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Home , Mukesh Rajput, Pushpendra Singh Chandel, Ravi Shankar Prasad

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SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES* (Proceedings other than Questions & Answers) ______

Friday, June 21, 2019 / Jyaishtha 31, 1941 (Saka) ______

REFERENCE BY THE SPEAKER

HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, as you all know, today is International

Yoga Day. Yoga is an ancient, physical, mental and spiritual exercise with its origin in . This is an invaluable gift given to the entire world by us.

Today, I congratulate all the hon. Members where more than 130 Members of Lok Sabha and participated in Yoga inside Parliament Campus on the occasion of International Yoga Day. On 11th December 2014, the United

Nations declared 21st June as International Yoga Day. We and our Parliament are proud that today the entire world is celebrating International Yoga Day, the declaration of which was made by the UNO at the initiative of the . Congratulations and best wishes to you all.

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* Hon. Members may kindly let us know immediately the choice of language (Hindi or English) for obtaining Synopsis of Lok Sabha Debates. PANEL OF CHAIRPERSONS

HON. SPEAKER: Hon. Members, I have to inform the House that I have, under rule 9 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, nominated the following members as the Members of the Panel of Chairpersons:-

1. Shrimati Rama Devi

2. Dr. Kirit P. Solanki

3. Shri

4. Shrimati Meenakashi Lekhi

I have requested the hon. Members of other political parties to send their suggestions to the Secretary General, so that they may also be nominated on the

Panel of Chairpersons.

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THE MUSLIM WOMEN (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS ON MARRIAGE)

BILL, 2019

THE MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE; MINISTER OF

COMMUNICATIONS AND MINISTER OF ELECTRONICS AND

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD) moved the motion that leave be granted to introduce a Bill to protect the rights of married

Muslim women and to prohibit divorce by pronouncing talaq by their husbands and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. DR. SHASHI THAROOR opposing the introduction of the Bill, said: I rise to oppose the introduction of the Bill. I am not defending triple talaq, but I am opposing the text, draft and thrust of this Bill. This Bill conflates civil law and criminal law. Since abandoning or deserting wives and dependents is not unique to

Muslim community, then why not make a law that universally criminalises the abandonment of family and dependents. The Bill is a textbook example of what is called a class legislation. Secondly, the Bill does nothing to improve the status of

Muslim women who suffer from numerous other difficulties. Finally, the Bill also does not have any procedural safeguards and can be easily misused. I would, therefore, urge that instead of introducing the Bill, it should be referred to the

Standing Committee.

SHRI N.K. PREMACHANDRAN: I am opposing the introduction of the

Bill. The Bill exceeds the legislative power of Parliament as the subject matter comes in the Concurrent List of the Constitution. Secondly, criminalizing a civil wrong done by a particular community alone is discriminatory. My third objection is that the Bill is violative of Article 13(2) of the Constitution. Marriage disputes in all religions are governed by personal laws and are treated as civil in nature.

Finally, the Bill exceeds the legislative competence.

SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI: This Bill is violative of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution and this is discriminatory in nature. This Bill does not safeguard the interests of the women. Burden of proof has been left with the women. When the husband of a woman is lodged in jail for three years, who will pay the maintenance to the woman?

SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD: We had passed this Bill in the month of December in the last Lok Sabha and this was pending in Rajya Sabha. Since the term of Lok Sabha had ended and now we are in the new Lok Sabha, we have brought this Bill again. This is neither a question of politics nor of faith but a question of justice to the women and their dignity. Should we, as Parliamentarians, not think of doing justice to the women who are not getting it even after 70 years of independence and despite the Supreme Court having given a judgement in their favour. 543 cases of triple talaq have come up from the year 2017 in which more than 229 cases came up after the judgement of the Supreme Court. This is a question of justice, humanity and the honour and dignity of women of this country.

Our Government is committed to this issue. I introduce this Bill and urge the august House to pass it.

The Bill was introduced.

