A round-up of what our lawmakers have been discussing in Parliament on Tuesday
'Vulgarity' on TV shows
The content aired in reality TV shows such as 'Big Boss' came in for criticism in Rajya Sabha, with some members expressing anguish over "vulgarity" and "indecency" in the programmes.
While the government did not categorically specify if it has received any complaint from viewers against such shows, MoS in I&B Ministry Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said a phone number is displayed during the programme for viewers to register complaints.
Replying to a question, he said if there was violation of the programme code, action was initiated against the offenders, but that does not entirely depend on viewers complaint and the ministry has its own cell to monitor the complaints.
During the last one year, he said 40,000 complaints have been received, of which action has been taken in 1,500 cases.
33 Pak espionage modules neutralised in last 4 years
A total of 33 Pakistan-backed espionage modules were neutralised in the country resulting in the arrest of 50 espionage agents in last four years, Lok Sabha was informed.
The Pakistani spies, including some retired Indian government officials, were arrested during the period of January 2011 and November 2014, Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said.
It has come to notice that Pakistani intelligence agencies, particularly the ISI, is conducting espionage activities in the country, he said in reply to a written question.
Religious extremism preached at 3 madrassas
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Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said in Lok Sabha that there are no reports about madrassas in general, preaching religious extremism or helping terrorist organisations.
"However, during investigations into the Burdwan blast case, it has been disclosed that in three madrassas controlled by illegal Bangladeshi migrants, religious extremism and indoctrination was being preached," he said.
"The government has put in place the necessary mechanism to closely monitor the situation and has directed the intelligence and security agencies to identify such institutions, especially along the international borders and keep a watch on their activities," he said in reply to a written question.
Two people were killed in October 2 blast in Burdwan and a subsequent probe brought to light the involvement of banned terror outfit Jamaat ul Mujahideen Bangladesh in it.
Crimes by juveniles against women have gone up
There has been a 132 per cent rise in incidents of crime committed by juveniles against women in 2013 over the previous year, Lok Sabha was told.
Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said this quoting the data available with the National Crime Records Bureau.
He said the Ministry of Women and Child Development has recently introduced the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014 in Lok Sabha which contains both punitive and reformative measures for children in conflict with the law.
"The objective of the bill is therefore to provide both deterrent and reformative options for overall development of children," he said in a written reply.
