Deadlock ends: Debate on Constitution next week

The government and Opposition agreed to resume Parliament proceedings after a six-day logjam, planning a Constitution debate for December 13-17.

The government and the Opposition on Monday broke an impasse that had caused a logjam of the winter session of Parliament and washed out six consecutive days of proceedings, agreeing to hold a debate on the Constitution next week and allowing the smooth functioning of both Houses from Tuesday.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla calls a meeting of all Floor Leaders in his chamber, at Parliament in New Delhi on Monday. (ANI)

Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju announced after a meeting of floor leaders chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that the Lower House will debate the Constitution, which turned 75 this month, on December 13 and 14, and the Rajya Sabha will take up the discussion on December 16 and 17. The winter session is scheduled to close on December 20.

“It is not good to disrupt parliamentary proceedings. We appeal to all Opposition leaders to make good on the agreement that all of us will ensure Parliament functions smoothly from tomorrow,” Rijiju said.

The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is likely to raise its pet issues during the debate on the Constitution, said people aware of developments.

The breakthrough came at the meeting chaired by Birla and attended by the floor leaders of several parties, including Gaurav Gogoi of the Congress, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s TR Baalu and Trinamool Congress’s Kalyan Banerjee among others, besides Rijiju and his deputy in the ministry Arjun Ram Meghwal.

Officials present in the meeting said that Birla urged the Opposition floor leaders to raise “people’s issues” and reminded them that each lawmaker represented roughly 2.5 million people of his or her constituency, and that Parliament was the only forum to raise the issues of the constituents.

“Birla told the Congress that a lot of money is wasted as the Question Hours are disrupted. He reminded them that the Opposition is allowing the government to escape parliamentary scrutiny and the people disapprove frequent disruptions as they want Parliament to run smoothly,” said a functionary present in the meeting.

The grand old party anyway appeared isolated on the issue, even among members of the INDIA bloc, after a number of parties expressed their discomfort with repeatedly stalling Parliament over one issue, and the Trinamool Congress skipping a coordination meeting and saying it had key issues it wanted to raise in the House.

Both Houses, which have been hit by repeated disruptions since the winter session opened last week, are set to function normally from Tuesday. To this end, the Speaker allowed the Samajwadi Party to raise issues related to the violence that broke out last month during a court-ordered survey in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal town during the Zero Hour on Wednesday, said people aware of developments. The Trinamool Congress was also allowed to mention the current unrest in Bangladesh and related protests during the Zero Hour on Tuesday, said the people cited above.

“We are confident that the House will run smoothly...We had requested the Speaker to run the House from today itself. We are ready to participate in the debate. So many issues have to be raised,” said Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee.

According to a second functionary, the Congress tried to mention the Adani Group controversy at the meeting but the Speaker reminded the party that it was a matter related to the US courts and not a people’s issue.

An Opposition leader pointed out that a discussion on the Constitution — a key topic for many INDIA bloc parties, including the Congress — will also be a platform to raise any current issues.

“LOP Lok Sabha had written to the Speaker on Nov 26th requesting for a special two-day discussion on the Constitution. The LOP-Rajya Sabha had also written a similar letter to the Chairman on that day. Six days later, this request has been accepted by the Modi government and the dates for the discussion have been announced as requested by the Indian National Congress and other INDIA parties. Hopefully now the Modi government will allow both Houses to function from tomorrow,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh posted on X.

Proceedings in both Houses were adjourned for a sixth straight day on Monday amid protests by Opposition members over the Adani indictment row, the violence in Sambhal that left four people dead, and other issues.

Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan criticised the Congress. “It is regrettable that Congress continues to stall proceedings of both the Houses and disrupt valuable legislative business. Congress, it seems, has no accountability towards the people of India. Not allowing the Parliament to function has become their favourite tradition. A deliberative Parliament is our collective responsibility. People of India are watching how the Congress is washing their hands of its Parliamentary responsibilities,” he posted on X.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned on Monday as the Opposition continued to push for a discussion on allegations against the Adani Group, and violence in Sambhal and Manipur. As soon as the House convened, chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar said he received 20 notices under Rule 267, seeking the suspension of business to take up discussions listed in the notices.

“It appears that a deliberate algorithm exists to actualise Murphy’s Law — anything that can go wrong will go wrong — in this august House, consequently impeding the proper functioning of Parliament. We find ourselves achieving precisely the antithesis of what our Constitution ordains. What we are doing is a spectacle of absolute disdain to the people,” the chairperson said.

Urging the lawmakers to allow Parliament to function, he said, “…Do not make it dysfunctional!”

The House was first adjourned till 12 noon within 15 minutes of convening and subsequently for the day.

In the Lok Sabha, protests led to the first round of disruptions shortly after the House resumed at 11am. Birla tried to pursue the protesting MPs saying, “Question Hour belongs to the lawmakers. I urge you to go back to your seats.” The House was again adjourned after noon.

Amid the din, Union shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal managed to introduce to the coastal shipping bill.

Parliament has been rocked by the controversy kicked up due to a criminal indictment filed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and a civil complaint by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against the Adani Group chairman and seven executives of his vast conglomerate.

The allegation is that the Solar Energy Corp of India entered into an agreement with the Adani Group to buy solar power at a certain price that it would then sell to the states, but that because it had agreed to buy the power at a high rate, no state was willing to sign a Power Sales Agreement (PSA) with it. Adani, the prosecutors allege, incentivised the states to sign the agreement. The Adani Group has already dismissed the charges as baseless.

Another issue roiling the House is the death of four people and injuries to over 20 police personnel and officials in Sambhal on November 24 after protesters opposed a second survey at Shahi Jama Masjid following Hindu groups’ claims that the mosque was built over a temple during Mughal emperor Babur’s rule in 1529. The Supreme Court has since halted all proceedings in the case before the trial court and asked the mosque committee to approach the Allahabad high court.