RAJYA SABHA _______ SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES _________ (Proceedings other than Questions and Answers) _______ Tuesday, November 27, 2007/Agrahayana 6, 1929 (Saka) _______ GOVERNMENT BILL - WITHDRAWN The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) (Union Territories) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2003. ________ GOVERNMENT BILL - INTRODUCED The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) (Union Territories) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2007. ________ MATTERS RAISED WITH PERMISSION OF THE CHAIR I. Protection of rights of Adivasis SHRIMATI BRINDA KARAT: Today in our country there is a question of the protection of tribals, protection of their respect and rights and implementation of provisions provided in the Constitution. One adivasi woman was stripped and paraded 112 publicly on the roads in Guwahati. The local people provided refuge to her and protected her. Judicial probe orders have been issued regarding the incident of Guwahati, but still two hundred fifty tribals are admitted in hospital at present. Rules regarding the Forest Rights Act have not been notified for one year as a result of which s a large number of Adivasis are being evicted from their homes and lands in the forests all over the country in many state. First recognise and vest the forest rights in all Adivasis including protected areas. Secondly, wildlife habitat may be identified and where necessary Adivasis may be relocated according to certain procedures. (Shri Ajay Maroo, Shri Surendra Lath, Shri Rudra Narayan Pany, Shri Pyarelal Khandelwal, Shri Dinesh Trivedi, Shri D. Raja, Dr. (Shrimati) Najma A. Heptulla and Shri Brij Bhushan Tiwari associated.) II. Demolition of temples in Malayasia SHRI BALAVANT alias BAL APTE: I want to draw the attention of the Minister of External Affairs towards a large number of temples being demolished in Malayasia. There has been violence on account of fundamentalism. The prime Minister and the Minister of External Affairs should contact the neighbouring country and save the Hindus there, who are feeling insecure, whose rights are being violated. (Shri Surendra Lath, Shri Rudra Narayan Pany and Shri Thanga Tamil Selvan associated.) 113 III. Demand to write off the loans of poor weavers SHRI ALI ANWAR: Weavers and other artisans in various States like U.P. Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are committing suicide and migrating on account of not getting employment and not getting their products sold out. Hon'ble Minister Shri Vaghela had given assurance in this House that a decision regarding waiving off the loans of about Rs. 800 crore on weavers and providing loans at 7% interest to the rural weavers would be taken shortly. The wives of the weavers sell their blood for Rs. 150-200 in Government and other Hospitals, then they arrange the meal for their family. Why the situation is so bad? The reason is that fabrics and yarns are coming from China and the markets here are dumped with Chinese goods. After agriculture maximum employment comes from this occupation. If something is not done in this regard, the social system and structure of the country would be spoilt. (Shri Rudra Narayan Pany, Shri Penumalli Madhu and Shri M.V. Mysura Reddy associated.) IV. Misuse of Office by former Chief Justice of India SHRI SHARAD YADAV : I would like to raise a question of corruption prevalent in Judiciary in the country. If credibility of the Judiciary is eroded, it will be very harmful for the democracy. The sons of a former Chief Justice of India are partner in a Mall in Delhi and their share capital was worth Rs.1,00,000 initially and their father has himself admitted that now their share capital has been soared to Rs.200 crore. It is evident that the way demolition was undertaken in entire Delhi has benefited their company. Therefore, this matter should be investigated. 114 I demand that a Judicial Commission on this matter should be constituted and the Judicial Inquiry Bill, pending before the Parliament, should be passed immediately. The harassment of all journalists of Mid-Day should be stopped. I demand that a Short Duration Discussion in the House on the matter should be allowed so that all facts in the matter may be put forward. (Shri Shatrughan Sinha, Shri Digvijay Singh, Shri D. Raja, Dr. M. S. Gill, Shri Datta Meghe, Shrimati Supriya Sule and Shrimati Kanimozhi associated.) V. Attack and arrest of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Nevy SHRI V. NARAYANASAMY: The Indian fishermen, living in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, when they go for fishing in Indian maritime waters near the Sri Lankan border, the Sri Lankan Navy, under the guise that the Indian fishermen crossed over to their territory, takes them into custody, takes them to Sri Lanka, keeps them in their jail and after due intervention by the Government of India and also by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu release them. It happened on several occasions. Sometimes, they take away their boats and damage the boats of Indian fishermen also. The fishermen from Nagapattinam, Tuticorin, Rameshwaram, Nagercoil, etc., are affected and their families have been suffering. On the one side, the Sri Lankan Navy is taking them into custody and, on the other, the LTTE, the terrorist group, is attacking them in the mid-sea. It is the duty of the Government of India to protect the Indian fishermen from being harassed by the Sri Lankan Naval Force and the terrorist groups. I want the Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs to take up the issue with the Sri Lankan Government. 