Din marks Day 1 of Monsoon Session of Parliament as Opposition attacks Govt

In the Rajya Sabha, just after members elected to the Upper House last month took oaths of office and obituary references were read, opposition members demanded discussion on the issue of price rise

Disruptions marked the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament as opposition parties took the government to task over the issue of price rise on Monday. Retail inflation has stayed above 6% for the past six months, hurting household budgets.

Opposition MPs protest in Rajya Sabha and walk up to the Well of the House over inflation and GST rate hikes on the first day of Monsoon Session.  (ANI Photo)

In the Rajya Sabha, just after members elected to the Upper House last month took oaths of office and obituary references were read, opposition members demanded discussion on the issue of price rise. The House was adjourned for the day when chairperson M Venkaiah Naidu did not relent and members of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party and Congress raised slogans, trooping to the well of the House.

In the Lok Sabha, too, opposition members raised the issue of price rise. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla adjourned the morning session till 2pm to allow members to cast their ballots in the presidential election. The House was adjourned after the newly elected MPs took oaths of office and obituary references were read out.

No other business was transacted in the Rajya Sabha. In the Lok Sabha, law minister Kiren Rijiju introduced The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill 2022 that aims to give statutory cover to family courts set up in Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland and retrospectively validate all actions taken by them.

There are 715 family courts across 26 states and Union territories. Two family courts were established in Nagaland in 2008 and three in Himachal Pradesh in 2019 through notifications issued by the respective state governments. The family courts in Nagaland were operating without any legal authority since 2008.

In the Lower House, some members raised questions on Sangrur MP Simranjit Singh Mann being allowed to take the oath of office in the Speaker’s chambers while three other lawmakers, Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi (Rampur), Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua (Azamgarh) and Shatrughan Sinha (Asansol), who won the recent by elections, took oath in the House.

After the House resumed in the afternoon, Congress members again tried to raise the issue of inflation and some MPs rushed to the well of the House, raising slogans and carrying placards. The House was then adjourned.

Both Houses also paid tribute to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated on July 8.

Speaking outside Parliament, leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, slammed the central government over high retail inflation, rise in food prices, and the imposition of 5% goods and service tax on items of daily use such as wheat and curd.

“For the last three months, retail inflation has remained above 7%. Food inflation has remained close to 8%,” Kharge said. “On top of this, from today, the Modi government has hiked GST rates on daily use items like rice, wheat, curd, grains, honey, jaggery, puffed rice and many other items from zero to 5%.”

The Narendra Modi government’s “faulty policies” were responsible for high inflation, he said. The opposition was not allowed to raise the issue in the Upper House under Rule 267, which allows for suspending business to discuss a current issue, he said.

“This shows how little Modi government cares for the poor of the country,” he said. “As long as the rich people are benefitted, this government will not take a single step to reduce inflation. This step is regressive, anti-poor and insensitive.”

Addressing the media after casting his vote for the presidential election, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “I demand that the central government should take back the GST applied on materials of everyday use of basic food products. It is not right. The Delhi government is the only one providing any respite from growing inflation through its many schemes.”

The opposition parties are protesting against bringing items under GST’s purview. From Monday, a range of household items came under the purview of the taxation system after the GST panel, headed by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, accepted the recommendation of the group of ministers from states on withdrawing exemptions with a view to rationalise the levy.