The Parliament convened for the second leg of the Budget Session on March 14, 2022.
On day three, the Lok Sabha passed the Demands for Grants under the Control of the Ministry of Railways for 2022-23 through a voice vote. The Lower House also started a discussion on Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for 2022-23 before the House was adjourned. The Parliament will now resume proceedings on Monday, March 21, 2022, after the Holi and weekend break.
On day two, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had informed the house that an official high-level investigation has been initiated to ascertain the cause of the accidental firing of a missile on March 9. He informed that no damage had been caused by the accidental firing.
Here are the latest updates:
Lok Sabha adjourned.
The Lok Sabha will not be in session on March 17, 2022 on account of Holi. Proceedings will now resume on Monday, March 21.
Unfair to compare performances of UPA and NDA governments since the yardstick is different: Congress MP Vincent H Pala from Shillong
“There is a constant comparison between the performances of the UPA and the NDA governments. However, the formula for measurement has changed. Under the UPA government, if a 10 km-long road was constructed, it was considered to be 10 km long only even if it was four-lane or six-lane. Under the NDA government, a 10-km road is considered to be 40 km or 60 km if it is four-lane or six lane,” says the MP.
Biju Janata Dal’s Pinaki Misra supports demands for grants for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
“That is the great thing about bipartisan politics as far as Budgets are concerned,” says Mr. Misra in response to Chairperson’s comment that it’s unique that even Opposition is supporting the government’s demand.
Lok Sabha is now discussing the Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for 2022-23
N.K. Premachandran, the MP from Kerala’s Kollam constituency, is chairing the proceedings.
There is no need for special recruitment drives in Railways, says Centre.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the ministry has been recruiting personnel at regular intervals and there is no need for special drives to fill vacancies of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. - PTI
The Lower House passes the Demands for Grants under the Control of the Ministry of Railways for 2022-23 through a voice vote.
No talks of privatisation of Railways, says Ashwini Vaishnaw.
“The Railways sector is a complex organisation. The trains, platforms, and other components, all belong to the ministry. There are no talks of privatisation,” says the minister.
Railways Minister apprises the Lower House on status of recruitment for posts in Railways.
The Opposition questions the Union minister on the violence in Prayagraj that occurred in January 2022 over the alleged discrepancies in the recruitment process, to which Mr. Vaishnaw replies that the Railways ministry has sensitively heard the grievances of the protesting students.
Projects in West Bengal are pending due to lack of cooperation from the state government, says Ashwini Vaishnaw.
“Railways cannot progress based on efforts of central government alone,” says the Union Minister.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes in “sabka sath, sabka vikas” and there is no disrimination among states.”
Assured safety is a promise of Railways: Ashwini Vaishnaw
Mr. Vaishnaw praises Kavach, and says that the safety certification given to the technology by international agencies and assessors is the highest in the world.
Kavach is an indigenously developed train collision avoidance system (TCAS) that helps in two-way communication between the stationmaster and loco pilot to convey any emergency message. The technology uses equipment onboard the locomotive and at stations connected with transmission towers and RFID tags.
Railways, as a mode of transport, have a serious social obligation: Ashwini Vaishnaw
“Commercial viability of the sector is also important to pay salaries and pension. Keeping these constraints in mind, a fair evaluation would reveal that Railways are stronger than before,” says the Union Minister.
Railways Minister pokes fun at Congress leaders without taking names.
The minister has said that while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders work towards nation-building, Congress leaders take unannounced leaves. “The Congress MPs are not at fault, this is a party problem,” says Mr. Vaishnaw.
Chairperson Om Birla has asked Opposition MPs to not object to Mr. Vaishnaw’s statements since he has not named any specific person.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw replies to suggestions from MPs on the Railway Budget
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi took charge, the first order of operations for Railways was to ensure the cleanliness of stations, says Mr. Vaishnaw.
“Lack of investments was one of the biggest problems of the Ministry of Railways. That is why the Railway Budget was incorporated into the Union Budget so that allocation of funds is not a problem,” says the MP.
He has also added that the central government is open-minded and takes the criticism of Opposition constructively.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury questions the availability of funds for Ministry of Railways
Mr. Chowdhury, the Congress party’s leader in Lok Sabha, has asked that even though Railways form the crucial infrastructure that integrates the nation, how will the ministry provide funds to build it, as proposed in the Budget.
The MP has also alleged that the internal resources of Railways are declining, posing questions on the financial health of the sector.
MP Hema Malini demands financial support for artistes.
The Mathura MP has raised the issue of economic hardship faced by the artistes due to the Covid-19 lockdowns and said that many of them had to give up their art and work small jobs for money.
She has also requested the government to continue the National Mission on Cultural Mapping in order to help the artistes of the country.
Privatisation of the electricity department in Chandigarh is being done in an illegal manner: Congress MP Manish Tewari
Chandigarh has the cheapest power in the country but the government is still privatising the department, says the MP.
