Nadimul Haque speaks on the crackdown on meat-sellers across the country

Nadimul Haque speaks on the crackdown on meat-sellers across the country

Posted on March 31, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Sir, the Constitution guarantees us certain freedoms. We are all one. The Prime Minister talks of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ but sirf kehne se nahin, karke dikhana hoga. We have to do it, to make it meaningful. The Government has to be for all. We need to safeguard our Constitution and allow it to guide us”.

The Constitution of India grants us Fundamental Rights which guarantees civil liberties. Our right to Freedom incorporates the right to practice any profession or occupation of our choosing to earn a respectable living and lead a life of dignity.

Sir, the recent events happening in states across the country paint a worrying picture of the lack of inclusiveness in our country. Reports have been pouring in of meat shops being shut down at a moment’s notice not only in Uttar Pradesh, but in Jharkhand, and other States also.

If the aim was to shut down illegal slaughterhouses, it could have been done in a proper manner. Most of the shopkeepers and butchers come from the backwards section of society, and have followed these professions for generations. They may not know the legal technicalities. The Government could have raised an awareness campaign, or at the very least afforded them some time to upgrade their shops and abattoirs as per legal norms. We are talking about 25 lakh people losing their livelihood, their families without any means to sustain themselves. This arbitrary crackdown on butchers and meat sellers is an encroachment on their right to earn a living.

The sudden clampdown on abattoirs has resulted in widespread economic and social distress in the Rs 15000 crore industry. Meat sellers have gone on strike, resulting in a huge shortage of meat and prices skyrocketing. 14% of GDP of Uttar Pradesh is also at stake.

The strike has in turn also affected other industries like leather (tanneries), export and hotels. This is leading to a huge economical loss. Reports are circulating of how even tigers and lions in zoos are being fed chicken meat, which they are refusing to eat. The government should have drawn a road map and assessed the impact of such a drastic move before implementing it.

The duty of a responsible government should be to safeguard the rights and freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution to all citizens. Otherwise, we will eventually turn into a Police State. What people do for a living or what their preferred food item is, cannot, and should not, be dictated by the State. I would urge you to look into this matter urgently and take the necessary steps to ensure equality for all as enshrined in our Constitution.

Sir I want to end with a couplet

Tere bandish ka jawab nahin.

Parathe khao, kebab nahi

Munh se niwale kyun chhin lete ho,

Koi mare ya jeeye, saath nahi

Saugata Roy speaks on Sustainable Development Goals

Posted on March 30, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Madam we are discussing on a Motion under 193 brought by Anurag Thakur on Sustainable Development Goals health and welfare for all. Before I begin, I must thank the honorable Speaker that she has been perusing this issue of Sustainable Development Goals with persistence. Not only in Delhi, she had a Commonwealth Women MPs’ meeting at Jaipur in August 2016, where this was highlighted. Then again in Indore she had an Asian Speakers’ Summit this year where she highlighted the Sustainable Development Goals. So, here through the intervention of the Speaker we have made progress.

Madam, you know this issue of Sustainable Development Goal came up during the Presidency of Gro Harlem Brundtland, the Norwegian Prime Minister who provided the definition of Sustainable Development that was used for the next 25 years. This was in 1925.

This intergenerational concept of Sustainable Development was adopted at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development at Rio in 1992. The definition of Sustainable Development has evolved to capture a more holistic approach linking the three dimensions of sustainable development, economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability (as per vision of Sustainable Development was emphasised at 2012 Rio+20 Conference).

Madam, I need not go into the details of what are the 17 goals of Sustainable Development. They are – no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work in economic growth, industry and infrastructure, etc.

You will notice that all these 17 goals are interlinked. For instance good health and well being is linked to clean water and sanitation. Even gender equality is linked to this; unless women get equal attention in health matters, how will maternal health improve? And all this is linked again to economic growth.

So, the point is to have a holistic view, on the whole matter and that is why it is necessary to discuss the goals at length. Let us see about how progress has been made in this matter. In child health, throughout the world 17,000 fewer children die each day than in 1990 but more than 6 million children die before their fifth birthday every year. Maternal mortality has fallen by almost 50 percent since 1990 but in Eastern Asia, North Africa and Southern Asia maternal mortality has declined by about two thirds. But proportion of mothers who do not survive child birth compared to those who do is still fourteen times higher in underdeveloped regions than in developed regions.

One only half of women, we are talking about gender equality, only half of women in developing regions receive the recommended amount health care. Lastly, maternity maternal mortality rate – MMR – from 437 per lakh live births in 1991 came down to 167 in 2009. In 2009, 72 percent deliveries were institutional so there has been a big progress.

The next the big challenge towards health is HIV AIDS. By 2014,there were 13.6 million people accessing antiretroviral therapy, an increase from 8 lakh in 2003. India has made significant tide in reducing the prevalence of HIV and AIDS across various highest categories. Adult prevalence has come down from 0.45 percent to 0.27 percent in 2011. We have made progress in bringing down the number of those affected by HIV AIDS. Madam, the newer HIV infections in 2013 were estimated at 2.1 million which was 38 percent lower than in 2001. So newer cases are also coming down with antiretroviral therapy and at the end of 2013, two lakh forty thousand children in India were infected with HIV through their parents.

