Parliament: Centre ready to discuss Delhi violence after Holi, says Lok Sabha speaker
Chaos prevailed in the Parliament after members argued over Delhi violence and BJP leaders’ hate speech.
The central government is ready to discuss last week’s communal violence in parts of Delhi a day after the festival of Holi on March 10, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Tuesday. Ruckus prevailed in both the Houses of the Parliament, a day after the beginning of the second phase of the Budget Session was marred by uproar over violence in Delhi. Both the Houses were adjourned for the day.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Bharatiya Janata Party’s parliamentarians to take the lead on propagating peace, harmony and unity in society. Modi made the appeal at the saffron party’s parliamentary meeting.
These are the updates from the day:
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Modi in Parliament. The chief minister called for those responsible behind the violence in Delhi to not be spared. The two politicians also spoke about the novel coronavirus as the first positive case from the national Capital was reported on Monday. This is the first time Kejriwal will meet the prime minister after taking charge as Delhi’s chief minister for the third time.
3.32 pm: Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy has said in the Lok Sabha that the Centre has been discussing concerns raised by states on the preparation of the National Population Register. “Demographic and other particulars of each family and individual are to be updated/collected during the exercise of updation of NPR,” he said, according to The Indian Express. “No document to be collected during the exercise.”
Critics have said that the National Register of Citizens, in tandem with the Citizenship Amendment Act, could be used to render many Indian Muslims stateless since the citizenship law excludes the community. The National Population Register is said to be the first step towards creating an all-India National Register of Citizens – an exercise to identify undocumented migrants.
3.28 pm: The Rajya Sabha has been adjourned for the day.
2.51 pm: The Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 3 pm after the Opposition leaders attempted to discuss the communal violence in Delhi while the Central Sanskrit University Bill, 2019, was being discussed.
2.49 pm: The Lok Sabha has been adjourned for the day amid uproar from Opposition members who tore papers and stormed the Well of the House.
2.48 pm: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has said that the Centre was open to discussing the Delhi violence after Holi, reports NDTV. “You all have agreed to accept the chair’s decision,” Birla said. “The government is also ready for a discussion. This would be held after Holi, on the 11th.”
1.25 pm: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has asked floor leaders of all parties to resolve the disputes that led to a scuffle between Congress and BJP legislators in the Lower House on Monday. He has also cautioned the members of the House that a repeat of Monday’s altercation could lead to serious consequences, reported The Hindu.
1.22 pm: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai has informed the Lok Sabha about police’s measures to maintain law and order in Delhi. “Adequate police personnel have been deployed in violence-affected areas,” he has said in a written reply, reported ANI. “120 FIRs have been registered. Section 144 [barring the gathering of over four people] has been imposed in the violence-affected areas of Delhi. Police have conducted flag march in these areas. Social media platforms are being monitored to avoid spread of rumours.”
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai: 120 FIRs have been registered. Section 144 has been imposed in the violence-affected areas of Delhi. Police have conducted flag march in these areas. Social media platforms are being monitored to avoid spread of rumours. https://t.co/r8kbUgfBQl
— ANI (@ANI) March 3, 2020
12.05 pm: Lok Sabha reconvenes for a few minutes amid uproar, gets adjourned till 2 pm.
11.50 am: Rajya Sabha Chairperson Venkaiah Naidu has adjourned the session till 2 pm after Opposition and treasury benches argued over hate speech by BJP MP and Union minister Anurag Thakur, reports The Hindu.
11.45 am: In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla has adjourned the session after Opposition leaders protested against last week’s violence in Delhi that has claimed at least 46 lives. An irate Birla adjourned the House after asking Opposition leaders, especially those part of the Congress, if they would like to submit a declaration to carry placards in the House.
11.40 am: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is expected to meet the prime minister in Parliament around 11 am, reports NDTV. The meeting comes a week after at least 46 people were killed and over 200 injured after violence over the Citizenship Amendment prevailed in parts of the national Capital.
11.35 am: In the BJP Parliamentary meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the party’s MPs to spread peace, harmony, and unity in the society. Modi has said that political gains were more important for certain parties but “national interest is above everything” for the BJP.
Also read:
1. ‘You are lying’: Anurag Thakur says media wrongly accusing him of saying ‘shoot the bloody traitors’
2. ‘Goli maaron’ slogans meet hate speech test – here’s how the Supreme Court can stop them
11.32 am: The Rajya Sabha may consider and pass the Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, 2019, the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2019, and the National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill, 2019.
11.30 am: The Lok Sabha is likely to see the introduction of the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020, and consider the passage of the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Bill, and The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill.