Parliament Highlights: Rajya Sabha passes bill to rename arbitration centre

Smarting under Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra's attack on the Modi government, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday hit back saying "Pappu" can be found in West Bengal and the "maachis" of people's mandate given to Mamata Banerjee's party led to arson and loot in the state post-election victory. In Lok Sabha, Sitharaman also sought to highlight the difference in situation in terms of post-election results in Gujarat and West Bengal.

Opposition parties on Wednesday demanded that instead of adopting a "piecemeal" approach, the government should make a comprehensive list of tribes and take "meaningful steps" towards their inclusion and recognition as Scheduled Tribes. While speaking in Lok Sabha on the ‘The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022’, members raised the issues faced by tribes in their respective states, highlighting how their inclusion in the central list will benefit them.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday exuded confidence that inflation would further decline and the government is on track to meet its budgetary target for deficit and said that there is no fear of stagflation in India.

Replying to the debate on the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants 2022-23 in Lok Sabha, the finance minister said inflation has come down and it is now in the tolerable band of the RBI. Inflation has been declining since April 2022 and it is declining further, she said.

No death due to malnutrition has been reported by any state or Union Territory, the Women and Child Development Ministry said on Wednesday. Responding to a question in Rajya Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said stunting has reduced from 38.4 percent to 35.5 percent, while wasting has reduced from 21 percent to 19.3 percent between 2015-16 and 2019-21.

TMC MP Saugata Roy on Wednesday demanded a discussion in Lok Sabha on the Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control (LAC,) urging the government to take steps to ensure the safety and security of the entire region of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.

Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill to rename the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre as the India International Arbitration Centre. The Rajya Sabha passed the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which was piloted by Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju in the house on Wednesday. The Lok Sabha has already passed the bill on August 2022, which expands this to include the conduct of other forms of alternative dispute resolution besides arbitration.

Leaders of several opposition parties on Wednesday met in the Parliament House complex and decided to take on the government unitedly on the India-China border issue and are likely to issue a joint statement. Several opposition parties are seeking answers from the government on the Chinese transgressions along the border and moved adjournment notices in both houses of Parliament, demanding an urgent discussion on the issue.

# IRCTC received over 5,000 food-related complaints in past 7 months: Govt

The IRCTC has received more than 5,000 complaints related to quality of food in trains in the past seven months, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday. Replying to a query in Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw said between April 1, 2022, and October 31, 2022, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation received a total of 5,869 complaints of food quality in trains. "On receipt of any complaint of food quality, appropriate action, including penalty, is taken against the service provider of IRCTC," the minister said.

# There is no study/data to indicate an increase in the rate of drug trafficking in the country. However, the number of drug users has gone up as indicated by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment survey 2019 vis-à-vis 2004: MoS Home Nityanand Rai in Rajya Sabha

# Sino-Indian border issue: Tharoor slams govt for 'small statement without clarification'

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor hits out at the government for not holding a discussion in Parliament on the India-China border issue, and said giving out a "small statement" without any clarification is not democratic.

# Former NCP MP Majeed Memon joins TMC in the presence of party MPs Derek O'Brien and Saugata Roy. He had quit the party in November.

# Oppn walkout of RS over demand for debate on Chinese aggression

The entire Opposition led by the Congress on Wednesday staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha after their demand for a discussion on the Chinese aggression on the border was disallowed. Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the opposition parties wanted a debate to get full information on the Chinese aggression and encroachment on Indian territory, and that they stand by the Army and the country.

# Congress MPs Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Sonia Gandhi lead the walkout from Lok Sabha after being denied discussion on China.

# TMC MPs walkout from Lok Sabha after being denied discussion on China.

# Opposition leaders meet at the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, to chalk out a joint strategy on the Indo-China tussle and other issues.

# Congress MP Manish Tewari gives adjournment motion notice in the Lok Sabha to discuss the situation at the border with China in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh.

# Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi gives Adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha to discuss "Why India's dependence on Chinese imports has increased despite the ongoing border conflict with China."

# Congress MP Manickam Tagore gives adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha to discuss "the atrocities attitude of Telangana Police who have arrested five people entering vehemently into Telangana Congress war room in Hyderabad yesterday."