Parliament Special Session Live: Women's Reservation Bill Cleared By Cabinet, Says Minister; Then Deletes Post

Reacting to news reports that the Modi cabinet has cleared the Women's Reservation Bill, BRS leader Kavitha Kalvakuntla said, "Let them all take the credit. That is not the issue. While taking the credit, they all should support and vote for the bill and not object to it. When we look at the history of women's reservation bill, at different timelines, different parties have objected on various issues. This (Central) government has a historic opportunity to pass it single-handedly."

The Lok Sabha Secretariat has issued the list of business for the day two of the five-day special parliamentary situation on Tuesday.

The Rajya Sabha Secretariat has issued the list of business for the day two of the five-day special parliamentary situation on Tuesday.

Veteran parliamentarians Manmohan Singh, Shibu Soren and Maneka Gandhi invited to speak in Central Hall of Parliament on Tuesday, reported PTI.

In a surprising twist, Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel has deleted the tweet where he had said the Modi government has cleared the women's reservation bill.

"Only the Modi government had the moral courage to fulfill the demand for women's reservation. Which was proved by the approval of the cabinet," he said on X, formerly Twitter. This post is now deleted.

To be sure, there has been no formal announcement on cabinet decisions yet. The Press Information Bureau is tasked with releasing the official statement on cabinet decisions.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh reacted to news of the cabinet clearing the women’s reservation bill

"It’s been a long-standing demand of the Congress party to implement women’s reservation. We welcome the reported decision of the Union Cabinet and await the details of the Bill. This could have very well been discussed in the all-party meeting before the Special Session, and consensus could have been built instead of operating under a veil of secrecy," he said.

Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel said the Modi government has cleared the women's reservation bill.

"Only the Modi government had the moral courage to fulfill the demand for women's reservation. Which was proved by the approval of the cabinet," he said on X, formerly Twitter.

To be sure, there has been no formal announcement on cabinet decisions yet. The Press Information Bureau is tasked with releasing the official statement on cabinet decisions.

The Union Cabinet meeting lasted for over 90 minutes, reported PTI. The meeting, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, was attended by Union ministers including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi, S Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dharmendra Pradhan, Nitin Gadkari and Arjun Ram Meghwal.

No press briefing on the cabinet decisions have been announced yet.

Parliamentarians will be welcomed into the new Parliament building on Tuesday with a special hamper, reported NDTV. The hamper comprises a jute bag containing a copy of the Constitution, a stamp, and a commemorative coin. The names of the MPs are inscribed on the jute bags.

The meeting of the Union Cabinet has concluded at Parliament House Annexe, reported ANI.

A joint group photograph of all MPs will be taken at the Parliament House on Tuesday at 9.30 a.m., according to an official bulletin.

Further, members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have been asked to assemble in the Central Hall of Parliament at 11.00 a.m. for a function to commemorate the rich legacy of the parliament and resolve to make India a developed nation by 2047.

A key meeting of the Union Cabinet -- called on the first day of the Parliament's five-day special session -- is in progress, NDTV reported. Though the agenda is not known yet, the meet is grabbing eyeballs in view of PM Narendra Modi's earlier comment that "historic decisions" will be taken in this special session. 

As per the report, there is speculation that the cabinet may clear anything from reservation for women or scheduled castes and tribes, one nation one election and even a change of name of the country.

In his remarks at the start of special session of Parliament on Monday, the prime minister said, "This special session of Parliament is for the historic decisions. We have to make sure that India is a developed country by 2047. All decisions in this direction will be taken in the new Parliament."

Lok Sabha Speaker expressed hope that the new parliament will set new standards in parliamentary democracy in India as he adjourned the house. The MPs will reconvene at 1.15 p.m. on Tuesday at the new parliament building.

"Now the time has come when the proceedings of the Parliament will be conducted from the new building. This is a historic and unforgettable moment," Birla said.

The Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 2:15 pm tomorrow.

Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi floated the idea if India should move from the 'first-past-the-post' system to the 'proportional representation' system for elections, saying the former advantages parties that seek votes on sectarian grounds and have the money power to win elections.

In first-past-the-post system, the candidate that receives the highest number of votes in an election is declared winner. In proportional representation, the party gets the share of seats in parliament proportionate to the total vote share it draws in an election.

Former Prime Minister and JD(S) MP HD Devegowda raised the Cauvery water sharing issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in Rajya Sabha. "We should all sit together and try to resolve this problem... Legal battle will not solve this problem," he said.

Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal called for the passage of the women's reservation bill and also raised issue of farmer suicides and farm distress.

"How can women's issue be raised if they don't get reservation. I demand the women's reservation bill. If there is no representation, then it takes a Nirbhaya to bring in a law. Our women wrestlers who bring laurels to the country have to wait for months for justice," she said.

Badal also called for a unanimous parliamentary resolution condemning the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Congress MP KC Venugopal pushed for the women's reservation bill and said, "The Women's Reservation Bill is the brainchild of the Indian National Congress and UPA. We gave 50% reservation to women in local bodies. If they (Centre) have any sincerity in their mind, they should pass the Women's Reservation Bill in this session."

Congress MP Manish Tewari in Lok Sabha called for a law mandating Parliament sessions be conducted for at least 120 to 130 days every year. He also stressed on a similar law at the state level for legislative assemblies.

"There are many Vidhan Sabhas that meet only for one week. What kind of a democracy is this? We need a law that mandates that legislative assemblies in big states convene sessions for at least a 100 days and those in smaller states meet at least for 75 days," he said.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "selective" in his speech in Parliament and did not talk about the rights given to people during the Manmohan Singh government.

Speaking in Lok Sabha, Baramati MP and NCP leader Supriya Sule said, "I would like to put on record two people who have not been mentioned by the BJP today, who I have been highly influenced by in my Parliamentary work, who come from BJP but I still feel that they were one of the tallest leaders and were extraordinary Parliamentarians who we looked up to - Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley. They constantly talked about cooperative federalism. It is not this side or that side, good work has to be established."

She also took a shot at the ruling party over corruption saying opposition leaders accused of graft find it easy to go through BJP's "washing machine".

(With ANI inputs)

Union Minister and Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal called for making India a "corruption-free and developed nation". 

He also recalled the contributions of various Members of the House over the years. Goyal further urged everyone to take steps to advance women empowerment in the country. 

(With PTI inputs)

Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the Indian National Congress, requested to introduce the Women Reservation Bill.

He mentioned that currently, there are 10% women representatives in the Rajya Sabha and 14% in the Lok Sabha. He expressed concern that even after 75 years, the participation of women MPs in the House remains low.

On the last day at the old parliament building, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a speech in the Lok Sabha. During his address, PM Modi recalled significant moments from the past 75 years of Parliament, from remembering Pandit Nehru to paying homage to security personnel who scarified their lives to save the parliament.

Here are some highlights from PM Modi's speech:

• "We will move to new Parliament building, but the old building will keep inspiring the coming generations".

• "I once again congratulate our scientists for the success of Chandrayaan-3", PM Modi said".

• Success of G20 is the success of 140 crore Indians, he said.

• "Emotional moment to bid goodbye to this building; many bitter-sweet memories have been associated with it"

• Pandit Nehru's "At the stroke of midnight..." speech from this Parliament will keep inspiring us forever, says PM Modi.

• "I bow to the people who took bullets to save the nation and its Parliament".

India can never forget the terrorist attack on the Parliament in 2001, PM Modi said.

"I bow to the people who took bullets to save the nation and its Parliament".

Pandit Nehru's "At the stroke of midnight..." speech from this Parliament will keep inspiring us forever, says PM Modi.

PM also remembered Lal Bahadur Shastri and said "Shastri Ji inspired our soldiers for 1965 war from this Parliament". "Lal Bahadur Shastri laid the foundation of Green Revolution from this Parliament".

