Monsoon Session Live: 'Govt Works For Own Benefit, Not For People,' Rajya Sabha LoP Kharge Ahead Of Budget
Parliament Monsoon Session LIVE: Follow this live blog for latest updates on proceedings of the Monsoon Session which will witness the presentation of NDA's full Budget after securing a third term.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said ahead of the presentation of Union Budget 2024, "It would not be right to expect anything from the current government before the Budget is announced. They act against what we say... This government operates on its own terms and works for its own benefit, not for the people."
INDIA bloc to convene a meeting tomorrow evening, 23rd July, regarding Parliament session. The meeting will be held at the residence of Congress national president and Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge and will be attended by senior MPs of INDIA Alliance, ANI reported.
TMC MP Saugata Roy on Union Budget, "I have no expectations from the budget. I am not optimistic. I am very worried about the employment situation. What the budget will do to create employment is my principal question. The economy is in the doldrums. The government is unstable..."
“We have many expectations from the Budget. We will get to know when the announcement is made tomorrow. We are waiting for the Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) to present the Budget and then see what is allotted for our people,” says Azad Samaj Party MP and chief Chandra Shekhar Azad
On NEET irregularities, Union MoS (Education) Sukanta Majumdar says, "When Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stood there (in Lok Sabha) today, he made everything clear. He answered all questions and even showed that in 2010, they themselves (UPA) had started the initiative for an exam like NEET. Supreme Court said twice that there should be a centrally conducted test like this...Everyone has to accept the Supreme Court verdict...In his answer, Dharmendra Pradhan also said that the government is not trying to hide anything. It is open to all, CBI is conducting inquiry and we are ready fo all kinds of discussions."
"If the honorable minister has given a statement, through which he is trying to assure the people that no paper leak has taken place at all, then I believe this is an insensitive statement, and it is rubbing salt on the wounds of lakhs of students whose future is in danger," says AAP MP Raghav Chadha on Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's remarks in the Parliament on the NEET paper leak case.
On NEET, he said, "How is it possible that so many students at one centre get so many marks, it raises questions on the credibility of the government and the institution which is conducting such a big exam. This government has made a record of paper leak..."
On Supreme Court stays directive to shops along Kanwar yatra route to display owner's name, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav says, "I had said that the Supreme Court should take cognizance of this matter and stop such action. The government will take many such steps because when communal politics ends, these people will do like this..."
On the NEET issue, AAP MP Raghav Chadha says "If the Education Minister has said that there was no paper leak, it is really an unfortunate statement. The future of lakhs of students on stake today. When the paper is leaked, the student is extremely hurt. If there was no paper leak, why is CBI investigating and arresting people? Today, the youth must be hurt after listening to the reply of the Education Minister, we condemn this statement...There are two IPLs running in the country, one is Indian Premier League and the other is Indian Paper Leak."
AAP MP Sandeep Pathak says, "There are issues like unemployment, inflation...PM Modi is destroying all the institutions...Leaving these dirty politics aside, the focus should be on work...If the youth is not getting jobs, the country will not progress..."
Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi arrived at the Parliament for the Monsoon session.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said there is a serious problem with the examination system in India. He asked what was being done to fix the issue, to which Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan responded: "...A lie will not become truth just by shouting. The fact that the Leader of Opposition says that the country's examination system is rubbish, is highly condemnable..."
Rahul Gandhi reacted saying: "It is obvious to the whole country that there is a very serious problem in our examination system, not just in NEET but in all the major examinations. The minister (Dharmendra Pradhan) has blamed everybody except himself. I don't even think he understands the fundamentals of what is going on here..."
Speaking on the NEET exam issue, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav said: "This government will make a record of paper leaks... There are some centres where more than 2,000 students have passed. As long as this minister (Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan) is there, the students will not get justice."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured that the Union Budget that will be presented on Tuesday will be with a strong foundation. Addressing the media ahead of the Monsoon Session, Modi hoped that the session will be positive.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore has given an Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha, demanding to discuss the paper leaks issue including the NEET-UG and UGC-NET, and the failure of NTA.
The Economic Survey is a document that outlines the main economic adviser's perspective. It is prepared by the Economic Division of the Ministry of Finance. Before its release, approval from the Finance Minister is required.
The Economic Survey is presented by the Finance Minister in Parliament, followed by an overview of the current financial year by the Chief Economic Adviser.
