Parliament productivity went down after Rahul became Congress chief: Ananth Kumar

Claiming that Rahul Gandhi did not understand the nuances of legislative functioning, the Parliamentary Affairs minister said the Congress kept changing the goalposts.

Union Minister Ananth Kumar on Wednesday blamed Congress president Rahul Gandhi for the ongoing disruptions in Parliament, saying that the productivity of its two Houses had dipped after Gandhi took over as the party chief.

Congress leader and president Rahul Gandhi arrives for the 2018 Budget Session at Parliament House in New Delhi.(HT File Photo)

Claiming that Gandhi did not understand the nuances of legislative functioning, the Parliamentary Affairs minister said the Congress kept changing the goalposts.

Kumar also ruled out an early end to the ongoing budget session.

“The government is not going to adjourn the House sine die before schedule. We always want to the run the House,” he said.

Replying to questions on a no-confidence motion being planned by opposition parties, Kumar said the Modi government was ready for a discussion on it and face the motion.

“Rahul Gandhi does not know parliamentary nuances and therefore the Congress, following the trail of other parties, gave a no-confidence motion,” Kumar said, adding that the motion had been moved by the YSRCP and TDP much before the Congress had done so.

Accusing the opposition party of changing the goalposts, Kumar said the government had always been ready for discussions but it was the Congress which kept changing its demands for a debate in the House.

“We are ready and waiting for discussions but every other day the Congress comes up with some new excuse to stall the proceedings of both the Houses courtesy its chief Rahul Gandhi. Since he became the party president, the productivity of both houses has gone down,” Kumar told reporters here.

He added the motion was not taken up for consideration as the House was not in order and Congress workers were carrying placards.

Kumar said when Meira Kumar was speaker during UPA-2, she gave a ruling on 15 occasions that since the House was not in order because of disruptions, she was not in a position to bring a motion before it.

Earlier, speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Kumar said the people would give a “befitting” reply to the Congress for mocking the process of a no-confidence motion.

The minister claimed the opposition parties lacked the numbers to move the motion and wanted to show the people that “they can achieve something without the numbers.

The people will give a befitting reply across the country, and also in Karnataka, for the way they have stalled the functioning of Parliament, created a ruckus and ridiculed the process of a no-confidence motion,” he added.

The Rajya Sabha yesterday saw a unique protest by opposition parties with members continuing to be in their seats for over 30 minutes after Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had called it a day and left the House.

The Lok Sabha, too, failed to take up notices for a no-confidence motion against the government after Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said the House was not in order and adjourned proceedings amid noisy protests over various issues.

In a novel way to convey they had the numbers to initiate a no-confidence motion, members of the Congress, the Left and some other parties displayed blue-coloured placards, each with a circled number -- from 1 to 80 -- along with the words ‘For no-confidence’.

At least 50 members are needed to support a no-confidence notice for the House to accept it and start a debate.