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Last session of 16th Lok Sabha ends, both Houses of Parliament adjourned sine die

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The last session of the current Lok Sabha – the 16th – ended today (Wednesday, Feb 13) with the Budget session drawing to a close.

Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die and, unless something unusual happens, would reconvene when the next Lok Sabha is constituted after the general election are over in May.

With the end of the current Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha adjourning at 12.50 pm without passing the two controversial Bills on triple talaq and the amendments to Citizenship Act, the two legislations are set to lapse with the end of the present Lok Sabha on June 3.

Bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha and pending there do not lapse with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. Bills passed by the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha lapse.

The Citizenship bill aims to grant citizenship to six religious minorities — Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and Buddhists — from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who came to India before 2014, after seven years of residence in India instead of 12 years, which is the norm currently, even if they do not possess any document.

While the BJP president Amit Shah said it was to complete the unfinished agenda of Partition, the Bill was met with strong protests in north-eastern states, including Assam where it was called a direct violation of the Assam accord. The legislation was passed by the Lok Sabha during the Winter Session on January 8 and has been awaiting the Rajya Sabha’s nod.

Like his close associate Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, announced that the bill is an “atonement of the wrong that was done during India’s Partition. India will safeguard all who had been victims of the Partition.”

On Saturday, addressing a rally in Assam, Modi said the citizenship bill won’t harm the interests of the people of the region but will provide succour to those who have “embraced the idea and ethos of Mother India.”

Student organisations, political parties and socio-cultural bodies have been protesting on the grounds that it seeks to grant nationality to non-Muslims who have come into India up to December 31, 2014, thereby increasing the deadline from 1971 as per the Assam Accord.

Also, according to the Assam Accord, all illegal immigrants who have come after 1971, irrespective of their religion, have to be deported and this bill violates that.

Two BJP chief ministers of the Northeast – Arunachal Pradesh’s Pema Khandu and Manipur’s N Biren Dingh – have also voiced their opposition to the contentious Bill.

The government had tried to make one last effort to push through the Bill by listing it on February 12 in spite of its assurance to Opposition that the legislation will not be moved.

In the case of the triple talaq bill, the numbers were clearly stacked against the government. The Opposition questioned the legislation for talaq or divorce as a criminal offence even when the marriage is a civil arrangement.

“Anti-BJP parties not satisfied by the CAG report on Rafale deal”

Under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2019, divorcing through instant triple talaq will be illegal, void and would attract a jail term of three years for the husband.

The opposition had been opposing provisions of the two bills in Rajya Sabha where the government lacks numbers.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die after it passed some Bills including Interim Budget and Finance Bill for 2019-20 without debate. In his customary address at the close of the Budget session, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu lamented that precious time of the House was lost in protests, stalling proceedings.

A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report with details of the Rafale deal was tabled in the Upper House, but was not taken up for discussion as the House was adjourned sine die.

Rafale deal: CAG report along expected lines on price, but raises other questions

The Lok Sabha, meanwhile, passed the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill and the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment).

Giving his valedictory speech in the Lok Sabha before the general elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed out that several sessions of the 16th Lok Sabha had good productivity. He said India has long suffered due to fractured mandates but now it is taken seriously because of the majority government. PM Modi also took a veiled dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and said, “…there were no earthquakes in the last five years.” He was referring to Gandhi’s statement last year that “there would be an earthquake if he were allowed to speak.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Tihar jail extortion case: MHA sanctions CBI inquiry against AAP leader Satyendar Jain

Satyendar Jain and former Tihar Jail DG Sandeep Goel were accused of running an extortion racket from Tihar and demanding protection money from high profile inmates

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In another setback for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Ministry of Home Affairs accorded sanction for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry against Satyendar Jain, jailed AAP leader, for allegedly extorting Rs 10 crore from conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar as protection money. 

Satyendar Jain and former Tihar Jail DG Sandeep Goel were accused of running an extortion racket from Tihar and demanding protection money from high profile inmates allegedly. The development follows as Delhi chief minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal is in Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.

Earlier, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena sanctioned the CBI inquiry into extortion charges against Satyendar Jain. In a letter seeking the LG’s nod to probe the extortion charges, the CBI in November last year wrote that Satyendar Jain was accused of running a high-profile extortion racket from Tihar Jail and demanding Rs 10 crore as protection money from Sukesh Chandrashekhar to enable him to live peacefully and comfortably in jail.