Having said that, let us judge, what are the big goals for 2030 for India?

By 2030, for India and the World.
By 2030, reduce Global Maternal Mortality Rate to less than 70 per lakh childbirth.
By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborn children under five years of age.
By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases etc.
By 2030, reduce one-third premature mortalities from non communicable diseases.
By 2030, strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse including narcotic drug abuse and alcohol.
By 2030, that is upto which our Sustainable Development Goal is, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care service, including for family planning information and education.
By 2030, achieve universal health coverage including financial risk process protection.
By 2030, strengthen the implementation of World Health Organisation Framework Convention on tobacco control in all countries,
By 2030, support the research & development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and noncommunicable diseases,
By 2030, substantially increase health financing. Send then the capacity of all countries in particular developing countries for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.

Madam, I have more or less tabulated, formulated the big problems today.

Health care is not about doctors only. I know Madam, you are a reputed pediatrician yourself, and a dedicated person who still does a lot of pro-bono work for poor children; we admire you for that. But, as has been stated earlier, doctors are considered demi-gods by the patients and their relatives. But, they do not act as demi-gods.

In India, as specially in my State of West Bengal, 90% of the people are still dependent on government hospitals and public health care. The big hospitals and nursing homes have all come up in big cities, and they are money-minting machines. They are not giving people treatment; they are sucking money out of the system. Madam, you know that in West Bengal the situation became so bad; there were several attacks on hospitals after patients died and huge bills were imposed on them. Our West Bengal Government enacted a Clinical Establishment Act in which there is a proposal to set up a commission to go into the bills raised by the hospitals.

I think it is very essential for the Government that some control be brought on them. Madam, I feel there should be some standard practices prescribed – in which condition what investigations can be done, whether a patient should be sent into ventilator or ICU, and a standard protocol should be devised to control them. Madam, you know in this House we have discussed how the Government should control the price of stents, which, when costing Rs 40,000, the amount charged is Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. The Government has taken some steps to control that.

You know about the price of drugs: because of WTO regulations, the prices of drugs have gone up very much. We are paying the price for patented foreign drugs, which are abnormally costly. The Government has a drug price control order. I want it to be implemented strictly so that prices of drugs, especially those manufactured by multinationals, are suitably brought down. There has been an effort by the Government to bring down drug prices and I appreciate that.

Madam, you are from West Bengal and are aware of the efforts West Bengal Government has done in the field of medical treatment. More than 100 fair price medicine shops have been opened in West Bengal, where generic medicines are being distributed with up to 70% discount. Madam, you also know that in West Bengal, in the government hospitals all treatment including cardiac surgeries.

Here in this house, while perusing sustainable development goals, let me condemn all attacks on doctors anywhere. Doctors are human beings. I do not believe that any doctor will let a patient die willingly. In Bengal also whenever such attacks have happened, our Chief Minister has taken the strongest possible action. We are ready to pull up doctors. We are ready to punish doctors through the legal means not by these types of attacks.

Madam, your father, Dr Gopal Das Nag, was also a high class GP; we are forgetting the concept of GP or the family doctor. Madam, nowadays there are only specialistsor super specialists. There are no family doctors who advise a person on his health status. I think we need such people.

There is a saying ‘prevention is better than cure’. It is necessary to educate people on health habits. When I was in the Ministry of Urban Development, we started a competition called the hand-washing competition; it is just one simple thing to make people aware about washing hands before eating to prevent many diseases. Although I have differences with the ruling party but I like the initiative taken by them regarding Swach Bharat Abhiyaan as It prevents open defecation. This is one of the main sources of preventing diseases and I would always like to advise everyone that we must pursue clean habits.

I would like to bring to your notice that 65% of women in India suffer from anaemia, why doesn’t the government arrange to give them iron tablets free of cost. We have recently passed the Mental Healthcare Bill. We need people with healthy body and mind. Let this be our sustainable development goal. Make the hospital approachable and do not make the hospital a butcher house where poor patients and their families are murdered. Let us march towards a diseases free, physically and mentally healthy India. With these words, I would like thank you for giving me the time to speak.

Dasarath Tirkey speaks on the damages to tea gardens in Alipurduar during monsoon

Posted on March 30, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Thank you Chairman Sir for giving me the opportunity. I want to attract the attention of the Ministry of Water Resources. My constituency Alipurduar in located in north Bengal and has many big rivers. During monsoon these areas are flooded and specially the tea gardens face a huge economic loss. I want to urge the Ministry to take steps to prevent such losses in future.

Saugata Roy speaks on GST Bills in Lok Sabha

Posted on March 29, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Our Speaker Kalyan Banerjee had earlier supported the GST Bills. I do support them also because in the Manifesto of our party in 2009, we had supported GST. In the GST Council, Bengal’s Finance Minister fought for many rights of the States while supporting the GST. He has been able to bring some modifications.

