Passage of several bills and discussion on the country’s economic situation are some of the major highlights of this week’s Winter Session of Parliament which began on Monday.&nbsp;The highlight of the first day of the Winter Session in the Rajya Sabha was the Privileges Committee holding Raghav Chadha of Aam Aadmi Party MP guilty of presenting misleading facts to the media and the house ending his suspension through a motion and allowing him to attend the proceedings.<br />” &nbsp;<br />” On Monday the Rajya Sabha passed the Post Office Bill, 2023 to amend the 125 years-old Indian Post Office Act of 1898. Replying to the discussion on the Bill, Communication Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the provision for interception of any article is required for national security. He said from 2004 to 2014, around 660 post offices were closed but from 2014 to 2023 around 5,000 post offices were opened and about 5,746 new ones are in the process of being opened.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” In the Lok Sabha, a Bill to establish or will cater to the regional aspirations for years to come. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced a Bill to establish a Central Tribal University in Telangana which will be named as Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University. The proposed institution will increase access and quality of higher education and facilitate and promote higher education and research facilities for the people of Telangana. It will also promote advanced knowledge by providing instructional and research facilities in tribal art, culture and customs and advancement in technology to the tribal population of India.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” On Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted in the Lok Sabha that the concept of One Flag, One Prime Minister and One Constitution was not merely a political slogan as BJP firmly believes in the principle and finally implemented it with regard to Jammu and Kashmir by nullifying Article 370. He made the remarks in response to a statement by Saugat Roy of Trinamool Congress during a discussion on the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Bill.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” Union Minister Jitendra Singh in his intervention hit out at the Congress party for not letting the Indian Constitution and Laws be implemented fully in Jammu and Kashmir due to its selfish political interests when the party was in power at the Centre.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told the Lok Sabha that the Swaminathan Commission’s report on agriculture reforms came during the UPA regime but it was the Narendra Modi government which started working on its recommendations and fixed the MSP at 50 per cent more than the production cost.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” Tomar said a committee, set up by the Centre following farmers' protest against three farm laws to examine various issues including minimum support price (MSP), has held 30 to 35 meetings so far.<br />” &nbsp;<br />” The recommendations of the committee are yet to come, he told the Lok Sabha.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” The Union agriculture minister was replying to a query by the Congress' Leader in the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury during the Question Hour. The Congress leader had asked if the Centre had taken any decision on the farmers’ demand to make MSP a legal right.<br />” &nbsp;<br />” &nbsp;In response to Chowdhury’s question, Tomar said the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had set up the commission under MS Swaminathan but its report came when Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was at the helm under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.<br />” &nbsp; &nbsp; <br />” He said, government then set up a group comprising the Union agriculture minister to consider the recommendations of the commission.<br />” &nbsp;<br />” &nbsp;He said the Swaminathan Commission had made 201 recommendations. Of them, the NDA government is working on 100 recommendations. But, the main recommendation was on MSP. Swaminathan had said MSP should be declared by adding 50 per cent profit on the cost.<br />” &nbsp;<br />” &nbsp;He noted the UPA government was in power till 2014. During the UPA regime, this recommendation was not considered and work on it began after Narendra Modi came to power. Today, MSP is declared by adding 50 per cent profit on the cost of production.<br />” <br />” In the Rajya Sabha, discussion on the current economic situation in the country started after the Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar admitted a notice for a short duration discussion on the subject.<br />” &nbsp;<br />” &nbsp;While the members of the BJP and its allies lauded the steps taken by the government to make India the fifth largest economy in the world overtaking the United Kingdom, the opposition parties raised the issue of unemployment and the price rise.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” On Wednesday the Lok Sabha passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Bill seeks to nominate two members from the Kashmir migrant community and one representing the displaced persons from the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to the Legislative Assembly.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” While, the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 seeks to change the nomenclature of a section of people who are eligible for quota in appointment and admission.&nbsp;<br />” In reply to the discussion, Home Minister Amit Shah said the two Bills related to Jammu and Kashmir will give justice to those deprived of their rights for the last 70 years and asserted that reservation to the displaced people will give them a voice in the legislature.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” The Home Minister said a plan to have Zero terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir has been in force for the last three years and it will be successful by 2026 when there will be no violence. He said, had terrorism been tackled in the beginning without considering vote bank politics, Kashmir Pandits would not have had to leave the Kashmir Valley.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, continued the discussion on the economic situation with opposition members accusing the government of being cut off from the ground reality about the situation of the poor while treasury benches lauding the handling of the economy by the government. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary laid a statement on Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2023-24.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” Highlighting India’s economic progress BJP members cited the recent S&amp;P estimates that show India is set to be the world’s third-largest economy by 2030.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” Earlier, during the Zero Hour Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge asked the Centre to release 18 thousand 171 crore Rupees for Karnataka drought relief from the National Disaster Response Fund.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” On Thursday, the Lok Sabha passed the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill by a voice vote. The Bill seeks to establish the Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University in Telangana in pursuance of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan thanked members of different parties who extended support to the Bill.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” Addressing their concerns, he said the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ensured that seats under reserved quotas.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” In the Rajya Sabha Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha that India continues to maintain the momentum of the fastest-growing major economy with all sectors contributing significantly in economic activity. Replying to a short duration discussion on the state of the economy, she highlighted the various achievements of the Modi Government since May 2014. She said the second quarter growth is the highest in the world and India continues to maintain the momentum of being the fastest-growing economy.