Parliament LIVE: Centre never made party in the issue, says Minister on SC order on reservation in promotion

The government on Monday informed Lok Sabha that it was not a party in the Supreme Court which has ordered that states are not bound to provide reservation in appointments.

Making a statement in the House, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot said the Centre was also not asked to file an affidavit on the issue.

He said the top court order pertains to a decision of the Uttarakhand government taken in 2012 when the Congress was in power in the state.

This led to protests by Congress members who walked out of proceedings.

The minister said the issue is being discussed in the government at the "highest level" and it will take a holistic view on the matter.

It's a serious matter pertaining to the future of 1/4th population of India. I request centre to hold a cabinet meeting&say that they'll move to Supreme Court, asking them to review & withdraw it. If that doesn't happen then they will bring a Bill to make it null & void, says Ghulam Nabi Azad

GN Azad, Congress, in Rajya Sabha: I had thought that he will say that the govt will go to SC today & get this reversed; if SC doesn't reverse this then they'll bring a Bill into the House to make this null&void. It's no reply that govt has taken a view on this at highest level.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday said the government and the BJP must spell out corrective measures if they do not agree with the Supreme Court judgement on reservation not being mandatory as they cannot distance themselves from it.

"The government and the BJP cannot distance themselves from the Supreme Court's judgement on reservation not being mandatory.

"If the BJP does not agree with the judgement, let it say so and spell out the corrective measures," he said on Twitter.

The Congress leader also alleged that the BJP government of Uttarakhand has put forth the argument that has been accepted by the court.

"The BJP government of Uttarakhand put forward the argument that was accepted by the Court. BJP must own up to the judgement and tell us if it will allow the declaration of law to remain unchallenged," Chidambaram also said.

The Supreme Court has held that states are not bound to provide reservation in appointments and there is no fundamental right to claim quota in promotions.

The BJP government of Uttarakhand contended in Supreme Court that there was no fundamental right to claim reservation in appointments or promotions in public posts, and there was no constitutional duty on the part of the state governments to provide reservations.

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan on Monday gave a detailed account in Parliament of the action taken by his ministry to stop and contain the novel coronavirus infection in India.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday expressed displeasure over members bringing placards and posters in the House and said there should be a debate on whether such things can be allowed to be displayed when proceedings are on.

As TMC member Saugata Roy rose to speak on The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill, 2020, BJP members from West Bengal started displaying posters which had 'Save Democracy in West Bengal' written on them.

"In your dispensation such things should not be allowed," Roy told the Speaker.

Birla then said there should be a debate on whether posters should be allowed in the House and if it is disallowed and someone still brings it then action should be taken against the member.

Birla then sought Congress leader in the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's view on this.

There was no unanimity on the issue. While Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and Roy agreed that posters should not be allowed inside the House, Chowdhury spoke on a different issue and the matter could not be concluded.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday cautioned TMC member Mahua Moitra against making undue remarks during debates and casting aspersions on the chair's impartiality during proceedings of the House.

The Speaker's comments came after Moitra made certain remarks on the chair after she was not given an opportunity to ask a supplementary question on the country's growth rate during the Question Hour.

"Honourable member, please don't make undue comments and that too when sitting in someone else's seat. Whether I am impartial or not, the House will decide...," he said, expressing his displeasure over Moitra's comments which was not audible in the din.

As the West Bengal MP rose to say something again, Birla said she was again making undue comments.

Then the Speaker told TMC leader of the House Sudip Bandyopadhyay to advice his party MP, Moitra, to behave and not to make undue comments during proceedings of the House and that too sitting in someone else's seat.

Bandyopadhyay responded to the Speaker's request by saying Moitra was a first time MP and he would convey Birla's words.

"Sir, she is a first time MP, she is very jovial and very promising. I will definitely convey your message to her but you too kindly bless her," he said.

The Government on Monday introduced a bill in Lok Sabha which seeks to confer the status of institution of national importance to a cluster of ayurveda institutions in Gujarat.

The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha by Minister of State in Ministry of Ayush Sripad Yesso Naik.

The Bill seeks to confer the status of Institution of National Importance to the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Jamnagar by conglomerating the cluster of Ayurveda institutes at Gujarat Ayurveda University campus, Jamnagar.

The three institutes which would be clubbed are Institute of Post Graduate Teaching and Research in Ayurveda, Gulabkunwerba Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya and Institute of Ayurveda Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Saugata Roy (TMC) opposed the introduction of the Bill and questioned the reason for setting up the institute in Gujarat. He said the institute should instead be set up either in Kerala, Delhi, Varanasi or West Bengal.

Shashi Tharoor (Cong) also protested against the Bill, saying the Government has been selective in the selection of the three institutes.

Asking why this institute cannot be set up in Thiruvananthapuram, he said there is no clarity in the definition of institution of national importance.

Introducing the Bill, Naik said he would look into suggestions made by members of the House.

The moderation in India's growth coincides with a deceleration in growth of global output and the IMF has projected the country's GDP growth to pick up to 5.8 per cent in 2020, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said in Lok Sabha.

Thakur said India's growth trajectory over the period 2014-15 to 2018-19 is characterised by macroeconomic stability with real GDP growth averaging 7.4 per cent.

"The moderation in India's growth coincides with a deceleration in growth of global output, as estimated by the IMF, in recent years," he said replying a question of Congress MP Abdul Khaleque and TMC's Saugata Roy during Question Hour.

Thakur, union minister of state for finance, said the IMF has projected India's GDP growth to pick up to 5.8 per cent in 2020.

