Congress members stormed the Well of the House as soon as Beniwal said there should be a probe on whether coronavirus is being spread from the ‘home’ of Sonia Gandhi
Parliament Today HIGHLIGHTS: The Lok Sabha Thursday suspended seven Congress members from the House for creating an uproar demanding the suspension of Rajasthan MP Hanuman Beniwal, who passed a remark against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her family members. The Lower House has been adjourned for the day.
During the House proceedings, Congress members stormed the Well of the House as soon as Beniwal said there should be a probe on whether coronavirus is being spread from the ‘home’ of Sonia Gandhi as a large number of people who were found to be affected by the virus are from Italy.
Earlier in the day, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day as Opposition MPs continued to protest against the violence in northeast Delhi, which has claimed 47 lives so far.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Parliament on Wednesday. (Express photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has requested the Lok Sabha Speaker to set up a panel to look into continuous indiscipline by Congress members. Condemning the Congress' ac in the House, Joshi said, "Snatching papers from Speaker's table utmost disrespect to Chair."
Suspended Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi asked the Lok Sabha to suspend the seven MPs for a year, however, appealed to discuss Delhi riots. 'Suspend us for a year, but discuss Delhi riots and heal wounds of people,' Gogoi said.
Whereas, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed that the suspended members did nothing wrong.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has suspended seven Congress members for unruly behaviour in the House. The motion was passed by a voice vote in the Lower House. They will remain suspended from the remaining period of the Budget session. The Congress members stormed the Well demanding suspension of Hanuman Beniwal (Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, a regional outfit from Rajasthan which is backed by the BJP), made the remarks against Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her family members.The seven Congress members include — Gaurav Gogoi, TN Prathapan, Dean Kuriakose, R Unnithan, Manickam Tagore, Benny Behnan and Gurjeet Singh Aujla.
After constant ruckus in the Lok Sabha by Congress members demanding the suspension of a Rajasthan MP over his controversial remarks against the Gandhi family, the Lok Sabha has been adjourned for the day.
Earlier, the House was adjourned three times.
Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed uproar over a controversial remark by a RLP MP, who is a BJP ally, against the Gandhi family during a discussion on coronavirus, leading to adjournment of proceedings. Congress members stormed the Well of the House as soon as Hanuman Beniwal said there should be a probe on whether coronavirus is being spread from the 'home' of Congress President Sonia Gandhi as a large number of people who were found to be affected by the virus are from Italy. Fourteen Italians have tested positive for coronavirus in India. 'Earlier, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that party leader Rahul Gandhi had forewarned the government on the impending threat from coronavirus. There should be a probe to find out if the spread of the virus originated from Sonia Gandhi's home,' the Rajasthan MP remarked.
Proceedings in Lok Sabha resumed at 2 pm today.
Lok Sabha has been adjourned till 2 pm.
“We need to understand what is going to be the economic impact of coronavirus on our country. People are expecting a global economic impact,” TDP MP Jayadev Galla said.
Ladakh BJP MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal arrived at the Parliament wearing a mask, today.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav told in Lok Sabha: “Coronavirus is a serious infection. The most important thing should be to ensure that the citizens are made well aware of it. Right now, there are screening sessions only at the airport. If this infection is transmitted by anyone traveling by train, it is going to affect thousands of those in rural areas.”
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “Not everyone has sanitizers with them. The government is holding screening sessions across airports but what about villages? There should be a helpline as well. How do those in rural areas understand the precautions that are required to be taken or even identify the symptoms? A massive campaign should be undertaken with a special focus on children belonging to these areas.”
"The government has carried out two evacuation missions, bringing back a total of 767 from China. All of them have been kept in quarantine and have so far tested negative for the virus," the Health Minister said. He added that the government is following up with Iran to tie-up evacuation of Indian pilgrims and students stranded in Tehran and Qom as per need.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan is now addressing the Lok Sabha on the coronavirus outbreak.
Proceedings in Rajya Sabha was today adjourned for the day.
Proceedings have resumed in Lok Sabha. It was earlier adjourned amid protest by opposition leaders over the Delhi riots.