Why did we support the GST at all in the Inter-State Council? It is because we consider that it would benefit the country, the people. It would bring down the tax-related inflation and it will also bring down tax in India, which is roughly 30%.GST would also remove inefficiencies in supply chain due to savings on transport, warehousing and inventories.

We have to see that the physical conditions of the States do not deteriorate. Sir, here in this Parliament when the 101st Constitution Amendment Bill said that the Centre “may” compensate the States, we fought for making it “shall” compensate the States. Ultimately, now it has been put “for five years”; earlier the Centre was saying “up to five years”. West Bengal demanded in the GST Council that it has to be made “for five years” and it was made so. But see how the compensation to the States will be worked out. At present, cigarettes have tax up to 65 per cent, luxury cars, above 45 per cent, sugar-added aerated drinks, 44 per cent, pan masala, 50 per cent. After five years, this cess will be used for paying compensation to the States. After five years, the standard tax will be 40 per cent.

Now the question is, the revenue expected from these cesses is roughly Rs 65,000 crore. And the Centre says environmental cess will be there to the extent of Rs 24,000 crore. The two added comes to Rs 79,000 crore. It has been estimated that, with the revenue of the States falling, the amount might well go up to Rs 90,000 crore. Where would this extra money come from to compensate the States? That has not been made clear.

It’s true that, as I had already said, small businesses must benefit. So Rs 20 lakh has been kept as a threshold for registration and a large number of businesses would be out of GST for this purpose. The composition scheme for manufacturers and traders, you don’t have to pay that. If you are below Rs 50 lakh, you can pay 0.5 per cent, 1 per cent and 2 per cent. If the turnover is below Rs 1.5 crore, 90 per cent would be with the State and 10 per cent would go to the Centre. It would be tough work to determine which items would be with the Centre and which would be with the States. And then, if it is above Rs 1.5 crore, there will be cross-empowerment, that is, the States will get half and the Centre will get half.

So, GST is cross empowerment and the input tax credit (hereafter, ITC) is given there. Now what do I envisage as the problem in GST? Let me mention clearly the Centre is since to be in a hurry to pass GST but have not yet fixed the rates. There are almost 4,000 items whose rates have to be fixed. You have fixed the basic rates: zero, one, five, twelve, eighteen and twenty eight. But, what about the rate of the individual commodities? That you have not fixed.

There will be a problem of fitment. Say one tax rate is 15%, how will it be fitted in 12% or 18%? These basic questions have not been resolved. They have only had 10 meetings of the GST council. Who will fix these rates? This will be the most contentious issue of all. Even the businesses are totally unprepared for GST; they do not know what tax they will pay because they do not know what rates there will be. What will the small businesses do?

Sir, the biggest problem of this is the GST Network (GSTN). I have mentioned earlier that the Government formed a Sec 25 Company to run the GSTN. It is not yet ready, aa result of which they have put Infosys as manager and service provider at Rs 1380 crore. GSTN has to operate in 17 languages. Whenever it will be ready, it will be the world’s biggest computer system, and, as Mr Moily correctly pointed out, it will be a technological nightmare. If there will be any breakdown in the server, all over the country GST will go flat. So, Sir, I want the Government to be very careful. Government has said that they will train 60,000 officers for this job. For that, at least six months are necessary.

Sir, I said that a single market is a good idea but you see the example of Australia, or that of Malaysia; GST is facing serious problems in these countries. So, instead of hurrying let us put the systems in place. No political party in the country has opposed GST in principle. We are worried about the fallout this will have.

And ultimately last point. Sir, prices should not increase. In the year of transition, Government must ensure that.

Debabrata Bandyopadhyay speaks on The Appropriation Bill (Railways)

Posted on March 29, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Thank you Mr Chairman for giving me this opportunity to speak on the Railway Appropriation Bill. I would also like to thank my party for this opportunity.

The Indian Railway has two important responsibilities – economic viability on one hand and social responsibility on the other. The Railways must keep both these responsibilities in mind in all their initiatives. For the first time in India, the General and Railway budgets have been combined. However, this merger has allowed the Government to hide certain facts certain facts.

I would like to highlight that since Independence, capital spending on the railways has largely been borne by the Central Government. In the last 2 years this pattern has changed and State Governments have been asked to bear costs through SPVs. The Government has pushed 70 projects with 9 State Governments that require financial and other resource contributions by those State Governments. While this may work with a few State Governments, this model is not viable for those states that are debt stressed and cash-strapped.

The gross traffic receipts (GTR) for 2017-18 has been projected at Rs. 188,998 crore. In 2016-17, the GTR was projected at Rs. 184,819 crore. But the revised estimates of the Budget admitted to a shortfall of Rs. 12,664 crore. It is obvious that even this year’s projection will fall short. The Government is not being honest with the state of railway finances. For the first time since 1978, there was a drop in freight earnings compared to the previous year.

The Railways is popular on social media like Facebook and Twitter. However, the number of unreserved passengers is 12 million out of 13 million. How are you engaging with this 12 million?

