LS Speaker amends rules; bars members from raising slogans during oath
New Delhi, Jul 3: With some Lok Sabha members resorting to sloganeering during oath taking, Speaker Om Birla has amended the rule which now bars MPs-elect from adding any remark to the oath as members of the House.
Birla added a fresh clause to 'Direction 1' to the 'Directions by the Speaker' for regulating certain matters related to the functioning of the House that are not specifically provided in the rules.
According to the amendment to 'Direction 1', the new clause 3 now states that a member shall make and subscribe oath or affirmation, and "shall not use any word or expression or make any remark as a prefix or suffix to the form of oath or affirmation".
The amendment came against the backdrop of several members raising slogans like "Jai Samvidhan" and "Jai Hindu Rashtra" while taking oath last week. One member had also raised the slogan 'Jai Palestine', which too was objected to by several members. The speaker had urged the members to stick to the prescribed format but in vain.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju alleged several members used the solemn occasion of taking oath or making affirmation to send a political message.
The slogans also led to a war of words between the treasury and the opposition benches on June 24 and 25.
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Bengal's Malda mango exports hit, sellers getting better prices in domestic market
Kolkata (PTI): Exports of mangoes from West Bengal's Malda district have been hit this year as exporters have failed to secure remunerative prices from overseas buyers, while sellers are getting lucrative prices in the domestic market, officials said on Saturday.
Importers from the UK and the UAE had initially shown interest, which could not materialise in shipments due to price disagreements, they said.
Sellers, however, are getting good responses from the domestic market as around 17 tonnes of Malda mangoes were sold between Rs 100 and Rs 150 a kg in an expo in Delhi, the officials said.
Wholesale prices surged by 50-80 per cent due to a combination of low-crop and high-quality produce.
"This year, export deals were scrapped by buyers from the UK and Dubai, who initially showed interest but couldn't meet our price demands," Malda Deputy Director of Horticulture Samanta Layek to PTI.
West Bengal Exporters' Coordination Committee general secretary Ujjwal Saha said there was some progress for shipments of 1,300 kgs of the Himsagar variety in the first tranche, but importers couldn't agree on the price in the final stage of negotiations.
Sellers in Malda were unable to export their mangoes for the past two years, and the efforts to break this trend did not succeed this time, he said.
Layek said mango prices soared this year due to a drastic fall in production caused by heatwaves and unseasonal rains.
"Production was down by 60 per cent this year due to adverse climatic conditions. The output was 2.2 lakh tonnes as compared to 3.79 lakh tonnes in 2023," he said.
Fazli, Himsagar, Laxmanbhog, Langra and Amrapalli are varieties of mangoes available in Malda.
Known for its sweet taste and rich aroma, the Himsagar variety of mango has no fibre and is considered one of the best mangoes available in India.
Mango growers in Malda require greater hand-holding from the government to manage pesticide use and better processing and storage facilities to maintain quality for exports, Saha said.
However, the Delhi Mango Festival saw a massive response with "17 tonnes of Malda mangoes fetched good prices", Layek said.
"Malda mangoes were sold between Rs 100 and 150 a kg," he added.
