In a written reply, Singh clarified that there is no policy to abolish vacancies created by the retirement of employees and dismissed speculation on any such move. “No proposal to change the retirement age of government employees is under consideration of the government.”

When asked whether any government employees’ union or organisations had demanded changes in the retirement age, Singh replied, “No formal proposal has been received from staff side of National Council (Joint Consultative Machinery).”

On the question of disparities in retirement age across central and state governments, Singh said the Centre does not maintain such data, as the matter falls under the State List. “No such data is centrally maintained in the government as the subject matter falls in the State List,” he noted.

His statement comes amid recurring speculation over possible changes to the retirement age in the public sector.

The current retirement age for most central government employees is 60 years, while employees in certain sectors, such as teaching and scientific research, may have different retirement ages, extending up to 65 years. State governments, which set their own retirement policies, have varying retirement ages across departments. D D NEWS

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The Rules of the House do provide for such suspension when it becomes inevitable, he pointed out.
In his concluding remarks before Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die, eight days ahead of the schedule, Shri Naidu said while it was the right of the opposition to protest, but the question is how should it be done?

Pointing out that the floor of the august House was the most effective platform for contestation of ideas, he said that if boycott is done for a longer period, it amounts to leaving the very platform that enables members to effectively convey their ideas, besides contesting those of others.

Referring to the letter he had received from the Leader of Opposition, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad and others urging the House not to pass the three labour codes, the Chairman said that there have been a number of precedents when the business was taken up as per schedule and bills were approved in the wake of boycott or walkout by some members. In this context, he cited the passage of Finance Bill and Appropriation Bill in 2013. Shri Naidu said that had the letter suggested the postponement of bill by stating that they would attend the House, he would have discussed the issue with the government. He said that there was no such assurance. On the other hand some of the members justified what they had done. Therefore he decided to go ahead with the bills, he said.

Observing that though the session was satisfying in terms of productivity, he said there have been some areas of concern as well. “We need to collectively ponder over these issues for making a difference in future”, he added.

The Chairman said that for the first time in this history of this august House, a notice of motion was given for the removal of the Deputy Chairman and it was rejected. He pointed out that the mandatory 14 days advance notice was not given.

Referring to the developments surrounding this unprecedented move, he said they have been deeply painful for all those who hold the stature and the dignity of this august House dear to their hearts. He appealed to the members to ensure that such unseemly behaviour was not repeated.

Though it was not the first time that some members were suspended and Bills passed when some sections of the House boycotted the proceedings, he said “I find it extremely unpalatable. This kind of a situation needs to be avoided by all means”.

Observing that he has been associated with the august House for the past 22 years, Shri Naidu said that he gets anguished whenever bills are passed in the din. “I am naturally more pained to see that happen as the Chairman of this august House. It hurts me the most when the Chair is rendered helpless by the turn of events and has to perforce take action against the members as per the Rules” the Chairman added.

The Chairman sought to remind the members that twice, in 1997 and 2012, the august House has resolved that all the members will uphold the dignity of the House by complying with the Rules and Procedures. He said that it was the responsibility of all members to ensure the smooth functioning of the House “so that we can fulfill our commitments to the people”.

Referring to the remarks of the Leader of the Opposition Shri Azad about lowering the standing of the LoP in the House, he said the Leader of the Opposition was central to the orderly functioning of the House. Shri Naidu said that he had always reached out to him for his inputs before coming to a decision on any issue concerning the functioning of the House.

Observing that the 252nd session of the Rajya Sabha was marked by several novel features induced by the outbreak of novel corona virus, he said the House had 10 sittings and functioned from six different locations including the chambers of both the Houses of Parliament and four galleries of this House, a first of its kind in the history of Rajya Sabha.

Stating that the Rajya Sabha was concluding 8 sittings ahead of the scheduled 18 sittings as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge the humankind, he said “we are living in extra-ordinary times warranting several adjustments requiring us to live a new normal life”.

