Parliament Monsoon Session Highlights: Both Houses adjourned till 2 pm; Opposition protests price rise

Reacting to the adjournment of both Houses of Parliament in view of widespread protests, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that the PM Modi-led government was unwilling to have a debate on issues like the "intolerable price rise" and increase in GST. 

Today the Opposition got the Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2pm on the issue of intolerable price rise and increase in GST, especially on food items, on which the Modi Sarkar is unwilling to have a debate.

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 19, 2022

Several AAP MPs Tuesday staged a protest in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament against the Centre's delay in granting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal permission to attend the World Cities Summit in Singapore scheduled in the first week of August.

Delhi | Aam Aadmi Party MPs protest against the Centre in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament against the delay in nod for Singapore visit to Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/gSpKUYSidX

— ANI (@ANI) July 19, 2022

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi joined Opposition protests near the Gandhi statue outside the Parlaiment building against the recent surge in prices of essential commodities. Earlier today, Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm amid widespread sloganeering by Opposition MPs. 

#WATCH Delhi | Congress leader Rahul Gandhi joins Opposition protest over the issues of inflation and price rise, in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament, on the second day of the Monsoon session pic.twitter.com/WK2iJGGufl

— ANI (@ANI) July 19, 2022

Amid sloganeering by Opposition leaders over the recent surge in prices of essential commodities, Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm on Tuesday morning, moments after proceedings commenced. “As per rules, it is not allowed to bring placards inside the House,” Speaker Om Birla pointed out.

Opposition leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, protested outside the Parliament against the rise in prices of essential commodities. Take a look. 

Delhi | Congress leader Rahul Gandhi joins Opposition protest over the issues of inflation and price rise, at Parliament, on the second day of the Monsoon session pic.twitter.com/KqMp3rrLSM

— ANI (@ANI) July 19, 2022

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will brief leaders of various political parties on the crisis in Sri Lanka during an all-party meeting on Tuesday. 

The University Grants Commission (UGC) is not considering any proposal to absorb ad-hoc teachers as permanent faculty in central universities, according to Ministry of Education. The information was shared by Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar in response to a written question in Lok Sabha on Monday.

"No proposal is under consideration in University Grants Commission (UGC) to absorb ad-hoc teachers as permanent teacher. However, Ministry of Education and UGC from time to time has requested all the Central Universities to fill up the posts on regular basis," he said. According of data shared by Sarkar, as many as 3,904 teachers are employed in central universities in temporary posts – 122 on ad-hoc basis, 1,820 on contract basis while 1,931 are working as guest faculty. (PTI)

Indian rupee has declined by about 25 per cent since December 31, 2014, and is nearing 80 against the dollar, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday. The value of the rupee declined from 63.33 against a dollar on December 31, 2014, to 79.41 on July 11, 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a reply quoting RBI data.

The exchange rate of the Indian Rupee against the dollar was Rs 78.94 per dollar as of June 30, 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply.

The rupee on Monday ended the session 16 paise lower at 79.98 (provisional) amid a surge in crude oil prices and unrelenting foreign fund outflows. Global factors such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, soaring crude oil prices and tightening of global financial conditions are the major reasons for the weakening of the Indian rupee against the US dollar, she said. (PTI)

Former finance minister P Chidambaram and cricketer-turn-politician Harbhajan Singh were among the 28 recently elected Rajya Sabha MPs who took oath on Monday. On the opening day of Parliament's Monsoon session, Kapil Sibal, Chidambaram's former colleague in the previous UPA government, also took oath as a member of the Upper House.

Sibal quit Congress and was elected to Rajya Sabha as an independent candidate from Uttar Pradesh with the support of the Samajwadi Party. Harbhajan Singh, who was elected to the Upper House from Punjab as Aam Adami Party (AAP) nominee, took oath in Punjabi.

Others who took oath were Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, former Union minister Praful Patel, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti and Congress leader Rajeev Shukla. (PTI)

The Centre should accept the long-pending demand to recognise 'Sarna' as the religion of the country's tribal people as they have their own way of worship and religious practices, the JMM's newly elected Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji said on Monday.

Speaking to PTI, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, who took oath as the Member of Parliament in the Upper House on the first day of the Monsoon Session, said she will use the platform to raise the voice of the people of her state and also press the government for giving recognition to 'Sarna Dharma Code'.