As the Zero Hour began in the Upper House, opposition MPs began protesting against the Delhi violence. “This is Parliament, not a bazaar,” Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu said.
BJP MP Swapan Dasgupta said, “There are many countries in the world which have imposed a ban on large gatherings. I feel the same should be done by the health ministry."
Congress leader Ghulam Azad Nabi said, "The biggest public areas in India are railway stations and bus stations. The entire country is in a state of panic. There must be dos and donts across such points.”
"The Indian embassy are also in touch with embassies in China and keeping an eye on their well-being. We have provided the containment program to all the states. Senior offices of the ministries have been deputed to review preparedness. States have been guided to identify containment zones. The government is taking all necessary measures to prevent Covid-19 in India," Harsh Vardhan told the Upper House.
Speaking in Rajya Sabha on coronavirus, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said, "The WHO has termed this outbreak as a crucial concern. Though it has not declared it pandemic, it has asked countries to remain alert. Once the person is exposed to the virus, the disease might be infected within 1-14 days. In our country, 29 positive cases have been reported as of March 4. Since last three days, new travel cases have reported positive. prime Minister Narendra Modi is regularlymonitoring the situation personally. A group of ministers has been constituted to keep an eye on the situation. Video conferences are being held with states every other day. Indian citizens are advised to refrain from travel to places like China and Korea and other Covid-19 countries."
Amid incessant protests by opposition leaders who chanted "we want justice", proceedings in Lok Sabha were today adjourned till 12 pm.
Proceedings have begun in both the Houses. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad today sought a discussion on coronavirus. "I request the government to make a statement on Coronavirus, which has affected so many people so far," he said in Rajya Sabha.
Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan, will today make a statement on the coronavirus outbreak in Parliament at 12 pm and 2 pm in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, respectively.
Meanwhile, two security staff at Parliament were today seen wearing disposable gloves and masks, as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus infection.
Less than three months after Home Minister Amit Shah said 566 Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan have been granted Indian citizenship in the last five years, the government on Wednesday told Parliament that it does not maintain religion-wise data on those granted Indian citizenship. It said close to 19,000 nationals from these three countries, as well as Sri Lanka and Myanmar, have been granted Indian citizenship since 2014. According to data provided in Rajya Sabha by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, more than 15,000 out of total 18,999 people granted Indian citizenship since 2014 are from Bangladesh.
Amid the din on Wednesday, the Direct Tax Vivaad Se Vishwas Bill, which aims to settle pending tax disputes, was passed by without any debate. The Bill had been introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday amid a similar din. Under the proposed scheme, taxpayers willing to settle disputes will be allowed a complete waiver of interest and penalty if they pay the entire amount of tax in dispute by March 31 this year, and pay a 10-per cent additional disputed tax.
On Wednesday, as the Opposition created ruckus over denial of an immediate debate on Delhi riots, Lok Sabha was adjourned soon after it met at 11 am. It was then adjourned again at noon, and then for the day at 2 pm. But before the House wound up for the day, the government not only managed to push through the Direct Tax Vivaad Se Vishwas Bill by a voice vote but also managed to introduce a Bill which seeks to confer the status of Institution of National Importance to five Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs). The Rajya Sabha functioned for all of 10 minutes as Opposition members continued with their demand for a discussion on Delhi riots before any other point of business is taken up. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said the discussion will take place after Holi (on March 10), which sparked protests from Opposition benches.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury today also gave a notice for adjournment motion in Lok Sabha on the issue of Delhi violence. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh and the Trinamool Congress also gave Suspension of Business Notices in Rajya Sabha under rule 267 in this regard.
Samajwadi Party leaders Ram Gopal Yadav and Javed Ali Khan, as well as CPI MP Binoy Viswam and DMK MP T. Siva, today gave Suspension of Business Notice in the Upper House over the Delhi riots. Congress MP Kapil Sibal today gave a notice in Rajya Sabha, seeking a short discussion on the outcome of the recent visit of US President Donald Trump to India.
Proceedings in both Houses of Parliament have been disrupted for three days straight as Opposition MPs continued to protest against the violence northeast Delhi, which has claimed 47 lives so far. Several parties have given suspension notices over the riots in the national capital. Follow LIVE updates here.