RS members discuss NEET removal, bringing back BSNL at session

A Congress Rajya Sabha member on Monday (June 24) sought immediate steps to revive state-owned telecom firms MTNL and BSNL, saying that employees were not being paid salaries on time.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Ripun Bora said that, while private sector companies have been alloted 4G and 5G spectrum, the two public sector enterprises were being forced to operate services through the 3G spectrum.

According to him, about 45,000 employees of MTNL and 1.74 lakh employees of BSNL were not being paid salaries on time for several months now. “The government should bail them out,” Bora said and made a case for recapitalization of the two Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

The Congress MP asked the government to take “immediate steps” to reduce losses of the two public sector telecom companies and revive them. In his Zero Hour mention, Swait Malik (from BJP) raised concerns about the problems being faced by people, including senior citizens, due to cases of cheque bounce.

He described cases of cheque bounce as a serious issue and said that people have lost their life savings. Stressing that more than 20 lakh cases of cheque bounce were pending in courts, Malik made a case for stringent laws to deal with the menace.

He suggested that the accused in cheque bounce cases should be made to deposit the entire amount involved in court pending disposal of the case.

Shiv Sena MP Anil Desai raised the issue of infiltration of Rohingya Muslims, saying that they were a security threat. He said that thousands of Rohingya Muslims have even reached and settled in Jammu and Kashmir, creating security issues. Desai also said that Rohingyas have managed to procure mobile phone SIMs and Aadhaar.

Meanwhile, DMK member Tiruchi Siva urged the Centre for early assent of the President of India to the two bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, exempting the state from the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET). He said that the NEET exam for admission to medical and dental colleges has not achieved the “desired results”.

Siva said that 13 lakh students appeared in the NEET exam and about 6 lakh cleared. He said that students who cleared the exam spent about Rs 2 lakh each on coaching. Those who did not take coaching did not clear the exam, he added.

Siva further said that the Tamil Nadu assembly passed two bills to exempt the state from the NEET exam. However, the bills were lying with the Centre. He urged the government to ensure immediate assent of the President.