| Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Government has no data of migrant workers' deaths/job losses due to pandemic he Ministry of Labour and Employment does not have any data on the number of migrant workers who lost their jobs, or the number that lost their lives during the Covid-19 lockdown, Union Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar informed the Lok Sabha on Monday through written replies to members' questions. The Minister of state (with independent charge) for Labour and Employment told the House that "no such data is maintained" when asked if the government had carried out any assessment of job losses of migrant workers, and if it was aware of workers who died on their way back to their home States during the lockdown. The fact that the government does not have this data raises questions about its ability to make a proper assessment of the human costs of the lockdown and the effectiveness, or otherwise, of the relief measures that were announced. When asked whether free rations were distributed to all ration card holders, Gangwar replied that state-wise details were not available. Amid Opposition protests, Lok Sabha nod to suspend Question Hour  Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla conducts proceedings during the opening day of Parliament's Monsoon Session, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, at Parliament House in New Delhi. The Lok Sabha on Monday adopted a motion to do away with Question Hour and private members' business during the current Monsoon Session, but not without facing a push back from Opposition benches, who described it as the Executive prevailing over the Legislature and as a violation of the norms of separation of powers. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved the motion in the Lok Sabha citing the extraordinary circumstances amid which the House was being convened, and the allotted four-hour sittings per day. The Opposition refused to be convinced, however, with Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury terming Question Hour as the "golden hour" of the House. "We get a chance to raise issues of common people," Chowdhury said, adding that by doing way with it, the government was trying to suppress a democratic practice which has been followed since Independence. Observing that Question Hour and private members' business were the cornerstones of democracy, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi said, "I urge the Speaker not to allow the executive to encroach on the territory of the legislature. It is a shameful day." He also requested for a division on the motion, which was not accepted by Speaker Om Birla. No immediate move to demolish Delhi slum clusters: Centre tells SC  Slums adjacent to the railway track near Sarai Rohilla station in New Delhi. The Centre informed the Supreme Court on Monday that no immediate action would be taken to demolish 48,000 slum clusters situated within safety zones along rail tracks in Delhi. Appearing before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said consultations were on between the Railways, the Delhi government, and the Union Ministry of Urban Development. They would take into account the fact that any immediate move would cause the displacement of over two lakh families in the middle of a pandemic, he added. The court scheduled the case for hearing after a month. The dispute is based on an order by the Supreme Court itself. On August 31, a Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra, who is now retired, had ordered the removal of the clusters within three months. The court said no interference would be brooked from politicians or otherwise against the order. It had further said that any order of stay by any court would be deemed ineffective. Following the order, Congress leader Ajay Maken and residents from these clusters urgently approached the court, challenging the blanket order for destruction of their homes. Calling the order a "devastating" one, they informed the court that the Ministry of Railways, the Delhi government and local authorities had already initiated the process of identification and removal of 'jhuggies' and had issued demolition notices in various slums in Delhi. "They have circumvented the established procedure by law with respect to rehabilitation prior to demolition as under the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy of 2015," Maken submitted in court through his lawyer Nitin Saluja. Prashant Bhushan pays ₹1 fine
Civil rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Monday paid the ₹1 fine imposed on him by the Supreme Court as punishment for committing criminal contempt with tweets that "scandalised" the court. Speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court complex, Bhushan said the payment of the fine did not mean he had accepted the judgment that found him guilty. A review petition was being filed against the verdict, he added. Truth Fund to provide legal support in fight for free speech With hundreds of people eager to support Bhushan by symbolically contributing ₹1 (or more) towards his fine, a fund has been set up to use the money to help others fighting for free speech. "The Satyamev Jayate or Truth Fund will be used to provide legal support and amplify the voices of those facing criminal charges for standing by their conscience and speaking truth," said activist Anjali Bhardwaj at a webinar on free speech organised today on the occasion of Bhushan's fine being deposited. Participating in the discussion, retired Supreme Court judge Madan Lokur deplored the "iron hand" being wielded by the state and the lack of transparency within the judiciary. The arbitrary use of preventive detention, the increase in sedition charges, the labelling of opinion as "fake news", and the misreading of statements such as Bhushan's tweets have all resulted in the curbing of free speech in unconstitutional ways, he said. There is an unequal application of the law, said N. Ram, director, The Hindu Group of Publications, referring to Dr. Kafeel Khan being held in preventive custody for months for giving a speech on unity and integrity of the country, while others who openly called for violence went scot-free. "The Allahabad High Court's judgment on his case was a good blow for free speech and democratic rights, but who will make amends for what he has suffered," he asked. Judge wants actor Suriya to be hauled up for contempt  Suriya A Madras High Court judge has written to the High Court Chief Justice seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against actor Suriya after he described the holding of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) as 'unfair' to students. Suriya had put out a statement on Sunday after three students who had registered for NEET died by suicide on Saturday. In his statement, the actor said it pained him to see students forced to write such "manuneethi tests" during a pandemic. Contrasting the court's own functioning with its expectations from the students, Suriya's statement, released in Tamil, had said, "A court that is fearful of the corona scare and is dispensing justice via video-conferencing, is ordering students to fearlessly go and take exams." Justice SM Subramaniam in his letter said, "The said statement in my considered opinion amounts to contempt of Court as the integrity and devotion of the Hon'ble Judges as well as the Judicial System of our Great Nation are not only undermined but criticised in a bad shape." 25 MPs test positive for Covid-19 17 Lok Sabha MPs tested positive for Covid-19 following mandatory tests ahead of the monsoon session that began on Monday morning. Among those who tested positive, the BJP had the maximum number (12), the YRS Congress had two, and the Shiv Sena, the DMK and the RLP one each, according to senior officials. Reports also indicate that more than seven Rajya Sabha members tested positive, including two each from the Congress and the BJP, and one each from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the Aam Aadmi Party.
Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 49,15,881 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 80,750. The battle against Covid-19 was still far from over, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said in Parliament on Monday. "We are in the stage of unlock to revive the economy and it's important that sustained community support is ensured consistently to control the spread of Covid-19 infection and break its chain of transmission," he said on the first day of the 18-day Monsoon Session. Farmers stage protests against Centre's agri-ordinances in Punjab Close to a dozen farmer outfits held demonstrations in Punjab on Monday to register their anguish against the Centre's agriculture-related ordinances, demanding their immediate withdrawal. Farmers who were marching from Haryana towards New Delhi to participate in a protest called by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) were allegedly stopped at the State border. The farmers were seen raising slogans and demanding immediate withdrawal of all the three ordinances — The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020; The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. In Brief: The NDA candidate, Harivansh Narayan Singh of the Janata Dal (United) was on Monday re-elected as the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha by voice vote. The Opposition had fielded Manoj Jha, a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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