Bharat Bandh: Schools, colleges to remain shut in Gwalior

The state police have geared up security and have been asked to do proper arrangements, as per the scheduled program.

Latest News: With Section 144 imposed in several districts across Madhya Pradesh in lieu of the 'Bharat bandh' called against amendments of SC/ST Act, all schools and colleges in Gwalior will remain closed on September 6.

The state police have geared up security and have been asked to do proper arrangements, as per the scheduled program.

About 35 organisations have called for a bandh in the state, forcing the government to impose Section 144 in Satna, Bhind, Shivpuri, Gwalior, and other districts.

The Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018 was passed in Lok Sabha on August 6. The Congress party later alleged that the Centre has now passed the bill thinking about next year's Lok Sabha elections.

Full Updates → Bharat Bandh

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News Source: BS

Bill seeking death penalty for child rape passed: Things you should know

According to the new bill, there will be stringent punishment for rapists of girls under 12

Latest News : The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2018, which will allows the death penalty to those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12.

The bill seeks to replace an ordinance promulgated by the government in April after an outcry over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua in Jammu & Kashmir.

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2018 was supported by most members across the political spectrum and passed by a voice vote, PTI reported. Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said, "The stringent law was aimed at providing safety to minor girls."

Death Penalty for Child Rape

Here are few things you should know about the Bill:

1. According to the new bill, there will be stringent punishment for rapists of girls under 12. The punishment for rape of a woman aged under 12 years will be rigorous imprisonment of at least 20 years but may extend to imprisonment for life or death.

2. The minimum punishment in cases of rape of women has been increased from the rigorous imprisonment of seven years to 10 years, extendable to life imprisonment.

3. According to the bill, in case of rape of a girl under 16 years, the minimum punishment has been increased from 10 to 20 years, extendable to imprisonment for rest of life.

4. The punishment for the gangrape of a girl below 16 years will invariably be imprisonment for the rest of life of the convict.

5. The measure also provides for speedy investigations and trial. The time limit for the investigation of all cases of rape has been prescribed, which has to be mandatorily completed within two months.... Continue reading

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News Source : BS

TDP, YSR Congress no-confidence motions against BJP govt today: 10 points

YSR Congress has written to the Lok Sabha secretariat to put its notice of the motion in the revised list of business for Monday, while TDP has also moved a notice for a no-trust motion.

Latest News : The N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Y S Jaganmohan Reddy-led Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSR Congress Party) on Monday will push their notices of no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government in the Lok Sabha, as they continue their respective agitations for the granting of a special-category status to Andhra Pradesh. The development comes after the TDP quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and moved a no-confidence motion on Friday, a day after the YSR Congress Party had moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government. Their notices were not taken up last week because of the din in the House.

YSR Congress Party’s Y V Subba Reddy has written to the Lok Sabha secretariat to put his notice of the motion in the revised list of business for today. The TDP has also moved a notice for a no-confidence motion.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar has said that the TDP and YSR Congress Party’s notices were not taken up last week due to the House not being in order, with members of several parties raising slogans in the Well. However, Monday might not prove very fruitful for the two parties from Andhra Pradesh as the Lok Sabha will meet today amid no signs of a let-up in the deadlock in the House’s proceedings. It remains uncertain if order will be restored in the Lok Sabha today with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi protesting over a host of issues.

The proceedings in Parliament were washed out for the second consecutive week on Friday due to protests by Opposition parties.

Both the parties from Andhra Pradesh have been protesting and agitating as the Centre has refused to grant the state a special-category status. The political tussle in the state and at the national level saw the TDP and the BJP engage in an escalating and heated exchange, which culminated in the end of their alliance. Both parties have been lobbying with opposition parties for support to their respective notices.

However, even if the no-confidence motions are admitted, the Modi government has expressed confidence that they will be defeated given its strength in the Lok Sabha.

Know more on → Motion of No Confidence ←

In 30 minutes Lok Sabha clears Finance bill, 218 amendments without debate

The bills were the contentious Finance Bill, 2018, and the Appropriation Bill, 2018.

Business News : In 30 minutes on March 13, 2018, Parliament’s lower house, the Lok Sabha, passed without debate funding demands from 99 Indian government ministries and departments, including two bills and 218 amendments.

As many opposition members of Parliament (MPs) protested, Sumitra Mahajan, speaker of the Lok Sabha–controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)–used a parliamentary procedure called the “guillotine”, which empowers her to pass grants without discussion.

Among the demands passed:

• Controversial foreign funding to political parties, which will allow them to escape scrutiny with retrospective effect for 42 years.
• Salary hikes for members of parliament, the president, and state governors.
• An Appropriation Bill passed by voice vote on March 14, 2018, which allows govt to draw Rs 80,000 crore from the Consolidated Fund of India (Rs 57 lakh crore), the government’s total revenue.
• A long-term capital gains tax, which has received mixed reactions since it was announced in February. Investors will now have to pay 10% tax on profits from shares sold, even if they have had these shares for more than a year.

The bills were the contentious Finance Bill, 2018, and the Appropriation Bill, 2018.

No bills had passed over the last eight days, with the Opposition protesting the Rs 11,000-crore Punjab National Bank scam, special compensation packages for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and defacement of the Periyar statue in Tamil Nadu.

On Wednesday afternoon at 12.35pm, speaker Sumitra Mahajan applied the guillotine to pass the budget 2018 in time for the new financial year, which starts on April 1, 2018. At the start of the week, the BJP had issued a three-day whip to its members to be present in the House. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government holds an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha.

More on  → Finance Bill 2018 ←