Parliament Monsoon Session 2024 live Update: Budget failed to address job creation, agriculture issues, states Opposition

Rajya Sabha has been adjourned for an hour following ruckus by treasury benches.

On the Agniveer scheme, Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad said, "I am proud to say that our army has a glorious history... but it is unfortunate that the BJP government has made the arrangement of Agniwari scheme... There cannot be a greater insult to the army than this. When the INDIA alliance government comes, we will end this scheme in 24 hours and do general recruitment."

TMC member Kalyan Banerjee raised the issue of BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's suggestion for the bifurcation of two districts in Bengal in the Lok Sabha. When the Speaker denied him permission to discuss the matter, it led to a ruckus with Opposition MPs disrupting proceedings. As a result, the Lok Sabha was adjourned until 12:30.

BJP MP Jagdish Shettar said, "The chief minister of Karnataka is directly involved in the MUDA and Valmiki commission issue. BJP is insisting on a CBI enquiry but he (Siddaramaiah) is avoiding it and is not ready to debate on the MUDA issue."

The Rajya Sabha erupted in protest as Opposition MPs objected to BJP MP Iranna Kadadi being allowed to speak on an issue not listed for discussion during Zero Hour. Kadadi addressed alleged scams involving MUDA and Valmiki in his speech.

In response to former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi's statement about jailed MP Amritpal Singh, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said, "Channi expressed his personal feelings and views. Congress General Secretary for Communications, Jairam Ramesh, has already clarified that these were Channi’s individual opinions."

On former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi's statement on jailed MP Amritpal Singh, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, "The party does not have anything to say on this. It was his (Charanjit Singh Channi) personal view."

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "Today is historic Kargil Vijay Diwas. India has become Aatmanirbhar in the defence sector...All the facilities have been provided in the border areas under PM Modi's leadership."

The Centre has informed Parliament that the Supreme Court is currently operating at its full strength of 34 judges, with no vacancies.

Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal stated in the Rajya Sabha that, of the sanctioned strength of 1,114 judges across various high courts, 757 positions are filled and 357 remain vacant.

In response to a query about vacancies in constitutional courts, the minister noted that, as of July 19, 2024, there are 219 proposals for judicial appointments from various high court Collegiums at different stages of processing. Of these, 90 proposals have been forwarded to the Supreme Court Collegium (SCC) for advice. The SCC has responded with advice on 82 of these proposals, which are now being processed further. Additionally, 129 recent proposals are under review for SCC advice.

Recommendations for the remaining 138 vacancies are still pending from high court Collegiums, the minister added.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi gives adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha to "prioritize the conduct of the census and announce a clear timeline for its completion."

Congress MP Manish Tewari has submitted an Adjournment Motion Notice in the Lok Sabha, calling for a discussion on the border situation and the significant trade deficit with China.

In a rebuttal to the opposition's criticism of the Budget and the "language used by a few opposition MPs during the debate", parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju Thursday accused the opposition of engaging in mere politics rather than providing constructive feedback.

"The opposition has insulted the mandate of the people, which is not right for democracy. After the presentation of the first Budget of the historic third term under the leadership of PM Modi, the country wants to see that the discussion on the Budget takes place in a good and meaningful manner. The way the leaders of some parties commented during the budget session and the way they gave speeches, I would like to say that they have insulted the House by lowering the dignity of the budget session," Rijiju said at a press conference.

She emphasised that the requests of the Bihar government for external assistance from multi-lateral development banks will be expedited. The FM also announce an allocation of Rs 11500 crore or flood control measures in Bihar. Funds have also been provided for developing the Temple corridors in the iconic temples in NIhar. The Kashi Model will be implemented in Bodh Gaya. Special funds have also been provided for the Rajgir Jain Temple site.

Earlier claiming that the BJP-led Centre has "deceived the people of Bihar" by not giving Special Status to the state, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday blasted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for "not uttering even a word" over the issue. The former deputy CM said that the RJD knew beforehand that the BJP-led NDA government would not give the Special Status to Bihar.

"Power projects, including setting up of a new 2400 megawatt power plant at Pirpainti (in Bhagalpur) will be taken up at a cost of Rs 21400 crore," she added.

The Finance Minister said that new airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure in Bihar will be constructed. An additional allocation to support capital investments will be provided, she said.

He further said that the allegations that the ruling alliance did not allow the opposition to speak were completely baseless.

"The state government and the speaker want the opposition to state its suggestions but they are not interested," he added.

Notably, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made major announcements for Bihar, including a boost in infrastructure and special financial support.

In her Budget speech in Parliament on Tuesday, Sitharaman said, "On the Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor we will support the development of an industrial nod at Gaya in Bihar. We will also support the construction of road connectivity projects namely Patna-Purnia Expressway, Buxar-Bagalpur Expressway, Bodhgaya-Rajgir-Vaishali-Darbanga and an additional two-lane bridge over river Ganga at Buxar at a total cost of Rs 26,000 cr."

Bihar Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary alleged that the Mahagathbandhan had no interest in the parliamentary affairs of the state after the opposition staged a walkout from the assembly on Thursday evening.

The parliamentary affairs minister said that the opposition had become frustrated after the Centre announced a special package for Bihar in the Union Budget 2024.

Choudhary said, "The opposition has no interest in Parliamentary affairs. Today there was important subjects such as finances and legislative work. The most important constitutional responsibility of the House is to sanction budget, pass legislation. Today, when the financial bill was tabled, they (the opposition) showed no interest in discussing it. It seems that the opposition is completely discouraged after the special package announced by the central government."

Leader of Opposition in the MCD Sardar Raja Iqbal Singh has written to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena seeking his intervention for appointment of a Dalit mayor in accordance with the DMC Act.

The BJP leader has also requested the LG's intervention for directing the authorities concerned to issue an order to constitute the Sixth Delhi Finance Committee highlighting a "huge backlog of funds" faced by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

In a letter to the LG, Singh raised concern over the delayed mayoral polls which were scheduled to take place in the first MCD House meeting in April.