Parliament Budget Session Live: Amit Shah replies to discussion on Disaster Management Bill in Rajya Sabha

He said, "Some members raised the question that what is the need for amendment. I want to tell them that if a building is not repaired in time, it collapses...They think that maybe they will come and change it but nobody's turn will come for the next 15-20 years. Whatever has to be done, we have to do it. The Disaster Management Act was implemented for the first time in 2005. Under this, NDMA, SDMA and DDMA were formed. Now, concerns are being expressed that there will be centralization of power. If you read the entire Bill carefully, then the biggest responsibility of implementation lies with the District Disaster Management which is under the State Government. Therefore, there is no possibility of harming the federal structure anywhere."

An all-party meeting begins in Parliament on the issue of Justice Yashwant Varma of Delhi High Court, under the chairmanship of Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. Leader of the House JP Nadda and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge present in the meeting. Floor leaders of all parties present in this meeting.

Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday highlighted India's position in the global Artificial Intelligence race, drawing attention to the dominance of the USA and China in AI innovation.

In his speech in the Rajya Sabha, Chadha called for India to become an AI producer by developing indigenous AI chips, establishing an AI Infrastructure Fund, and curbing the migration of top-tier AI talent.

"China has DeepSeek, the US has ChatGPT, Grok, but where does India stand in this era of Artificial Intelligence?" he asked.

India is taking significant strides in the global AI race, but there's still a long way to go. India has the talent, brainpower, and digital economy to become an AI producer, but it currently lags behind, capturing only 0.5 per cent of the world's AI patents between 2010 and 2022.

The new Income Tax Bill will be taken up for discussion in the monsoon session of Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. Replying to the discussions on the Finance Bill 2025 in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said the new income tax bill, which was introduced in the House on February 13, is currently being vetted by the Select Committee.

The Select Committee has been mandated to submit its report by the first day of the next session of Parliament. "We will take it (new income tax bill) up in the monsoon session," Sitharaman said.

The monsoon session of Parliament is usually convene in July and runs through August.

Congress MP Vivek Tankha said, "The SC has rightly appointed in-house committee, I want to congratulate the CJI for moving the matter quickly and transparently. But I have a big disappointment with the Law Minister. This is not only about judges, but it is about corruption. We don't know whether it is a frame up, or cover up. It would have been clear if the crime property would have been sealed at that time and investigation was done. There is a demand of judiciary reform, but I am not in favour of government's interference in judiciary. If the government thinks that it can control judiciary, it can't, governments will come and go, but judiciary is there for democracy to survive."

Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said: "Hon'ble Members, I had the benefit yesterday of the wise counsel, experienced counsel of the leader of the House and Leader of the Opposition who were gracious enough to respond to my invitation for an interaction on this very critical issue that is agitating minds in all branches of governance. The issue undoubtedly is serious enough. We three of us together took note of the developments and also took note of the healthy development that for the first time in an unprecedented manner the Chief Justice of India took the initiative to put everything in the public domain but then a suggestion emanated from Leader of the Opposition and agreed by Leader of the House that the issue needs to be deliberated at my instance with the floor leaders."

"I have scheduled a meeting after convenience at 4.30 pm today with the floor leaders as suggested by Leader of the Opposition and agreed to by Leader of the House and timing has also been indicated to the concerned. I am sure we will have very fruitful interaction and find a way out because legislature and judiciary perform optimally when they perform best in their respective realm with expedition. I do not wish to be judgmental on any issue but one thing which has found widespread acceptability in the country is that the entire material available with the Supreme Court has been shared with the people at large and Constitution of a committee with that speed I'm sure things will be available to us," he added.

"Hon'ble Members, this House, keeping dignity in mind, demonstrating dignified conduct, unanimously created a legal system in 2015, and that constitutional structure that emanated unanimously with one abstention from the Parliament endorsed by state legislatures should be rule of law because it was sanctified by the Hon'ble President by appending her signatures under Article 111. Now is the befitting occasion for all of us to reiterate that because that was a visionary step endorsed by Parliament. And imagine if that had taken place, things would have been different," Dhankar said.