"It's a long-pending demand of our party. So far, the government has not accepted it," she said, adding, "…I will become the voice of 'dharti putra' (son of the soil) and present my party stand firmly on this issue." Maji said the country's tribal people have their own way of worship and religious practices, which is highly different from Sanatan (Hindu) or any other religion. (PTI)

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??????? ???????! ????! ?????! @jmm__ranchi @JmmJharkhand @Jmm_Mahila pic.twitter.com/jBh4BS2mAL

— Dr. Mahua Maji (@maji_mahua) July 18, 2022

?? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ?????????? ??? #PresidentialElections2022 ?? ??? ????? ?????? ????
??? ??? ??????? @ombirlakota ?? ?? ????? ??? ?????? ????? @LokSabhaSectt pic.twitter.com/Y1KcEMMb6x

— SansadTV (@sansad_tv) July 18, 2022

There is no shortage of NCERT textbooks and over four crore textbooks have already been distributed across the country for the 2022-23 academic session, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday. The information was shared by Union Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi in response to a written question.

"The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has informed that there is no reported shortage of textbooks in the country.

"They have informed that 4.25 crore textbooks for the academic Session 2022-23 have already been distributed through 950 empanelled vendors all over the nation," the minister said. "Besides, NCERT textbooks are also distributed through its sales counters located at NCERT Headquarter, its Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs) at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Mysuru and Shillong and its regional centers at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and Guwahati. (PTI)

Concrete steps taken by the government and RBI helped banks recover bad loans worth over Rs 8.6 lakh crore in the last eight financial years, the government informed Parliament on Monday. Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said the occurrence of non-performing assets (NPAs) is normal, although an undesirable, corollary to the business of banking.

Several factors -- including prevailing macroeconomic conditions, sectoral issues, global business environment, delayed recognition of stress by banks, aggressive lending during upturns, improper risk pricing and poor credit underwriting -- are attributed towards NPA build-up, he said. (PTI)

The Monsoon Session of Parliament began on a stormy note on Monday with the opposition demanding discussion on issues ranging from price rise to the Agnipath scheme. The morning session of the Lok Sabha was adjourned to allow members to vote in the presidential election even as opposition members tried to raise some issues. In the Rajya Sabha, Congress members trooped to the Well of the House raising slogans as soon as Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu read out the obituary references.

“As some people have come determined not to allow the House to function and also enable members to go and vote in the Presidential election, I am adjourning the House for the day,” Naidu said.

In the Lok Sabha, three newly-elected members – Bollywood actor and Trinamool Congress' Shatrughan Sinha (Asansol, West Bengal) and two BJP members from Uttar Pradesh Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua (Azamgarh) and Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi (Rampur) — took oath as member of the Lok Sabha. As opposition members raised slogans, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said elections in India are celebrated as a festival and since the election to the president was underway, it should also be celebrated.

The Speaker said members should participate in the festival and adjourned the House adjourned till 2 pm Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress President Sonia Gandhi were among those present in the Lok Sabha. As the Lok Sabha re-convened at 2 pm, members of Left parties were in the well of the House waving placards protesting rising inflation while Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was trying to raise some issue. (PTI)

PM @narendramodi addresses media ahead of the #MonsoonSession of Parliament.#MonsoonSession2022 #RajyaSabha@PMOIndia @LokSabhaSectt

Watch Full Address: https://t.co/sMgSMrdzSn pic.twitter.com/bYRYaNZQPE

— SansadTV (@sansad_tv) July 18, 2022

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Monday amid opposition uproar over the issue of price rise and Agnipath scheme. Opposition members trooped to the well of the House as the House reconvened for the afternoon session at 2 pm.

BJP member Rajendra Agarwal, who was in the chair, allowed laying of parliamentary papers on the table of the House. Law Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill. As opposition members raised slogans in the Well, Agarwal adjourned the proceedings for the day. (PTI)

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, while addressing the House, condemned terrorist acts in Nigeria and Afghanistan.He also went on to mention obituary remarks for former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, ex-UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and legendary Hindustani classical musician Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, among others. 

