The Opposition also reached out to the AIADMK and the TDP, which has been disrupting House proceedings. Opposition leaders also met Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu. (PTI file photo)
2.13 pm, 2.43 pm, 3.15 pm, 3.40 pm, 3.54 pm, 4.10 pm, 4.30 pm, 4.45 pm, 4.55 pm, 5.14 pm – over a little more than three hours, Rajya Sabha was adjourned on 10 occasions, at these times, Wednesday.
The government wanted to take up for passage an anti-corruption Bill that has been pending for four years, arguing that it is essential and cannot wait. Opposition parties raised technical issues and insisted that no legislative business can take place without discussions on the Nirav Modi bank fraud, agrarian distress, the order on the SC/ST Act, the Cauvery water-sharing issue, and special category status for Andhra Pradesh.
With just two days left in Budget Session, both sides indulged in posturing. While the government wanted to show that the Opposition was obstructing passage of key Bills such as the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013, opposition parties led by the Congress blamed the government for the blockade.
READ | Rajya Sabha witnesses an unprecedented 11 adjournments on a single day
Opposition parties met in the morning, after which Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad declared that they are not “averse even if the session is extended by a day or two” since “we want to hold discussions on key issues of national importance, and we also want to pass legislation.”
The Opposition also reached out to the AIADMK and the TDP, which has been disrupting House proceedings. Opposition leaders also met Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.
The back-channel negotiations worked, and the two parties allowed Azad to make a brief intervention when the House assembled after lunch. While Congress’s Anand Sharma and CPI’s D Raja met AIAMDK MPs, Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’Brien spoke with TDP Parliamentary Party leaders.
“The impression being given outside is that the Opposition is not interested in discussing the issues…. The entire Opposition is for the passage of Bills…the ruling party is responsible for non-functioning of Parliament,” Azad said.
He said that legislators are not just mandated to pass Bills but are also responsible for raising issues of the people.
But as soon as Deputy Chairman P J Kurien asked Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh to move the Bill for consideration, trouble began. Kurien said he will proceed with the Bill as no member has given her/his name for the debate on it, leading to first adjournment.
Efforts in the chamber of the presiding officer to resolve the stalemate did not work. While some BJP MPs and Health Minister J P Nadda walked across the aisle to Opposition benches between adjournments, interventions of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar and his deputy, Vijay Goel, were limited to slamming the disruptions.
What followed was a series of adjournments, interspersed with brief, heated exchanges on both sides.
The government said that since the Bill has already gone through the select committee’s scrutiny it should be passed by a voice vote. The Opposition did not agree.
When Kurien, despite the loud “no”, uttered the mandatory “Ayes have it”, signalling passage of a Bill, several Opposition MPs asked for a division. But a division was not possible, with the House not in order. Several members were in the Well, shouting “Dalit-virodhi Narendra Modi (anti-Dalit Modi).”
Minister Singh urged the chair to take into account the “sense of the nation” and pass the Bill. With AIADMK, TDP, Congress and Trinamool members in the Well, the House adjourned for the day at 5.14 pm.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day in the morning itself without transacting any business due to disruptions.
NDA MPs to give up salary
With just two days left for the Budget Session to conclude, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar on Wednesday announced that NDA MPs will forego their salary and allowances for 23 days. The decision was taken by the ruling alliance to protest against the non-functioning of Parliament due to opposition disruptions. The 23-day period pertains to the second part of the Budget session, which has been a near washout. (ENS)