The economic survey 2019-20 has also projected a pick-up in India's growth in the range of 6.0 per cent to 6.5 per cent in 2020-21.

The RBI's sixth bi-monthly monetary policy statement, 2019-20 has also projected GDP growth of 6.0 per cent for 2020-21.

Thakur said as per the National Statistical Office's first advance estimates of national income, 2019-20, India's real GDP is estimated to grow at 5.0 per cent in 2019-20.

He said the World Economic Outlook Update (January 2020) published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised India's GDP growth rate to 4.8 per cent in 2019.

This revision in growth may not cause any stress in the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) sector as NBFCs are well capitalised, he said.

The minister said the government has implemented several major structural reforms in recent years to bolster investment and growth.

These include Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to strengthen the financial system, Goods and Services Tax (GST) to simplify the indirect taxation regime, Make-in-India programme to boost domestic manufacturing capacity, liberalisation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) Trinity towards greater transparency, efficiency and financial inclusion, he said.

Thakur also said recently, the corporate tax rate has been cut to 15 per cent for new domestic manufacturing companies, which is amongst the lowest in the world.

In December 2019, he said, the government has announced the Rs 103 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline which would significantly boost infrastructure and spur growth impulses in the economy.

Opposition parties in Lok Sabha on Monday targeted the government over the Supreme Court order that states are not bound to provide reservation in appointments, saying the Centre has failed to defend the reservation system.

Hitting back, the government said the Congress is trying to politicise a sensitive issue. "This is my charge that the Congress is politicising the sensitive issue," Defence Minister and deputy leader of the House Rajnath Singh said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi also urged Speaker Om Birla to expunge remarks made by opposition members against the government.

Birla said he would look into the issue.

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Kalyan Banerjee (TMC) targeted the government, saying there has been an onslaught on SC and ST reservation since the Modi government came to power.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot will make a statement on the issue in Lok Sabha in the afternoon.

Apna Dal does not agree with the Supreme Court judgement. So far, it is the most unfortunate decision given by the Supreme Court, says Apna Dal's Anupriya Patel in Lok Sabha

Lok Jan Shakti Party does not agree with the Supreme Court's decision that reservations for jobs, promotions, is not a fundamental right. We urge the Centre to intervene in this matter, says LJP President and MP Chirag Paswan in Lok Sabha

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on SC judgement that reservations for jobs, promotions, is not a fundamental right: This is SC's decision. Govt of India has nothing to do with it. The Social Welfare Minister will make a statement at 2:15pm today

It has come to our notice that some outsiders had entered the college, which is not right. The college administration has been asked to look into it, says Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal in Lok Sabha on Gargi college case

Economy close to collapse, being attended by incompetent doctors. Govt living in denial; rising unemployment, falling consumption making India poorer, said P Chidambaram.

Today there is no money in the hands of the people.There is no incentive for anyone to invest, on the contrary,there is fear and uncertainty prevailing all over the country. No one will invest in the country, says P Chidambaram in Rajya Sabha during general discussion on Budget 2020-21

The Congress on Monday gave notice in the Rajya Sabha under rule 267 for suspension of business against the SC verdict on promotion quota. Similar adjournment motion was moved in the Lok Sabha supported by left parties.

Congress party has given a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha under rule 267 over Supreme Court ruling that reservations for jobs, promotions, is not a fundamental right.

Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State (MoS) AYUSH, to introduce 'The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill, 2020' in Lok Sabha today.

Congress gives Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha saying 'SCs & STs reservation in government services should not be diluted as it will be a disastrous blow to the backward communities of our country'.

Binoy Viswam, Communist Party of India (CPI) MP has given Suspension of Business Notice in Rajya Sabha over Supreme Court ruling that reservations for jobs, promotions, is not a fundamental right.

KK Ragesh, CPM MP, has given a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha under rule 267 over SC ruling that reservations for jobs, promotions, is not a fundamental right. SC also ruled that states cannot be directed to provide promotions to the members of SC/ST commuity

Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh gives Zero Hour Notice in Rajya Sabha over 'indecent behaviour with students of Delhi's Gargi college during the college's annual festival'

Several ministers will lay papers on the table in the Rajya Sabha concerning their departments. Among them include Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Arjun Meghwal, Miniter of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Rattan Lal Kataria and Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Pratap Chandra Sarangi.

Union Minister Harsh Vardhan will move a motion of election to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The motion says: "That in pursuance of sub-rule (xxiii) of Rule 1 read with sub-rule (ii) of Rule 15 of the Rules and Regulations of the Indian Council of Medical Research, this House do proceed to elect, in such manner as the Chairman may direct, one Member from amongst the Members of the House to be a member of the Governing Body of the Indian Council of Medical Research."

Apart from that questions entered in separate lists to be asked and answers given.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday will make a statement in the Lok Sabha regarding the Centre's response to the novel coronavirus outbreak in China.

He will also make a statement regarding the status of implementation of the recommendations contained in the 106th, 112th, 107th and 113th Reports of the Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare on Demands for Grants 2018-19 pertaining to the Department or Health and Family welrare and Department of Health Research respectively, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and Congress leader of House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will present the 13th report of the Business Advisory Committee.

In Legislative business, the institute of Teacning and Research in Aurveda Bill, 2020 to be introduced.

Union Minister Shripad Yesso Naik will move for leave to introduce a Bill to provide for the establishment of an institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is to move The Direct Tax Vivad Se Viswas Bill, 2020 for passing and consideration. The Bill provides for resolution of disputed tax and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, be taken into consideration.

There will also be a further general discussion on the Union Budget for 2020-2021.