Persistent logjam in Parliament an insult, says PM as stalemate continues

The monsoon session of Parliament appears headed for a washout following a persistent stalemate between the Opposition and the government over the Pegasus snooping scandal and a host of other issues, including the government handling of the COVID situation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 3 renewed his attack on the Opposition, accusing it of not allowing the Parliament session to function. He said at the BJP parliamentary party meeting that repeated adjournments forced by the opposition were “an insult to the Constitution… to democracy and to the public”.

In the morning Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a breakfast meeting with a large number of opposition leaders. The Congress leader rode a cycle to draw attention to the issue of fuel price hike, urging other leaders to join him. “One of the ways to draw the attention (of the government) to the issues is by cycling to Parliament. People of India are struggling…” Rahul told the opposition leaders on Tuesday morning at the breakfast meet.

The session that began on July 19 has functioned only for 18 hours out of the possible 107 hours till Saturday (July 31).

Also read: Parliament offensive: Rahul calls Oppn meet, leads ‘cycle protest’

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed two bills, the Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021 and the Essential Defence Services Bill, 2021 amid protests from the Opposition. Both the Houses were adjourned for the day. The Essential Defence Services Bill was passed by a voice vote without any discussion.

While the Opposition called the Bill “draconian that would deprive employees of their democratic rights to protest,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was present in the House, said the government had taken all employee unions into confidence before passing it, media reports said.

The Parliament on Tuesday (August 3) approved the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021, with its passage through the Rajya Sabha.

Critical of the Opposition, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the “constitutional impasse” in Parliament was “not correct”. She also said it was unfortunate that nothing is being done to stop the din in the House.

Also read: Oppn to stage ‘mock Parliament’; govt mulls ending monsoon session

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and RSP MP N K Premchandran said that bills should not be passed when the House is not in order and there should be a proper debate before the passage of any bill.

“Parliament is being insulted by the acts of the Opposition in both Houses. The person who snatched the paper and tore it is not repentant of his acts,” the Prime Minister told BJP MPs at a meeting on August 3.

He was referring to Trinamool MP Santanu Sen who snatched IT Minister Aswini Vaishnaw’s papers, as he was about to make a statement on the Pegasus scandal.

The Prime Minister also referred to “derogatory comments by a senior MP regarding the passage of bills” — a reference to Trinamool MP Derek O’Brien’s “passing laws or making papri chhaat” tweet.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chair MA Naqvi also hit out at O’Brien “We are ready to discuss all bills… We don’t want to rush through… one member from Trinamool has insulted Parliament. He should apologize to the country,” said Joshi.

The Trinamool has responded by demanding the government first answer how legislation can be passed amid protests by the Opposition; senior MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy also told NDTV that Union Minister Hardeep Puri had “abused our MP, Santanu Sen, with filth”.

Also read: Mamata plays smart, orders probe into Pegasus snooping scandal

“If a dozen bills are passed in the Rajya Sabha amid uproar… is this a parliamentary system? Government should answer this first… Hardeep Puri abused our MP, Shantanu Sen, with filth. I complained in writing… but why has no action been taken? Ten party MPs are ready to testify,” he said.

This is the second time in a week the Prime Minister has lashed out at the opposition over fierce protests in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over a number of issues, including the Pegasus phone-hacking row, the government’s handling of the pandemic, and the farmers’ protest.

On the Opposition front, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi led a breakfast meeting of 15 opposition parties, the second this week.

Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, NCP’s Supriya Sule, Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena, and DMK’s Kanimozhi were among those present as the opposition displayed a united front.

After a similar meeting last week, Rahul and other opposition leaders declared PM Modi had “inserted a weapon in our phones” and used it to “hit the soul of India’s democracy”.

The deadlock between the government and the opposition has escalated after the Pegasus charges published by a consortium of media houses around the world, including The Wire from India.