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Budget session: Parliament logjam likely to stay; Opposition, govt remain at odds
Disruptions and protests washed out a second day of proceedings in Parliament on Tuesday as the government and the Opposition stuck to their demands, indicating that there was little possibility of an early resolution to the impasse jamming the second half of the Budget session.
Disruptions and protests washed out a second day of proceedings in Parliament on Tuesday as the government and the Opposition stuck to their demands, indicating that there was little possibility of an early resolution to the impasse jamming the second half of the Budget session.
Since the session began on Monday after a break, the government has demanded an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for what it sees as an insult of Parliament and Indian democracy abroad. The Congress and other like-minded Opposition parties, on the other hand, want a joint parliamentary panel probe into allegations of fraud by the Adani Group.
Both Houses were initially adjourned till 2pm. In the second half too, sparring continued between the two sides, paving the way for another adjournment without transacting business.
The session now has 17 days left before it ends on April 6. The government needs to pass the finance bill and the ministry-wise demand for grants in this session. On Wednesday, the Opposition will consider a proposal for a letter against the government signed by all members of Parliament and a march to the Enforcement Directorate office.
The government has targeted Gandhi, who at an interaction at Cambridge University last week, said Indian democracy was under attack and several politicians, including himself, under surveillance. His speech mentioned capture and control of media and judiciary; surveillance and intimidation; coercion by federal law enforcement agencies; attacks on minorities, Dalits and tribals; and the choking of dissent including the muting of microphones of Opposition leaders inside Parliament. He also alleged that the RSS had a fascist mindset and never participated in the freedom struggle.
Leaders from the BJP have dismissed all these allegations.
In the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Leader of the House Piyush Goyal reiterated the demand for Gandhi’s apology. “He insulted India and its institutions abroad, particularly Parliament, which includes both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and the President who is also part of it....he used offensive words. You (the Chairman) also criticised it,” Goyal said amid protests by the Opposition.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, meanwhile, insisted that the party will continue to demand a JPC into the charges made by American firm Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group. “Modi government’s continued refusal to even allow the combined Opposition to raise its legitimate demand for a JPC into the PM-linked Adani MagaMegaScam has resulted in an impasse in Parliament. This is the only issue. Anything else is a deliberate diversion by the PM & his colleagues,” he tweeted.
The Congress’s parliamentary strategy team met twice on as many days and decided to stick to its demand for a JPC. Congress leader Manickam Tagore ruled out the question of Gandhi’s apology and said, “What Rahul Gandhi spoke about RSS is true. RSS never participated in freedom struggle, never worked for people. They always tried to divide people on the line of religion, caste & language. RSS divides people. Congress wants India to be united.” Tagore said the Opposition parties will again meet on Wednesday to discuss floor strategy.
After the Houses were adjourned on Tuesday, floor leaders met to discuss possible solutions but accused each other over speeches made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past and Gandhi’s comments in the UK. In the meeting, Congress’s newly appointed deputy leader in Rajya Sabha, Pramod Tiwari, said that PM Modi showed India in poor light on at least six occasions while government managers said Gandhi violated Article 105 and 121 of the Constitution.
Congress leader Sayed Nasser Hussain said that the ruling party created a record in obstructing the proceedings of the House. In the meeting, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien said, “We have seven issues including price rise, how government is destroying federal structure, Life Insurance Corporation and State Bank of India. Discussions must resume to highlight these people’s issues.”
The Aam Aadmi Party demanded that discussions be restarted. The Trinamool Congress, which stayed away from the Congress-led coordination meetings, launched its own protests demanding a discussion on the financial health of SBI and LIC. TMC’s Lok Sabha floor leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said, “We are not coordinating with the Congress. But we want a discussion on the financials of SBI and LIC in respect to their exposure to the Adani Group.” During their protests, TMC MPs also shouted slogans against the PM.
But the government dismissed these arguments. Arguing against Gandhi’s comments that his mike doesn’t work during his speeches in Parliament, Goyal said the fact that other parties didn’t challenge Gandhi’s allegation that mikes were switched off in Parliament when he spoke was worrying.
Speaking in a press conference in Panipat, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale also hit out at Gandhi, saying a leader of the country’s main opposition party should speak more responsibly. “ People who had imposed Emergency in the country and turned the country into a jail and never apologised for it, do not have any right to speak about democracy”, he added.
