The bill stipulates up to two-year jail term and a maximum fine of Rs 5 lakh for discriminating against differently-abled persons
The reservation given to SCs, STs and the Anglo-Indian community for the past 70 years is to end on January 25, 2020.
The fight over the Women's Reservation Bill will continue as there is no dilution in the Rashtriya Janata Dal's stand on it, party supremo Lalu Prasad said on Friday."The fight will continue and there will be no dilution of our stand on the women's quota issue," Lalu told reporters outside Parliament.He said his party was not against reservation for women "but there should be reservations for Dalits, Muslims and other backward women who are struggling in the fields."
In the all-party meeting on Tuesday, Opposition parties demanded discussions on price rise, unemployment and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota among other issues, sources said.
If Modi wants to leave a real legacy, breaking India's strategic triangulation would be the real gift, notes Shekhar Gupta.
The Samajwadi Party said not a single male would be elected to the Lok Sabha ten years after the Women's Reservation Bill came into force and advocated a quota for the fair sex within political parties. "Once the bill comes into force, not a single male would be elected to the Lok Sabha after ten years as elected women would not leave their seats, nor will the political parties be in a position to replace them," Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav said .
The passage of this major legislation comes ahead of the general election due early next year.
'This government wants to keep control of everything in its hands.' 'If they have their stooges sitting on the National Medical Commission, they will do only the government's bidding.' 'Imagine a scary situation where people who have no knowledge about medicine sit on a commission that will take decisions on matters related to medical education, doctors and medical ethics.'
"Though we welcome the amendments to Succession Act, passing of Domestic Violence Act, women quota in NREG Act and the announcement of extension of maternity leave to six months, we are critical of the failure of the UPA government to introduce the bill on 33 per cent reservations of seats to women in Parliament and state assemblies," the resolution, adopted on the penultimate day of the ongoing 20th Congress of the CPI, noted.
Haryana's Additional Advocate General Jagbir Singh Malik said the State will be filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the order before the Supreme Court. The interim order has come as a relief for companies in the state which feel that the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 would have a bearing on their future business operations and investment.
Medical seats for under-graduates and post-graduates remaining vacant in the NEET era, together with the Centre 'freezing' the number of medical colleges and seats in (Dravidian) Tamil Nadu and the launch of the PM's 'Vishwakarma Scheme' for the nation's craftsmen, are all seen as a bid to further reverse the state's progressive socio-economic agenda of and its achievements of the past hundred-plus years, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
The government's subsidies on food, fertilisers, LPG and kerosene are pegged at Rs 5.96 lakh crore in the current fiscal, over 2.5-fold jump from the initial budget estimates as the Centre distributed additional foodgrains free of cost to help poor mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2020 Budget, presented in the pre-COVID scare, the government had estimated the subsidy bill at Rs 227,794 crore. However, all the budget estimates, have undergone major revisions as the country imposed strict lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19.
Representatives of the Maratha community attributed the stepping up of pressure by the community to the "arrogance and lies" told to its members by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, and the "uncontrolled anger" among its youth over the delay in getting reservations.
Gandhi has written the letter, seeking passage of a resolution urging the central government to pass the bill, to the chief ministers of those states where the Congress is in power.
The Congress, desperate to make a comeback in Gujarat, which has been ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party for over 20 years, has tried to reach out to various sections of society in its blueprint unveiled.
The committee is yet to give its opinion to the HRD ministry, Moily said, adding that the committee would finalize its interim by July 10 and then submit to the government.
Consensus continued to elude the Women's Reservation Bill which is unlikely to see the light of the day during the current session of Parliament.
'Meiteis started feeling insecure stating that the illegal immigrant population is growing in the valley, and that the majority community would become a minority.'
"Centre and state will soon begin the process of giving reservation, following the Delhi High court order," Khattar told reporters in a joint press conference along with All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti chairperson Yashpal Malik.
The firebrand OBC leader, who is clearly keen on projecting her status as a backward caste leader, is seeking quotas within the legislation and a thorough discussion in the party on the issue before formulating its stand
The results of the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are also likely to play out during the start of the session.
The Act amends Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution, by adding a clause which allows states to make 'special provision for the advancement of any economically weaker sections of citizens'.
The bill rules out any provision for an anticipatory bail for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs, notwithstanding any court order.
As the petition points out, new medical colleges entail adjunct government hospitals, thus making specialised medical care that much more accessible to the vast majority of population that otherwise could not afford high-cost medical care in the private sector, N Sathiya Moorthy points out.
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday opposed in Rajya Sabha the government move to put in place a single examination for medical and dental courses through National Eligibility cum Entrance Test
A fierce competition among parties to offer freebies and guarantees, a scramble for tribal, OBC, women votes and a touch of Hindutva -- all have combined to make the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls a high-stakes battle with main rivals BJP and the Congress pulling out all the stops to gain power.
Eight men and five women from India will be aiming to secure Tokyo Olympics berths at the continental event being conducted by the International Olympic Committee's Boxing Task Force. The Indian hopes will be spearheaded by Panghal and Mary Kom, both proven and consistent performers on the big stage.
"I have seen a rare quality in Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.
The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill and The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill passed amid din.
The PM is seen as slipping up in confidence levels as aired by his 'exposure' of the BRS on a crucial issue as alliance negotiations, which is not done under normal circumstances, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The conduct of the Opposition is an "insult" to Parliament and the Constitution, Joshi said, quoting the prime minister.
Changes in global oil and gas rates matter more to India's economy than other major economies because the country imports around 87 per cent of its oil, half of its gas in the form of LNG, and over 60 per cent of its LPG.
The price of petrol breached a three-year high on Monday at Rs 74.50 a litre, while the price of diesel was at its highest at Rs 65.75 a litre
Kunal Kemmu's default mode performing comedy is overacting. When surrounded by much more competent theatre-trained actors, he falls consistently short. (In the past, this role would have been tailor-made for Govinda), observes Deepa Gahlot.
'As soon as the violence broke out, they should have stepped in and sent a message that the state is there to stop this violence.' 'Had they done it right there, the situation would not have gone out of control.'
He said that medical courses in India will now have a reservation for Other Backward Classes under the All India Quota Scheme.
Rediff.com highlights the provisions of the controversial Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, which was introduced by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde in Lok Sabha on Thursday amidst pandemonium.
Only three percent of Indians pay income tax; our tax-GDP ratio is among the lowest in the world. This must change. Our elites must realise that India's poverty has damaging consequences for them, and that they can help decrease it. The food security bill, with all its limitations, will hopefully contribute to generating such awareness, says Praful Bidwai.
The session will commence with the maiden address of President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. The address essentially highlights the government's achievements and policy priorities.
There are lessons for the Congress to learn from the Karnataka elections of how burying the hatchet among top leaders and not washing dirty linen in public can help, says Ramesh Menon.