Mr. Singh has also asked the power ministry to step in and stop the privatisation.
Let students evacuated from Ukraine continue medical education in India, says Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla
“Shameful that our education system is so bad that students have to go to a small country like Ukraine to pursue MBBS,” says the Amritsar MP.
Mr. Aujla has requested the government to help these students continue their education in India at the same fee that they were paying in Ukraine. He has also urged the government to increase seats in medical education for future students and to reduce the fees of the course.
Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi speaks on issues pertaining to flooding in Assam
The Nawgong MP stated the state has lost 4.4 lakh hectares of land owing to river erosion. According to the MP, 40% of Assam’s total area if flood prone.
He suggested that Govt must consider including erosion in the admissible list of calamities for Govt assistance under National Disaster Response Force, add flood control and management including anti-erosion schemes to concurrent list, re-activate model draft bill for flood playing zoning and provide financial assistance especially to populous states to enact the same to facilitate compensation and provisioning of alternate land to the displaced.
Congress MP Sonia Gandhi raises concerns on use of social media platforms for political pursuits
Sonia Gandhu speaking during the Zero Hour, raising the issue of Facebook and social media platforms being abused to target those who are speaking against the Government. “It has come to public notice that global social media companies are not providing level playing field to all political parties,” she told the house.
She added that Facebook is breaking its rule in allowing those who propagate hatred among communities. Young and old minds alike are being filled with hate through emotionally charged, disinformation and proxy advertising companies like Facebook. She said the company was aware of it and profiting from it.
“I urge the Govt to put an end to this systematic influence and interference of Facebook and other social media giants in the electoral politics of the world’s largest democracy,” she stated.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, speaking after Ms Gandhi, said the Govt should publish a white paper on how Congress suppressed freedom of expression.
No special recruitment drives needed anymore in Railways for for SCs, STs: Rail Minister
Responding to a question by Jahanabad MP Chandreshwar Prasad on special recruitment drives for SCs and STs, Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated recruitment in Railways is taking place on a regular basis as per the reservation policy enlisted in the constitution. Therefore, no special drives were needed. He added that special recruitment drives were needed when the process was not regular.
The Minister informed the house that the last such instance was in 2008.
Technology is such that no card is required for availing benefits under One Nation, One Ration Card facility
Srinagar MP Dr. Farooq Abdullah asked Minister Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal if the ministry could devise a mechanism so that old cards could be used until the new ones are issued. Mr. Goyal replied that no new cards or any card is needed for availing benefits under the scheme. He added that beneficiaries need to provide their Aadhar number and undertake biometric authentication.
MP Mahua Moitra asks when would the entire country be taken under the One Nation, One Ration Card facility
TMC MP Mahua Moitra asked Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal the timeline about a potential timeline for bringing the entire country under the facility. Mr. Goyal informed the house that the One Nation, One Card endowment scheme is area-agnostic. He added that West Bengal joined the scheme only after the recent Supreme Court verdict. “There is no power on earth that can stop beneficiaries from your (Ms Moitra) constituency from acquiring benefits under the scheme,” he stated.
Queries on status of Railway projects in Andhra Pradesh being discussed
Vijaywada MP Kesineni Srinivas asked the Rail Minister as to why the South Coast Railway Zone has not been operationalised as yet. Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw assured that Govt was fully committed to completing the work at the earliest. He added prerequisites as building work, site location and DTR were all at an advanced stage of finalisation.
Mr. Srinivas also asked about the steps being taken to convert the Vijaywada junction into a ‘world-class station’. According to him, the junction lacked basic facilities. “Increasing passenger amenities is a continuous process. With respect to world-class stations, cleanliness in stations has scaled up in recent times. Further, stations are now better equipped with lifts and escalators,” Mr. Vaishnaw replied.
Proceedings commence in the Lok Sabha
List of Business
- Question Hour
- Papers and reports to be laid on the table
- Dr Jitendra Singh, Som Prakash, Arjun Ram Meghwal to make statements on their respective ministries
- Further discussion and voting on the demands for grants under the control of Ministry of Railways, and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
- Arjun Munda to move The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2022
Day 2 recap
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed the house that an official high-level investigation has been initiated to ascertain the cause on the accidental firing of a missile on March 9. He informed that no damage had been caused by the accidental firing.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar briefed Lok Sabha about the advisories issued to Indian nationals in Ukraine in the days leading up to the war, and about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regular calls with Ukrainian and Russian Presidents to ensure safe evacuation of Indian students in Ukraine.
The Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, told the Lok Sabha that the Press Information Bureau’s Fact Check unit, started in 2019 to check fake news, has responded to 31, 174 queries so far.
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Ramdas Athawale, said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that no death has been reported for engaging in manual scavenging but 325 people have lost their lives in accidents while undertaking hazardous cleaning of sewer and septic tanks in the last five years.
