Parliament: Six bills, including personal data protection bill listed in Rajya Sabha today

NEW DELHI: A total of six bills will be moved by the government in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and passing on Wednesday.  This includes the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, which was introduced bill last week and was vehemently opposed by the Opposition.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill frames the rights and duties of the citizen (Digital Nagrik) on one hand and the obligations to use collected data lawfully of the Data Fiduciary on the other hand. The bill is based on the following principles around the Data Economy.

The focus of the Bill is to protect internet users from online harm and create a safe and trusted digital ecosystem as India is a digital economy powerhouse today.

According to the listed legislative business of Rajya Sabha for the day, six bills will be moved by the government in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and passing.

The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023; The Pharmacy (Amendment) Bill, 2023; The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023; The Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill, 2023; The Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023; and The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2023 are among the six Bills to be moved by the government in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and passing today.

In the Rajya Sabha, there are a total of 245 seats, out of which 8 are currently vacant. This means the current strength is 237. Thus, the majority mark to pass the Bill in the Upper House will be 119.

Oppostion bloc I.N.D.I.A  floor leaders meeting will be held at 10 am in Rajya Sabha Leader of Oppposition office in Parliament to chalk out the strategy for the floor of the house.

Moreover, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways General (Retd) VK Singh, Ministry of Home Affairs Nitiyanand Rai, Ministry of Education Annapurna Devi, Ministry of Cooperation BL Varma, Ministry of Home Affairs Ajay Kumar and Ministry of Education Subhas Sarkar will lay the papers on the table in the Upper House.

According to the revised list of business, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways General (Retd) VK Singh, to lay on the Table, under clause (2) of Section 19A of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971, a copy (in English and Hindi) of the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Toll Operations of National Highways Authority of India in Southern India – Union Government (Commercial)- Ministry of Road Transport and Highways – Report No.7 of 2023 (Compliance Audit).

Ministry of Home Affairs Nitiyanand Rai will lay on the Table, a statement (in English and Hindi) outlining the reasons for not framing “Assam Rifles Regulations, 2016 as Statutory, for laying on the Table of the House.

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will move that the Bill further to amend the Pharmacy Act, 1948, as passed by Lok Sabha, be taken into consideration. Minister Virendra Singh will move that the Bill further to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to modify the list of Scheduled Castes in the State of Chhattisgarh, as passed by Lok Sabha, be taken into consideration and for passage.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Ministry of Home Affairs Nitiyanand Rai, Ministry of Finance Pankaj Chaudhary Ministry of Commerce and Industry Anupriya Singh Pate, Ministry of Commerce and Industry Som Prakash, Ministry of Cooperation BL Varma and Ministry of Communications Devusinh Chauhan will table papers in Lok Sabha.

Earlier today, Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha demanded suspension of all legislative business and early discussion and debate on Manipur violence in the Parliament.

“I would like to move a motion for adjournment of the business of the House Under Rule 267 of the Rules of Procdeure and Conduct of Business in Rajya Sabha to discuss Union and State Government’s failure to restore peace and maintain law and order in the state of Manipur which has led to violation of fundamental rights of the citizens of Manipur and therefore it is demanded that the Prime Minister makes a statement on the house regarding this issue which should be followed by a detailed and comprehensive discussion,” he stated.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha also filed suspension of business notice in Parliament to discuss the breakdown of law and order in the state of Manipur due to the failure of central and state government.

“I hereby give notice under Rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and conduct of business in the council of states (Rajya Sabha) of my intention to move the following motion for supension of business listed for August 9, 2023,” Chadha stated.

“That this house do suspend Zero Hour and relevant rules relating to Question Hour and other business of the day to discuss the violence in Manipur which has resulted loss of precious lives in Manipur due to failure and incompetence of Central and state Government,” he stated.

Moreover, Member of Parliament Manish Tewari, Rajeev Shukla, Syed Naseer Hussain and AICC Secretary spokesperson Ranjeet Ranjan have also filed suspension of business notice in Parliament to discuss the breakdown of law and order in the state of Manipur due to the failure of central and state government.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sushil Kumar Modi has given Zero hour Notice in Rajya Sabha over Need for declaration of Assets and Liabilities by the Judges of Supreme Court and High Court.

Day 1 of the debate on the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government saw the Congress and Union Ministers locking horns over the situation in Manipur which has been witnessing ethnic clashes since May.

Congress has accused the government of creating a great divide in Manipur.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, who initiated the debate on Tuesday said the Opposition was compelled to move the no-confidence motion against the government to break Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “vow of silence” on Manipur.

The debate ended at around 6 pm

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to give a reply on August 10.

Opposition members have been seeking discussion under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha since the beginning of the monsoon session of Parliament on July 20.

Manipur had been on the boil for the last three months after ethnic clashes broke out between two tribal communities Meitis and Kukis, when the Manipur High Court asked the state government to consider adding one of the communities to the list of Scheduled Tribes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing his second no-confidence motion in Parliament today, the first in his second term as the PM. (ANI)