#LokSabha made obituary reference to former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, ex-UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Third President of Kenya Mwai Kibaki & others.#MonsoonSession2022 pic.twitter.com/KP7VTU978M

— SansadTV (@sansad_tv) July 18, 2022

Addressing his last session as Rajya Sabha chairman, M Venkaiah Naidu urged MPs to be 'different and better' than they were in the last five years when 57 per cent of House sittings were partly or fully disrupted.He went on to say that in the last session in the 75th year of India's Independence, MPs should give their best performance to make it a memorable session. “During the last 13 sessions, 141 of the 248 scheduled full sittings, accounting for 57 per cent of the total sittings were disrupted partly or fully,” he said.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the Rajya Sabha till Tuesday, 11 am amid protests by the Opposition over inflation and GST rate hikes. The House was adjourned even as the Opposition trooped into the Well despite Naidu’s appeals for a peaceful discussion.

Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm as voting in the Presidential polls was underway.

Newly-elected Lok Sabha MPs Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi (Rampur Parliamentary Constituency, Uttar Pradesh); Dinesh Lal Yadav "Nirahua" (Azamgarh Parliamentary Constituency, Uttar Pradesh); and Shatrughan Sinha (Asansol Parliamentary Constituency, West Bengal) took oath as members of the Lok Sabha after having won the by-elections.

BJP MP from Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh) Dinesh Lal "Nirahua" Yadav, TMC MP from Asansol (West Bengal) Shatrughan Sinha, and BJP MP from Rampur (Uttar Pradesh) Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi take oath as Members of the Lok Sabha.#MonsoonSession pic.twitter.com/AKVAXg2qRQ

— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2022

CPI MP Binoy Viswam gave the suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha under Rule 267 over the Centre's 'Agnipath Scheme' and demands discussion on it.

Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil gave zero hour notice in Rajya Sabha over Centre's 'Agnipath' recruitment scheme.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh gave a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha under Rule 267 over "Centre not allowing Delhi CM to visit Singapore" and demands discussion on the issue.

Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda gave a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha over Centre's Agnipath recruitment scheme

CPI(M) floor leader in Rajya Sabha, Elamaram Kareem MP gave a notice under rule 267 to suspend the business and discuss the issue of price rise and imposition of 5% GST on essential items.

Among other parties, the Trinamool Congress said during an all-party meet ahead of the Monsoon Session that it will firmly oppose the updated list of unparliamentary words, the circular banning protests and dharnas on Parliament premises, apart from “the anti-people policies and schemes such as Agnipath”, inflation, and matters of foreign policy.

The government, meanwhile, suggested that it was not likely to give in to the Opposition’s demands to discuss the issue of “unparliamentary words”, reiterating that the compilation of the words and phrases is merely an updation of practice being carried out since 1954.

Read the full list of 'unparliamentary words' here

The government Sunday accused the Opposition of trying to “belittle the image” of Parliament by insisting that “non-issues” such as the updated list of unparliamentary words be taken up for discussion, setting the stage for a stormy Monsoon Session.

At an all party-meeting ahead of the session, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Opposition leaders demanded that the alleged misuse of investigation agencies, the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the defence forces, price rise, alleged attacks on the federal structure and the “Chinese incursion”, be taken up for discussion. Read more

Some of the other bills listed for introduction are — the Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill, the Development of Enterprises and Services Hubs Bill, which proposes to revise the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 and frame rules, the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) (Amendment) Bill, the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill and the Competition (Amendment) Bill.

The government has also listed the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to rationalise the prohibited areas and bring other amendments.

Two separate bills for Constitution amendment to revise the list of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu are also listed for introduction.

The Centre has listed 24 bills, including the Cantonment Bill, the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, for introduction in the Monsoon Session of Parliament that is scheduled to commence from Monday.

The Cantonment Bill proposes to achieve greater developmental objectives in alignment with municipalities across the country and also facilitate "ease of living" in cantonments, according to a bulletin issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking ahead of the Parliament's Monsoon Session, said the Parliament is a forum for discussions with an open mind.

"There should be Opposition and close analysis for constructive contribution to policy making. I urge all MPs to contemplate deeply and discuss matters to make the session as fruitful and productive as possible," Modi said.

He further said that the Parliament functions and takes the best decisions with everyone's efforts, adding that members must make full use of the session for national interest.