The government said in Parliament on Thursday that cases of atrocities against various minority communities, including Hindus, have increased in Pakistan. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh gave this information in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
The Ministry of External Affairs was asked whether the government is aware that the minority Hindu community is continuously migrating from Sindh province due to violence and discrimination against the Hindu community in neighboring Pakistan.
The compulsion to migrate due to atrocities
In response, the minister said that there have been reports of atrocities against minority communities in Pakistan, including members of the Hindu community. Incidents such as threats, kidnapping, harassment, forced conversion, and forced marriage have come to light from time to time, which forced them to migrate.
In a written reply to another question, Kirti Vardhan Singh said that India's decision on international oil purchases is based on various factors, with the country's national interests being paramount. The Ministry of External Affairs was asked in the Rajya Sabha whether it is true that the US has asked India not to take oil from Russia and has set a deadline for this.
Rs 22 crore spent on Modi's US visit in June 2023
More than Rs 22 crore was spent on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit in June 2023. Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita gave this information in a written reply to a question asked by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. Kharge had asked the government how much total money has been spent by Indian embassies on arranging the Prime Minister's foreign visits in the last three years.
He also sought details of travel-wise expenditure incurred under major heads like hotel arrangements, community reception, transport arrangements and other miscellaneous expenses. In response, Margherita shared country-wise expenditure data on foreign visits undertaken by the Prime Minister in 2022, 2023 and 2024. These visits included security and media delegations accompanying him.
17 crores spent on Japan visit
According to the data, Rs 22,89,68,509 was spent on the Prime Minister's visit to the US in June 2023, while Rs 15,33,76,348 was spent on his visit to the same country in September 2024. These figures were related to more than 38 trips from Germany's visit in May 2022 to Kuwait's visit in December 2024. According to the data related to the Prime Minister's visit to Japan in May 2023, Rs 17,19,33,356 was spent on it, while Rs 80,01,483 was spent on the Nepal visit in May 2022.
Efforts to bring back citizens stranded in Myanmar
The minister also shared some figures of the years before 2014 in his reply. In a written reply to another question, Margherita said that India is trying to ensure the release and return of its citizens sent to Myanmar on the lure of fake jobs. Recently, 549 Indians have been brought back from Mae Sot, Thailand by an Indian Air Force aircraft.
Lokpal will appoint a Director of Investigation and a Director of Prosecution.
The government told the Parliament that two key posts of Director of Investigation and Director of Prosecution are yet to be filled by the Lokpal. Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh gave this information in response to a written question in the Rajya Sabha. He said that under the provisions of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, the appointment of the Director of Investigation and Director of Prosecution has to be done by the Lokpal.
In response to another question, Jitendra Singh said that the CBI had stopped a shipping container at Visakhapatnam port last year on suspicion of carrying drugs based on an Interpol alert, in which dry yeast was found. Along with this, in response to another question, he said that the Central Government has limited the number of complaints to be filed by a person in a month on the online system CPGRAMS so that repeated complaints can be curbed. The Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) allows citizens to register complaints online.
Out of the 715 High Court judges appointed since 2018, 22 are from Scheduled Caste.
Out of the 715 High Court judges appointed since 2018, 22 are from Scheduled Caste, 16 are from the Scheduled Tribe category, 89 are from the OBC category and 37 are minorities. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also said that appointments of judges in the Supreme Court and 25 High Courts are made under the provisions of the Constitution, which does not provide for reservation for persons of any caste or class.
So far 588 antiquities have been brought back to India from America.
The government told Parliament that so far 588 antiquities have been repatriated from America, of which 297 were received in 2024. Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat gave this information in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. He said a Cultural Property Agreement (CPA) has been signed with the US to prevent smuggling of Indian antiquities. The agreement is preventive, so there is no timeline or target number.
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