Giving a brief account of the session, he said during the 10 sittings, a total of 25 Bills were passed and six Bills introduced. The productivity of the House during this session has been 100.47%. The new normal of high productivity witnessed during the last three sessions has continued during this session as well. “As a result, the overall productivity of the last 4 sessions comes to a praiseworthy 96.13%”.

This high productivity for four consecutive sessions is the best during the last five years”, the Chairman added.

He said that written replies were given to a total of 1,567 unstarred Questions during the 10 sittings, while the members raised issues of urgent public importance through 92 Zero Hour and 66 Special Mentions. Besides, the members discussed important issues of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, its consequences and management and the developments along the border in Ladakh.

Shri Naidu appreciated all the frontline warriors like the Doctors, Nurses, Para-medical staff, Sanitation workers, Scientists and farmers. He also expressed his gratitude to the police and armed forces for keeping the country safe.

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चिराग ही नहीं कांग्रेस और आर जे डी भी चुनाव की तारीखों को आगे बढाने की बात कह चुके है. राजनीतिक विश्लेषक सर्वेश तिवारी कहते है कि लोगों की जान बचाना ज्यादा जरुरी है पहले कोरोना का संकट सबसे बड़ा है .राजनीती और सत्ता का मकसद लोगों का भला होना चाहिये . चुनाव से खतरा और बढ सकता है .पहली प्राथमिकता कोरोना को काबू पाना हो बाद में कुछ और ख्याल किया जाये.

रविवार को पहली बार बिहार में एक दिन में सबसे अधिक नए कोरोना मरीजों का रिकार्ड सामने आया। बिहार स्वास्थ्य विभाग के अनुसार एक दिन में 1266 नये मरीज आए हैं , जो अब तक का रिकार्ड है। नीतीश कुमार ने कम जांच कराने के आरोप के बीच राज्य में प्रति दिन 15 हजार टेस्ट कराने का निर्देश दिया है। जानकारों ने आशंका जताई है कि अधिक जांच होने से और मरीज सामने आ सकते हैं। इसी आशंका के मद्देनजर बिहार के अधिकतर जिलों में फिर से लॉक डाउन को लागू कर दिया गया है। वहीं, चुनाव आयोग के सूत्रों के अनुसार उसकी तैयारी पूरी है और 15 अगस्त के बाद हालात की समीक्षा होगी, जिसके बाद चुनाव के डेट के बारे में अंतिम फैसला होगा। तय समय के अनुसार राज्य में अक्टूबर-नवंबर में विधानसभा चुनाव होने वाले हैं।

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Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is operating Tejas Express train on the New Delhi-Lucknow sector w.e.f. 04.10.2019. During the period 04.10.2019 to 31.10.2019, IRCTC has earned an approximate amount of ₹ 7.73 lakh, as operational earning, by operation of the said Tejas Express.

Indian Railways offers various kinds of train services to cater to the need of a diverse set of passengers. Trains like Gatimaan Express, Vande Bharat Express, etc. are provided with augmented facilities and are popular among the premium segment. Trains like Rajdhani Express, Duronto Express, Shatabdi Express etc. offer fully reserved accommodation and facilitate the long distance and inter-city passengers.

Further, other Mail Express trains and Antyodaya train are operated for the benefit of general passengers including those travelling on unreserved tickets. The fare of Sleeper and Second Class is highly subsidised and as a part of its Social Service Obligation, fare concessions are offered to various categories like Senior citizens, freedom fighters, Students, Divyangjans etc. even in the reserved classes.

Consequently, on an average, Indian Railways recovers only 57% of cost of travel. The scope and scale of trains operated over Indian Railways, which carries about 23 million passengers on a daily basis cannot currently be compared with the New Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express being operated by IRCTC, in which fare is generally higher as compared to similar services on Indian Railways and no concession is admissible. However, systemic improvements over Indian Railways is a continuous and an ongoing process.

