Parliament: Centre will have to let go of its ego and repeal farm laws, says AIMIM chief

10.18 pm: Harsimrat Kaur Badal of Shiromani Akali Dal, Bharatiya Janata Party’s former ally, says there is no point in a government when it becomes inhuman, reports The Hindu.

Hanuman Beniwal of Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, another former ally of BJP, the saffron party will realise about the agitation when it starts seeking votes. “You want to defame the kisan andolan [farmers’ protest] by diverting it to the Red Fort incident,” he says. “My demand is to assure MSP [minimum support price] and start a dialogue with kisans [farmers].”

10.16 pm: Union minister Anurag Thakur says the claims that farmers’ mandis (markets) will be shut are false, reports The Times of India.

10.14 pm: Bharatiya Janata Party issues whip to all its MPs for Wednesday, asking them to be present in the House throughout the day to support the government’s, reports The Hindu.

10.13 pm: Kerala Congress (M) MP Thomas Chazhikadan raises question on the arrest of activist Stan Swamy, reports The Hindu. Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey replies that Swamy provided arms to naxalites and was involved in religious conversion.

10.10 pm: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi asks why the government has not appealed against the Supreme Court verdict against the Babri masjid demolition, reports The Hindu. “Is it because the government wants to send a message to its supporters,” he adds. “You are calling aandolanjeevi [professional protestors] parasites. Hitler once described Jews as cockroach.”

10.09 pm: Lok Sabha session extended till midnight, reports The Hindu.

9.57 pm: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi says the Centre will have to repeal farm laws, reports The Times of India. “We’ve set up infrastructure at Tikri, Singhu & Ghazipur and not in Arunachal Pradesh,” he says. “The kind of behaviour which farmers are subjected to, makes it look like they’re the Chinese forces...You’ll have to repeal the [farm] laws and let go of your ego.”

7.27 pm: The Lok Sabha has been informed that the Delhi Police had acted swiftly and in an impartial and fair way while dealing with the 2020 North East Delhi violence, reports PTI.

7.23 pm: Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Chaudhary criticises Prime Minister Narendra Modi for getting emotional in the Parliament, saying had he shed some tears on the deaths of farmers during their protests, the current situation would not have occurred, reports The Indian Express.

7.09 pm: Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy says in the Lok Sabha that the agenda of the ruling BJP is divisive. “Mr Modi is trying to speak Bangla or growing a beard,” he adds, according to The Hindu. “It would be good if they do some research and speak correctly. Farmers have been on an agitation. Why can’t the PM withdraw the bill and not stand on ego? I heard PM cried in the other House. Why can’t he shed some tears for farmers?”

6.47 pm: Bharatiya Janata Party Rita Bahuguna Joshi says praises Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his farsightedness in fighting the coronavirus, reports The Hindu. “The whole world is saying that India has become a pharmacy of the world,” she says. “You [Opposition leaders] have the right to criticise the government but don’t have a right to mislead.”

6.41 pm: National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah says that it is a fortunate thing that India has fewer coronavirus cases than the rest of the world, but even then the medical services in the country are not adequate, reports The Hindu.

He also alleges that the District Development Polls in Jammu and Kashmir were conducted fairly but collectors and other officials were pressuring people to elect other chairpersons. “Please don’t go against the people’s mandate,” Adbullah says. “As people may feel disappointed that money power has replaced their exercise of franchise.”

6.32 pm: Congress leader Praneet Kaur expresses sadness over the treatment of farmers in the country, reports The Hindu. “Why is the government scared?” asks Kaur. “Why have they put concertina wires, cement barricades on Delhi’s borders? Young, old, children, women are sitting in protest for their rights. What is the message being sent to our children at the borders?”

She says that when the world has supported farmers, it is being labelled as foreign interference. “The call of the times is that government should leave its arrogance and concede the legitimate demands of our farmers,” Kaur adds.

6.26 pm: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav says farmers have never been so humiliated in the country, reports The Hindu. “The district where president hails from or where PM [Narendra Modi] is elected from – have farmers there got MSP?” asks Yadav. “The neighbouring district to honourable president’s district is where I’m from and the farmers there haven’t got MSP. In the history of India, its farmers haven’t been so humiliated.”

5.17 pm: Congress MPs from Punjab move a private member’s bill in the Lok Sabha to repeal the farming laws, India Today reports.

5.12 pm: BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri claims that those who are protesting on Delhi’s borders are not farmers but Left leaders, The Hindu reports.

“The villagers of those areas are not striking,” Biduri says, according to the newspaper. “Rakesh Tikait had earlier welcomed [agricultural] reforms. Just as Ravan first deceived and abducted Sitaji, so are our people being deceived otherwise how could this strike be done?”

5.03 pm: Union Home Minister Amit Shah tells the Lok Sabha that the Uttarakhand government has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the families of people killed in the glacier disaster, ANI reports.

