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Maadhyam

@_maadhyam_

Jan 30

No, this is not a satirical post. This is as real as it can get!

1. The current term of #LokSabha hasn't had a Deputy Speaker yet. This is unprecedented. It violates Article 93 of the #ConstitutionOfIndia & Govt is about to get away with it without any consequences.

2. The current 17th Lok Sabha likely to be the full term LS with least number of #Parliament sittings, only 278 (approx, including the scheduled dates of upcoming last session). This is an average of only 56 days in a year. In 2020, #COVID19 became an excuse to bring down number of Parliament sittings to a historic low of only 33 days in a year. We plan to export #Aadhaar and #UPI to the world, but we couldn't convene virtual Parliament sessions, which many democracies did.

3. With less number of Parliament sittings, Govt relied more on Ordinances - 76 Ordinances between 2014-2021. · The three controversial #farmlaws were first brought as Ordinances as people were busy surviving the first wave of Covid in 2020.

Contd.. in #Thread

4. How do less number of #Parliament sittings helps Govt:
- Govt publishes a long list of Bills to be cleared
- Opposition demands debate on various issues like #Pegasus, #FarmersProtest, #AdaniScam, #ManipurCrisis, #ParliamentSecurityBreach etc.
- Govt says No, debate not needed
- Opposition protests, there are disruptions
- Govt says - many Bills pending, don't care that Opposition is protesting, or suspended or they walk out, Bills will be pushed

Some Examples:

- Winter Session 2023 - after unprecedented suspension of 146 MPs from Opposition, 14 Bills cleared by either or both Houses within just 3 days with minimal to no Opposition participation

- Monsoon Session 2023 - in just one week Lok Sabha passed 7 Bills with an average time of 21 mins each only. The controversial #ForestConservation Amendment Bill passed in LS within 33 mins, only 4 MPs spoke. The Digital Personal #DataProtection Bill debated in LS for only 40 mins, only 8 MPs spoke. In RS the DPDP Bill was debated for only 50 mins, during which no Opposition MP participated.

- Monsoon Session 2021 - Opposition demanding debate on #Pegasus, LS cleared 18 Bills amid protests, spending an average of only 15 mins on each. Some Bills cleared within 5-6 mins.

- Monsoon Session 2020 - Opposition boycotted over Farm Bills fiasco, RS cleared 15 Bills in just 2 days, spending little less than 8 hours in total.

5. The Govt doesn't believe in wasting time by sending Bills to #Parliament Committees for scrutiny. As per analysis done by PRS -
2009-14 - 71% of bills referred to Standing Committees
Since 2019 - only 16% bills referred to Standing Committees

Also, to control the process, Govt prefers to send controversial Bills to Joint Parliament Committees (on which Govt decides who to nominate), as opposed to Standing Committees. For instance, following Bills were sent to JPC instead of existing Standing Committees (which in most cases were chaired by Opposition MPs):
o Land Acquisition Amendment Bill
o Citizenship Amendment Bill
o Personal Data Protection Bill
o Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill
o Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill

Read 4 tweets

Maadhyam

@_maadhyam_

Dec 15, 2023

A #thread on Govt denying or ignoring questions on #dataleaks raised in #RajyaSabha today.

1. Q asking if data from UIDAI servers was leaked on dark web recently?

Govt's response - No breach of Aadhaar card holders’ data has occurred from the Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) maintained by the Unique Identification Authority of India.

Earlier this year, there were reports of #Aadhaar data of 81.5 crore Indians leaking on dark web -

This was Q No. 148 asked today by MP Vivek Tankhalivemint.com/news/india/aad…

2. Another Q asks whether Government is aware of the alleged Aadhaar and other data leaks on the dark web.

Govt ignores this Q. But it lists steps being taken to protect #data including #Aadhaar data of citizens.

This was Q No. 1526 asked today by MP Phulo Devi Netam.

