The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed the Indian Antarctic Bill 2022 amid sloganeering by the opposition MPs which forced the adjournment of the House…reports Asian Lite News
The Lok Sabha Speaker withdrew the suspension of four Congress MPs on Monday after the Opposition assured that they will not bring placards into the House.
Speaker Om Birla gave the ruling and asked the members to respect the sanctity of the House. The proposal for the withdrawal of the suspensions was moved by parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi.
The four Congress MPs — Manickam Tagore, Ramya Haridas, Jothimani and T.N. Prathapan — were suspended last Monday for the entire Monsoon Session ending August 12 for holding protests with placards inside the House. Speaker Om Birla had earlier warned them to behave and not to wave the placards inside the House if they wanted to protest.
As the proceedings began in the Lok Sabha last Monday after the swearing-in ceremony of President Droupadi Murmu, the opposition members started sloganeering on the issue of price rise and hiked GST rates. Some MPs were seen holding placards and banners and some Opposition MPs reached the well of the House.
Antarctic Bill passed in RS before adjournment
The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed the Indian Antarctic Bill 2022 amid sloganeering by the opposition MPs which forced the adjournment of the House.
The Lok Sabha had given its approval to the bill on July 22.
The Indian Antarctic Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh. The bill was passed with a voice vote after a brief discussion amid protests by the opposition members.
The bill seeks to protect the environment of the Antarctic along with dependent and associated ecosystems and to give effect to the Antarctic Treaty. India has two active research stations in the Antarctic — Maitri and Bharti.
The bill proposes to prohibit Indian expedition to Antarctica without a permit or written authorisation of another party to the Antarctic Treaty. It also provides for inspection by an officer appointed by the government and for a penalty for contravention of certain provisions of the legislation.
The Upper House also listed the widely-demanded price rise issue for discussion on Tuesday. Both the Houses witnessed repeated adjournments on Monday amid protests by the opposition members.
Trinamool MP bites raw brinjal in Lok Sabha
Trinamool Congress member Lok Sabha Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, participating in a debate in the house on Monday. pulled out a raw brinjal and bit it to show the plight of common people due to hike in the prices of LPG (cooking gas) cylinders.
“Do they want us to eat raw vegetables,” she said, targetting the government in a debate on price rise initiated by Congress member Manish Tewari.
Dastidar said that the cost of LPG has risen from Rs 600 to Rs 1,100 per cylinder which has disturbed the budget of a household.
Beginning the debate, Tewari had said that during the past 14 months, the inflation rate has been in double digits, making it the highest in 30 years.
He also noted that GST has been increased on daily items like rice, curd, paneer and unfortunately, even the children have not been spared as stationary prices have also gone up. Speaking in Hindi, he concluded the debate with a Punjabi couplet saying that since demonetisation, the country’s economy is on a downward trajectory.
Defending the government, BJP’s Nishikant Dubey said in the neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan, the inflation is rising and so is unemployment, but “despite such a bad situation in India, the poor are still getting two-time meal for free…”
