The Evening Wrap: Opposition boycotts Parliament

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the latest updates and the big news stories to follow today [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Tuesday 22, September 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap [Here are the biggest news stories of the day]( [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Opposition parties boycott both Houses of Parliament Opposition parties today [boycotted both Houses of Parliament](, first walking out of Rajya Sabha in the morning, and from the Lok Sabha around 4 pm, in protest against the flawed passage of the two farm bills in the upper House on Sunday. The Bill’s passage by voice vote had resulted in violent protests by Opposition members and suspension of eight Parliamentarians. The Parliament is expected to end sine die on Wednesday. Congress, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazgham, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Aam Aadmi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party, CPI (M), CPI, and other smaller parties boycotted both houses of Parliament. Bahujan Samaj Party, Biju Janata Dal and YSR Congress did not participate in the boycott. Though the BSP did walk out of Lok Sabha, they made it clear it had nothing to do with the rest of the Opposition. Lok Sabha passes three labour Codes amid Opposition boycott The [Lok Sabha today took up three Bills on the labour code](, amid boycott of House proceedings by several Opposition parties, including the Congress. While moving the Bills for consideration and passage, Labour Minster Santosh Gangwar said the government has made changes in the legislations after extensive consultations with State governments and other stakeholders. He added that many of the recommendations of the Standing Committee, which scrutinised the Codes, have been incorporated in the Bills. On Saturday, Gangwar had introduced the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, and the Code on Social Security, 2020. Over 29 labour laws have been merged into four codes and one of them (Code on Wages Bill, 2019) has already been passed. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, will consolidate and amend the laws regulating the occupational safety, health and working conditions of persons employed in an establishment. The Industrial Relations Code, 2020, seeks to consolidate and amend the laws relating to trade unions, conditions of employment in industrial establishments, and settlement of industrial disputes. The Code on Social Security, 2020, will amend and consolidate laws relating to social security. Academic session to start from November 1 as per new UGC calendar Students entering colleges and universities will [begin classes from November 1](, with the new academic session getting off to a delayed start, according to the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) calendar for 2020-21, which was released on Tuesday. Holiday breaks will be curtailed and classes will run six days a week to compensate for the time lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic. UGC approved the guidelines for the new academic calendar for first year students of both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at its meeting on Monday. The admissions schedule has been delayed by the fact that schools and colleges were shut in mid-March due to the pandemic-linked lockdown, and board examinations as well as entrance examinations for professional courses such as medicine and engineering were postponed multiple times. [Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. File]Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. File The delays have also caused admission cancellations and migration of students. In a statement, the Education Ministry directed that in order to avoid causing financial hardship to parents already hit by the lockdown and economic recession, there will be a full refund of fees made in such cases. “On cancellation/withdrawal of admissions up to 31 December, 2020, the entire fee collected from a student should be refunded in full after deduction of not more than ₹1,000 as processing fee,” said the statement. This is a special measure for this academic year only, it added. India-China: No breakthrough after sixth round of talks The sixth round of Corps Commander talks between India and China, which went on for 14 hours, [failed to yield a breakthrough]( on de-escalation along the disputed boundary in Ladakh. “The talks were quite positive despite the lack of apparent results. There will be more rounds of talks as issues are complex,” a defence source said. The talks that began on Monday at 9 a.m. in Moldo went on till 11 p.m., the source added. The talks were held in line with the five-point plan agreed upon by the two Foreign Ministers in Moscow earlier this month. There are differing positions and the issues are complex, so it will take more rounds of talks to reach an understanding, the source said. [On full alert: An IAF fighter aircraft flying over the Ladakh region on Monday. PTI -]On full alert: An IAF fighter aircraft flying over the Ladakh region on Monday. PTI - Details of the talks would be discussed within the government and the future course of action decided, it has been learnt. India has pressed for a roadmap for complete disengagement and de-induction of Chinese troops from all friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the source added. For the first time, a Joint Secretary from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was present at the talks. The situation on the ground has remained quiet since the Foreign Ministers’ meeting, the second source added. Officials said that for India, mutual disengagement would not be acceptable and China would have to pull back its troops from the stand-off areas. Suspended Opposition MPs end dharna The eight suspended MPs today [ended their sit-in at the Mahatma Gandhi statue]( inside the Parliament premises after Opposition parties took a joint decision to boycott the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha for the remainder of the monsoon session. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi had told Rajya Sabha that the suspension will be withdrawn if the eight MPs express regret. The opposition parties did not agree to this proposal. “After many Opposition parties have boycotted the remainder of the monsoon session of Rajya Sabha, the dharna at Gandhi statue has ended. Now we will take our fight for the rights of the farmers to every town and village in the country,” Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen said. On Monday, TMC’s Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen, CPI(M)'s Elamaram Kareem and K.K. Ragesh, Congress’s Rajeev Satav, Syed Naseer Hussain and Ripun Bora, and AAP's Sanjay Singh were suspended from the Rajya Sabha for unruly behaviour in the House. The eight MPs had been on a sit-in protest from Monday 12:45 pm till Tuesday 10:30 am. The MPs spent the night in the Parliament premises, sleeping on bed sheets on the lawn next to the Gandhi statue. RS Deputy Chairman Harivansh to go on 24-hour fast; Opposition calls it a farce Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh has written an emotional letter to President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, accusing the Opposition of humiliating him. He also [announced a 24-hour fast](, hoping that this may inspire a feeling of “self purification” among the unruly members. His letter, however, did not wash with the Opposition leaders, who called it a “farce”. Expressing anguish over alleged attempts to “intimidate” him through violent behaviour, he accused members of tearing the rule book and throwing it at him, stomping on the table of officials who played a central role in the functioning of the House, and shouting abusive slogans. This sight of “disrobing of democracy” jolted his mind and heart and he could not sleep for the whole night, the Bihar MP wrote. [ Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh offers tea to suspended MPs at the Parliament premises on September 22, 2020 as they stage a protest over their suspension the House. ] Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh offers tea to suspended MPs at the Parliament premises on September 22, 2020 as they stage a protest over their suspension the House. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to praise Harivansh. “I read the letter written to the Honourable President by Honourable Harivansh-ji. Every word of the letter has given new faith in our belief in democracy. This letter is inspiring and praiseworthy. There is truth and sensitivity in it. My request is, all citizens must read it,” he said. Congress Deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma said, “After brazenly violating rules, procedures and practices for passing bills and making laws, the Deputy Chairman is shedding crocodile tears for parliamentary democracy. Token fast is nothing but a farce.” Government working on amending IT rules The government is [working on amending the IT rules for intermediaries such as Facebook and Google]( in order to make them more responsive and accountable, Parliament was informed on Monday. “Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is in the process of amending the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011, to make the intermediaries more responsive and accountable,” Minister of State for Electronics and IT Sanjay Dhotre said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.The rules are currently being finalised, he added. Dhotre said Section 79(1) of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, grants intermediaries a conditional immunity with regard to any third party content uploaded on their platforms. However, this immunity is subject to provisions of certain other sections of the Act, he added. “Section 79 of the IT Act already provides safe harbour protection to intermediaries subject to their following due diligence as prescribed in IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011 notified under this section. “Government respects the right of freedom of speech and expression as enshrined in the constitution of India,” he said. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported [coronavirus]( cases from India stood at 56,29,223 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 89,931. Health Ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a press briefing that India’s share in total global coronavirus cases was 17.7%. He added that India accounted for 19.5% of worldwide recoveries, which is highest among all countries. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today's Top Picks [alt_text]( [IBM plans to build a 1121 qubit system. 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