RS adjourned till 2 pm amid uproar as NDA MPs allege Cong leaders' links with George Soros
New Delhi (PTI): Proceedings of the Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm on Monday as members of the treasury benches accused top Congress leaders of colluding with billionaire investor George Soros to destabilise the country and demanded a discussion on the issue.
The Upper House witnessed two adjournments during the pre-lunch session as the claims triggered protests from opposition members.
Soon after a brief first adjournment during Zero Hour, Leader of the House J P Nadda said BJP members were agitated over an issue that involved Congress leaders and wanted a discussion.
"All our members are agitated over reports against certain leaders of the opposition. Our leaders are keen to hold a discussion on the issue," he said.
This prompted several ruling party members to allege that top Congress leadership had links with Soros. They demanded that the issue be discussed in the House as it is connected to national security.
Several MPs of the BJP and other NDA allies raised the issue and demanded an immediate discussion on it while Congress members alleged that this was being done to divert attention from the Adani issue.
Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and other Congress leaders like Jairam Ramesh and Pramod Tiwari asked how the chairman was allowing the ruling party members to raise the issue when he had rejected their notices in this regard.
Congress' Digvijaya Singh also questioned the Chair. Amid the din, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the House was not in order and adjourned it till 2 pm.
Earlier, BJP's Laxmikant Bajpayee was given the floor to raise his Zero Hour mention and he started speaking on the issue of national security.
Congress' Ramesh objected to his remarks, saying when the Chair has rejected notices under Rule 267, then the issues mentioned therein should not be allowed to be raised.
This led to arguments between treasury and opposition benches, prompting the Chair to adjourn the House till 12 noon.
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Bengaluru jail introduces biometric tracking system for prisoners
Bengaluru: In a bid to curb misconduct and illegal activities inside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, prison authorities have introduced a new ‘Prisoners Tracking Movement System’ under which inmates will have to undergo biometric verification while entering every barrack.
According to jail officials, biometric systems have been installed across all major sections of the prison, including barracks, visitor rooms, hospital, canteen, kitchen, library, playground, handicraft units and bakery sections. Staff members have also been deployed at these locations.
Officials said inmates visiting the visitors’ room must now obtain a digital token after biometric verification. Details such as the prisoner’s name, identification number and entry time will be updated in the prison software system. This will help authorities maintain a complete digital record of inmates visiting and returning from meeting rooms.
Similar systems have also been introduced at entry points of the hospital, library and other barracks accessed for work-related purposes. Officials said the system will help identify prisoners involved in suspicious or illegal activities with other inmates and enable authorities to track how much time a prisoner spends at different locations inside the prison.
Authorities stated that AI-powered cameras were already being used inside the prison to monitor inmates as well as prison staff. Along with this, digital tracking of prisoner phone calls and a digital token system for visitor meetings have now been added to strengthen surveillance over inmate movement. Officials said the project has been implemented at a cost of around Rs 2.25 crore.
The prison department has also introduced a canteen usage tracking system to monitor prisoners’ spending patterns. Instead of direct cash payments, inmates can purchase bakery items and snacks using wallets or coupons issued within the prison system.
Officials said the digital system will record details including the buyer’s name, items purchased, quantity, date, time and remaining wallet balance. This will allow prison authorities to maintain complete expenditure records of inmates.
