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LOK SABHA ___ SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES (Proceedings other than Questions & Answers) ______ Thursday, July 26, 2018 / Shravana 4, 1940 (Saka) ______ OBITUARY REFERENCE HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, I have to inform the House about the sad demise of three former Members, namely, Shri Kameshwar Paswan, Shri Pandurang Pundlik Fundkar and Shri Raj Narain Passi. Shri Kameshwar Paswan was a Member of the 11th Lok Sabha representing Nawada Parliamentary Constituency of Bihar. Earlier, Shri Paswan was a Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly for two terms and served as the Welfare Minister in the Government of Bihar from 1977 to 1979. He was also a Member of Rajya Sabha from 1990 to 1996. A teacher and a social worker, Shri Paswan worked for the upliftment of the weaker and downtrodden sections of society. Shri Kameshwar Paswan passed away on 28th May, 2018 in Patna, Bihar at the age of 77. Shri Pandurang Pundlik Fundkar was a Member of 9th, 10th and 11th Lok Sabha representing Akola Parliamentary Constituency of Maharashtra. Shri Fundkar was Minister for Agriculture and Horticulture in the Government of Maharashtra at the time of his death. Earlier, he was a Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for two terms and a Member of Maharashtra Legislative Council for three terms. Shri Pandurang Pundlik Fundkar passed away on 31st May, 2018 in Mumbai, Maharashtra at the age of 67. Shri Raj Narain Passi was a Member of 10th, 12th and 13th Lok Sabha representing Bansgaon Parliamentary Constituency of Uttar Pradesh. Shri Raj Narain Passi passed away on 19th July, 2018 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh at the age of 69. We deeply mourn the loss of our three former colleagues. I am sure the House will join me in conveying our condolences to the bereaved families. The Members then stood in silence for a short while. ________ SUBMISSIONS BY MEMBERS (i) Re: Circular of UGC treating respective Department of University as an unit resulting in denial of reservation in promotion to reserved category candidates. THE MINISTER OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS AND MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS(SHRI ANANTH KUMAR) responding to the issue raised by several hon. Members, said: The Government has filed special leave petition in the Supreme Court with regard to the reservation given to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs in the matter of recruitment as well as promotion in the UGC and other universities. Further, the Government will not allow any change in the provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The Government has also filed a Special Leave Petition to review the decision. _______ *MATTERS UNDER RULE 377 (1) SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH laid a statement regarding improving railway connectivity in Jhalawar Parliamentary Constituency, Rajasthan. (2) SHRI AJAY MISRA TENI laid a statement regarding need to start production and marketing of Ayurvedic medicine for acute promyelocytic leukemia. (3) SHRIMATI RAKSHATAI KHADSE laid a statement regarding need to desilt all the dams and reservoirs in the country. (4) SHRI SATYAPAL SINGH laid a statement regarding need to address the problem of contaminated water in Sambhal Parliamentary Constituency, Uttar Pradesh. * Laid on the Table as directed by the Chair. (5) SHRI JANAK RAM laid a statement regarding need to undertake renovation of approach roads of railway stations, construction of foot- over bridges and road over bridges on level crossings in Gopalganj district, Bihar. (6) ADV. NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR laid a statement regarding need to set up a Committee of Experts to study use of Formaldehyde for preservation of fish. (7) SHRI DEVENDRA SINGH BHOLE laid a statement regarding irregularities in post office situated in Pipar Gawan village in Bidhnu Development block in Akbarpur Parliamentary Constituency, Uttar Pradesh. (8) SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK laid a statement regarding need to provide adequate compensation to villagers relocated from Sanjay National Park in Sidhi Parliamentary Constituency, Madhya Pradesh. (9) SHRI HARISH MEENA laid a statement regarding need to fill up vacant posts in Government offices and departments and also to regularize the services of contractual/temporary employees working in government sector. (10) SHRI GOPAL SHETTY laid a statement regarding irregularities in operation of petrol pumps in Thane district, Maharashtra. (11) DR. RAMESH POKHRIYAL NISHANK laid a statement regarding need to start skill development and entrepreneurship programme in Uttarakhand based on the potential of natural resources of the State. (12) SHRI JUGAL KISHORE laid a statement regarding need to expedite four-laning of Jammu-Akhnoor-Poonch National Highway. (13) SHRI VINOD KUMAR SONKAR laid a statement regarding need to impart knowledge of Constitution of India to students in schools and higher educational institutions. (14) SHRI RAJENDRA AGRAWAL laid a statement regarding need to set up a Planetarium