Parliament Winter Session LIVE: AAP MP demands probe into textbook depicting Mahatma Gandhi in poor light

Non-Muslim refugees, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan after facing religious persecution, will not be treated as illegal immigrants and will be given Indian citizenship when the proposed amendments to the six-decade-old Citizenship Act come into effect.

The new law, however, will not be applicable to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.

The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (CAB), which generated widespread protests in the Northeastern states, is expected to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday for consideration and passage.

According to the bill, "... any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December 2014... shall not be treated as illegal migrants for the purposes of this Act".

The Trinamool Congress on Friday said it has issued a whip to its MPs for four days from Monday to Thursday in both Houses of Parliament in anticipation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill being introduced by the government, its national spokesperson Derek O'Brien said.

Addressing a press briefing, O'Brien said that the bill hurt the heart and soul of the idea of India.

"This is not about how many numbers BJP has in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. If you want to grant citizenship, grant citizenship to all. TMC has issued whip for four days from Monday to Thursday in both houses," he said.

A probe should be launched into a textbook in Madhya Pradesh depicting Mahatma Gandhi in poor light, an Aam Aadmi Party MP demanded in Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention, Sanjay Singh of the AAP said depicting Gandhi as a "drunkard and wicked man" was shameful and action should be immediately taken on it.He said the module book for school students was widely circulated in the state where Gandhi was compared to a 'Kubuddhi' (malevolent).

At a time when the nation is celebrating Father of the Nation's 150 th birth anniversary, there are instances of misleading propaganda being done against him, he said, citing his picture appearing on a liquor bottle in Israel and his killers being glorified.

"There should an investigation into the textbook issue and immediate action be taken," he demanded.

A little over 10 per cent adults above the age of 18 years have been detected with mental disorders in the country, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in Lok Sabha on Friday.

The minister said the government had conducted the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) of India through the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore in 2016.

"As per the survey, the prevalence of mental disorders in adults over the age of 18 years is about 10.6 per cent," he said during Question Hour.

Vardhan said the survey said there was at least one mental health hospital in all the 12 surveyed states, except in Manipur; all states had medical colleges with a psychiatry department, general hospitals with a psychiatry unit and a few had de-addiction centres.

The Centre is studying the long- pending Rs 17,000 crore suburban rail project for Bengaluru city and will give a nod after getting details about land from the Karnataka government, Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi said in Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Responding during the Question Hour, Angadi said the project has been pending due to non-cooperation from the previous Congress-JDS led state government.

"Now, we are discussing with the state government and officials. We are studying the matter. As soon as we get details about land and funds from the state government, we will take it up," he added.

The B S Yediyurappa government in Karnataka has submitted a revised detailed project report (DPR) that proposes around 55-odd suburban railway stations covering a distance of about 150 km.

Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday said no Indian study has shown any correlation between pollution and shortening of lifespan.

"Let us not create a fear psychosis among people," Javadekar told Lok Sabha in response to a query about studies that life expectancy is coming down due to pollution.

During the Question Hour, he said the government has been taking pro-active actions to curb pollution and that the efforts are bearing fruits.

Indian studies have not shown a correlation between shortening of life and pollution, the Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change said.

Issue of women security connecting it to communal is shameful. One of our MP from West Bengal connecting it to temple, but he can't see the rape case in Malda, says Smriti Irani in Lok Sabha.

Arvind Sawant,Shiv Sena, in Lok Sabha says, A law needs to be constituted through which such(crimes against women) cases are heard directly in Supreme Court,currently procedure starts from lower courts,process goes on&on.I appeal to you(Speaker)to set up a committee to discuss this

Santhali language on Friday made its debut in Rajya Sabha when a lawmaker from Odisha used it to raise a matter of urgent public importance during the Zero Hour.

Sarojni Hembram of the Biju Janata Dal spoke in Santhali, an Austroasiatic-Munda language spoken mostly by tribals in Odisha.

She also demanded Bharat Ratna for Raghunath Murmu, who in 1925 created the Ol Chiki script for the Santhali language.

The List of Business in Rajya Sabha Friday will see 44 private member Bills for introduction besides tabling of papers and reports by the Standing Committees.

A private member Bill by Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi will be introduced to provide for measures to control the population in the country. Another Congress MP T. Subbarami Reddy will introduce a Bill to provide for nationalisation of inter-State rivers for the purpose of equitable distribution of river waters among the States and for matters connected.

Shiv Sena's Anil Desai will introduce the Indian Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (insertion of new sections 376F and 376G) to amend the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

BJP's Vijay Goel will move to introduce a Bill to conserve the iconic Old Delhi located in the heart of the national capital. He will also introduce the Prohibition of Multi-digit Lotteries Bill, 2019 which seeks to prohibit the sale and promotion of multi-digit lotteries. Also to be introduced is the Hindu Shrines and Religious Place(Management and Regulation)Bill,2019.

Samajwadi Party's Javed Ali Khan will introduce the Prevention of Insult to the Father of the Nation and other Icons of Freedom Movement Bill, 2019. The Bill seeks to prevent insult to the Father of the Nation and other icons of Freedom Movement or showing of respect to assassins of the Father of the Nation.

R.K. Sinha of the BJP will move the Right to Breathe Clean Air Bill, 2019 which seeks to provide every citizen the right to breathe clean air, free from pollutants and industrial effluents; to empower the appropriate authorities to combat air pollution; to enhance air quality monitoring across urban and rural areas; to give legislative sanction to the national-level strategy set out in the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

Congress MP P.L. Punia will move the Bill to provide for reservation and compulsory display of seats for the children belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes for admission in educational institutions.

Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur will table a copy of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) for the year ended March 2018 -- Union Government (Defence Services)-Ordnance Factories (Report No. 15 of 2019).

The Friday List of Business in the Lok Sabha has two important Bills for consideration and passing.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will move the International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019 for consideration of the House.

The Bill is to provide for the establishment of an authority to develop and regulate the financial services market in the International Financial Services Centres in India and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will move the Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019 for consideration and passing. The Bill amends the Arms Act, 1959.

Congress MP Madhusudan Mistry has given zero hour notice in Rajya Sabha over 'non release of MPLAD funds for 2019-20.'