Communal Violence Bill deferred as Govt, Opposition spar in Rajya Sabha

Zee Media Bureau/Deepak Nagpal

2:50 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till tomorrow amid uproar. 2:50 pm: AK Antony speaks in Parliament on the VVIP chopper deal scam. Ruckus continues as he reads out statement on AgustaWestland. 2:40 pm: Amid opposition from parties and taking sense of the house, the chair defers introduction of Communal Violence Prevention Bill in Rajya Sabha. 2:30 pm: Who is the Centre to enact this Bill? This House has no power to enact this bill, reiterates Arun Jaitley. 2:24 pm: State-sponsored riots like those in Gujarat are not state subjects – Sibal. 2:22 pm: Only if state government feels something must be investigated, only then can Centre or NHRC intervene – Sibal. 2:21 pm: Communal Violence Bill has largely to do with compensation – Sibal. 2:20 pm: We are equally concerned that we don`t introduce a bill that undermines federalism, says Sibal. 2:16 pm: Chaos as Law Minister Kapil Sibal rises to speak. 2:15 pm: TMC wants to register its strong view against Communal Violence Bill, says Derek O`Brian. 2:13 pm: AIADMK says even revised communal violence bill doesn`t safeguard federalism. If this is the sense, the bill cant be introduced – Yechury. 2:12 pm: Question of safeguarding federal nature of Constitution is paramount – Yechury. 2:12 pm: CPM leader Sitaram Yechury also opposes the Communal Violence Bill. 2:05 pm: How does Parliament have the power to decide on law and order which is essentially a state subject? asks Jaitley 2:04 pm: My main opposition with this bill is the lack of legislative competence by Parliament to enact it – Jaitley. 2:02 pm: BJP leader Arun Jaitley opposes Communal Violence Bill in Rajya Sabha. 2:00 pm: Proceedings resume in the Rajya Sabha, govt seeks to table Communal Violence Bill. 12:42 pm: Defence Minister AK Antony to make statement in Parliament on AugustaWestland issue post 2 pm. 12:42 pm: PM to meet MPs from Seemandhra and Telangana regions at 6 pm today over Andhra Pradesh bifurcation issue. 12:40 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm. 12:38 pm: PJ Kurien involved in heated debate with BJP leader M Venkiah Naidu, who accused the government of being unable to control the House. 12:35 pm: You are undermining democracy, acting chairman PJ Kurien tells protesting MPs who have rushed to the well of the House. 12:30 pm: Communal Violence Bill moved in Rajya Sabha. 12:25 pm: Amid uproar, Speaker Meira Kumar adjourns Lok Sabha for the day. 12:17 pm: Should include chapters in textbooks where students can know about people from Northeast - Ninong Ering. 12:15 pm: We must change the way we think no matter where people come from. We`re all Indians - Ninong Ering. 12:12 pm: Racial discrimination against our children from the north east is a very serious thing. We must stop it - Ninong Ering. 12:10 pm: Nido Taniam issue should not be politicized, says Ninong Ering, Minister of State for Minority Affairs and MP from Arunachal Pradesh. 12:09 pm: Appeal government to make hostels for people from Northeast where they can stay with students from other parts of India - Sushma Swaraj. 12:08 pm: Children from Northeast should feel safe anywhere in India - Sushma Swaraj. 12:07 pm: Must address bias against north east people - Sushma Swaraj. 12:06 pm: Be it people with sharp noses, or people with flat noses, all are Indians - Sushma Swaraj. 12:05 pm: Nido Taniam was murdered in Delhi, and after that two Manipuri girls were molested. These are people who have fought for India, says Sushma Swaraj. 12:05 pm: BJP leader Sushma Swaraj raises the issue of death of Arunachal student Nido Taniam in New Delhi. 12:00 noon: Proceedings resume in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha adjourned again for 15 minutes amid continuing uproar. 11:30 am: Telangana disrupts Parliament Telangana issue today disrupted Parliament on the first day of the last session of current Lok Sabha, leading to adjournment of both Houses till noon. MPs from Seemandhra region, cutting across parties, stormed the Well of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as soon as they assembled for the day. They carried placards saying `Jai Samaikya Andhra Pradesh` (hail united Andhra Pradesh). The government has announced that it will take up the Bill to carve out a separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh. In the Lok Sabha, some members mentioned the death of a student from North East in Delhi with Left MPs demanding action against the culprits. They carried posters saying `Stop racial discrimination against North Eastern people`. Shiromani Akali Dal members utilised the occasion to target Congress on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the wake of renewed controversy on the issue following a television interview by Rahul Gandhi. They wanted day-to-day trial of pending cases against Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler. Speaker Meira Kumar repeatedly appealed to members to maintain calm and allow smooth conduct of the House, reminding them that it was the last session of the 15th Lok Sabha. As her pleas went unheeded, she adjourned the House till noon. Earlier, the House condoled the demise of four former members -- M M Hashim, P K Ghosh, Deepak Kumar and Pius Tirkey. Death and killings of people in various accidents, including the boat tragedy in Andaman, and terror attacks in Russia were also condoled. The session, which began today, is the second phase of the Winter Session of Parliament. It is set to conclude on February 21.