Thakur again tendered an apology in Lok Sabha. "I did not call Nathuram Godse a 'deshbhakt'. I did not even mention his name. I apologise again if I have hurt any sentiments," she said.

Earlier today, she said that her remark was taken out of context, adding that former Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should tender an apology for calling her a “terrorist”.

The government has earmarked a budget of Rs 9,046 crore for the 'POSHAN Abhiyaan', a three-year nutritional programme for children and women. Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani said in Lok Sabha that the government has set up the 'POSHAN Abhiyaan' on December 18, 2017 for a three year time frame commencing from 2017-18 with an overall budget of Rs 9,046 crore. "To ensure a holistic approach, all 37 states and union territories and districts have been covered. The goal of 'POSHAN Abhiyaan' is to achieve improvement in nutritional status of children from 0-6 years, adoloscent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers in a time-bound manner during three years with fixed targets," she said.

"I apologise If I have hurt any sentiments. My statements are being distorted and taken out of context. A member of the House referred to me as 'terrorist' without proof. It is an attack on my dignity," BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur said in Lok Sabha.

#WATCH "I apologise If I have hurt any sentiments. My statements being distorted, taken out of context. A member of the House referred to me as 'terrorist' without proof. It is an attack on my dignity," BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur in Lok Sabha pic.twitter.com/2cYY87uoid

— ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2019

In Rajya Sabha, Anbumani Ramadoss of the PMK wanted the the government to declare a 'State of Climate Emergency' and undertake measures to reduce usage of fossil fuel, cut coal based thermal power generation, raise share of electricity generated from renewable sources, increase public transport and check rearing of cattle for human consumption as it causes methane generation.

Earlier in the day in Rajya Sabha, while Shwait Malik (BJP) demanded work on the Amritsar-Ferozpur railway line be expedited so as to provide a shorter rail route to Mumbai and other neighbouring states, Nazir Ahmad Laway (PDP) wanted the government to extend financial help including loan waiver to fruit growers in Jammu and Kashmir whose crop have been hit by unexpected snowfall and lack of transport in the state.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also called a meeting of floor leaders of political parties to end the impasse in the House over Pragya Thakur's remarks on Nathuram Godse

In Rajya Sabha, earlier in the day, Tiruchi Siva (DMK) raised the issue of some disabled persons being denied jobs in Indian Railway despite clearing entry exam. Raising the issue of Andhra Pradesh's new government led by the YSR-Congress stopping construction work for building a new state capital at Amravati, Kanaka Medala Ravindra Kumar (TDP) said 28,000 farmers in 29 villages have voluntarily given 33,000 acres of land for building a new capital of the state. The foundation of the new capital was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2015 and central government released Rs 1,500 crore for the capital city, he said, adding the new government in the state has stopped all work for building the new capital. He wanted the central government to issue an advisory to the state government to resume work on the new state capital project.

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi told Lok Sabha, "You (Speaker) said that the remarks (by BJP's Pragya Thakur) aren't in the records. It is an egregious breach and goes against the basic standard of the conduct of a member. The member should categorically say that Godse isn't a 'deshbhakt', he's a terrorist and murderer of Gandhi." 

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2.30 pm.

Youth Congress Workers dressed as Mahatma Gandhi protest against BJP MP Pragya Thakur over her remark referring to Nathuram Godse as 'deshbhakt' in Parliament.

Delhi: Youth Congress Workers dressed as Mahatma Gandhi protest against BJP MP Pragya Thakur over her remark referring to Nathuram Godse as 'deshbhakt' in the Parliament. pic.twitter.com/lSYnQMBVUG

— ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2019

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2.30 pm.

In Rajya Sabha, BJP's Vijay Goel raised the issue of parking space constraint in the national capital, saying lack of adequate public transport and last mile connectivity had led people to flood the roads with private cars, resulting in parking chaos. "Half of the disputes will be over car parking," he said, citing rising cases of 'parking rage' as citizens fight over vehicles wrongly parked or infront of their premises. He wanted civic body authorities to jointly undertake studies on the parking problem in the national capital.

As the uproar continued in the Lower House, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "We just have one demand, we want an unqualified apology" (from Pragya Thakur). TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay also demanded the same from his Bhopal counterpart.

