Parliament session set to begin Monday, proceedings to move to new building Tuesday
New Delhi (PTI): A session of Parliament is set to begin on Monday amid an intense buzz on whether the government will have some surprise item up its sleeve during the five-day sitting that will see a discussion on Parliament's 75-year journey and House proceedings moving to the new building.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said a total of eight bills have been listed for consideration and passage during the session.
Floor leaders were on Sunday informed at an all-party meet that a bill on the welfare of senior citizens and three related to SC/ST order have been added to the agenda.
The bills listed earlier include the one on the appointment of chief election commissioner and election commissioners.
The bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha during the last Monsoon session and has drawn protests from the opposition as it seeks to put service conditions of the chief election commissioner and two election commissioners on par with the cabinet secretary and not a Supreme Court judge, as is the case now.
This is being seen as a downgrade in their stature.
Though there is no official word on any probable new legislation, there has been a view, including in the BJP circles, that a bill to ensure quota for women in elected legislatures like Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
That Prime Minster Narendra Modi has often highlighted, including in the recent G20 Summit, the growing role of women in different fields in the country has added to the buzz about such a bill.
Asked about the government's stand on the demands by various parties to bring the women's reservation bill in the five-day session, Joshi said the government will take "an appropriate decision at an appropriate time".
In the last few weeks, several parties, including the BJD and the BRS, have demanded reviving the bill, while the Congress also passed a resolution for it at its Hyderabad Congress Working Committee meeting on Sunday.
Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar hoisted the national flag at the new Parliament building on Sunday morning and Joshi said that after a ceremony at the Central Hall of the existing building, the session will move to the new building.
According to a Lok Sabha bulletin, the function will commemorate the rich legacy of the Parliament of India and resolve to make Bharat a developed nation by 2047.
The government's legislative business will commence from September 20 in the new building.
All members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been called for a group photograph on Tuesday morning.
According to the bulletin issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, all MPs have been called for a group photograph at 9.30 am on Tuesday. An official said arrangements are in place at the inner courtyard of the old building for the group photo.
MPs were also being issued new identity cards to enter the new Parliament building.
The catering will also shift to the new building on September 19, the officials said.
The unusual timing of the session has left everyone wondering, even though the main standout feature on the listed agenda is a special discussion on Parliament's journey of 75 years starting from the "Samvidhan Sabha" (Constituent Assembly).
The government enjoys the prerogative of tabling in Parliament some new legislation or other items that might not have been part of the listed agenda.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had recently given vent to the sense in the opposition about the session, saying the government could be having some "legislative grenades" up its sleeve.
Commenting on the listed agenda, he had said it "is much ado about nothing" and all this could have waited till the Winter session in November.
Various departments of parliamentary staff are all set to don new uniforms in a signal from the government that the shift to the new building is likely to be marked with a fresh start in more ways than one.
The successful G20 Summit in the national capital under India's presidency has added to Modi's appeal and is set to be a major talking point of the treasury benches during the session.
The new dress code with floral motif for a section of staff has already kicked up a political row, with the Congress dubbing it as a "cheap" tactic to promote the ruling party's poll symbol - the lotus flower.
While announcing the session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Joshi had described it as "special session". But the government had later made it clear that it was a regular session, 13th session of the present Lok Sabha and 261st session of Rajya Sabha.
Usually, Budget, Monsoon and Winter sessions of Parliament are held every year.
The Monsoon session was held in July-August while the Winter session is due in November-December.
The Budget session has a fixed time of commencement from January end of every year.
The gap between the two sessions cannot be more than six months.
As of now, the government has listed a special discussion on Parliament's journey of 75 years starting from the Samvidhan Sabha on the first day of the session.
Besides the discussion on Parliamentary Journey, the other listed business for Lok Sabha includes 'The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023' and 'The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023', already passed by Rajya Sabha on 3 August 2023.
Besides, 'The Post Office Bill, 2023' has also been listed in the Lok Sabha business, according to an official bulletin. The bill was earlier introduced in Rajya Sabha on 10 August 2023.
The discussion on parliamentary journey will be held simultaneously in both the Houses.
On August 31, Joshi, while announcing the "special session" of Parliament for five days from September 18, did not spell out any specific agenda for it. "Amid Amrit Kaal, looking forward to having fruitful discussions and debate in Parliament," Joshi had posted on X.
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Grok obscene AI content: X submits response, IT Ministry examining it, say sources
New Delhi (PTI): The IT Ministry is examining the response and submissions made by X following a government directive to crack down on misuse of artificial intelligence chatbot Grok by users for the creation of sexualised and obscene images of women and minors, sources said.
X had been given extended time until Wednesday, 5 PM to submit a detailed Action Taken Report to the ministry, after a stern warning was issued to the Elon Musk-led social media platform over indecent and sexually-explicit content being generated through misuse of AI-based services like 'Grok' and other tools.
Sources told PTI that X has submitted their response, and it is under examination.
The details of X's submission were, however, not immediately known.
On Sunday, X's 'Safety' handle said it takes action against illegal content on its platform, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.
"Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content," X had said, reiterating the stance taken by Musk on illegal content.
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On January 2, the IT Ministry pulled up X and directed it to immediately remove all vulgar, obscene and unlawful content, especially generated by Grok (X's built-in artificial intelligence interface) or face action under the law.
In the directive on Friday, the ministry asked the US-based social media firm to submit a detailed action taken report (ATR) within 72 hours, spelling out specific technical and organisational measures adopted or proposed in relation to the Grok application; the role and oversight exercised by the Chief Compliance Officer; actions taken against offending content, users and accounts; as well as mechanisms to ensure compliance with the mandatory reporting requirement under Indian laws.
The IT Ministry, in the ultimatum issued, noted that Grok AI, developed by X and integrated on the platform, is being misused by users to create fake accounts to host, generate, publish or share obscene images or videos of women in a derogatory or vulgar manner.
"Importantly, this is not limited to creation of fake accounts but also targets women who host or publish their images or videos, through prompts, image manipulation and synthetic outputs," the ministry said, asserting that such conduct reflects a serious failure of platform-level safeguards and enforcement mechanisms, and amounts to gross misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in violation of stipulated laws.
The government made it clear to X that compliance with the IT Act and rules is not optional, and that the statutory exemptions under section 79 of the IT Act (which deals with safe harbour and immunity from liability for online intermediaries) are conditional upon strict observance of due diligence obligations.
"Accordingly, you are advised to strictly desist from the hosting, displaying, uploading, publication, transmission, storage, sharing of any content on your platform that is obscene, pornographic, vulgar, indecent, sexually explicit, paedophilic, or otherwise prohibited under any law...," the ministry said.
The government warned X in clear terms that any failure to observe due diligence obligations shall result in the loss of the exemption from liability under section 79 of the IT Act, and that the platform will also be liable for consequential action under other laws, including the IT Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It asked X to enforce user terms of service and AI usage restrictions, including ensuring strong deterrent measures such as suspension, termination and other enforcement actions against violating users and accounts.
X has also been asked to remove or disable access "without delay" to all content already generated or disseminated in violation of applicable laws, in strict compliance with the timelines prescribed under the IT Rules, 2021, without, as such, vitiating the evidence.
Besides India, the platform has drawn flak in the UK and Malaysia too. Ofcom, the UK's independent communications regulator, in a recent social media post, said: "We are aware of serious concerns raised about a feature on Grok on X that produces undressed images of people and sexualised images of children".
"We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK. Based on their response, we will undertake a swift assessment to determine whether there are potential compliance issues that warrant investigation," Ofcom said.