3. Another Q asks about several reports of data leakages from #COWIN portal and status of CERT-In probe into it.

Govt ignores both Qs. It provides list of steps taken by Govt to secure personal #data of citizens on COWIN portal.

This was Q No. 1521 asked today by MP @SaketGokhale

#ParliamentWinterSession

Read 5 tweets

Maadhyam

@_maadhyam_

Dec 8, 2023

In a rare instance, #LokSabha takes up for discussion a report of the Committee of Ethics on a complaint against MP Mahua Moitra.
As Minister moves the motion for the same, some MPs say that they haven't even a received a copy of the report yet (it was tabled only this morning)!

After Speaker speaks for a few minutes on the kind of conduct expected of MPs etc., he says that he will permit 30 minute debate. Some MPs ask for more time.

Adhir ranjan Choudhary argues that MPs being given only 2 hours to go through 604 page report, how humanly possible?

Choudhary says that if allegation made against someone, natural justice demands they be given a chance to speak, no one can be punished in such a manner. Let not new #Parliament start a 'kalankit' (shameless) practice. Some MPs object to that.
He asks for 3-4 days to read report.

Read 21 tweets

Maadhyam

@_maadhyam_

Aug 1, 2022

Discussion on #pricerise starts in #LokSabha with Manish Tewari, INC speaking:
- In last 8 yrs, 5 economic values (savings, investment, production, consumption, employment) have degraded
- 23 crore have slid back into poverty
- 77% of country's wealth concentrated in 1% people

Tewari on #PriceRise:
- 100-166 billionaires in country, but poor people suffering
- started due to BJP's #demonetization
- then #GST imposition made MSMEs suffer, still not recovered
- 10.6 lakh crore money outstanding in this sector
- 8& #unemployment in 2022
#MonsoonSession

Tewari on #PriceRise:
- #MNREGA was called 'gaddha khodne wali scheme' by NDA, now keeping families alive
- Instead of filling money in common peoples pockets, in 2014-2022 4.32 lakh crore concession given to businesses
- Why imposing #GST on cremation sites? How is this justice?

Read 40 tweets

Maadhyam

@_maadhyam_

Aug 1, 2022

In #LokSabha, the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2022 is introduced amid protests.

After that House adjourns till 2pm with Presiding Officer announcing that discussion on price rise is decided & listed for today.

#MonsoonSession #Parliament #SansadWatch

In #RajyaSabha, Q hour is proceeding amid protests.
Leader of House, Piyush Goyal, speaks to protesting MPs, says that discussion on #pricerise will happen in RS tomorrow.
Also says that law enforcement agencies take their own course, Govt doesn't interfere! #SanjayRaut

Leader of Opp in #RajyaSabha, Mallikarjun Kharge says:
- price rise discussion still not listed
- have submitted notices on other issues also on what's happening in #Maharashtra, #Jharkhand, #Gujarat, those notices not even acknowledged.
Q Hour again proceeds amid protests!

Read 16 tweets

Maadhyam

@_maadhyam_

Jul 31, 2022

https://twitter.com/_maadhyam_/status/1553630931709493248

This #Thread has generated some interesting responses. Addressing some below:
1. "There may be no Rule, but this is done as a matter of convention." Well, exactly we are also saying that there is no rule, and if this is a convention then it needs to be challenged.
Contd...

https://twitter.com/_maadhyam_/status/1553630931709493248

2. "Asking Q in #Parliament is a privilege & a suspended MP has her privileges withdrawn." Yes, asking a Q is a privilege, but suspension is not of membership of MP from the House but simply of their presence in House. An MP need not be present in House to get their Qs answered.

In 'Practice & Procedure of Parliament by MN Kaul & SL Shakdher', it is written that a Q submitted by an MP who is under detention can also be answered as unstarred Q (to be answered in writing)!
This shows the importance that Qs have & the spirit in which Qs must be answered.

Read 7 tweets

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