115 THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI ANAND SHARMA) : The Government takes note of the issue that has been raised here. In the past, when any such incident has taken place, the Government of India has firmly taken up this matter and the Coast Guard is under strict instructions for regular patrolling. We are just assuring them that the desired steps have been taken and shall be taken in the future to assuage the grievance of the fishermen in that area. VI. Need for adherence to ethics by public servants in their public and private life SHRI SANTOSH BAGRODIA : This is not the question of ethics only for public activities, only for Parliamentary activities, only for Government activities, but in private life also some kind of ethics have to be maintained. I have given notice to the Chairman under Rule 303 and another notice to the Chairman, Ethics Committee under Rule 295. The point is, in Rajasthan, some Ryan has taken place. They say that it is a custom there. If it is not as per rules, if senior Members of this House have got involved in this kind of activity, I request the Chairman to accept my notice and give it to the Ethics Committee. I also request the Chairman, Ethics Committee to look into it. They should take suo moto action. (Shri V. Narayanasamy associated.) VII. Protest by Doctors over Government's recruitment policy of rural Doctors SHRI D. RAJA : I would like to submit before the House a very important issue in regard to recruitment of doctors for rural services. As of now, the duration of the MBBS course is four-and-a-half years plus one year internship. Now, this 116 duration has been increased from five-and-a-half years to six- and-a-half years. This has led to a lot of apprehension and agitation not only in Tamil Nadu but also several other States. Even there is a confusion in that; in this period of one year, they say, for rural services, actually four months are to be served in District Headquarters hospitals; four months in Tehsil hospitals and only four months in villages. Now it is for the Union Government to give due consideration because there are a lot of apprehensions in the minds of students, that in the name of compulsory rural health services, they are being punished. The Government should have a clear policy in relation to the recruitment of doctors. (Dr. V. Maitreyan, Shri Su. Thirunavukkarasar and Shri V. Naraynasamy also spoke.) (Shrimati Supriya Sule, Shrimati Kanimozhi, Shri R. Shanmugasundaram and Dr. E. M. Sudarsana Natchiappan associated.) VIII. Deaths due to Malaria and Diarrhoea in tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh SHRI RAVULA CHANDRA SEKAR REDDY : The tribals in the districts called Adilabad, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari and in other parts of the State are suffering from Malaria, Diarrhoea and other diseases. During the past few weeks, 175 people died in Adilabad District alone. The State Administration has totally failed in helping the poor tribals in getting the medical attention. I demand that the Government of India should send a team of doctors from Delhi to see to it that full medical attention is extended to the poor. (Shri Penumalli Madhu also spoke.) (Shri M. V. Mysura Reddy associated.) 117 SPECIAL MENTIONS I. Concern over proliferation of explosives and small arms SHRI SANTOSH BAGRODIA: I rise to commend the attention of this House to the recent reports suggesting proliferation of explosives and small arms among anauthorised and potentially subversive elements. During 2004-06, 86000 detonators, 20 MT slurry explosive, 52 km. of detonating fuse and about half MT of explosive Gelatin sticks have been stolen or diverted to such elements from some 21000 licensed explosive manufacturers. Explosive substances like Ammonium Nitrate and Potassium Chlorate, that were used in recent blasts, are available freely in the market. The geographical spread of such thefts is confined largely to Naxal infested areas of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and Marathwada. Another associated challenge for internal security is the spread of assault arms among subversive groups, organized crime-gangs and country made arms in the rural areas. Even more alarming is the pilferage from the Ordnance factories and government arms depots.