He gives more details about the rescue operations. “12 people of NTPC [National Thermal Power Corporation] project were safely rescued from one tunnel, 15 people of Rishiganga project were also rescued at the time of incident,” he says. “25-35 people feared trapped in second tunnel of NTPC project, efforts are underway on war footing to rescue them.”

2.40 pm: Rajya Sabha passes bill to regularise unauthorised colonies in Delhi, reports PTI. The House is adjourned till Wednesday 9 am.

1.40 pm: Amit Shah tells the Rajya Sabha that 20 people have died in the Uttarakhand flood as of 5 pm on Monday, The Hindu reports. “Work on rescuing 25 to 35 people stuck in a tunnel of the NTPC project is on,” he says. “197 people are missing. The Prime Minister himself is monitoring the situation.”

1.36 pm: Citing the Uttarakhand government, the Union home minister says that there is no danger of flooding in the low-lying areas now and water level is also receding. “Electricity has been restored in most areas, BRO [Border Roads Organisation] is carrying out repair work of five damaged bridges,” he adds, according to ANI.

1.33 pm: Union Home Minister Amit Shah provides details of the Uttarakhand rescue operation in the Rajya Sabha. “450 jawans of ITBP [Indo-Tibetan Border Police], 5 teams of NDRF[National Disaster Response Force, 8 teams of Indian Army, a Navy team and 5 IAF helicopters are engaged in search and rescue operation,” he says, according to ANI.

1.31 pm: Rajya Sabha members pay a tribute to the Uttarakhand flood victims.

11.44 am: As Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad retires from the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that the person replacing him will have difficulty to match him, reports ANI.

Modi also broke into tears while reminiscing a past incident, involving Azad.

10.41 am: The Rajya Sabha bids farewell to Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is retiring on February 15, reports The Hindu. Since the legislature is under suspended animation, no new MP will replace him in the House, Rajya Sabha Chairperson Venkaiah Naidu says.

“Ghulam Nabi Azad has been a voice of sanity,” Naidu adds. “He has served for as many as 28 years. He is one of the veterans of the House...I have benefited richly from his suggestions. As a Chairman, i will miss his services.”

10.29 am: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan says all steps are being taken to control the coronavirus pandemic, reports The Hindu. The Centre is also providing financial support to the states and the PM-Cares fund is supporting the vaccination program, he adds.

10.28 am: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will make a suo motu statement at 11.30 am on the Uttarakhand disaster in the Rajya Sabha today, reports The Hindu.

9.10 am: Four Opposition parties, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Aam Aadmi Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Shiv Sena have given Suspension of Business Notice in the Rajya Sabha over “the plight of protesting farmers in Delhi”, reports ANI.

9.07 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reply to the motion of thanks to President Ram Nath Kovind’s address in the Lok Sabha tomorrow, reports the Hindustan Times. The Lower House of Parliament has been adjourned till 4pm today.

9.05 am: Congress MP Manish Tewari has given Adjournment Motion Notice in the Lok Sabha over the three farm laws.

9.01 am: Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav has given Zero Hour notice in the Rajya sabha over “direct recruitment for the post of joint secretary in Central government”.

9.00 am: Bharatiya Janata Party MP Harnath Singh Yadav has given Zero Hour notice in the Rajya Sabha over “use of Hindi and other languages in Supreme Court and High Courts”.

8.57 am: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is likely to address the Lok Sabha today, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his speech in the Rajya Sabha, reports India Today.

8.55 am: The Rajya Sabha will bid farewell to the Leader of the Opposition and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is retiring on February 15, when his term comes to an end, reports India Today.

8.52 am: The Lok Sabha proceedings descended into chaos on Monday after Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra brought up the sexual harassment allegations against a former chief justice of India, saying that the judiciary was no longer sacred.

The remarks were later expunged from the House records, according to some reports.

Here are the top updates from Monday

• Lok Sabha proceedings were extended till midnight to accommodate MPs participating in Motion of Thanks.
• Earlier in the day, Congress Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged that the violence that took place on January 26 was a government conspiracy. He also criticised the clampdown on the farmers’ protest sites near Delhi.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while speaking in Rajya Sabha, said citizens should be wary of the advent of “Foreign Destructive Ideology” in the country, asserting that India is “the mother of democracy”. The prime minister’s remarks came amid widespread international criticism for his handling of the farmer protests.
• In an hour-long speech, Modi urged the farmers to end their agitation, assuring them that the government will not dismantle the minimum support price regime. He also took on the Opposition and accused it of being hypocritical about its stand on agriculture reforms.
• The Lok Sabha proceedings descended into chaos on Monday after Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra brought up the sexual harassment allegations against a former chief justice of India, saying that the judiciary was no longer sacred. The remarks were reportedly later expunged from the House records.