Highlights Of Parliament Winter Session 2019

The Winter Session of the Parliament, which began on November 18, concluded on December 13 as both the houses adjourned sine die. During the Session, Lok Sabha worked for 111% of the scheduled hours while the Rajya Sabha worked for 92%. The highlights of key legislative actions during the Winter Session are given below: 1. Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, which seeks to amend the Citizenship Act 1955, was passed by the Lok Sabha on December 9 and by the Rajya Sabha on the next day. The Bill seeks to relax conditions for acquiring citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It provides that Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Jains and Christians who migrated to India without travel documents from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014 will not be regarded as illegal migrants, if they establish their residency in India for five years instead of existing eleven years. Click here to read the Bill. A critical comment on the bill may be read here. 2. Bill To Merge UTs Of Dadra & Nagar Haveli, & Daman & Diu This Bill proposes to merge the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which presently has only one district with the UT of Daman and Diu, which has two districts, to ease administration and save State exchequer. The merged UT will be named as the "Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu". Further, when the Bill comes into force, the assets and liabilities of both the UTs will stand merged and will belong to the new territory. Further, it will be allocated two seats in the Lok Sabha. Furthermore, jurisdiction of the High Court of Bombay will continue to extend to the proposed UT. It was cleared by the by the Lok Sabha on November 27 and by the Rajya Sabha on December 3. Read the detailed provisions of the Bill and the Statement of Objects here. 3. Arms Act (Amendment) Bill, 2019 The Rajya Sabha on December 10 passed the Arms Act (Amendment) Bill, 2019 to amend the Arms Act 1959. It was earlier cleared by the Lok Sabha on December 9. The Bill proposes to amend the Arms Act, 1959 to criminalize and punish acts of "tracking arms and their components from manufacturers to end users", "organised crime", "negligent use of firearm", etc. It also lowers down the number of valid arms licenses that can be held by an individual at a time from three to one. Click here to read more on the penalties entailed in the Bill. 4. Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 This Bill is aimed at protecting the rights of transgender persons by granting them recognition and making welfare provisions for them. It prohibits discrimination against a transgender person, including denial of service or unfair treatment in relation to: (i) education; (ii) employment; (iii) healthcare; (iv) access to, or enjoyment of goods, facilities, opportunities available to the public; (v) right to movement; (vi) right to reside, rent, or otherwise occupy property; (vii) opportunity to hold public or private office; and (viii) access to a government or private establishment in whose care or custody a transgender person is. It further criminalizes denial of use of public places to transgenders, removal of transgenders from household and village, etc. The Bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha on August 5, during its monsoon session, and by the Rajya Sabha on November 26. To read detailed provisions of the Bill, including provisions relating to grant of Transgender Certificate, penalties for discrimination, etc., click here. 5. Bill To Limit SPG Protection To Prime Minister & Immediate Family Of PM The Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019 seeks to amend the provisions of the Special Protections Group Act, 1988, which provides for constitution and regulation of the Special Protection Group (SPG). It stipulates that SPG will provide security to the PM and members of his immediate family 'residing with him at his official residence' only. It also prescribes SPG security to any former PMs and his immediate family members residing with him at the residence allotted to him, for a period of five years from the date on which he ceases to hold the office. It was cleared by the Lok Sabha on November 27 and by the Rajya Sabha on December 3. Click here to read detailed provisions of the Bill. 6. Bill To Ban E-Cigarettes The Prohibition Of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage And Advertisement) Bill, 2019 was passed by the Lok Sabha on November 27 and by the Rajya Sabha on December 2. It will replace the ordinance promulgated by the Centre in that behalf on 18 September. The Bill stipulates that persons found in violation of the law for the first time will face a jail term of up to one year or a fine of up to...

Highlights Of Parliament Winter Session 2019

Akshita Saxena

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