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OATH OR AFFIRMATION

The following Member took the oath or made the affirmation as follows, signed the Roll of Members and took his seat in the House. Sl. Name of Member Constituency State Oath/ Language

No. Affirmation

1. Shri Prajwal Revanna Hassan Karnataka Oath Kannada

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PRIVATE MEMBERS' RESOLUTIONS

Re: Construction of canals through Ken-Betwa river linking project to overcome

the problem of water scarcity and stray cows in the Bundelkhand region.

KUNWAR moving the Resolution said: Bundelkhand is a very backward area of our country. It has lot of shortcomings and there is no water for the farmers. People are forced to leave their cows out in the open for grazing due to the water crisis and unavailability of animal feed which is commonly known as the Ann Pratha and it causes damage to the crops in the fields. The Government is working actively in this direction but the biggest crisis there is that of paucity of water. Farmers do not have animal feed. They are unable to produce food grains and their children are forced to migrate. Due to all these reasons, a large scale migration has taken place there. If

Bundelkhand gets the required water than it has so much capacity and so much fertility that it will not need anything else. But no big water bodies have been constructed there in the last 30-40 years. Any dams or canals existing there presently are unable to provide the required quantum of water to the farmers giving rise to a number of problems. River linking project on Ken river will be the first such project in the country to link the rivers. Ken river has enough water but during monsoon the entire water, along with the flood water, flows rapidly and falls into the river Yamuna and thus the entire water goes waste. Bundelkhand has a huge area but has a very low population density. Distance between villages is between 8-10 kilometers and it takes a lot of time in commuting. More than half of our problems can be solved if water management is done properly. A 222 kilometer long canal is being built under Ken-Betwa river linking project which is the only ray of hope for us. In these three districts together about seven lakh animals have been let loose by the farmers from their homes. The farmers have gone away from there. There is exodus of youth also to bigger cities. There is none in the villages to take care of the animals. These animals are grazing the crops of the farmers. Kane-Betwa linking project and availability of adequate water is the solution to half of our problems. There is Gokul mission here and many cow shelters have been constructed thereunder. Cow shelters are being constructed for about 24 lakh cows. Distinguished people of the society as well as saints are constructing such cow shelters. Eversince the Yogi Government has assumed power in , this work is progressing at a faster pace. Every village panchayat has been given the budget to complete this work early. The problems of our cows will soon be resolved. Kane-Betwa linking project is a very important issue. I deem it very fortunate for the people of Bundelkhand that again a sensitive government has been formed at the Center. Taking into account the important issues of our area, the government will take some concrete measures.

All necessary help is being provided in our area to dig wells & ponds and to maintain them. There are many locations in Betwa and Yamuna river basins where barrages can be constructed without acquiring any land and the whole area can be provided adequate water. There will be no need to bring water from outside. In my Parliamentary Constituency, Betwa river merges with Yamuna and there is confluence of Ganga and Yamuna at some distance from our place and thereafter the entire water flows into the ocean. We are asking to hold this water. There is no other resource of water in Bundelkhand area. Tubewells are also not very successful in this area. I hope and believe that our Government will soon start the

Kane-Betwa linking project as major share of the water of this project will be available for Uttar Pradesh. The water will be supplied to Mahoba district also and this will solve most of our problems.

DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY: In the year 2002, the then Prime Minister Shri

Atal Bihari Vajpayee constituted an expert committee. One of the major recommendations given by the committee was to accord top priority to the inter- linking of Ken-Betwa and Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal rivers. In the year 2004, our

Government gave way to the UPA Government led by the Congress which did nothing for a long period of ten years upto 2014. When Modi ji came into power we thought for doing something in this regard. We got the work started on Ken-

Betwa link. An MoU was signed between the State Governments of Madhya

Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. It is incumbent upon us to make available drinking water to the common people and to the farmers for the purpose of irrigation as well as to industry. We, the people of Santhal Paragana in Jharkhand, have been grappling with this problem. We do not have water, therefore, we are not able to set up industry. Bengal has been using our water resources. The same type of situation is prevailing in Bundelkhand. I would like to congratulate hon. Prime

Minister for paying attention towards the problem of drinking water and irrigation.