This year, with the merger of the Railway Budget with the General Budget, the larger social obligations of the railways have been completely side-tracked. The generosity and sense of mission has gone. Indian Railways has been a big supporter of Indian sport. In 2016, one-third of the Indian contingent to the Rio Olympics was from Indian Railways. How have they been repaid? By changing rules and making it difficult for sportspersons to train.

The earlier 330-day special casual leave (SCL) will now be given to only a certain category of sportspersons, including Olympics and Commonwealth Games medal winners. The 120-day SCL granted to players without a medal, but with the potential to win one, has been cut to 90 days. Even the provision of half-day leave has now been discontinued, being allowed only in exceptional cases. This will come in the way of regular training. One of my colleagues has written to Mr. Suresh Prabhu regarding this and I hope he takes immediate action.

Another important aspect of social responsibility is energy conservation. There is a Railway Budget promise to fit all coaches of all trains of Indian Railways with bio-toilets by 2019. The government has given up on this. In reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha a few days ago, it said only “about 800 trains” had “either some coaches or all the coaches fitted with bio-toilets”. So I would like to ask the Minister what is the projected timeframe for fitting all coaches with bio-toilets?

No doubt rail safety was emphasized in the Budget with the announcement of the Rashtriya Rail SanrakshaKosh. However, as on November 2016, 1,25,754 non-gazetted posts related to safety were vacant. As of October 2016, there were 410 pending compensation claims relating to train accidents. Instead of bullet trains, doesn’t India need more safety officials?

I would also like to speak specifically about our state West Bengal. The 2017-18 outlay for West Bengal is Rs 6,336 crore as compared to Rs 3,820 crore in the previous year. Projects worth Rs 40,000 crores including the Metro Railways are ongoing in Bengal. However, you have allotted only 15% to Bengal in the Demand for Grants. This will slow down these projects.

I am happy to point out that Kolkata Metro Railway is performing very well. Budgetary GTR projections for 2016-17 were at Rs. 242 crore. Revised estimates pushed up this figure to Rs. 256 crore. Kolkata Metro, Northeast Frontier Railway and East Coast Railway are the only zonal railways that have posted better figures than the initial budgetary projections.

However, the Railways has sent a letter to the West Bengal government stating that from now on the state has to take responsibilities of all ongoing and upcoming projects of the suburban system as well as Metro Railway. While this may work with a few State Governments, this model is not viable for those states that are debt stressed or cash strapped.

Also, in both Houses of Parliament, our MPs have made specific demands, I would urge you to please look into those as well. Railway Budget has been swallowed up by the General Budget. I urge the Minister to ensure that the social responsibility of the Railways is not side-tracked in pursuit of economic viability.

Thank you, Sir.

Vivek Gupta speaks on the Finance Bill

Posted on March 29, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Thank You, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to speak today. Sir, as the Finance Bill is a little disturbing for me because my State – আমার সোনার বাংলা – my West Bengal is going to be deprived of Rs 4,000 crore every year just on account of non-division of the cess and surcharge that the Central Government is going to collect. Sir, the cess and surcharge over the last two to three years have jumped from a mere amount of Rs 20,000 or Rs 30,000 crore to 1.7 lakh crore.

Sir, rough pen and paper calculation shows that West Bengal will be deprived of Rs 4,000 crore because cess and surcharge is not shared with the States. Sir, what is more intriguing is that all the people who have spoken before me in the Council of States, have chosen not to raise this point because each and every State will get affected from this point.

Sir, the Finance Minister made forty amendments in Lok Sabha. I request him to make similar amendments here and remove all cess and surcharge and include them in the taxes, so that the States also get a share.

Sir, enough has been said before me but I would like to draw your attention to a few things. Sir, the tribunals have been merged and a lot of changes have been done. Sir, enough has been said about Money Bill. I just want to quote something, Sir. The Supreme Court, in the Madras Bar Association vs Union of India, in 2014, had held that “appellate tribunals have similar powers to High Courts and hence matters related to appointments should be free from the executive involvement.” Sir, I urge, through you, that all the tribunals, which are now being put under the executive control, should be free from executive control so that their independence is maintained.

Sir, Clause 50 of this Finance Bill is a very interesting clause. This government, our Prime Minister and Finance Minister, both of them have repeatedly said that they will not do any retrospective changes and they will not do any tax terrorism. But Sir, if you see Clause 50 and Clause 51 they have done exactly the same.

Sir, first I’ll refer to Clause 51 and I will just read from there. “In Section 132 of the Income Tax Act, in Sub Section 1, the following explanation shall be inserted and shall be deemed to have been inserted with effect from the first day of October 1975”. Sir, if this is not retrospective change, I fail to understand what is retrospective change.

