Parliament LIVE | India-China ties showing signs of improvement: Jaishankar
The external affairs minister also reiterated that India remains committed to engaging with China to “arrive at a fair, mutually acceptable framework for boundary settlement”
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday (December 3) said that bilateral ties between India and China were on course of some improvement after the successful disengagement agreement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
“Our (India-China) ties have been abnormal since 2020 when peace and tranquillity in the border areas were disturbed as a result of Chinese actions. Recent developments that reflect our continuous diplomatic engagement since then have set our ties in the direction of some improvement,” he said while briefing the Lok Sabha on India-China ties and the border truce reached in October
The external affairs minister also reiterated that India remains committed to engaging with China to “arrive at a fair, mutually acceptable framework for boundary settlement”.
His remarks have come nearly two months after India and China announced the major border breakthrough to resume patrolling along the LAC, effectively ending the longstanding standoff that erupted after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash.
In his address, Jaishankar also said that in the months following the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, “we were addressing a situation that had not only seen fatalities for the first time in 45 years but also a turn of events serious enough for heavy weaponry to be deployed in close proximity to the LAC”.
Opposition MPs stage protest over Adani issue
Opposition MPs staged a protest within the Parliament premises over the Adani issue on Tuesday (December 3) even as the week-long impasse ended with the dates announced for a discussion on the Constitution, to mark its 75th year of adoption, in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
The Lower House will take up the discussion on the Constitution on December 13 and 14, and the Upper House on December 16 and 17, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Monday following a meeting Speaker Om Birla held with floor leaders of different parties on Monday.
All parties have agreed to allow Parliament to function from Tuesday, Rijiju told reporters, and both Houses will take up their listed agenda items. He expressed confidence that Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will function smoothly from Tuesday.
Also read: Parliament logjam may end as govt concedes ground, rift opens in Oppn
News agency PTI reported citing sources that the Samajwadi Party may be allowed to raise the Sambhal issue and the TMC the events in Bangladesh following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government.
The Congress has been persistent in raising the issue of indictment by US prosecutors of Adani Group chairperson Gautam Adani and other company officials on bribery and fraud charges. This coupled with vociferous opposition protests over matters such as the Sambhal violence and Manipur unrest have resulted in constant adjournments of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha since the Winter Session began on November 25.
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- 3 Dec 2024 2:18 PM IST
If adjournments continue, House will be convened on Sunday as well: LS Speaker
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday warned the members that if the business of the House is disrupted further due to adjournments, then he will have to convene the proceedings over the weekends to make up for the loss of time.
The government and opposition parties reached an agreement on Monday to break a week-long impasse in Parliament with the dates announced for a discussion on the Constitution, to mark its 75th year of adoption, in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
The Lower House will take up the discussion on the Constitution on December 13 and 14, and the Upper House on December 16 and 17.
"The House will convene on Saturday, December 14 at 11 am. If you continue with adjournments, then for the number of days it has been adjourned, you will have to attend the proceedings on Saturday and Sunday as well," Birla said soon after the Question Hour.
He also remarked that he has not permitted intimation of any adjournment notices today.
Lok Sabha proceedings were washed out last week due to protests by opposition members over the Adani indictment row, recent violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal and other issues.
- 3 Dec 2024 1:25 PM IST
60 lakh new job cards issued under MGNREGS every year, govt tells Lok Sabha
Sixty lakh new job cards are issued under the MGNREGS on average every year and the government has no role in the deletion of the job cards which is done based on various parameters, the Centre said on Tuesday.
Minister of State for Rural Development Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani told the Lok Sabha that 57 per cent of the rural development budget is allocated for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and asserted that Aadhaar-seeding of the cards enhances transparency.
He was responding to Congress leader K C Venugopal, who claimed that the names of 10.43 crore MGNREGS workers have been deleted in the last four years.
Venugopal also wanted to know whether the deletions were linked to the Aadhaar-seeding requirement.
"Ninety-nine per cent of all job card holders have Aadhaar seeding. Aadhaar seeding is nothing but to increase transparency. It is not an obstacle," the minister said during the Question Hour.
According to Pemmasani, the deletion of job cards is based on five factors, including fake or duplicate cards and a person moving from one panchayat to another.
- 3 Dec 2024 1:15 PM IST
Rajya Sabha adjourns till 2 pm
After completing Question Hour without disruptions, Rajya Sabha adjourns for lunch to reconvene at 2 pm.
