Rajya Sabha likely to discuss economic situation today
The members of the Upper House are likely to hold discussions on the prevailing economic situation of the country as the Parliament reconvenes for Day 2 of the ongoing Winter Session on December 5.
According to Hindustan Times, Rajya Sabha MPs Ayodhya Rami Reddy, Birendra Prasad Baishya, Ghanshyam Tiwari, Lakshmikant Bajpayee, Sushil Kumar Modi, Aditya Prasad and Shambhu Sharan Patel are to initiate a discussion on the “economic situation in the country’” in the Rajya Sabha. Derek O’Brien (TMC), Sushil Kumar Modi (BJP), and Vijayasai Reddy (YSRCP) are also scheduled to participate.
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on December 5 is likely to table its report recommending the expulsion of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra over the cash-for-query allegations against her.
At a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee on December 4, chaired by Speaker Om Birla to finalise the week’s agenda, Opposition MPs demanded that the report be discussed before any decision is taken on the matter. Meanwhile, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who had first raised the allegations against Moitra, claimed that Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had “leaked the report”. Last week, Chowdhury had written to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, saying expulsion was an “extremely serious punishment”. Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will convene at 11 am.
What is the cash-for-query row?
Mahua Moitra is the MP from West Bengal state’s Krishnanagar constituency. She was accused by her former personal friend and lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey of accepting money and expensive gifts for asking a certain set of questions in Lok Sabha.
Dubey had urged the Speaker to set up a committee to probe the allegations and sought her suspension from the House till the panel submitted its report. On October 27, Moitra admitted she gave her Parliament login and password details to her friend and businessman Darshan Hiranandani but denied taking any cash from him.
On December 4, the Standing Committee reports on “The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023”, “The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023”, and “The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023” were tabled in the two Houses.
The reports were submitted to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on November 10 by Brij Lal, MP and Chairman of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs.