Parliament Budget Session live: Opposition raises ‘Modi Yogi down down’ slogans over Maha Kumbh stampede

Left Democratic Front (LDF) MPs protest in Parliament alleging discrimination in the Union Budget and over the statements of Union Ministers George Kuriann and Suresh Gopi.

The debate on the Motion of Thanks for the Address given by President Droupadi Murmu began in Lok Sabha on Monday.

Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla urged members to never let the question hour be interrupted amid chaos in Lok Sabha.

“Aap sab se agraha karna chahta hu, jin vishay ko uthana chahte hain, Rashtrapati abhivashan me sab muddo ko utha sakte hain. Maine pehle bhi kaha hai ki prshna kaal kabhi bhi sthagit nai hona chaiye, ye aap sab ki samuhik zimmedari hai ki prashna kaal chale. Iss mudde 12 baje ke baad uthaayein. Iss parampara ko kayam karo, aisa mera agraha hai. Baaki aap agar naarebaaji karne aaye ho, mez thapthapane aaye ho toh main kuch nahi keh sakta,” Birla said.

Opposition members raised slogans like ‘Modi Yogi down down’ and ‘Hosh mein aao, hosh mein aao.’

Question Hour continued amid chaos in Lok Sabha over issues like the Maha Kumbh stampede.

Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla scolded the opposition members amid ruckus in Lok Sabha, saying voters haven’t sent them to break tables but to ask questions.

“Aapko janta ne table todne ke liye nai bheja hai, aap pehli baar chunke aaye ho,” he said as opposition members raised slogans in Lok Sabha.

The opposition raised the issue of the Maha umbh stampede during the question hour in Lok Sabha, causing chaos in the house.

Congress MP Imran Masood has called the Waqf bill a violation of article 26 of the Constitution.

“You can’t bulldoze everything based on the strength of numbers. This is a democracy and everyone’s views are taken into account. We will fight till the end on this. It is an open violation of Article 26 of the Constitution,” he said.

Amid criticism over the JPC report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, the Chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Jagdambika Pal said on Monday that the opposition is trying to push a certain agenda and has submitted a dissent note on 281 pages out of a total of 428 pages report.

Speaking to the media, Pal emphasized that they have prepared the final report after considering all the witnesses.

“Just like they (Opposition) tried to mislead the JPC by saying that if this bill is passed, all Waqf properties will be taken away, similarly, they are trying to push a certain agenda across the country and are attempting appeasement. In the continuous JPC meetings, we called everyone as witnesses, whether it was the Waqf Board, the Minority Commission, government officials, stakeholders, or Islamic scholars – we listened to all of them. We have prepared a 428-page report, which we have submitted to the Speaker,” he said.

Congress MP Randeep Surjewala has moved a notice of motion to discuss “disrespect” towards Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha.

Proceedings of both houses begin for the day.

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said that the government is not listening to the opposition on Waqf bill.

“You rejected all 44 amendments from the opposition and accepted all the amendments from the ruling party. You are not listening to us. Was this a JPC or a formality?” he told ANI.

Congress has said it will raise issues such as inflation, unemployment, the Maha Kumbh stampede and the alleged insult to B.R. Ambedkar.

It also asserted that the INDIA bloc is united in raising these issues in Parliament.

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will take up Motion of Thanks on President’s Address today. The session started with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to both the houses.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the new income tax bill, to be presented in Parliament next week, will modernise the IT Act to suit the 21st century. In an interview, she emphasised that the tax relief introduced in the Union Budget aims to honor honest taxpayers. She stressed the importance of widening the tax base, noting that taxes shouldn’t burden the small base.

The ongoing budget session is scheduled in two phases and will end on April 4.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah to introduce a Bill in Lok Sabha today to establish the Institute of Rural Management Anand, as a University to be known as the “ Tribhuvan” Sahkari University and to declare the same as an institution of national importance, to impart technical and management education and training in the co-operative sector.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore gives Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha to discuss the “non-release of outstanding wage dues amounting to ₹1,056 Crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Tamil Nadu”.

“I urge the Government to take immediate action to release the outstanding dues and approve the revised labour budget for Tamil Nadu,” reads the notice

Apart from Hussain, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has alleged that parts of his dissent note on the JPC report were deleted. According to him, they just ‘stated facts’

“I had submitted a detailed dissent note to JPC against Waqf Bill. It is shocking that parts of my note were redacted without my knowledge. The deleted sections were not controversial, they only stated facts,” he said on X.

Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain has alleged that parts of his dissent note on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 were redacted without his consent.

Taking to social media platform X on Saturday, Hussain expressed strong disapproval over what he described as an attempt to suppress Opposition voices.

“As a Member of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, I had submitted a detailed dissent note opposing the Bill. Shockingly, parts of my dissent note have been redacted without my knowledge! The Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was already reduced to a farce, but now they’ve stooped even lower–censoring dissenting voices of Opposition MPs! What are they so scared of? Why this attempt to silence us?” Hussain wrote.

According to the List of Business, Jagdambika Pal, the Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, along with BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal, will present the report (Hindi and English versions) of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

They will also lay on the table the record of evidence given before the Joint Committee.

The Jagdambika Pal-led Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, will on Monday be tabled in Parliament.