From The Newsroom: Tensions soar in Rajya Sabha over Farm Bills; heavy rains pound parts of Karnataka

In your evening news brief, From The Newsroom, Tensions soar in Rajya Sabha over Farm bills; very heavy rainfall pounds parts of Karnataka and no Question Hour during the five-day monsoon session of the Gujarat Assembly session.

Here are the top news of today, Sunday: September 20, 2020:

Disposal of biomedical waste including PPE kits worn by healthcare professionals and public became a challenge during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Union Health Ministry told the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.

On being asked whether Covid-19 cases increased among individuals employed in garbage collection and disposal, the minister said the data is not maintained by the Centre.

Elaborating on the steps taken by the government for improvement in biomedical waste disposal, the minister said the CPCB has issued separate guidelines for their 'Handling, Treatment and Disposal

Tensions soared in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday as the voting on two contentious agriculture-related bills was taken up. The trouble started at 1 PM, the scheduled closing of the proceedings when Deputy Chairman Harivansh went ahead after a request from the government. However, Opposition parties demanded that the discussion and voting on the Bill be taken upon Monday morning and that there was no consensus on extending the timing.

As Harivansh went ahead and allowed Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to continue his reply, Opposition MPs from Congress, Trinamool Congress and AAP among others went to the Well of the House shouting slogans.

Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O'Brien then went to the Chair waving the Rule Book. One of the MPs even touched the microphone of the Chair even as more lawmakers rushed to the Well of the House.

The resignation of Akali Dal's Harsimrat Kaur from the Union Cabinet protesting against the Bills came up during discussion. Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut said the Prime Minister has noted the government was not ending the MSP system and it was just a rumour. "So, did a union minister resign on the basis of a rumour?" he said.

Opposition to move no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh

There will be no Question Hour during the five-day monsoon session of the Gujarat Assembly session which will begin from Monday under the shadow of Covid-19 pandemic, a state minister said on Sunday.

Nearly 20 bills will be taken up for discussion during the session which will be conducted while adhering to all Covid-19 prevention protocols, he said.

Seating arrangements will be made while following the social distancing norms and no visitors will be allowed in the premises, a release from the state Assembly earlier said.

Covid-19 tests were conducted on Speaker Rajendra Trivedi and 505 staff members of the Assembly over the past couple of days, and five were found to be infected, it said.

Very heavy rainfall pounded parts of Karnataka on Sunday, causing flooding in Udupi district and threatening another bout of floods during monsoons this year. National Disaster Response Force was called in for rescue efforts as four villages in Udupi taluk were inundated.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa directed officials from Udupi and Bengaluru Urban district to take measures to prevent any untoward incidents. According to a release from the CMO, Yediyurappa spoke to BBMP administrator Gaurav Gupta over the phone, with instructions to prevent flooding along stormwater drains of the city. All officials should be available round the clock he said

England all-rounder Sam Curran termed Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni a "genius" after justifying his surprise promotion in the batting order in their Indian Premier League (IPL) opener against Mumbai Indians on Saturday.