The aforesaid allegations were made by the conman who said Satyendar Jain extorted money in various tranches during 2018-21, either personally or through his accomplices to enable Chandrashekar to live comfortably in different jails of Delhi namely Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli.

AAP leader Satyendar Jain was arrested in May 2022 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Jain’s last bail plea was dismissed by the Supreme Court on March 18 this year and the top court asked him to surrender in connection with the money laundering case. The AAP leader was given an interim medical bail on May 26, 2023 after he fell in the jail bathroom. Jain underwent a spinal operation during his bail period.

Beside Satyendar Jain, AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and Vijay Nair are also in Tihar Jail.

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Rahul Gandhi warns ED, CBI of strong action whenever government changes

The Congress leader’s statement follows after the Income Tax department’s fresh notices asking the party to pay Rs 1,823.08 crore.

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Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused central agencies of working at the behest of the BJP-led government at the Centre and warned them that strict action will be taken against these institutions when the government changes.

The senior Congress leader asserted that if the institutions had done their jobs properly there would have been no problem. He added that these agencies should think that some day the BJP government will change and after that there will be action. He further said that it is his guarantee that the action will be so strong that no institution will dare to do such things again.

Taking to social media platform X, Rahul Gandhi wrote that when the government changes, action will definitely be taken against those who destroyed the democracy. Mentioning that it is his guarantee, Rahul Gandhi said that such actions will be taken that no one will dare to do all this again.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement follows after the income tax department’s fresh notices asking the party to pay Rs 1,823.08 crore. The party has accused the ruling BJP of indulging in tax terrorism to financially cripple the opposition party ahead of Lok Sabha polls.

While addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters along with Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, party treasurer Ajay Maken alleged that the BJP is in serious violation of income-tax laws. He said the I-T department should raise a demand of Rs 4,617.58 crore from the saffron party for such violations.

Ajay Maken said that the income-tax returns filed by Congress for eight years have been reopened on baseless and manufactured grounds to levy illegal I-T demand orders totalling thousands of crores of rupees. He stated that the timing of the I-T department’s action in February and March, days before and even days after the Lok Sabha election were announced on March 16, speaks for itself about the mala-fide nature of these actions.

Furthermore, the opposition party will hold nationwide protests over the weekend against fresh income tax demand of over Rs 1,800 crore, which it has described as an egregious attack on democracy and imposition of tax terrorism amid the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

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Hardeep Singh Puri says Sunita Kejriwal is preparing to hold Delhi CM post like Rabri Devi

The Union Minister was speaking to the media during the inauguration of Delhi BJP’s election office along with leaders including Delhi BJP Chief Virendra Sachdeva and Bansuri Swaraj.

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Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday compared Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, hinting that she may be gearing up to take on her husband’s post. The Union Minister was speaking to the media during the inauguration of Delhi BJP’s election office.

The BJP leader further took a dig at Delhi Chief Minister for forming an alliance with the most corrupt party against whom they had started an anti-corruption movement with social activist Anna Hazare. The minister made the statement in response to a question regarding Sunita Kejriwal, who earlier today launched a whatsapp campaign advocating for support for her husband, who is in ED custody in connection with the Excise policy case.

In a video Sunita Kejriwal said her husband has challenged the most corrupt and dictatorial forces in the country and asked people to support her husband through their prayers and blessings. She issued 2 WhatsApp numbers 8297324624 and 9700297002 through which people can send their blessings, prayers or any other messages to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo and she will communicate those to him.

She said yesterday Kejriwal had presented his side in the court, and the entire country heard it. She requested the people to listen to it if they had not listened till now. She added whatever Kejriwal had said in front of the court required a lot of courage. She said her husband is a true patriot. She requested the people to participate in the Kejriwal ko Aashirwad campaign.

BJP leader Manoj Tiwari also took a dig at Aam Aami Party asking why only Kejriwal’s wife is coming out in his support, and not the people of Delhi. He said the Honorable Justice of High Court said they cannot stop Arvind Kejriwals’ arrest that they are surprised why he hasn’t been arrested yet?

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