THE  17th Lok Sabha assembled for its first sitting on June 17. On the first day, Virendra Kumar took oath before the president and assumed the charge of pro-tem speaker. Subsequently, all the newly elected members of Lok Sabha took oath. On June 19, BJP MP Om Birla was elected the Speaker. P R Natarajan will be the floor leader of the CPI(M) in Lok Sabha. Felicitating the speaker, Natarajan said Birla has an experience of more than 25 years in legislative assembly as well as in Lok Sabha. He expressed hope that the speaker would give equal opportunities to all and maintain the tradition of the House. On June 20, the president addressed the joint session. The CPI(M) moved a number of amendments to the president’s speech in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Speaking on the motion of thanks on president's address in Rajya Sabha, T K Rangarajan said the president made an observation in his address that the journey of development started in 2014. But the country has a history of development. After Independence, many governments developed the country. The history of India does not belong to one particular race. The last NDA government brought demonetisation and GST. During the five-year period, there were suicides by farmers. Small and medium industry was destroyed. We have witnessed unemployment, the kind of which we have never seen in the last 45 years. There were atrocities against women, attacks on Dalits and minorities. In spite of all these, the BJP was able to win. The prime minister promised us when he announced demonetisation that it would eradicate terrorism. But terrorism is still alive. The entire capitalist class was united and helped the BJP win in the election. The government is now hell bent on 'One Nation, One Election' and it wants to change the Constitution. I request the government to change the Company Law, the Income Tax law instead and open the field to everyone. Forty per cent of the country today is without water, without rain. There were too many cyclones during the past five years. The President did not mention anything about that. States like Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu were affected. The states are seeking assistance to overcome the damage. In Tamil Nadu, people are suffering for drinking water and the agricultural production is severely affected. Tamil Nadu has asked for a special package of Rs 1,000 crore to meet the shortage of water. I request the government to immediately meet the requirements of Tamil Nadu.

In Lok Sabha, A M Ariff said the idea of 'one nation, one election' is totally anti-federal and undemocratic. The president's address is silent on the rise in prices of petroleum products. It does not mention anything about the youth of this country. The SC, ST and OBC sections are still living in a very pathetic condition. Atrocities against women and children are increasing in various parts of the country. The legislation regarding 'instant triple talaq' has made it a criminal offence with the imposition of a maximum of three years’ punishment. It is against the concept of equal rights assured by our Constitution. Nothing has been said about the traditional industries such as fisheries, coir, handloom, etc. Crores of workers engaged in these industries get very low wages.

During the short duration discussion on challenges of water crisis including supply of drinking water in Rajya Sabha, T K Rangarajan said this is a very important subject. Tamil Nadu is suffering from cyclone and water scarcity. The entire delta area is highly affected. Chennai, after going dry, is perhaps the first Indian city to have approached the Central Water Commission. In today’s Chennai, water tankers barely meet the drinking and kitchen requirements. Water sanitation is scarce. The price of bottled water is reported to have gone up four times. Today, IT sector companies have asked their employees to work from their home and several restaurants have shut down their operations. Rivers are contaminated. North Chennai gets water from reservoir of Thamaraipakkam and Minjur desalination plant. South Chennai gets water from Veeranam lake and Nemmeli sea water desalination plant. Unless you get Veeranam water, there will be no water in Chennai. Chennai used to be a water surplus metropolitan city of the country till a couple of decades ago. Chennai had nearly two dozen water bodies, but today, it is reduced to half a dozen. A study has found that Chennai has lost 33 per cent of its waterbodies in the last one decade. It requires very urgent intervention from the neighbouring states which have surplus water to help Tamil Nadu and Chennai.

Legislative Bills

Lok Sabha passed the Central Education Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre) Bill, 2019. Speaking on this, P Natarajan requested the government to refer the bill to the standing committee for thorough scrutiny.

Speaking on the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Rajya Sabha, Elamaram Kareem expressed his opposition to the related ordinance and said it is a well-established principle that Article 123(1) can be invoked only in extraordinary circumstances. Here, in this case, there was no exigency, emergency or extraordinary circumstance in this country before issuing this ordinance. The government’s explanation for promulgating the ordinance was not satisfactory. Agricultural land is being acquired for setting up SEZs in several cases, resulting in displacement of farmers and other sections of people, which have serious implications. A major difference between the SEZ policy in India and that of China, which had pioneered the idea, is in the case of China, the state acquired the land and developed the required infrastructure where private enterprises were invited to set up units. The land continued to be owned by the state. In Indian case, private entities are being involved in developing the SEZ infrastructure. Land is being acquired by the State and handed over to private developers. So, I request for a relook of this ordinance and to make a complete study of the present status of the SEZ.

