India: Last day of Parliament's Budget Session: Centre to push key legislations
Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is expected to introduce the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024, which aims to reserve seats for Scheduled Tribes in Goa and rescind seats in the Legislative Assembly.
"The Bill for enabling reservation of seats in accordance with article 332 of the Constitution for effective democratic participation of members of Scheduled Tribes and to provide for the readjustment of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Goa, in so far as such readjustment is necessitated by inclusion of certain communities in the list of the Scheduled Tribes in the State of Goa and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, be taken into consideration," the legislative business reads.
Additionally, Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy will introduce a Bill to amend the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, and the Mental Healthcare (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Other key presentations include the Committee on Estimates' Sixth Report on promoting climate-resilient agriculture and the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs' Fifth Report on regional rapid transit systems.
According to the list of businesses, Dr Bhola Singh and Dr Sanjay Jaiswal will present the Sixth Report of Committee on Estimates (2024-25) on the subject "Promotion of Climate Resilient Agriculture, Natural and Organic Farming through KVKs" pertaining to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy and Alok Sharma will present the Fifth Report of the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs (2024-25) on the subject, "Regional Rapid Transit System and Role of NCRTC" of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the LoB reads.
Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Prataprao Jadhav, Jayant Chaudhary, Pankaj Chaudhary, Anupriya Patel, SP Singh Baghel, Kirti Vardhan Singh, Shantanu Thakur, Kamlesh Paswan, Sukanta Majumdar, Savitri Thakur and Pabitra Margherita will lay the papers on the table for their respective ministries.
Meanwhile, the Parliament passed the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 in the early hours of Friday after a marathon and heated debate.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, "Ayes 128 and Noes 95, Absent zero. The Bill is passed."
The Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2024, has also been passed in Parliament. The House sat beyond midnight to pass the legislation.
Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the opposition parties of trying to mislead people on the Waqf Amendment Bill and said it will benefit crores of people from the Muslim community.
Replying to the over 12-hour debate on the bill in the Rajya Sabha, Rijiju said several suggestions made by the Joint Parliamentary Committee had been incorporated into the revised bill.
Rijiju said that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, will be renamed as the UMEED (Unified Waqf Management Empowerment Efficiency and Development) Bill.
The Lok Sabha, which discussed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday, passed it past midnight after a marathon debate.
The government introduced the revised bill after incorporating the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which examined the legislation introduced in August last year. The bill seeks to amend the Act of 1995 and improve the administration and management of waqf properties in India.
The Bill aims to overcome the shortcomings of the previous act and enhance the efficiency of Waqf boards, improving the registration process and increasing the role of technology in managing waqf records.
The Budget Session of the Parliament was convened in two parts; it commenced on January 31 and went till February 13. The second part of the budget session of Parliament began on March 10 and will continue till Friday.
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