Zero Hour: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury demands debate on law and order situation

“This government itself has accepted in the UNSC that after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, terror camps have increased. Earlier, the number was 150, now it is 225,” said the Berhampur MP. He said that since the abrogation of Article 370, there have been 116 killings.

Chowdhury also mentioned the recent RPG attack attack at the police station in Punjab. Eight such incidents have happened in the last 13 months, he said. “Looking at all these issues, we feel that the law and order situation is getting worse… there should be a big discussion on the subject of internal security in the House,” he said.

DMK member Kanimozhi Karunanidhi raised the safety matchbox industry issue, saying it was in “peril”, flagging the rise in the cost of raw material.

“The matchstick industry in Thoothukkudi, my constituency, gives employment to over 10 lakh people. Nearly, 90 per cent of the workforce is women who get employment through this. This is the only source of income for these people,” she said.

Kanimozhi said, “There is a lot of illegal import of single use non-refillable lighters. This affects the matchbox industry in a very big way. The GST too has also affected them. The Tamil Nadu CM wrote to the Centre on GST but there was no response. So, this industry is really being ambushed from all sides. I request, through you, Sir, that the Union government has to ban the import of single use lighters, reduce the GST and ensure that the cost of raw material does not go up,” she said.

Shiv Sena member Shrirang Appa Barne demanded that the concession in railway fare to journalists, which was discontinued during the pandemic, should be resumed.

Rashtriya Loktantrik Party member Hanuman Beniwal demanded that the Agnipath scheme should be withdrawn.