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LOK SABHA ___ SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES (Proceedings other than Questions & Answers) ______ Monday, April 20, 2015 / Chaitra 30, 1937 (Saka) ______ OBITUARY REFERENCES HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, it is with profound sadness and grief that the House has learnt of the passing away of H.E. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister and the Founding Father of Singapore. The House expresses its deepest sympathies, heart-felt condolences and its solidarity to the Government, the Parliament and to the people of Singapore for this great loss. I have also to inform the House about the sad demise of two former Members Smt. Rano M. Shaiza and Shri Ghufran Azam. Smt. Rano M Shaiza was a Member of the Sixth Lok Sabha representing the Nagaland Parliamentary Constituency of Nagaland. Smt. Shaiza was a Member of the Committee on Petitions during the Sixth Lok Sabha. An educationist by profession, Smt. Shaiza was associated with a number of women, children and youth associations and strove for spread of education. Smt. Rano M. Shaiza passed away on 1st April, 2015 in Kohima at the age of 86. Shri Ghufran Azam was a Member of the Seventh Lok Sabha representing the Betul Parliamentary Constituency of Madhya Pradesh. Shri Azam also served as a Member of the Rajya Sabha for two terms. An active social and political worker, Shri Azam worked for the upliftment of the backward and downtrodden sections of society. Shri Ghufran Azam passed away on 2 April, 2015 in Mumbai at the age of 72. We deeply mourn the loss of our former colleagues and I am sure the House would join me in conveying our condolences to the bereaved families. Hon. Members, 58 people are reported to have been killed and over 150 others injured when Dehradun Varanasi Janata Express derailed near Bachhrawan in Uttar Pradesh on 20 March, 2015. Hon. Members, in a natural calamity more than 16 people are reported to have been killed and several others injured in floods caused due to heavy rains in Jammu and Kashmir on 1 and 2 April, 2015. The floods also affected the livelihood of several people and caused large-scale destruction and devastation of property, crops and cattle in the State. In another tragic incident, 13 para military personnel were killed in four separate extremist attacks in Sukma, Kanker and Dantewada on 11, 12 and 13 April, 2015. The House expresses its profound sorrow on these tragedies and attacks which have brought pain and suffering to the bereaved families and wishes the injured a speedy recovery. Hon. Members, further as you are aware on 2 April, 2015 in a barbaric terrorist attack in the precincts of the University campus at Garissa in north-eastern Kenya, 148 persons, mostly students, were killed and 79 others were injured. We condemn this cowardly terrorist act in the strongest terms possible. We stand in solidarity and sympathy with the bereaved families and the injured and convey our heart-felt condolences to the Government and the people of Kenya. We also urge international community to redouble its commitment to fight the menace of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The Members then stood in silence for a short while. SUBMISSIONS BY MEMBERS (i) Re: Situation arising due to inflammatory statements made by politicians including Parliamentarians. THE MINISTER OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT, MINISTER OF HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI M. VENKAIAH NAIDU) responding to the issue raised by an hon. Member said: The issue raised by hon. Members definitely is an important issue that has to be responded to. Nobody in the Government approves of such statements, particular, at personal level. This sort of comments is not acceptable to anybody. (ii) Re: Need to conduct an enquiry into the alleged irregularities in various competitive examinations conducted by U.P.P.S.C. THE MINISTER OF STATE OF THE MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY) responding to the issues raised by several hon. Members said: An hon. Member has raised the issue regarding lathicharge on him. Of course, it is a matter of concern for the House. I would like to assure the House to seek detailed information in this regard and suitable action would be taken thereon . FELICITAITON BY THE SPEAKER HON'BLE SPEAKER: Hon'ble Members, I am sure all of you will join me in extending our felicitations to badminton star Saina Nehwal for becoming the first women badminton player from India to achieve number one rank in women's singles and to Sania Mirza for becoming the first women tennis player from India to achieve the world number one rank in women's doubles. These stupendous achievements are a matter of national pride and will be a source of inspiration for all our budding sportspersons. We convey our best wishes to Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza in their future