I would like to remind him that we belong to smaller States. Here the geographically larger States have a dominant voice. We seek deliverance from this domination.

SHRI NIHAL CHAND: Rajasthan is a desert State which always grapples with the scarcity of water. Had the vision of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji to interlink the rivers been realized, the country would have been able to provide water in drought affected areas for the purpose of drinking and irrigation. Now the

BJP Government is trying to ensure that water reaches to every farmer's field. This

Government has provided a budget of Rs.3200 crore for Rajasthan canal. For the first time a large amount has been provided for renovation of canals in Rajasthan.

And also for the first time we have taken up the cleaning of Harike Barrage since its inception in 1952. Rajasthan is not getting its share of water even after reaching four inter-state water agreements. I request the Government to provide Rajasthan .6

M.A.F. water which is its legitimate share. The Chairman of BBMB is appointed from 3 States on rotation basis but it has not been appointed from Rajasthan till now. I request that Rajasthan should also get this chance. The Mukhya Mantri Jal

Swabhiman Abhiyan initiated in Rajasthan is a very good scheme and should be implemented in the entire country to enhance water conservation. Another sensitive issue is that the toxic water from 383 factories is released to Harike

Barrage which is polluting water in Canal and causing serious diseases like cancer etc. to the people of 13 districts in Rajasthan including my constituency. I request that these 383 factories should be closed immediately so that the lives of people there are not jeopardized. I hope the Government would take steps to ensure that Rajasthan gets its due share of water.

SHRI : The depleting water level cannot be improved unless we interlink the rivers in the country. Today the condition of ponds in the country is very pathetic and people are using them as dustbin. I request that the beautification of ponds should be done under MGNRGA. Also, there is a need to create awareness among people not to use the sources of water as a dumping site.

Besides, the crops should be sown as per their sowing time so that adequate production could be ensured even by using less water. My Parliamentary

Constituency Farrukhabad is also facing the problem of Anna cattle who often destroy the standing crops in the fields. Legal action should be taken against the farmers who let loose such animals and leave them to wander. I request that the problem of Anna cattle should be addressed properly. Secondly, if the water problem continues, the young people will be forced to migrate to big cities in search of employment because they would not be able to cultivate their land due to scarcity of water. We all need to pay attention to it. Immediate action should be taken for interlinking of rivers. It will also help in tackling the problem of floods.

We will not be able to save the ground water level without interlinking the rivers.

SHRI : Due to scarcity of water in

Bundelkhand region in Uttar Pradesh, cattle do not get sufficient fodder there.

Moreover, the financial condition of the people of the Bundelkhand region will not improve unless the farmers there are provided proper irrigation facilities. The proposal to construct a network of canals from the proposed Ken-Betwa river linking project has been put into cold storage. The farmers are suffering a lot due to Anna cattle. Following the elections in 2017 the Government led by Shri Aditya

Nath Yogi in Uttar Pradesh chalked out various schemes to address the issue of

Anna cattle. Accordingly cowsheds are to be built in the Bundelkhand region.

There will be storage facility for husks of foodgrains to use them as fodder for such cows. The Uttar Pradesh Government is trying its best to bring an end to this Anna

Pratha and therefore it is providing a lot of money. The area of Kanpur adjacent to

Bundelkhand also suffers from scarcity of water for want of rain water. All the five rivers namely Yamuna, Kunwari, Sindh, Bahuj and Chamol should be interlinked and a dam be built there. The huge amount of water stored from these rivers will solve the problem of water crisis enabling irrigation of fields and providing drinking water for the cattle. (Speech unfinished)

The Discussion was not concluded.

SNEHLATA SHRIVASTAVA Secretary General

© 2019 BY LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NOTE: It is the verbatim Debate of the Lok Sabha and not the Synopsis that should be considered authoritative.

English and Hindi versions of Synopses of Lok Sabha Debates are also available at http://loksabha.nic.in.