Prime Minister Modi said, the old Parliament building has seen many memorable moments. "We have seen many things taking shape in old Parliament in the last 75 years".

• "Emotional moment to bid goodbye to this building; many bitter-sweet memories have been associated with it", says PM Modi.

• Success of Indians is being discussed all over the world.

• "I once again congratulate our scientists for the success of Chandrayaan-3", PM Modi said.

• Success of G20 is the success of 140 crore Indians.

• The impact of the way we hosted G20 Summit at 60 locations is there on entire world.

• "We are bidding adieu to the old Parliament building today".

• This structure was built by foreign forces, but the effort to build it was of our country's people

• Decisions taken during the G20 Summit are for the global good.

• India is a voice of peace in the era of unrest across the world.

• African Union was included in G20 due to efforts of PM Modi.

• G20's focus is now more human-centric.

• PM Modi's 'vision and guidance' led to consensus on even sensitive issues in the New Delhi Declaration issued by G20 leaders.

• This is the last session of in Old Parliament building .

• I believe that our democracy will attain new heights in new Parliament building".

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrive at the Parliament for the Special Session of Parliament.

A meeting of floor leaders of the INDIA alliance's parties is underway at Mallikarjun Kharge's office in Parliament House.

• "We have to make sure that India is a developed country by 2047"

• "All decisions in this direction will be taken in the new Parliament"

• "Urge all the Members of Parliament to use the time of this small special session optimally", Prime Minister said.

• G20 was a great success as India welcomed global leaders at over 60 locations

• India will always be proud that we became a voice for global south

• India got permanent membership for African Union

• All these things are showing the bright future of India

"All members of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Rajya Sabha are hereby, informed that some very important issues will be taken up in the Rajya Sabha in the upcoming special session", party said in a release.

"In view of this, all members of the Aam Aadmi Party are requested to be positively present in the house from 11 a.m. onwards until the adjournment of the House from 18th September to 22nd September 2023 and support the stand of the party".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address the Lok Sabha today at 11 a.m. This will take place on the first day of the Special Session of the Parliament, according to ANI.

On Sunday, both ruling and opposition parties strongly advocated for the approval of the women's reservation bill at the start of the five-day Parliament session, which commences on Monday.

This bill aims to set reserve one-third of all seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women.

"All opposition parties demanded the passage of women's reservation bill in this Parliament session", Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.

"Only the government knows what its intention is. It may surprise everyone with some new agenda", he said.

Praful Patel of Nationalist Congress Party said, "We appeal to govt to pass the women's reservation bill in this Parliament session". "We are hopeful that women's reservation bill will be passed with consensus if tabled in Parliament", he added.

(with inputs from PTI)

After 75 years, India's parliament will move to the new building on Sept. 19.

All members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been called for a group photograph on Tuesday morning.

This will be attended by the vice-president and Rajya Sabha chairman; the Prime Minister; Lok Sabha Speaker; leader of the house in Rajya Sabha; minister of parliamentary affairs; leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha and  leader of largest opposition party in Lok Sabha; and members of both the houses of parliament.

After a gathering at the Central Hall, both the houses will meet in their respective chambers in New Parliament House.

The government said that tentatively eight items will be taken up taken up during the special session. It includes four bills.

Bills introduced in Rajya Sabha and not referred to Standing Committee

1. The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023

2. The Post Office Bill, 2023

Bills passed by Rajya Sabha - pending in Lok Sabha (2)

1. The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

2. The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023

There is no clarity on the other four items.

After hoisting the national flag at the new parliament building on Sunday, a five-day session of Parliament starts on Monday.

Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi said that this session will have five meetings over five days. Tentatively, eight legislative items are likely to be taken up during this session, he said.

A discussion will be held on 'Parliamentary Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha-Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings' on Monday (Sept 18).

He requested all party leaders for active cooperation and support for the smooth functioning of the two Houses of Parliament.