HRD minister Prakash Javadekar will take up the Bill further to amend the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993, as passed by Lok Sabha. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
Parliament Monsoon Session 2018: The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 was passed by the Lok Sabha today, the legislation proposes to create institutional mechanisms at the district, state and central levels. It calls for punishment ranging from 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine not less than Rs 1 lakh. Besides prevention, rescue and rehabilitation, it covers aggravated forms of trafficking such as forced labour, begging and marriage.
Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development Maneka Gandhi presented The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 in Lok Sabha today. “Human trafficking is a border-less crime. Special crimes need special attention. How can we stay silent when women and children are sold like goods,” Gandhi asked. “Let us make this bill a reality today to protect and provide for the millions of victims who have sufferered silenctly for years. We are accountable to all affected, specially the most vulnerable one –women and children. Today we have a chance to deliver to them a law which gurantees their rights and ensures that the perpetrators of crime are brought to book,” she said urging the members to pass the bill, Gandhi was quoted as saying by IANS.
The Lok Sabha will also see Home Minister Rajnath Singh moving amendments to the Criminal Law Bill. Other bills listed for consideration and passing are The National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018 and the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
The two Houses would now assemble on Monday. Parliament will not be in session tomorrow on account of Guru Poornima. The holiday was declared in the Rajya Sabha by Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, and in the Lok Sabha by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 was passed by the Lok Sabha today, the legislation proposes to create institutional mechanisms at the district, state and central levels. The legislation proposes to create institutional mechanisms at the district, state and central levels. It calls for punishment ranging from 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine not less than Rs 1 lakh.
Besides prevention, rescue and rehabilitation, it covers aggravated forms of trafficking such as forced labour, begging and marriage.
Participating in the debate on The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, in Lok Sabha, senior Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor said that the bill had "deficiencies" and hence should be referred to a parliamentary standing committee for discussion, he added that two United Nations experts had publicly warned that the bill is "so bad".
Tharoor said that the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of Slavery, had said that trafficking in persons is primarily a human rights violation, but the bill overemphasises the criminal aspect and does not give due consideration to the rights and needs of victims and their effective protection and proper rehabilitation.
"I do agree that women and children are vulnerable because our laws fail them. Let us not have one more law which will fail them," the Congress leader said. "It will be ill-advised for the government to ignore the public warnings," he added.
Kailash Satyarthi who had been fighting for the rights of girls and strongly advocates saving them from trafficking was honoured with Nobel Prize in 2014, along with Malala Yousufzai. He is also one of the strongest advocates for architects of the anti-trafficking bill.
"India is an easy destination for trafficking especially for girls from neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh. It is the transit point from where the girls are transported to Gulf countries. Under the new law, strong bodies will be made which will focus on stopping transit trafficking," Satyarthi, 64, told IANS.
Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi moved the Anti-Trafficking Bill in the Lok Sabha which seeks to protect and rehabilitate victims of human trafficking and prosecute the offenders. The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill provides for the establishment of a National Anti-Trafficking Bureau to investigate cases.
"Human trafficking is a border-less crime. Special crimes need special attention. How can we stay silent when women and children are sold like goods," Gandhi asked. "Let us make this bill a reality today to protect and provide for the millions of victims who have suffered silently for years. We are accountable to all affected, specially the most vulnerable one --women and children. Today we have a chance to deliver to them a law which guarantees their rights and ensures that the perpetrators of crime are brought to book," she said urging the members to pass the bill.
She also said: "The exisiting laws define trafficking as an offence but there are a huge number of loopholes in those. The bill also ensures that the victim is given witness care during the investigation." (IANS)
The House of Elders paid tributes to brave soldiers who laid down their lives for the country on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas. The day marks the victory of Indian forces over Pakistan in the hills of Kargil and the success of India's Operation Vijay in 1999. As the Rajya Sabha met for the day, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu paid tributes on the occasion of the 19th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas.
"Today, on behalf of the whole House and on my own behalf, I pay glowing tributes to our brave soldiers who faced extreme conditions and difficult situation to defend our country to secure our lives. We pay our respect to memories of the brave soldiers who laid down lives in the defence of our country," the Chairman said.
The government today said that the 'Institution of Eminence' tag has not been given to the Jio Institute, but only a letter of intent has been given subject to conditions.
Several Rajya Sabha members had sought clarity on the criteria for the basis of which the prestigious title was conferred on select institutions. HRD minister Prakash Javadekar said a committee of experts had made the selections after a thorough scrutiny. Javadekar categorically told the House that the Jio Institute has not been declared an 'Institution of Eminence'. He said the Jio Institute has only been recommended by a panel for a letter of intent, subject to certain conditions. (PTI)
The death of three sisters in Delhi reportedly due to starvation found a mention in Parliament today with opposition members expressing concern over the incident. Read the story here
During the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra sought to know whether the government had taken note of the serious incident. Minister of State for Planning Rao Inderjit Singh said the incident was a very "unfortunate" but it needed to be seen under what circumstances the deaths took place and whether starvation was the reason.
Congress member M V Rajeev Gowda demanded government intervention to end the strike called by truckers. He said transportation of goods was being affected due to the strike. He said the problem is due to problems in the implementation of e-way bill under the GST.
The Janata Dal (United) demanded central assistance to provide relief to farmers in Bihar who are facing problems in Kharif sowing due to deficient rains. "Bihar is facing a drought-like situation," said JD(U) MP Ramnath Thakur while raising the demand during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha.
Thakur demanded that the Centre immediately send a team in Bihar to assess the situation and also provide financial assistance for providing relief.