parliament

The Week in Parliament

THE Budget Session as usual began with the President’s Address to the joint session of Parliament on January 29. After this, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha met and made obituary references including in the name of former Lok Sabha MP and CPI(M) leader Khagen Das, who passed away on January 21 in Kolkata. Later the copy of the President's Address was laid and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley laid the copy of Economic Survey 2018-19 in both Houses of Parliament. On February 1, the finance minister presented the Union Budget for 2018-19 in Lok Sabha and after that the House was adjourned.

The Week in Parliament

IN the concluding week of Winter Session of Parliament, Md. Salim raised the issue of mounting non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks while taking part in a discussion on the Supplementary Demands for Grants in Lok Sabha. No one can deny the fact that money needs to be pumped into the banks because there are capital adequacy norms. But the question is why the NPAs have risen after the NDA government assumed office. The government maintains that the corporate profitability is on upswing. Then why the recoveries are not being made?

The Week in Parliament

THE delayed Winter Session of Parliament began on a stormy note on December 15 with opposition members in the Rajya Sabha persistently demanding an explanation from the government on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegation about Pakistan's interference in the Gujarat assembly election.

THE WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

IN the concluding week of the monsoon session, there was a special discussion to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement in both the houses. In the Rajya Sabha, Sitaram Yechury said this was a very solemn occasion to recollect not only the history but also the purpose and what was it that made it a successful movement. Highlighting the role of the Communists in the freedom struggle, he said in the Cellular Jail today, eighty per cent of the names that are written there, are all Communists from Bengal or the undivided Punjab.

THE WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

The Rajya Sabha had a discussion on India's foreign policy and engagement with strategic partners. CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury took part in the discussion and stated that the discussion was being held at a very crucial time. Our pursuit should be of an independent foreign policy. India's security, international borders' security and the defence can't be compromised. The government is turning India into a subordinate partner of the US foreign policy in the world. Privatisation of sectors like defence procurement, Railways and Air India will not be in our interest.

THE WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

THE week began with an uproar in the Lok Sabha over the recent incidents of lynching. Along with other opposition members, CPI(M) MPs gave adjournment motion notice, but it was disallowed by the Speaker. Speaker suspended six Congress MPs for five days after they stormed into the well of the House, tore papers and hurled them towards the chair. The House was disrupted on the second day on the same issue. Subsequently, the House decided to take up the matter for discussion next week.

THE WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

THE monsoon session of parliament started on July 17 with the presidential election. Both the houses met and adjourned after obituary reference. All our MPs casted their votes. The counting of votes was scheduled on July 20 and subsequently, Ram Nath Kovind, fielded by the ruling NDA, was elected the 14th president of India. He is the first from the BJP and the second dalit to enter the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Ram Nath Kovind secured votes of 65.65 per cent of the electoral college while the remaining 34.35 per cent went to opposition candidate Meira Kumar, former Lok Sabha speaker.

THE WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

THE Rajya Sabha passed the four GST Bills -- The Central Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017, The Integrated Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017, The Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Bill, 2017 and The Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017. CPI(M) MPs moved several amendments and asked for division but was defeated. Speaking on this, Sitaram Yechury said the fundamental problem with the GST is that it concerns the federal structure of the Constitution. The government refused to heed our request and brought this as a Money Bill.

THE WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

THIS week Parliament mainly had discussions on various important Bills. On the first day, the Rajya Sabha discussed the Finance Bill. The government has come under heavy criticism from the opposition for some of the alterations made to the Finance Bill. Being a Money Bill, the Lok Sabha, where the BJP has a majority, can choose to accept or reject the changes proposed by the Upper House to the Finance Bill. The opposition leaders claimed that it was an attempt to push through far-reaching, non-financial changes bypassing the Rajya Sabha.

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