Sir, another draconian provision, Clause 50, in section 132, Sir, where they are saying, “shall not be disclosed to any person of authority or Appellate Tribunal’. Sir, I was going through the Honourable Finance Minister’s reply in the Lok Sabha where he said he is doing it because he wants to protect the person who is giving the information. Sir, I am sure there is the Whistleblowers Act and other Acts that provide some confidentiality. Don’t disclose the name of the person but at least the reason can be given at the Appellate level. Sir, why is the assessee being denied a chance to defend himself? Why should he not know why the Income Tax people are doing certain seizure on him? Then again, Sir, 9(b) of Clause 50 says, merely by getting the sanction of the Director General provisionally any property can be attached. Sir, I think we are going back to the dark ages. I don’t know what will happen.

Sir, as I have said before, frequent changes – as many as 40 amendments – have been made in the Finance Bill on the day it was introduced in Lok Sabha. But, if you see this Finance Bill, here more than 300 amendments have been made. Sir, why does a tax law need so many amendments and so many changes every year? Why can’t we have a thorough discussion once and for all and move for a simplified ease of doing business, as this Government claims.

Sir, I just have three questions for the government. Sir, the Finance Minister in his reply to the Lok Sabha said that the RBI is still checking for fake notes in the currency deposited during demonetisation. Sir, I would like to know – whenever the Finance Minister speaks – how much loss has the RBI suffered on account of accepting fake notes? RBI’s loss means ultimately we are suffering.

He also said that there are many instances where people with five PAN cards have been discovered. Sir, I would like to know what is the number of such people who have been prosecuted. How many people have been discovered with multiple PAN cards?

And Sir, the last point. Even the Law Minister himself said on the floor of the House that in 46% cases, the government is the litigant. Is there any plan to reduce this reputation? Are they planning to file cases based on merit and not just on a monetary limit? Right now there are monetary limits for going to higher courts but not on the merit of the case.

Thank you.

Mumtaz Sanghamita speaks on The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016

Posted on March 27, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

We are discussing such an important Bill at a time where on April 7 will be celebrating the World Health Organisation Day and this year’s theme is ‘Depression – Let’s Talk’. It is showing the global importance about the psychological situation. And we are the pioneer, we can say, about dealing with mental health issues this year. This Bill is a revolutionary approach to mental healthcare and it is unique. It seems to be idealistic but not totally realistic. And it is not foolproof.

The Act of 1987 provided only general protection of people with mental illness (PMI) against indignant and cruel treatment. The Bill of 2016 talks about mental care in the broader sense or aspects, mostly dealing with human rights aspect and focusing on admissible patients. According to WHO’s international code of diseases, PMI is defined as a disorder of thinking, mood perception, orientation, memory, excluding mental retardation and including drug abuse. And in the Bill we corporate that. This is good.

Taking this in account, this Bill when it appears as an Act, will be help to change the general public attitude towards PMI persons and it will prevent public to call them lunatics and abuse them, hesitate to be associated with them and it would remove this stigma of avoiding the medical health. Instead of mental asylum – in Bengali we used to call it ‘pagla garod’ that means it is a jail for pagals; It is a very bad thing – now I suppose it will have a new dignified name. It is highly appreciable that the Bill guarantees certain human and social rights to PMI persons. Most of these concepts are of western, developed countries and they may not be feasible or suitable for implementation in our country because of budgetary constraints as well as social lifestyles.

Directive has been given in the Bill of the right to access affordable, good quality, easily accessible, minimum mental care up to district level. This right is already given in our constitution, for any patient to have access of healthcare facilities; it’s a fundamental right. I don’t know what the necessity is for emphasising this in this Bill.

NHM has already got programmes for PMIs and the proposal for the establishment of special units for them up to at least the level of districts. In West Bengal, we already have 61 such centres including in seven medical colleges and in many district hospitals, some of which are being upgraded to medical colleges. The irony is that the budgetary allocation for health would be quite insufficient for these new health programmes ventured into by the Central Government.

The most bold and acceptable issue in the Bill is the decriminalisation of suicide. Unless otherwise proven, such victims should be considered as cases of PMI. Well, it is a very bold attitude, but the Bill does not give any directives about, when the person has recovered from the effect of attempting suicide, what would be the next steps – how we would counsel them, etc. Another very good thing is about the insurance coverage. It is an appreciable gesture and it is a very important issue in such people’s lives. The problem, however, is that there are no proper guidelines about the coverage of this insurance. In the case of all other diseases, we take the amount of insurance coverage to include the sum of the cost of operation, hospitalisation, medical facilities, etc. But here proper guidelines are not there. Also, the basic thing in such cases may be counselling, something not taken into account as well.

The Executive Body of the Indian Psychological Association, the largest psychological organisation, which is present in States all over India, has some reservations and resentment regarding this Bill, though they also are quite appreciative of some parts of the Bill. They have already expressed their feelings and given representation to the honourable Minister. My opinions regarding those lacunae are more or less similar.

As it has been said by many people, five to seven per cent of Indians are mentally imbalanced, comprising of millions of people, and consisting 12 per cent of the global burden. This figure is likely to increase. Five to seven per cent among them are suffering from a severe nature of mental illness, who need admission to hospital or special care, that is, indoor care. The rest 95 per cent are looked after in OPDs or at homes and otherwise through the consultative business. The care of those majority have not been addressed in this Bill properly.