This press release is based on information given by the Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today

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Earlier Former Union Minister and four-time parliamentarian Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from the Congress on Tuesday morning, shortly after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.

He is expected to join the BJP sometime this week, days after criticising the party over violence in Delhi, and is likely to be rewarded with a Rajya Sabha seat and subsequently a berth in the union cabinet. Shortly after his exit, 21 Congress MLAs sent letters of resignation, sources within Madhya Pradesh Raj Bhavan said.

Earlier sources said 25 MLAs were ready to resign. Should these resignations be accepted, the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government will be reduced to a minority and likely be toppled. However, Mr Nath is confident his government will complete the five-year term. “There is nothing to worry about. We will prove our majority,” he said late on Tuesday night.

Scindia posted a resignation letter on his Twitter account dated 9 March, stating to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that it was “time to move on” as the path for the same has been “drawing out over the last one year”. Scindia, three time Lok Sabha MP, played a key role in Madhya Pradesh elections in 2018 which the party won.

Scindia’s resignation happened in the backdrop of a section of party MLAs from Madhya Pradesh revolting against Nath. By late Tuesday evening, atleast 22 of them had tendered their resignation to Governor Lalji Tandon as well as to the assembly speaker.

Out of the total 230 assembly seats, two are currently vacant. In the event of the resignation of 22 rebel MLAs getting accepted, the actual voting strength (in case of a trust vote) will effectively come down to 206. The list of those who have resigned includes six ministers — Tulsi Silawat, Govind Singh Rajput, Prabhuram Choudhry, Imarti Devi, Pradyumna Singh Tomar and Mahendra Singh Sisodia.

BJP alone has 107 MLAs in the legislative assembly while the Congress’ original tally is 114. Congress draws support from draws support from four independents, two Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLAs, and one MLA from the Samajwadi Party (SP).

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The teams, including central and state observers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will visit the areas under its 14 district units with boxes, in which the lists of probables will be deposited, he added.

Each district covers five Assembly segments, Tiwari said, adding that the saffron party had formed core committees for each of the 70 Assembly constituencies, which will recommend the names to be considered for ticket distribution.

The Delhi polls will be held on February 8 and the counting of votes will be taken up on February 11.

The notification for the polls will be issued on January 14, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is January 24. With the issuance of the notification, the nomination process will commence, the Election Commission said on Monday.

Tiwari said each core committee comprised the party in-charge of the Assembly segment concerned, a “vistarak”, the district and ward presidents, besides present and former municipal councillors, among others.

“Self-nomination will be allowed and the core committee members can also recommend themselves,” he added.

The recommended names will be screened by the election committee of the party and the candidates were expected to be finalised by January 14, Tiwari said.

At a convention of over 13,000 booth-level workers of the BJP last Sunday, its president Amit Shah said the saffron party will form the government in the national capital under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Tiwari asserted that the BJP will win “at least 45 seats” in the Delhi polls.

The saffron party has been out of power in the national capital for over 21 years. In the February 8 polls, it is eyeing to upstage an upbeat Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which stormed to power in 2015, winning 67 of the 70 seats.

The BJP managed to win just three seats in the 2015 Delhi polls. However, it registered massive victories in the 2017 municipal corporation election and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, winning all the seven parliamentary seats in the national capital.

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Taking to microblogging site Twitter, PM Modi said, “I want to assure my brothers and sisters of Assam that they have nothing to worry after the passing of CAB.” PM Modi said, “No one can take away your rights, unique identity and beautiful culture. It will continue to flourish and grow.”

The PM further said that the central government and he was “totally committed to constitutionally safeguard the political, linguistic, cultural and land rights of the Assamese people as per the spirit of Clause 6.”

The Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with 125 votes in favour and 99 against it. On Monday (December 10), the Bill was passed in Lok Sabha with a thumping majority.