BJP's Nishikant Dubey said, "Congress has made government with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Shiv Sena had called Nathuram Godse a patriot in 'Saamna'. Congress satta aur lalach ke liye kisi bhi seema tak ja sakti hai (Congress can go till the end to fulfil their greed)." 

Following the uproar in Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla said, "Not only this nation but the world follows the principles of Mahatma Gandhi. We shouldn't politicise this issue. If we do, it'll be before the world. So as I said, the remarks won't be recorded. This House doesn't permit to glorify the matter of assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, whether in this House or outside. Yesterday, the Defence Minister gave the clarification on behalf of the government. The MP (Pragya Singh Thakur) has apologised too." 

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey today demanded a privilege motion against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for calling BJP MP Pragya Thakur a 'terrorist', ANI reported.

Without naming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Thakur said, "A member of the House referred to me as 'terrorist'. It is an attack on my dignity. No charges against me have been proven in court." On Thursday, Rahul had tweeted, "Terrorist Pragya calls terrorist Godse, a patriot. A sad day, in the history of India’s Parliament." 

Terrorist Pragya calls terrorist Godse, a patriot.

A sad day, in the history of
India’s Parliament.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 28, 2019

Chaos erupted in Lok Sabha after BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur's statement in the House. Opposition leaders chanted slogans of 'Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai, & 'Down, down Godse'.

On her Godse remark, Bhopal MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur said, "If my statements have hurt anyone, then I would like to apologise. But I would also like to say that my statements were twisted and presented in another manner and this is condemnable. I was tagged as a terrorist. No charges have been proven against me in the court. This is against the law to call me a terrorist without any proof and an attempt to insult me." 

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today indicated that he would call BJP member Pragya Thakur, who is facing opposition fire for her remarks on Nathuram Godse, to the House after the Question Hour. Without naming Thakur, the Speaker said he would "ask the respected member to come to the House at noon after Question Hour".

On the "huge supply and demand gap" in the medical sector, Lok Sabha MP and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "How many doctors are we producing in the country every year and what are our targets? What is the cost being borne by the tax payer of the country which helps to produce doctors in terms of subsidy and other amenities." To this, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan replied, saying, "We are in a dyamnic process. The government is spending a huge amount on the education of such doctors."

Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor spoke on the need to upgrade Ayurveda colleges to a national university.

On the detention centres in Assam, Congress' Jairam Ramesh said, "I visited a detention centre recently where Bangladeshis want to return but their government has refused to send them back. Most of them have been state government employees here and yet were in jail. The government must do a systematic survey of these people who are in jail on grounds that they are foreigners. It is heart rendering to see such people behind jails. Am pleading the case for those who are put behind bars for not having proper documentation, and not for illegal migration."

BJP MP Shiv Pratap Shukla today gave a Zero Hour Notice in Rajya Sabha over "arbitrary increase in fee by private schools".

Rajya Sabha MP Nazir Ahmad Laway today gave a  Zero Hour Notice in Rajya Sabha over "problems of farmers of Kashmir Valley due to heavy snowfall".

The Bahujan Samaj Party has given Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha over the "loss of crops in western Uttar Pradesh due to untimely rain and demand of compensation to farmers."

Proceedings begin in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Congress MPs from northeast and legislators belonging to the Naga People's Front also staged a protest in Parliament premises against the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Delhi: Congress MPs from northeast and Naga People's Front MPs, protest in Parliament premises against Citizenship Amendment Bill. pic.twitter.com/t5vQXrBGUz

— ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2019

Ahead of Parliament proceedings, DMK MPs staged a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue, demanding the release of National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.

Delhi: DMK MPs protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament premises demanding release of National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah. pic.twitter.com/EenlqI2y0n

— ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2019

On the 10th day of Winter Session, the Trinamool Congress gave an Adjournment Motion notice in Lok Sabha on the WhatsApp snooping controversy that has sparked a furore among opposition leaders and privacy rights activists who are seeking answers from the government. Congress, on the other hand, is likely to move a censure motion against Bhopal BJP MP Pragya Thakur for calling Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse a ‘deshbhakt’ (patriot) in the Lok Sabha. Follow our live blog for all the latest updates.