Parliament's Monsoon Session is set to begin with the tabling of the Economic Survey in Parliament on Monday. The session, commencing on Monday, will have 19 sittings until August 12. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Tuesday. The united opposition is poised to corner the NDA government on issues such as the NEET paper leak case and railway safety while the ruling dispensation faces demands of own allies for special category status for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
The Budget session, starting on Monday, will have 19 sittings until August 12, with the government expected to present six bills, including one to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Economic Survey on Monday and present the budget the next day. READ MORE
"The Economic Survey of India will be laid on the table of the Houses of Parliament on Monday, the 22nd of July, 2024. The Budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for 2024 will also be presented on the 23rd of July, 2024. Tentatively 6 items of legislative business and 3 items of financial business have been identified for being taken up during this session," the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs said.
Earlier this week, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had said that the opposition would also resist any government move to dilute its stake in public sector banks below 51 per cent. The government is likely to bring amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and other laws such as Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980 in the Budget Session due to which the government's shareholding in PSBs can go down below 51 per cent.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has also constituted the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), which decides the parliamentary agenda. The committee chaired by the Speaker has Sudip Bandyopadhyay (TMC), P P Chaudhary (BJP), Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu (TDP), Nishikant Dubey (BJP), Gaurav Gogoi (Congress), Sanjay Jaiswal (BJP), Dileshwar Kamait (JD-U), Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJP), Dayanidhi Maran (DMK), Baijayant Panda (BJP), Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena-UBT), Kodikunnil Suresh (Congress), Anurag Thakur (BJP) and Lalji Verma (SP) as members.
The government is likely to bring amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and other laws such as Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980 in the Budget Session due to which the government's shareholding in PSBs can go down below 51 per cent. Besides the Finance Bill, the government has also listed The Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill for introduction, consideration and passing. The proposed legislation aims to bring more clarity and convergence in the roles of different organisations working in the field of disaster management, a Lok Sabha bulletin issued Thursday said. The Bhartiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, 2024 seeks to replace the Aircraft Act of 1934 to provide enabling provisions for ease of doing business in the civil aviation sector. The other bills listed for introduction and passage during the session are the Boilers Bill to replace the pre-Independence era law, the Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill and the Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill.
The BJD, led by former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, has declared that it would play the role of a strong opposition and aggressively raise issues of interest to the state in Parliament. Patnaik, who was elected as the chairperson of BJD parliamentary party, has asked his party MPs to take up the demand for special category status for Odisha.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Tuesday as the Monsoon Session of Parliament gets underway next week with the united opposition set to corner the NDA government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case and railway safety.
The Monsoon Session begins on Monday and will have 19 sittings till August 12 when the government is expected to present six bills, including the one to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act, and also get the Parliament nod for the budget of Jammu and Kashmir, which is under central rule. Sitharaman will also table the Economic Survey in Parliament on Monday.
Background
Parliament Monsoon Session LIVE: Hello and welcome to the live blog on the Parliament's monsoon session. The Monsoon Session of Parliament is set to commence on Monday with the tabling of the Economic Survey. The session, which will run until August 12, includes 19 sittings. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Union Budget on Tuesday.
The session is expected to witness the united opposition try to corner the NDA government on several fronts, including the NEET paper leak case and railway safety. Additionally, the ruling dispensation faces demands from its allies for special category status for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
On Sunday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju chaired a meeting with floor leaders of political parties to discuss their agendas. He expressed the government's willingness to discuss all issues within the rules and called for cooperation to ensure the smooth running of Parliament, highlighting it as a collective responsibility. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also emphasised the need to maintain the sanctity of Parliament and urged against disruptions.
The opposition, laying out their agenda at an all-party meeting, demanded discussions on contentious issues, including the Uttar Pradesh government's order to eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route, exam paper leaks, and the recent spate of terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
Representatives from JD(U), BJD, and YSR Congress Party, along with BJP ally LJP (Ram Vilas), demanded special category status for Bihar, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. Congress leader K Suresh, speaking to reporters, stated that the Congress, along with other INDIA bloc members, sought the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker's position for the opposition, as per convention. They also raised issues like the situation in Manipur, train accidents, unemployment, and price rise.
The Congress also expressed concerns over alleged irregularities in exams conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, following the recent resignation of its chairperson for reportedly personal reasons. DMK's Tiruchi Siva criticised the government's handling of the NEET medical entrance examination, calling for a discussion on the issue.
Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav accused the ruling BJP of pursuing communally divisive politics through the Uttar Pradesh government's order asking eateries to display their owners' names on the Kanwar Yatra route. Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi and AAP's Sanjay Singh echoed these criticisms.
Sanjay Singh further raised the issue of the misuse of central probe agencies, accusing the Modi government of targeting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in the excise policy case. Singh claimed the Centre has allocated only Rs 350 crore to Delhi for the past nine years and predicted the same allocation in the upcoming budget.
During the session, the government plans to present six bills, including one to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act. Other bills include the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, the Boilers Bill, the Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill, and the Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill.
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