Parliament Watch: Compensation for deceased farmers, arrests of journalists, CAA and more

After legislative work was brought to a standstill owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Parliament is in session once again..With the resumption of work in the legislature, the once hot topics of discussion that were placed on the backburner due to the pandemic, as well as pressing current issues, have come up for debate..Here is an overview of some important Parliamentary Questions which were raised by Members of Parliament (MPs) during the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament..Assam NRC, NPR, CAA.A question on why the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam has not been notified yielded the following response:"The Hon’ble Supreme Court has directed the State Coordinator to enact an appropriate security regime on lines similar to the security regime provided for AADHAR data and only thereafter the list of inclusions and exclusions shall be made available to the State Government, Central Government and Registrar General India.".Another question raised by MP VK Sreekandan was whether the “schedule of the National Population Register (NPR) is being finalized or not.” To this, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai replied,”The Government was in discussions with the States having concerns in regard to the preparation of NPR. Due to outbreak of Covid-19, the first phase of Census, updation of NPR and other related field activities have been postponed.”.On whether the government aims to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, Rai responded,"The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) has been notified on 12.12.2019 and has come into force w.e.f. 10.01.2020. The Rules under The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) are under preparation. The Committees on Subordinate Legislation, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have granted extension of time upto 09.04.2021 and 09.07.2021 respectively to frame these rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA).".No compensation for families of farmers who died during the farm laws protests.A number of legislators have asked questions pertaining to the ongoing farmers protests at the Delhi borders. These were placed before Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar. Some of the questions were:Whether the government proposes to give compensation to the families of the farmers who have died during the agitation?The number and details of meetings/negotiations held with farmers unions and the outcome of the reconciliation efforts.Whether the government has any plan to withdraw/repeal the recently passed farm laws and if not, the reasons for not repealing the farm laws?Whether the government has any evidence regarding infiltration of terrorist outfits in the agitation?.In response, the Central government informed the House that there are “some of the farmers’ Unions and their members” who are protesting against the new farm laws. Furthermore, the Central government stated that no compensation will be awarded to the families of the deceased farmers. On the question of repeal and discussion on the farm laws, it was informed that so far, eleven rounds of meetings have been held between the government and agitating farmers’ unions to resolve the issues. "Government had put forth one proposal after another to amend the farm laws", the response states..Another question asked was the reason behind the excessive force used by the Delhi Police on protestors in the violence that erupted in the capital on Republic Day. Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy replied,"...large convoys of protesting farmers in tractor trolleys tried to furiously force their way and go past Police barricades to enter Delhi to mark their protest against the recently enacted ‘Farm Laws’. They aggressively resorted to rioting, damage to Government property and used criminal force to deter public servants from the discharge of their duty, thereby inflicting injuries to the on-duty police personnel. Moreover, social distancing was not followed by the farmers/protest-ors and they gathered in large numbers without face masks amid Covid-19 pandemic. The farmers’ actions left the Delhi Police with no option but to use tear gas, water cannons and mild force to control the crowd.”.The question asking for evidence linking the protests with terrorist organisations was not addressed..Video conferencing facilities and CCTV installation in prisons.A question posed to Reddy on this issue was,“Whether all the equipment related to video conferencing and CCTV cameras are updated from time to time?”The response states that as per 2019 National Crime Bureau Record (NCRB) statistics, 808 jails in the country are equipped with the facility of video conferencing..Furthermore, it was informed that a total of 22,456 CCTVs are installed in prisons as on December 31, 2019. The State with the highest number of CCTVs installed in prisons was Uttar Pradesh (2,757). Mizoram and Lakshadweep recorded none..CCTV in Police Stations: Ten takeaways from the Supreme Court judgment.Arrests/detention of civil rights activists for dissent.The government was asked whether it has taken cognizance of concerns expressed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights over the rise in arrests and detention of civil rights activists in India for carrying out peaceful dissent?Reddy replied that the government has ‘appropriately’ responded to the concerned press release by the Commission and stated,“...there are adequate safeguards available under the Constitution of India and various statutes including the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, for ensuring protection of human rights.”.Convictions and arrests of journalists.The following questions were raised by MPs from Kerala K Sudhakaran and K Muraleedharan:(a) the number of journalists arrested under the provisions of Indian Penal Code, Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967 since 2014, year-wise; and(b) the number of journalists currently in jail who have not yet been convicted of any charges brought against them under the aforementioned laws, State-wise?In a vague and evasive reply, the Centre informed the House that it “attaches highest importance to the safety and security of all residents of the country including journalists.”It was also stated that NCRB does not maintain specific data with respect to arrest of journalists..The Centre also cited a 2017 advisory to states to "strictly enforce the law to ensure safety and security of media persons"..No plans for Central anti-Conversion Law .A question was raised whether sufficient evidence have been collected by the Government to show that inter-faith marriages in India are connected to instances of forced religious conversion. The Centre's was response was vague:”‘Public Order’ and ‘Police’ are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Hence prevention, detection, registration, investigation and prosecution of offences related to religious conversions are primarily the concerns of the State Governments/Union Territory (UT) Administrations. Action is taken as per existing laws by the law enforcing agencies whenever instances of violation come to notice.”.However, the Centre clarified that it did not propose to introduce a Central anti-conversion law to curb inter-faith marriages, like the Ordinance passed in Uttar Pradesh..Only forceful conversion prohibited, no mention of "Love Jihad": UP government seeks dismissal of PIL against Religious Conversion Ordinance.A total of 340 manual scavengers have died in the last five years.340. That is the number of people who have died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks in the last five years, despite the courts calling upon states and union territories to abolish the practice, on umpteen occasions.Uttar Pradesh tops the list with 52 deaths, while Tamil Nadu and Delhi are not far behind, with 43 and 36 deaths respectively..No plan for reservation for Transgenders.While replying to a query on whether the government is considering reservation for Transgender persons in educational institutions and government jobs, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot replied, “The Ministry does not have any data on the number of Transgender working in Public Services and there is NO proposal for providing reservation to the Transgender persons in Educational institutes and Government jobs.”