Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha on Monday were unrelenting in their demand for reversing the decision of the House to suspend 12 MPs for the duration of the ongoing winter session from the Upper House for creating a “ruckus” during the monsoon session in August. Protests by the opposition MPs led to five adjournments, with the House clocking only 45 minutes of proceedings.
The Opposition, in the process, even let go of a debate on price rise and a chance to ask questions to union home minister Amit Shah on the Nagaland killings. While some Opposition leaders justified their stand, others suggested that disruption shouldn’t always overshadow debate on raging issues. Congress and DMK members walked out of the House as no supplementary questions could be taken on Shah’s reply.
During question hour in the Rajya Sabha , which was being held amid sloganeering by the opposition, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’ Brien, while posing a question to Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Shekhawat, said, “I want to ask the minister why has democracy dried up in Parliament.”
This prompted leader of the house Piyush Goyal to criticise the opposition for creating ruckus in the House. The opposition objected to the minister’s statement and the House was adjourned from 12.18 pm till 2 pm.
Earlier, chairman M Venkaiah Naidu refused to take up the issue of suspension for discussion and informed the House that home minister Amit Shah would be making a statement on the civilian killings in Nagaland. The opposition MPs, however, raised slogans, which led to an adjournment within 10 minutes of the House convening at 11 am.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, chairman M Venkaiah Naidu refused to take up the issue of suspension for discussion and informed the House that home minister Amit Shah would be making a statement on the civilian killings in Nagaland. The opposition MPs, however, raised slogans, which led to an adjournment within 10 minutes of the House convening at 11 am.
{{/usCountry}}When the House eventually reassembled at 2 pm, the protests continued. Deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, who was in the chair, urged members to take up the short-duration discussion on price rise that had been demanded by several opposition parties. With no end to the logjam, the House was again adjourned till 3 pm within three minutes of assembling.
At 3 pm, when the House assembled again, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman criticised the opposition for not participating in a discussion that they had sought and blaming the government for not having discussions.
“Let me humbly submit to the opposition leaders. This topic is decided by them... The opposition wanted to discuss this and the government has agreed to have this discussion. If they are talking about democracy, they asked for it and we have agreed,” she said. “Shouldn’t they have been discussing it... Isn’t that democracy, isn’t that the spirit of this House and often we are accused that the Government is running away from debate?”
Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said he was ready for debate but suspension should be revoked. “I will tell how the prices have gone up. I am ready to speak but how can I speak in the din?” Kharge said.
Goyal also blamed the opposition for defending the “indefensible”. He said it was a sad day for Indian democracy that the opposition wanted this discussion but did not participate.
“When the government is ready to do this, they are trying to defend the indefensible act of their colleagues, who are not even feeling any remorse for the sacrilege, the word that the chairman used, the sacrilege they did of democracy. Now the leader of the opposition claims that he wants to start the discussion and asks you to bring the House in order… This is like playing a game,” he said.
The House was subsequently adjourned till 4 pm within eight minutes of convening. It was adjourned for the fifth and final time at 4.06 pm after Shah made a statement in the House on the civilian deaths in Nagaland.
Trinamool’s floor leader Derek O’Brien said “It was artificially normal in the last two days. You can’t deprive 12 MPs from participating in the debate.” He argued that the Opposition allowed the House to run uninterrupted last Thursday and Friday but the government didn’t show magnanimity and push for revocation of suspension of 12 MPs. These MPs were have been suspended for the entire session for their unruly behavior in the last session.
RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, who lost his chance to question Shah on the Nagaland situation, indicated that the strategy would not remain same. “We have an evolving strategy that depends on the situation in the day. We are meeting tomorrow. Everybody was distraught on Monday that 12 Opposition MPs still remain suspended.”