Parliament Session 2024 : From NEET, misuse of agencies to criminal laws – What’s happening inside Parliament today ?
Parliament Session 2024: As Parliament reconvened today, sessions for both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is underway with intense debates on key issues such as the NEET paper leak, inflation, misuse of agencies and new criminal laws.
The second week of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha begins today, July 1, following an adjournment on Friday due to clashes between NDA and INDIA bloc leaders.
Protest on “misuse” of central agencies
Members of the opposition parties staged a protest on the Parliament premises on Monday against the central government’s “misuse” of central agencies including the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
#WATCH | As Opposition MPs protest and allege misuse of central agencies, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi says, “Agencies are being misused. When the Trial Court had granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal, it had said that there was no base (for arrest). Now, when Hemant Soren… pic.twitter.com/25Z01PSsoG
— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2024
Opposition MPs including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress’ Shashi Tharoor, KC Venugopal, Manish Tewari, K Suresh, Varsha Gaikwad, Benny Behnan, Anto Antony, Kerala Congress (M)’s Jose K Mani, Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha, TMC MP Sagarika Ghosh, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi and CPI(M)’s John Brittas among others participated in the protest.
NEET row
Opposition MPs walked out of the Lok Sabha, demanding a debate on the NEET row, just as BJP leader Anurag Thakur began the proceedings with a discussion on President Droupadi Murmu’s address. In the Rajya Sabha, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge criticized the President’s address, stating, “There was no vision or direction in the President’s address to Parliament. There was no mention of the poor, Dalits, or minorities in the address.”
Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi raises the NEET irregularities issue, in the House.
He says, “A message is disseminated to the country, from Parliament. We want to give a message to students that NEET issue is important for the Parliament. So, to send this message we want the Parliament to discuss this.”
Political reactions on new criminal law
On three new criminal laws, Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal says, “The way these criminal laws were passed by suspending 150 MPs…A debate should be done on the laws.”
#WATCH | Delhi | On three new criminal laws, Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal says, “The way these criminal laws were passed by suspending 150 MPs…A debate should be done on the laws.” pic.twitter.com/vF9nwdiJ88
— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2024
On new criminal laws and Congress’ attack on the same, Rajya Sabha MP & senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani says, “Why should it be re-examined? It had been passed by the supreme law-making body of this country…It has got Presidential assent and a notification had been issued. Today, it comes into force. So, the entire procedure by which laws are passed has been complied with in letter and in spirit. So, why should there be any re-look at it?…I do not know what the objection is, this is a colonial law enacted in colonial times…What are they talking about? They have not even read the laws, I am telling you. This is blind opposition. It is completely blind, perverse Opposition. This is not a constructive Opposition. This Opposition is hell-bent on only opposing everything good or bad which this government brings.”
On new criminal laws, AAP MP Raghav Chadha says, “Right from the beginning, AAP is of the opinion that it should be reviewed. It should be referred to JPC. It should not be implemented in haste. It will have far-reaching consequences.”
#WATCH | On new criminal laws, AAP MP Raghav Chadha says, “Right from the beginning, AAP is of the opinion that it should be reviewed. It should be referred to JPC. It should not be implemented in haste. It will have far-reaching consequences.” pic.twitter.com/tqTaOWa0M4
— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2024
On three new criminal laws, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says, “Our concern was that they were not fully discussed in Parliament because all the Opposition was suspended. It would benefit from a further discussion.”
#WATCH | On three new criminal laws, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says, “Our concern was that they were not fully discussed in Parliament because all the Opposition was suspended. It would benefit from a further discussion.” pic.twitter.com/UHRUVD3YaH
— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2024
On new criminal laws, Congress MP Manish Tewari says, “The criminal laws which have come into force are pernicious in nature and they will be draconian in their implementation. They will lay the foundations of a Police State in this country, they will provide very wide latitude to the Police across the length and breadth of the country because of the very ambiguous nature in which certain provisions have been crafted – provisions with regard to bail are absolutely perverse in their nature. Was there a need to bring the definition of terrorism into general criminal law when there is already a special law on it? The manner in which sedition has been very loosely defined notwithstanding that it was stayed by the Supreme Court of India, the manner in which handcuffs have been brought back surreptitiously in the teeth of two judgements of Supreme Court going all the way back to 1973. So, there are problems galore with these laws. That’s why I have been saying this from the day they were passed by the Parliament by suspending 146 MPs, that these laws are perverse, they need to be re-examined by the House and only after their re-examination and detailed examination by a JPC, should they be implemented. There is enough reason to pause the implementation of these laws.”
#WATCH | On new criminal laws, Congress MP Manish Tewari says, “The criminal laws which have come into force are pernicious in nature and they will be draconian in their implementation. They will lay the foundations of a Police State in this country, they will provide very wide… pic.twitter.com/fBqcCUA0vH
— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2024