E-Paper
PM won’t make March 12 statement as Oppn seeks debate on fuel price
The Opposition disrupted both Houses of Parliament for three consecutive days over fuel price hikes and three contentious farm laws before proceedings were adjourned till Monday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not make a statement on March 12 to commemorate celebrations on 75 years of Independence due to lack of consensus between the ruling dispensation and opposition parties, the government said on Wednesday. The opposition parties have been demanding a separate debate on rising fuel prices in the House.
The Opposition disrupted both Houses of Parliament for three consecutive days over fuel price hikes and three contentious farm laws before proceedings were adjourned till Monday. After negotiations with the Opposition failed, parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said: “PM Modi wanted to make a statement in the House on the 75th Independence celebrations ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. But due to lack of consensus, the statement will not be made. It will happen when a consensus is reached.”
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla earlier called leaders of different political parties to end the Parliament logjam but the opposition parties insisted on a separate debate on fuel price hikes, people aware of the developments said. The government managers have maintained that the issue can be taken up during the debate on demand for grants and the finance bill.
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the government was “guilty of monumental mismanagement of the Indian economy” and is “not allowing a normal functioning of the highest institution of India democracy”. The party’s Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma alleged that “the opposition is being deprived and denied continuously their right to raise issues, which matter to the people of India”.