Lok Sabha passed the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019. Speaking on this, A M Ariff said that the Central Council of Homeopathy is the apex body which controls homeopathy education and practice in India. Homeopathy is the safest and cheapest method of treatment available in the world with some limitations though. Homeopathy practitioners can be posted in the rural areas and they can provide the first-level of qualitative treatment to the poor. Kerala is an example on how to utilize homeopathic doctors. Many members of the Homeopathic Council continued even after the expiry of their term, since in the Act, there is a clause that the members can continue until the next person is elected. This extension of the term can be curtailed by conducting the elections six months before the end of the term of previous members. Besides, this can be prevented by fixing the maximum term of a member at two terms. Most of the complaints against the Council are about the lack of uniformity in inspections which leads to corruption. I would like to suggest that no member from the Council should be made inspector. Only teachers may be appointed as inspectors. If any college feels that they are discriminated, a provision may be made for a re-inspection with a certain fee. To improve the standard of the teaching faculty, an all-India examination should be conducted for the postgraduates desirous of becoming teachers. In a bid to give priority to the rural areas, the government should take initiative and establish dispensaries in the rural areas.

Other Issues

In Rajya Sabha, T K Rangarajan raised the matter regarding the demand for re-alignment of Metro Rail Phase-II Project in Chennai. The Tamil Nadu government has finalised Phase-II Metro Rail Project at a cost of Rs 80,000 crore. Generally, the project is welcomed by the general public, but the route which has been finalised has some flaws and it is also not complying with the guidelines of the Metro Rail Policy, 2017. The planned route runs through areas such as TTK Road, Luz Church Road, Kutchery Road, etc., which are considered very posh localities and residents are having their own mode of transport. Further the three-km stretch does not have any public institution, hospital or school and colleges and thus will not serve any purpose. As the roads are narrow the Metro Rail will cause immense hurdles for movement of other public and private vehicles. So, I request the central government to intervene and change the alignment of the Metro Rail Phase-II system.

Elamaram Kareem in Rajya Sabha raised the matter regarding the recent decision of NITI Aayog about the privatisation or closure of 46 public sector undertakings. He also demanded that amendments to labour laws should be re-examined and taken back.

Jharna Das Baidya in Rajya Sabha raised the issue about the alarming situation of drought in the country and said there is drought situation in many parts of the country including the North-East. The state governments have declared some districts as drought affected. Till last year, the monsoon commenced in North-East in the month of April but this time there is no rain there. Due to scarcity of rain, there is no water in the rivers too. There are many rivers on which there are irrigation projects. I urge the central government to focus on this and do something to address this situation.

In Rajya Sabha, K K Ragesh said the government has decided to hand over five airports to Adani Group irrespective of opposition from various quarters. The Kerala government expressed its willingness to take over Thiruvananthapuram Airport, but the central government had advised the state to take part in the bid. The Centre is considering the State of Kerala and the Adani Group on the same footing. The airport was built on the land contributed by the state. The chief minister met the prime minister and expressed willingness to take over the airport and develop it as a world-class airport. Thiruvananthapuram Airport is a profit-making airport. I am requesting the central government to change its decision of giving the airport to Adani Group.

On the demand to take steps for reviving BSNL, Elamaram Kareem said in Rajya Sabha that the pride of our nation is now in serious crisis. During 2004-2005 it made Rs 10,000 crore-plus profit but it became sick due to the policies of the then central government. The financial condition of BSNL is precarious and it is deteriorating day-by-day and every month BSNL is facing a deficit of Rs 1,000 crore. BSNL is not even able to pay its electricity bills. Gradually, the electricity connections of BSNL are getting disconnected due to non-payment of bills. BSNL has not paid wages to its contract workers and the families of these workers are facing starvation. It is submitted that BSNL is urgently in need of both short-term as well as long-term capital infusion by the government.

In Rajya Sabha, K Somaprasad opposed the decision to open 1,713 new petroleum retail outlets in Kerala. It is a part of the move to open 55,649 new outlets all over the country. At present, 1,731 retail outlets are functioning in Kerala. The decision will badly affect the functioning of the existing outlets. The Report of the Apoorva Chandra Committee says that for survival of an outlet a minimum sale of 170 KL should be achieved per month. But, 60 per cent of outlets in Kerala are selling below 100 KL per month. Lot of dealers don't want to continue the business because their outlets have become unviable. I would like to request the government that before starting a new outlet, a market study should be conducted and only then an outlet should be opened.