Proper guidance regarding running of the general hospital, and the indoor beds in medical colleges and district hospitals which is very niger amount usually can be used only for the emergency admissions. Why can’t we think about increasing those and taking special care because, when we are trying to streamlining these mental illnesses along with the other illnesses, why should we give a special name and special category?

There is a clause about ECT (electrocardio shock). This is concerned with the modified ECT with muscle relaxants and anesthesia. In our set up, it is only possible in tertiary care centers in the medical colleges and clinics with a special facility in most cases, and it also needs at least half-day admission. Moreover, it may be good in aesthetic sense, but, scientifically, it is neither mandatory or, is it not evidence-based to prove to be better than conventional ECT without muscle relaxants and anesthetics. Moreover, it requires an extra cost, manpower and set up. Neither it is contra-indicated in adolescent also, ie persons over nine years of age, to less than 19 years of age.

Most of the sections are dealing with the establishment of the central and state level boards. This Bill gives right to the patient about persons’ own consent regarding admission, place and type of treatment and Advanced Directive to choose a representative.Who is going to decide a person is in solid mental condition to give consent for that directive is not given in this Bill. That is a real fallacy. And the board has been given the power to decide, register or prove the authority of the directive and in need can appoint patient’s representative. Funny enough, when the disease itself defines alteration of mood, loss of power of decision making etc, the Bill doesn’t mention about who is going to certify the mental status of the person in that moment. It is sad that the person has to apprehended before hand that they may go through this.

I don’t know what is the need of a special board where most are executives from the government and officials. Highly professional people are not there. Moreover, there is a dearth of psychologists and mental health nurses in the country.

This Bill isolates the institutions and the psychologists from the other general medical practitioners and frustrates the idea of streamlining psychiatrist treatment along with the others. It should deal with the medical education, which is badly lacking in psychiatrist education. It also needs research of the psychological situation for rapists and other criminals in jail.

The Bill doesn’t address the issue of property management of the PMI persons if and when he or she is not in position to do it he or herself. It doesn’t give any direction regarding property custody of those patients.

This is the Bill which invited 124 amendments in Rajya Sabha. This implies that it should be reconsidered later on, and with a special facility for child psychologists and women.

Thank you very much.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy speaks on The Finance Bill

Posted on March 27, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Sir, I am confused as to whether we are discussing The Finance Bill – within the meaning of Article 117 of the Constitution of India – or a Presidential proclamation of Financial Emergency under Article 360 of the Constitution.

After going through this Finance Bill it appears that through this Bill at least 75 amendments have been proposed to existing sections and 22 new sections have been inserted in the Income Tax Act, 1961, some of which have given the retrospective effect from the year 1962 (when The Income Tax Act was commenced).

If the situation is such that so many amendments are required to be effected in the Income Tax Act or so many new sections are to be inserted then it was better to have a new Act replacing the one. That would have been the ideal situation. But I am sorry to say that the Government has not taken the normal route but has done a bypass surgery of the legislative system.

Sir, propriety demands that instead of 87 amendments or new sections, this Income Tax Act, 1962 ought to have been repealed and replaced by a new legislation.

In this Finance Bill there are many provisions made by the Government, which are against the spirit of the Constitution. First of all I would like to refer to Clause 50 whereby the Section 132 of the Income Tax Act has been sought to be amended which has already been mentioned by some of the honourables and distinguished members of this August House. In Clause 50 enormous power has been given to the Income Tax authority and powers of Affiliate Tribunals have been taken away, in a way which is against the judgment of the Supreme Court.

Firstly, “it is proposed to insert an Explanation after the fourth proviso to the sub-section (1) of s. 132 so as to provide that the reason to believe recorded by the income-tax authority specified therein under the said sub-section shall not be disclosed to any person or any authority or the Appellate Tribunal. Therefore whatever the income tax authority will decide that is sacrosanct and nobody can question on that.” So this is a draconian provision; this is a draconian amendment.

Secondly, again in another explanation for the removal of doubts, “it is hereby declared the reason to believe for making the requisition as recorded by the income-tax authority shall not be disclosed to any person or any authority or the Appellate Tribunal.”

So the decision of the Income Tax authority is final and it cannot be questioned. This is against the principles of natural justice. It can be questioned only before High Court or Supreme Court. So, one assessee will have to run to the High Court or Supreme Court under Article 226 or Article 32 to challenge if an Income Tax authority has taken a decision against him and no authority can challenge that. It cannot be questioned by any other authority, particularly the tribunal. How come? This is trend of authoritarianism that the existing practise is being done away with.

Sir, again, he says after sub-section 9A, another sub-section has been proposed to be inserted – that is 9B – that during the course of the search or seizure or within a period of sixty days from the date on which the last of the authorisation search was executed, the authorised officer for reasons to be recorded in writing is satisfied that for the purpose of protecting the interest of revenue, it is necessary so to do, he may with the previous approval of the Principal Director General, or Director General, or Principal Director, or Director by order in writing, attach provisionally any property belonging to the assessee. I need not elaborate because Mr Kapil Sibal has already elaborated this point.