On ruckus and adjournment of Parliament on Monday over Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar's reported statement on the Constitution, Congress MP K Suresh said, "...Yesterday in Rajya Sabha, Leader of the House JP Nadda and in Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Ministers Kiren Rijiju, made misleading statements about Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar...those statements are totally false....there is no truth in it...Shivakumar and Congress have denied it..."

Congress MP Manish Tewari gives an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha to discuss the alleged aberrations in the higher judiciary.

"Given the seriousness of the issue, I urge the government to provide a comprehensive statement on the floor of the House concerning these incidents. This matter holds national significance as it directly pertains to the integrity, impartiality and fairness of our judicial processes." reads the notice, according to ANI.

BRS MLC K Kavitha said that the party will "oppose" the Waqf Amendment Bill in the Parliament. Speaking to ANI after attending an Iftar Party, in Banswada, K Kavitha reiterated the support of the BRS party for the Muslim Community and acknowledged the support of the minority community during the Telangana movement.

"We are celebrating Ramzan with our people in Banswada, and we are talking about the current situation of the central government and how the current central government is trying to bring a bill that is going to take control of the Waqf properties of Muslims. BRS as a party will oppose that, and we are with our Muslim community, we have always been with them. We have always worked for the empowerment of the Muslim community... During the Telangana movement, the community supported us... Peace should prevail in the entire country and Telangana. So we will oppose the Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament," Kavitha said.

The government has announced a 24% salary increase for MPs to Rs 1.24 lakh per month starting April 1, 2023. Daily allowances, pensions, and constituency allowances have also been raised. Congress MP Harish Meena questioned the net gain due to tax implications, while other MPs welcomed the hike but called for increased MPLADS funds.

"We all know that BJP wants to block the Parliament, they don't have any bills to be discussed in Parliament...the discussion that happened in Karnataka Assembly can't be part of the Parliament...BJP and Parliamentary Affairs Minister are not allowing the Parliament to run. It is very unfortunate," Congress MP Manickam Tagore tells news agency ANI on the ruckus and adjournment of Parliament over Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar's reported statement on the Constitution.

"On 24 March, 2025, shortly after the House met, Kiren Rijiju had blatantly misled the House by attributing some false statements purportedly made by DK Shivakumar, deputy CM of Karnataka. DK Shivakumar has since refuted the statements attributed to him to be false and derogatory in nature. Hence, the remarks made by Kiren Rijiju are false and misleading which constitute a breach of privilege and contempt of the House. In view of the foregoing, I request that privilege proceedings may be initiated against Kiren Rijiju in the matter," reads the notice. (ANI)

Meanwhile, a commotion broke out in the Rajya Sabha shortly after proceedings began over Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's reported remarks on "changing the Constitution." Union Minister Kiren Rijiju called for an explanation from Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge regarding the Congress' stance on Muslim reservations, while Kharge asserted that no one could alter the Constitution. Rijiju, addressing the House, described Shivakumar's statement as "extremely serious."

'Nobody talked about changing Constitution,' Kharge said.

"Today, both the Houses of Parliament - Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned on a very serious issue. The NDA party has taken very serious note of the statement given by a senior Congress leader who is holding a Constitutional position and he has clearly stated that the reservation in contracts to the Muslims is a step towards providing reservation and other facilities to the Muslim community and for that, he has clearly stated that the Constitution of India would be changed," he said.

"His statement is very clear...They want to give reservation to Muslim community by changing the Constitution of India. Please remember one thing, the Muslim representation and reservation issue was rejected in 1947 when Muslim League brought this matter to the constituent assembly for providing reservation to Muslim community...Our Constitution is secular, there can be reservation on the basis of economic and social criteria but there cannot be reservation on the basis of religious identity and affiliation...By amending the Constitution, the person has committed a fraud on the Constitution of India. I had sought the position of Congress party & Congress party president who is the LoP in Rajya Sabha, and he must tell on the Floor of the House whether they are going to sack the person holding Constitutional position or they are going to state clearly that Congress will destroy the Constitution of India," he added.