endeavors, too. STATEMENT BY MINISTER Re. Recent Developments in the Republic of Yemen and Efforts Made for safe Evacuation of Indian Nationals from There THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS AND MINISTER OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS (SHRIMATI SUSHMA SWARAJ): I rise to make a statement on the "recent developments in the Republic of Yemen and efforts made for the safe evacuation of Indian nationals from there". I am glad to inform this August House that operation "Raahat" conducted for the evacuation of Indian nationals from war-torn Yemen has been a resounding success, well-acknowledged by the international community. We not only managed to safely evacuate 4,741 Indians but also 1,947 foreign nationals from 48 countries till 18 April under most difficult circumstances. Our approach in the evacuation process has been guided by the spirit of "Vasudev Kutumbkam". We are all aware of the internal turmoil Yemen has witnessed since post- Arab spring protests in 2011. Due to serious differences between Zaidi Shia group of Houthis from Northern Yemen and the federal government led by President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the country has been witnessing political uncertainty and worsening security scenario since September 2014. The Government of India has kept a regular and close watch on the internal developments in Yemen. The deteriorating internal situation in Yemen not only has a direct bearing on the regional security but also on the safety and well-being of our nationals living there. As per estimates from our Embassy in Sana'a, over 4,000 Indians were working in various sectors in Yemen. In anticipation of a possible deterioration of the security environment in Yemen, the Ministry of External Affairs and our Embassy in Sana'a issued three advisories on 21 January, 19 March and 25 March this year urging our nationals there to leave Yemen voluntarily by available commercial means as it was possible to leave safely. At that time, no one paid attention to these advisories and none left Yemen. Thereafter, an inter-ministerial team led by a senior official from the Ministry of External Affairs visited Yemen from 9-13 March to assess the local security situation and to advise on additional security measures required for the protection of our Embassy officials and other Indian nationals living there. We took urgent and necessary steps to ensure security of our nationals and got in touch with the local Yemeni authorities and other governments in the region for their safe and timely evacuation. The no-fly zone imposed on the Yemeni airspace and blockade of sea route by the coalition forces made the evacuation exercise a complex and very difficult task. I personally spoke to the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia on 27 and 29 March and requested for assistance in our evacuation efforts. On 30 March, Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji, had a telephonic conversation with the King of Saudi Arabia, His Majesty King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, during which the King of Saudi Arabia assured him of all necessary assistance. An "inter-ministerial Standing Group for Repatriation of Indian nationals from Abroad" under the chairmanship of Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs Shri Anil Wadhwa met on a daily basis since 26 March to plan, coordinate and implement the evacuation plans. I myself chaired several meetings of this Group from 30 March onwards to review and make effective the plans for evacuation by air and sea route. We established a 24- hour control room and help-lines in the Ministry of External Affairs from 26 March to assist our nationals in Yemen and their concerned family members in India. Similar 24-hour4 help-lines were established in our Embassy in Sana'a and control room in Djibouti. Keeping in view the complexity of the operations, we made Djibouti the hub for our evacuation efforts. My colleague Minister of State General V.K. Singh personally supervised these efforts from our camp office in Djibouti. He shuttled between Sana'a and Djibouti sparing no effort to accomplish this difficult task. I would like to add that General V.K Singh worked not like a Minister but like a former General of the Army. He was duly assisted by our Ambassador in Ethiopia Shri Sanjay Verma operating from Djibouti. We also deputed 26 officials from the Ministry of External Affairs to Djibouti and Sana'a to strengthen and coordinate our evacuation efforts. Necessary logistical arrangements were put in place in coordination with the Ministries of Home, Defence and Civil Aviation for the evacuation. We deployed adequate capacity for evacuation through 5 naval ships and 7 aircrafts. There were 3 Indian navy warships - INS Sumitra, INS Mumbai and INS Tarkash and 2 Indian passenger vessels provided to us by the Ministry of Home Affairs - Kavaratti and Coral.

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