The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday discussed several issues ranging from setting up of a panel to defining the jurisdiction of Executive and Judiciary, to plight of Punjab farmers to Indo-United States Defence pact and to rape of a Dalit girl in Kerala.
The Zero Hour began with JD(U) member KC Tyagi raising the issue of the recent India-US logistics Support Agreement (lSA) on cooperation in Defence, saying it is a surrender to the US. “India has surrendered its foreign policy to US,” Tyagi said while adding both countries have agreed “in principle” to the logistics exchange agreement to enable both militaries to use each others’ assets and bases for repair and replenishment of supplies. Tyagi said that such an agreement amounted to moving away from the policies of Non Aligned Movement where India and several other countries agreed not to formally align with any major power block.
Congress member Rajiv Shukla sought the formation of a commission to define the jurisdiction of Executive and the Judiciary, saying there were growing instances of “total non-cooperation” between them. He added that while the Executive sits on matters of infrastructural requirements and appointments in the Judiciary, the judges decide on executive matters.
Members also raised the issue of brutal rape and murder of a Dalit girl in Kerala. “We pass legislations, but, legislations are proved to be helpless when such crimes continue to happen. The Government should ensure that the laws are implemented effectively to book the culprits and confidence should be given to the Dalits,” CPI member D Raja said. CPI(M)’s CP Narayanan said more vigil is needed by the police and public to prevent such incidents.
Congress members Pratap Singh Bajwa and Ambika Soni raised the issue of farmer suicides in Punjab. Bajwa sought loan waivers for the farmers saying that they have around `69,000 crore as loan on them, of which about `54,000 crore is from institutions.
later during the Question Hour, on a query with regard to influence of ISIS in India, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that though there have been some cases related to it but the country does not face any alarming situation as the Muslims here are committed to the values of life and won’t allow it to spread its tentacles here.