NEW DELHI, Aug 12:
Shrugging off opposition protests, the Government on Tuesday continued to push ahead with its legislative agenda, ensuring the passage of six bills in Parliament, before it took a five-day break for the Independence Day celebrations.
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In another significant development, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced in the House a three-member Panel to probe allegations against High Court Judge Yashwant Varma, embroiled in the cash-at-home row, after admitting a multi-party notice for his removal, setting in motion the process of impeachment.
The Lok Sabha passed two bills – ‘The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill’ and ‘The Indian Ports Bill’ – after brief debates amid opposition protests on the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. The Lok Sabha witnessed some heated moments as opposition members tore papers and hurled the bits towards the chair, drawing strong disapproval from the presiding officer.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed a walkout by the opposition, and the Government passed four bills – two each of the Sports and Finance Ministries – after brief debates.
The National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and The National Sports Governance Bill, 2025, were passed by the Rajya Sabha by voice vote, after the opposition members walked out of the House, protesting against the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The Rajya Sabha also returned the two money bills — The Income Tax Bill and The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill — to the Lok Sabha after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responded to a brief debate on both the legislations. The two bills were passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Sitharaman also introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the insolvency and bankruptcy code and urged the Chair to refer it to a select committee of the House for threadbare scrutiny.
Both Houses of Parliament will meet again on August 18 after a five-day Independence Day break.
In the Lok Sabha, the opposition protests took an ugly turn as some members tore some papers and hurled the pieces at the Chair.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju condemned the behaviour, saying the opposition has insulted the Chair and lowered the dignity of the House.
Rijiju said the BJP was in the opposition for several years, but it never resorted to such tactics.
Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair, called out Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, for instigating Congress members to enter the Well of the House and hurling papers at the Chair. He said it has lowered the dignity of the House.
Earlier in the day, Speaker Om Birla announced a three-member Panel to probe allegations against Allahabad High Court Judge Yashwant Varma. The House was in order at that time.
The inquiry committee comprises Supreme Court judge Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Karnataka High Court advocate B V Acharya, a 91-year-old veteran.
Birla said he had received a proposal from 146 Lok Sabha members, including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, seeking the removal of Justice Varma on July 21.
Justice Varma was repatriated from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court after burnt wads of currency notes were found at his official residence here on March 14 following a fire incident.
The Parliamentary committee examining two bills to implement the system of holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously was on Tuesday granted a fresh extension till the last week of the Winter session.
A motion moved by Joint Committee of Parliament (JCP) chairperson P P Choudhary was passed by the House by a voice vote.
According to the motion, the Panel has been given time till the first day of the last week of the Winter session, 2025, to present its report.
On Monday, Rijiju slammed the opposition parties for repeated disruptions of both the Houses of Parliament and announced that the Government would proceed with the legislative agenda without their participation.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament, which began on July 21, is scheduled to conclude on August 21. (PTI)
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