LOK SABHA ___ SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES (Proceedings other than Questions & Answers) ______ Monday, February 23, 2015 / Phalguna 4, 1936 (Saka) ______ NATIONAL ANTHEM The National Anthem was played . OATH BY MEMBER Smt. Mamta Thakur representing the Bangaon constituency of West Bengal took oath in Bengali, signed the Roll of Members and took her seat in the House. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS Copy laid on the Table of the House OBITUARY REFERENCES HON'BLE SPEAKER: Hon'ble Members, I have to inform the House of the sad demise of His Majesty King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the king of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In the passing away of His Majesty King Abdullah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has lost a beloved King. Under his leadership, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia achieved remarkable progress and prosperity. He made a lasting contribution to the regional and global affairs well acknowledged by the world community. We, in India, remember him as a friend and well wisher, whose landmark visit to India in January 2006 opened a golden chapter in our bilateral engagement. India has maintained close and friendly relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the King Abdullah. These bonds have been especially strengthened by the presence of a large expatriate Indian community which has found a home in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We deeply mourn the loss of His Majesty King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and I am sure the House would join me in conveying our condolences to the bereaved family and the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Hon'ble Members, I have to inform the House about the sad demise of four former members Shri G. Venkatswamy, Major Ranjeet Singh, Dr. Sarojini Mahishi and Dr. Ramanaidu Daggubati. Shri G. Venkatswamy was a member of the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Fourteenth Lok Sabhas representing the Siddipet Parliamentary Constituency of Andhra Pradesh during the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Lok Sabhas and the Peddapalli Parliamentary Constituency of Andhra Pradesh now in Telangana during the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Fourteenth Lok Sabhas. An astute administrator, Shri Venkatswamy ably held various portfolios in the Union Council of Ministers. He served as Minister of Labour and Textiles; Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development and Deputy Minister in the Ministries of Labour and Rehabilitation and Supply and Rehabilitation. Earlier, Shri Venkatswamy was also a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly for two terms from 1957 to 1962 and 1978 to 1984. He served as Minister of Labour and Civil Supply in the Government of Andhra Pradesh. A committed Parliamentarian, Shri Venkatswamy served as a member of various parliamentary committees. Shri G. Venkatswamy passed away on 22 December, 2014 in Hyderabad at the age of 85. Major Ranjeet Singh was a member of the Fourth Lok Sabha representing the Khalilabad Parliamentary Constituency of Uttar Pradesh. A veteran freedom fighter, Major Ranjeet Singh actively participated in the 1942 movement of freedom struggle. Later , he valiantly fought for the Nation in the Indo-Pak War of 1965. A man of letters, Major Ranjeet Singh has to his credit two books ' Awake, Arise or Perish'; 'In Tigers Tracks' and an Hindi epic poem on the 1857 war of independence. A sportsman to the core, he was the All India Weight Wrestling Champion in 1944. Major Ranjeet Singh passed away on 4 January, 2015 in Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh at the age of 90. Dr. Sarojini Mahishi was a member of the Third to Sixth Lok Sabhas representing the Dharwad North Parliamentary Constituency of Karnataka. An able parliamentarian, Dr. Mahishi served as Deputy Minister for tourism and Civil Aviation from 1969 to 1971; Minister of State for Tourism and Civil Aviation from 1971 to 1974 and as Minister of State for Law, Justice and Company Affairs from 1974 to 1976 in the Union Government. She was also a member of the Panel of Chairpersons, Lok Sabha and served as member of the Library Committee during the Sixth Lok Sabha. Dr. Mahishi was also a member of Rajya Sabha for two terms from 1983 to 1990 and served as the Vice- Chairman, Rajya Sabha from 1984 to 1985. Dr. Mahishi was associated with a number of women, children and youth associations and strove for spread of education among women and children. Dr. Mahishi was an accomplished writer and has to her credit 18 books in Kannada and Hindi. Dr. Sarojini Mahishi passed away on 25 January, 2015 in Ghaziabad at the age of 88. Dr. Ramanaidu Daggubati was a member of the Thirteenth Lok Sabha representing the Bapatla Parliamentary Constituency of Andhra Pradesh. He was a member of the Committee on External Affairs during the Thirteenth Lok Sabha. A renowned multilingual film producer, Dr. Ramanaidu produced more than hundreds films in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Bengali languages. His name figures in the Guinness Book of World Records and Limca Book of Records for producing maximum number of films during his career in Indian Cinema. Dr. Ramanaidu was conferred with the Padma Bhushan in recognition for his contribution to Telugu cinema in 2012. He was also a recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for Lifetime Achievement for his outstanding contribution to the film industry in 2009. Dr. Ramanaidu passed away on 18 February, 2015 in Hyderabad at the age of 79. We deeply mourn the loss of our former colleagues and I am sure the House would join me in conveying our condolence to the bereaved families. Hon'ble Members, 81 persons have been killed in series of attacks by militants in Chirang, Sonitpur and Kokrajhar districts of Assam on 23 and 24 December, 2014. The House expresses its profound sorrow on these cowardly attacks which have brought pain and suffering to the bereaved families. The Members then stood in silence for a short while. ANOOP MISHRA Secretary General © 2015 BY LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NOTE: It is the verbatim Debates of the Lok Sabha and not the Synopsis that should be considered authoritative. English and Hindi versions of Synopsis of Debates are also available at http://loksabha.nic.in. .