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” Referring to Japan and Germany, she said the third and fourth largest economies have contracted and so have the emerging economies. She said we all can take pride in the fact that India is in the top three in the world across varied industries ranging from milk, pulses, rice, wheat, jute, sugar cane, to coal, aluminium, real time digital payments to limestone production and power production.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” The Finance Minister informed the House that direct tax collection grew by 21.82 per cent this year till 9th of November and the monthly GST collections have stabilized at 1.6 lakh crore rupees which is a sign of economic growth. She said the focus of the BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on youth, women, poor and farmers and the government is ensuring that all schemes are used to help the poor. Sitharaman targeted the West Bengal Government over MGNREGA alleging that funds under the scheme were being misused. She cited an example of a road built in a private tea estate using MGNREGA funds.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” Earlier participating in the debate members of opposition parties accused the government of driving inequitable growth but ruling party members defended the policies of the NDA regime saying it has led to all round development in the country.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” On Friday, the Lok Sabha expelled Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra after adopting its Ethics Committee report holding her guilty of sharing her Parliamentary Log-in credentials with others and accepting gifts and bribes from a businessman to extend favours. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion to expel the TMC member for unethical conduct which was adopted by a voice vote.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” Opposition members walked out of the Lok Sabha as Speaker Om Birla started the voting process on the motion moved by Pralhad Joshi. The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha had recommended Moitra’s expulsion from the House over the cash-for-query allegation. Some opposition members including Sudip Bandopadhyay and Kalyan Banerjee, both of Trinamool Congress questioned the report and urged the Speaker to allow Mahua Moitra to speak.<br />” Banerjee claimed that not allowing her to speak will be against the rules of fair play. Opposition members also questioned the Ethics Committee’s decision not to call the businessman Darshan Hiranandani who gave an affidavit admitting to giving her gifts and bribes.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” Heena Gavit of BJP said Moitra has disgraced the House with her conduct. The Speaker rejected the contention of opposition members that Moitra should be allowed to speak noting that she had her chance to present her case before the Committee.&nbsp; Later, the opposition members walked out of the Lok Sabha as the House voted to expel her.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” The report was tabled in the House around 12 Noon and was adjourned amid protest by opposition members who wanted a few days to study the nearly 500-page report. As soon as the House met again at 2 PM after an adjournment, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion for discussion on the panel report. Speaker Om Birla said if some strict decisions have to be taken against any member, they have to be taken to uphold the dignity of the House. He said it is painful that at times the House has to take up such matters. But he said, it is because the dignity of the institution has to be maintained at any cost.<br />” &nbsp;<br />” Mr Birla said it is the collective duty of the House to take steps to ensure the prestige of the institution remains unblemished. He said the House will discuss the report for half-an-hour but opposition members insisted that more time be given. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress demanded that three to four days be given to the members to go through the nearly 500-page report.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” The Ethics Committee Chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar submitted its report in the House soon reconvened at Noon after an adjournment during the Question Hour. Trinamool Congress members and some members from the Congress Party trooped into the Well of the House raising slogans demanding a copy of the report. Trinamool Congress member Kalyan Banerjee demanded a discussion on the report before its recommendations are put to vote, which would lead to the expulsion of Moitra from the House.<br />” &nbsp;<br />” Amid uproar, Rajendra Agrawal of BJP who was in the Chair, adjourned the proceedings of the House till 2 PM. Businessman Darshan Hiranandani, who allegedly paid Moitra to raise questions in Parliament about the Adani Group had claimed in a signed affidavit that Moitra targeted industrialist Gautam Adani to malign and embarrass Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At a meeting on 9th of November, the Committee adopted its report recommending Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha over the cash-for-query allegation. Six members of the panel including the suspended Congress member Preneet Kaur voted in favour of the report. Four members of the panel belonging to opposition parties submitted dissent notes.<br />” &nbsp;<br />” &nbsp;Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accepted the resignation of two BJP MPs – Baba Balaknath and Renuka Singh. Balaknath, who was MP from Rajasthan’s Alwar resigned after winning the Assembly election from Tijara in the State. Renuka Singh who was MP of Surguja in Chhattisgarh won the Assembly election from Bharatpur-Sonhat Constituency.&nbsp;<br />” &nbsp; <br />” Altogether 12 members of the ruling BJP have resigned after winning assembly polls. This includes 11 MPs from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha. Other members who have resigned are Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel, Rakesh Singh, Uday Pratap Singh and Riti Pathak from Madhya Pradesh, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Diya Kumkari, Kirori Lal Meena Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan and Arun Sao and Gomti Sai from Chhattisgarh.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” The Rajya Sabha would henceforth function from 2 PM on Friday for the post-lunch period instead of 2.30 PM earlier in line with the Lok Sabha schedule. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar made the announcement to this effect soon after the laying of papers.<br />” Earlier, Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goel and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav demanded that the Chairman take action against members who make false allegations and sensationalize issues without basis in the garb of asking questions.<br />” &nbsp; <br />” During Private Member’s Business Bill, The Waqf Repeal Bill 2022 was moved for introduction by BJP member Harnath Singh Yadav. This was opposed by members of several parties including the Congress, TMC, DMK, CPI, CPI (M) and RJD and led to a division of votes. The introduction of the Bill was approved after 53 members mostly from treasury benches voted in favour while 32 members opposed the move.<br />” &nbsp;<br />” Earlier, several Private Members Bills were introduced in the Rajya Sabha. Fauzia Khan of NCP introduced a bill to tackle sexual harassment of women in work places. Biplab Kumar Deb of BJP introduced a Bill to make teaching of Life style for environment compulsory in schools. Ram Nath Thakur of JD (U) introduced a bill to prohibit crimes in the name of honour. Sujit Kumar of Biju Janata Dal introduced bills to amend the Antiquities Act and the Indian Penal Code, 1860.<br />” &nbsp;