The passing of the bill led to widespread protests in the northeastern states, especially in Assam and Tripura, despite assurances by political leaders. As the protests rage, three flights and 21 train services were cancelled keeping in mind the volatile situation in Assam.

Replying to a six-and-a-half-hour debate on the Bill, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the legislation seeks to provide citizenship to persecuted minorities in the three countries and not take away citizenship of anyone. He rejected the Opposition charge that the Bill was against Muslims and said they have nothing to fear.

PM described the Bill’s passage as a “landmark day” for India and its ethos of compassion and brotherhood. The Bill will “alleviate sufferings of many who faced persecution for years”, he wrote on Twitter.Modi also expressed gratitude to all members of Rajya Sabha who voted in favour.

Cong president SONIA GANDHI said it marks a “dark day” in the constitutional history of India and is a “victory of narrow-minded and bigoted forces” over the country’s pluralism.

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Shri Shah reiterated that the Bill is not against any Minority in India and the rights of each Indian Citizen will be equally protected. He said that Narendra Modi government is committed to protect rights of each citizen of the country. The only religion that Modi government follows is the Constitution of India. He added, “We are not here only to run the government but to solve the genuine problems of the common man”.

Replying to the debate, Shri Shah said that the Bill is aimed at giving a dignified life to these people who had suffered religious persecution for decades by granting Indian Citizenship to them, if they fulfil conditions for grant of citizenship. The Home Minister said that grant of citizenship will be from the date and year of the entry into India and all the cases and legal proceedings against them would be closed, besides protecting their business and trade interests on an equal footing. Shri Shah said even if the passports and visas of these minorities had expired, they would not be treated as illegal.

Shri Shah said that while no where does this bill target India’s minority community, no illegal immigrants would be allowed to stay in the country at any cost. He also underlined that population of minorities in the Islamic States of Pakistan and Bangladesh had reduced considerably over the years, as they were either killed or forced to change their religion, and thus were forced to flee to India. He said that partition of India on religious lines and subsequent failure of the Nehru-Liaqat pact of 1950 in protecting the rights and dignity of the minorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh are the reasons for bringing this Bill.

He added, “Had this bill come 50 years ago, this situation would not have arisen. The biggest mistake in history was partition of India on religious lines. The CAB was in our manifesto and the people gave us a resounding mandate in 2019, thus it is the solemn resolve of this Government to fulfil its commitment”.

Responding to the questions on why only three countries were considered and why Muslims were not included in this bill, Shri Shah said that at different points of time in the past, citizenship had been given to refugees coming from countries like Uganda, Sri Lanka. Then, refugees coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were not considered. He stated that the process of awarding citizenship to refugees has been undertaken by different governments in the past on case to case basis from time to time, on reasonable qualifications to Article 14.

This time the case of refugees fleeing religious persecution from these three countries has been considered through this Bill, which is not unconstitutional. He also informed that more than 560 muslims from these three countries have been granted citizenship in the last 5 years. Further, he added that the previous UPA government granted citizenship to 13000 Hindus and Sikhs only but Modi government is giving citizenship rights to 6 persecuted minorities, including Hindus and Sikhs.

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The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution there. The BJP has issued a three-line whip to all its lawmakers to be present in Parliament from Monday to Wednesday.

“All BJP members in Lok Sabha are hereby informed that some very important Legislative Business will be taken up for discussion and passing in the Lok Sabha from Monday, the 9th December 2019 to Wednesday, the 11th December 2019. All members of the BJP in Lok Sabha are therefore, requested to be positively present in the House and support the government,” the letter reads.

The Bill has triggered widespread protests in northeastern states with a large section of people and organisations opposing the Bill, saying it will nullify the provisions of the Assam Accord of 1985, which fixed March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for deportation of all illegal immigrants irrespective of religion.

Apart from this, on Monday, Amit Shah is slated to move the Arms Amendment Bill 2019, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will move the Anti Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019, among others.

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