Earlier, Rajya Sabha proceedings were disrupted during the pre-lunch session as treasury and opposition benches clashed over reservations for Muslims in Karnataka public contracts. BJP MPs created an uproar, alleging that a Congress leader had pledged to amend the Constitution for this purpose. In response, Congress president and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge firmly stated that no force could alter the Constitution drafted by BR Ambedkar. Amid intense slogan-shouting, primarily from the ruling side, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar adjourned the House until 2 pm.

"...Nobody can change the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar. Nobody can finish the reservation. To protect it, we did Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. They (points at NDA MPs) break India..," Mallikarjun Kharge said.

"...Raising the issue of Muslim reservation, Congress has sullied the prestige of Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution. If you have guts, demand the resignation of Deputy CM today itself," Kiren Rijiju said.

Speaker Om Birla criticised the opposition for displaying posters in the Lok Sabha as the session began.

Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has scheduled a meeting with Leader of the House JP Nadda and Leader of the opposition Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday to discuss judicial accountability and the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act. According to sources, the chairman has invited both leaders to his chamber at 11.30am for a structured discussion.

The meeting follows Dhankhar’s remarks in the House on March 21, responding to concerns raised by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh regarding the recovery of cash from a high court judge’s residence. During his address, Dhankhar also referenced the judicial appointment mechanism post the passage of the NJAC Act in 2014, which was later invalidated by the Supreme Court.

"No one is safe under this government. Anyone can be arrested... there is no rule of law. Fundamental rights are not being followed," he said.

The rules governing Lok Sabha proceedings allow the government to convene a "secret sitting" to discuss sensitive matters, but this provision has never been exercised. According to constitutional experts, during the 1962 Chinese aggression, some opposition MPs suggested holding a secret sitting to deliberate on the crisis, but then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declined the proposal.

Chapter 25 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha outlines the process for secret sittings. As per Rule 248, the Leader of the House can request such a session, and upon approval, the Speaker designates a specific day or part of a day for it. Subclause 2 states that when the House sits in secret, no outsiders are permitted in the chamber, lobby, or galleries, except for a select few allowed under specific provisions.

Additionally, another rule grants the Speaker the authority to determine how a report of the secret proceedings should be issued, ensuring confidentiality is maintained as deemed appropriate.

"The government has formed a commission for Waqf. We will see what they come up with. Whatever has happened till now has happened in the right direction... We will see what happens further...," Hosabale told reporters.

"We will see how the government will proceed and what will happen in the Parliament, " he said.

"This is a well-planned strategy, when the Waqf was handed over to the JPC by the Speaker, for six months, we called all the stakeholders and took everyone's views. The law is pending in the Parliament. The amendment bill that is coming will address all the issues, it is going to be a transparent bill," he told ANI.

"It will benefit women and children. Until now, only the people associated with the Waqf properties benefitted," he said.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Sunday declared a nationwide agitation against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, beginning with large-scale sit-ins in Patna and Vijayawada on March 26 and 29, respectively. These protests mark the first phase of the movement.

AIMPLB spokesperson SQR Ilyas stated that invitations have been extended to political leaders across party lines. In Patna, chief minister Nitish Kumar, along with leaders from JD(U), RJD, Congress, and Lok Janshakti Party, has been invited to join the demonstration. In Andhra Pradesh, the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), YSR Congress, Congress, and Left parties have also been approached for participation.

Ilyas expressed gratitude to Muslim organizations, civil society groups, and leaders from Dalit, Adivasi, OBC, and other minority communities for their support in opposing the bill.

"The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is part of the BJP's strategy and continuing attempts to damage the centuries-old bonds of social harmony in our uniquely multi-religious society," Jairam Ramesh said in a statement.

"Deliberate ambiguity has been introduced for determining who can donate their land for waqf purposes thus altering the very definition of waqf itself," he said.

"Provisions in the existing law are being removed without any reason just to weaken the administration of the waqf. Enhanced defences are now being introduced in the law to protect those who have encroached on waqf lands," he claimed.