in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. (15) SHRI MOHD. ASRARUL HAQUE laid a statement regarding need to grant the status of State Government employee to Aanganwadi workers. (16) SHRI ANTO ANTONY laid a statement regarding final notification on Western Ghats relating to Ecologically Sensitive areas. (17) SHRI MULLAPPALLY RAMACHANDRAN laid a statement regarding need to allocate funds to Kerala for construction of sea walls along the coastline. (18) SHRI R.K. BHARATHI MOHAN laid a statement regarding need to set up a Kendriya Vidyalaya at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. (19) SHRI M. CHANDRAKASI laid a statement regarding need to provide stoppage of Antyodaya Express and Rameshwaram- Bhubaneswar Express at Chidambaram railway station. (20) SHRI NAGENDRA KUMAR PRADHAN laid a statement regarding non-payment of insurance amount to farmers of Odisha by a private insurance company. (21) SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE laid a statement regarding need to set up fast track courts for early disposal of corruption cases. (22) SHRI VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK laid a statement regarding need to implement Land Acquisition Act, 2013 in letter and spirit in Jharkhand. _______ THE TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS (PREVENTION, PROTECTION AND REHABILITATION) BILL, 2018 THE MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI MANEKA SANJAY GANDHI) moving the motion for consideration of the Bill, said: Children are the soul of India because in them we see the culmination of our dreams and hopes as a nation. We have defended and empowered the decisive role that women play in the growth story of India. We can not sit silent and let women and children be bought and sold. If today we do not pass the Bill we will deny the millions of our children the fundamental rights of life and liberty. The crime of trafficking is hugely organized and largely invisible. Our children's future is put into jeopardy because our laws and Bills failed them. We will have to target the backbone of this organized crime. This Bill has received over 300 suggestions from public and civil society. Regional consultations have been held in all the main cities. The Bill makes relief and rehabilitation of the rescued person a matter of right. Human trafficking is a borderless crime. The Bill provides for a National Bureau to effectively address this aspect. The setting up of special Anti-Human Trafficking Units(AHTU) all over the country is an important step. The Bill also provides for freezing and confiscating illicit assets, born out of trafficking crimes. The buying and selling of human beings is being made a cognizable offence. Let us make this Bill a reality today to protect our citizens, especially the most vulnerable ones, women and children. DR. SHASHI THAROOR initiating said: It is a matter of deep concern in our country and across the world that lakhs of people, especially women and children are trafficked by illegal placement agencies and rackets. Trafficking must be rooted out this Bill does not do that. We already have numerous laws which deal with trafficking but the problem with all these laws is that they have varied approaches and parallel enforcement and institutional mechanisms to deal with trafficking. So, the need of the hour is a comprehensive legislation which brings out a clear-cut strategy to deal with trafficking. This Bill is a rehash of existing laws. The Bill heavily relies on the definition of trafficking provided under Section 370 of the IPC. However, this provision and Section 370A have been applied liberally by the Police and the courts going well beyond the legislative intent of those provisions. There is lack of safeguards in all the provisions in the Bill. The legal system, unfortunately, conflates the fine distinction between those women who are trafficked into sex work and adult consenting sex workers. There are numerous instances in which the Police have threatened sex workers and this Bill has no safeguards against such misuse. This Bill criminalizes trafficking for the purpose of begging and I fear that this provision will now be used to target transgender groups because they beg as often as they do. The Bill uses phrases such as 'may lead to trafficking' or 'likely to be used for trafficking' in penal provisions. These provisions can be struck down by the Judiciary. The Bill creates a new offence of aggravated trafficking but it is not clear as to what is aggravated trafficking all about? It is distressing to note that Clause 16 of the Bill which allows medical examination of victims fails to mention that the consent of the victim shall be taken as and when practical. As regards rehabilitation, we need to make sure that the people who do not want to be in these rehabilitation homes are not forcefully incarcerated in them. The Bill empowers the Magistrate to release victims from these homes but there is no requirement for the Magistrate to hear them in person before deciding on the merits of their case nor is there an appeal procedure provided if the Magistrate rejects the application.

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