Unflinching power has been given to these income tax authorities, they can raid any premises, search, seize and even attach. This is a shameful situation without any authority of law. So, this authority of law has been given to the Income Tax authority. For the seventy years since independence there was no scope for any harassment of this kind, which has been sought to be introduced by this legislation. I condemn this, I oppose this.

How the powers of the tribunals have been curtailed through the Finance Bill? What do the Articles 110 and 117 of the Constitution say? Article 117(1) says, “A Bill or amendment making provision for any of the matters specified in sub clauses (a) to (f) of clause ( 1 ) of article 110 shall not be introduced or moved except on the recommendation of the President and a Bill making such provision shall not be introduced in the Council of States: Provided that no recommendation shall be required under this clause for the moving of an amendment making provision for the reduction or abolition of any tax.”

So it relates to Money Bills.

Now, let’s come to Article 110(1):

For the purposes of this Chapter, a Bill shall be deemed to be a Money Bill if it contains only provisions dealing with all or any of the following matters, namely
(a) the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax;
(b) the regulation of the borrowing of money or the giving of any guarantee by the Government of India, or the amendment of the law with respect to any financial obligations undertaken or to be undertaken by the Government of India;
(c) the custody of the consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of moneys into or the withdrawal of moneys from any such Fund;
(d) the appropriation of moneys out of the consolidated Fund of India;
(e) the declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure;
(f) the receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund of India or the public account of India or the custody or issue of such money or the audit of the accounts of the Union or of a State; or
(g) any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in sub clause (a) to (f)

So if the conditions satisfy sub-clause (a) to (f) then it is okay. If it does not satisfy then it is contrary to the provisions of Article 110 of the Constitution and therefore the amendment which has been sought to be made here is absolutely unconstitutional and I will ask the government to withdraw this; otherwise it will be negation of our Constitution.

Sir, previously there was ‘Inspector Raj’ for some time; it was done away with. Now with this Bill, it has has become a ‘Raid, Seize and Attach Raj’.

Sir, this Bill also seeks for a series of amendments. Amendments have been proposed to provide for merger of at least 18 Tribunals and other authorities and conditions of services of chairpersons and members of those Tribunals. Is this a Finance Bill or a ‘repealing, amendment, insertion of clauses’ for all major Acts? This is unprecedented, has never happened in the history of legislation that so many major Acts have been changed by a Finance Bill and so many amendments have been proposed in the Income Tax Act.

Eight tribunals are to be merged. It is funny how the tribunals will be merged. I’m giving two examples. National Highways Tribunal shall merge with Airport Appellate Tribunal. How come? What is the relation between national highways and airports? Secondly, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Appellate Tribunal shall merge with TDSAT dealing with telecom disputes. Are airport tax and telecom tariff equal, identical and same? There is no relation between telecom tariff and airport tax. What is this government doing? This is absolutely unimaginable and the powers of the tribunals have been not only curtailed, they are going to appoint their own lackeys. They are going to appoint their own people, their “Yes-Men” in all these tribunals.

The chairpersons and the members (of the tribunals) were appointed in a different manner as prescribed in their respective Acts but with these amendments now it is up to the government to appoint. The government will appoint the way they are appointing members in different committees of different ministries. In the same manner, the tribunals will be filled by the government with their own people.

In 2014, the Supreme Court, in the matter of Madras Bar Association vs Union Of India, while examining a case related to the National Tax Tribunal, said that affiliated tribunals have similar powers and functions as that of High Courts and hence the matters related to appointment and reappointment and tenure must be free from executive involvement. And here just the opposite is ought to be done.

Coming to political funding. The point has been raised about donation to political parties. First of all, there is no upper limit for a political party to receive donation (although there was a news claiming that the Election Commission has suggested that Rs 20 crore should be the upper limit). We will be happy if a upper limit is set.

Sir kindly come to Clause 135 and 137 of the Finance Bill. Clause 135 (3) says:

“ Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the Central Government may authorise any scheduled bank to issue electoral bond. Explanation.–– For the purposes of this sub-section, ‘‘electroal bond” means a bond issued by any scheduled bank under the scheme as may be notified by the Central Government.”

In the ‘Explanation’ under Clause 137, it says:

“For the purposes of this sub-section, “electoral bond” means a bond referred to in the Explanation to sub-section (3) of section 31 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.”

Until and unless RBI Act, 1934 is amended with that explanation, which has been given here the second amendment can not have any meaning. So, before the Birth of Ram, Ramayana is being written here in this Finance Bill. This is laughable.

Sir, so many things have been said on Aadhaar, I will say only one point. Today Supreme Court has passed an order on Aadhaar. My leader, Ms Mamata Banerjee, from day one, has been making public statements – and my party was on the roads, on the streets – demanding that the Government must not make it mandatory so far the social beneficial schemes (like mid-day meal, 100 Days’ Work etc.) are concerned. Today Supreme Court has ordered the Government can not make Aadhaar mandatory in case of the social beneficial schemes. Therefore the notification issued by the Government should have been withdrawn immediately as it does not have any legal effect now.

