'We have let the people of India down': Shashi Tharoor on Parliament standoff

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor expressed his dismay over repeated disruption in the Parliamentary proceedings

Updated on: Dec 20, 2024, 20:06:34 IST

By HT News Desk

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Referring to the showdown between Congress and the BJP over BR Ambedkar, MP Shashi Tharoor stated that the Parliament has failed to fulfil its responsibilities and let the country's people down.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor speaks to the media at Parliament during the Winter Session (Jitender Gupta)

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“Most of our MPs are disappointed. I think that there are a lot of major issues to be discussed in our country, including unemployment, price rise, Manipur, Sambhal violence broke out just as Parliament was starting. Sadly, most of this time has been wasted in disruption," he told news agency ANI.

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He noted that while constructive work was done in parliamentary committees, constant disruption in parliamentary proceedings had prevented the house from functioning effectively.

Tharoor also hoped that the central government would reach out to the opposition and come to an understanding to allow the smooth operation of parliamentary discussions.

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“To my mind, Parliament is a forum for debate, discussion, and disagreements certainly but not for disruption. There was an agreement reached between the government and the opposition in the first week that the opposition could protest outside but inside work would continue. It went on for 2-3 days. But thereafter, we ended up once again with a complete breakdown,” the MP said.

Tharoor also added that a repetition of these events should not take place in the upcoming budget session in February-March.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned on Friday amid protests over union home minister Amit Shah's remarks on BR Ambedkar. Uproar over the home minister's comments devolved into a scuffle in parliament on Thursday, with two BJP MPs injured and an FIR being filed against LoP Rahul Gandhi.

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