Sir, finally, had these hundreds of amendments in Income Tax Act, and other Acts, not been proposed through this Finance Bill what would have been the procedure? All the respective Acts would have to be amended through the automatic route or the proper channel – that is, the Bill should have been placed before the Houses, it would have gone through the Standing Committee or to the Select Committee. There would have been deliberations, not only by the MPs but even by the different bodies outside the Parliament but by the people also. They could have sent their views,; after considering the views of the people and different bodies, those amendments would have been placed before this House and the House could have a structured discussion on that. Just to avoid the due process, hundreds of amendments of different Acts have been sought to be made here in this Finance Bill. This is – again I say – unprecedented, unwarranted and unconstitutional and it should be rejected by the Government forthwith.

Zindagi kya hai gham ka dariya hai
Na jeena yahan bas mein na marna yahan bas mein
Ajab duniya hai
Zindagi kya hai…

Thank You.

Idris Ali speaks on The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016

Posted on March 27, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

While participating in the discussion on The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016, passed by the Rajya Sabha, and now been amended as The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2017, I would like to say that though public health is a State subject, with the financial constraints, it is next to impossible for the States of the country to implement the provisions of this Bill.

India is the worst-affected country in the world with regard to depression, having more than 6 crore sufferers. The data of the UN agency shows that the number of people living with depression across the world has increased by 18.4 per cent between 2005 and 2015. In India, depression and mental anxiety disorders prevail in over 5 per cent women and in over 4 per cent men.

Apart from that, about 4 crore people in India suffered from anxiety disorders in 2015, with a prevalence rate of 3 per cent. It is a fact that 78 per cent of global suicides occurred due to mental instability and 1 per cent commits suicide every 40 seconds.

The most alarming thing is that a study indicated an average of 20.5 per cent mental health morbidity in older adults with 17.3 per cent in urban areas and 23.6 per cent in rural areas. Accordingly, it is found that, at present, 18 million older adults, consisting of a population of 83.58 million, are suffering from mental health problems in India.

In 1982, the Government launched the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) and in 2014, the Health Ministry came up with a revised National Mental Health Policy to treat the elderly, affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementias, Parkinson’s disease, depression and psychogeriatric disorders.

The population of older adults in India is growing: in 1951 it was 5.3 per cent, in 1981 it was 6 per cent, in 1991 it was 6.8 per cent, in 2001 it was 7.4 per cent and in 2006 it was 7.5 per cent. Thus it has been steadily rising and is projected to become 12.5 per cent in 2026; thus it is likely to become a challenge in the near future.

Surveys have found that depression still ranks as the most prevalent psychiatric illness of the aged. One out of every six older persons living in urban areas in India is not obtaining proper nutrition, one out of every three older persons does not obtain sufficient healthcare and medicines, and one out of every two older persons does not receive due respect or good conduct from family members or people in general.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), using sound methodology, has revealed that 17.3 per cent of urban and 23.6 per cent of rural older adults, that is, those aged 60 years and above, are suffering from syndromal mental health problems and 4.2 per cent of urban and 2.5 per cent of rural older adults are suffering from subsyndromal mental health problems. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD), although the world proportion of people of 60 years and above is smaller now, by 2030 the absolute number of older adults is likely to be the highest in India, with enormous mental health morbidity in older adults.

So, the Mental Healthcare Bill, 2017 is not just a health Bill but one which deals with a mixture of health and social care issues, and hence, we have to think differently to protect and promote speedy procedures of treatment and the rights of persons with mental illnesses.

Keeping in view making fruitful the objects of the Bill, we immediately require community-based mental healthcare by using the public health infrastructure and other resources of the primary health centres in the administrative structure to develop and monitor the progress of the programme in a centralised manner. To make it a successful project, we have to immediately set up psychiatry and psycho-orientation departments at all levels of health centres and hospitals in the country.

I therefore request the Central Government to ensure funds to State Governments for due implementation of this Bill and this Bill may kindly be included with the schemes of the Department of Health and Family Welfare which are under 100 per cent Central Government funding, before the situation gets out of the hand of the Government.

Saugata Roy makes a Point of Order on the GST Bill

Posted on March 27, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Madam, I’m not speaking on the merits of the Bill. It has been passed in the Inter-State Council and the Cabinet has taken a decision. I am objecting to these midnight manoeuvres. The Minister on Friday passed the motion on Government business for the coming week. If it was uploaded on the midnight of Friday, then why did lit not come on the List of Business for today?

Why has it been introduced today? Because the Minister knows that there is a Business Advisory Committee meeting chaired by you, and called by you, which will take place at 1 o’clock today. Then we’ll come in a hurry. So we’ll have the Bill tomorrow and then we will discuss immediately.

Madam, there is a time for such an important business. Madam, please do not upset the balance in parliamentary procedure; members should be given sufficient time to deliberate, discuss, think, to put objections, whatever. Madam, you should give a ruling on this. The House should not be suddenly jolted into action by midnight manoeuvres.