Protests continued to stall the monsoon session of Parliament, as it entered the last week on Monday.
Proceedings in Lok Sabha were disrupted on Monday with the House witnessing four adjournments due to continued noisy protests by the Opposition over various issues, as Congress members returned to the Lower House, which they had boycotted last week.
The 25 Congress members, whose five-day suspension by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan ended on Friday evening, were back in the House in full strength.
Agitated Congress members, wearing black bands, trooped in the Well several times holding placards and shouting slogans against the government over the Lalit Modi controversy and Vyapam scam.
Though the Lok Sabha took up some business amidst the sloganeering, the House was adjourned for the day by Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai soon after it met at 2 pm.
Leader of Congress Mallikarjun Kharge said, “All our members were suspended under the rules... for disorder and showing placards. The rules also say that when the House is not in order, no business will take place.”
“When we are in the Well raising an issue, we are suspended. But when the House is not in order, business still takes place... I would request you that since the House is not in order, please suspend the business,” the Congress leader said.
The situation was no different in Rajya Sabha. The Upper House failed to transact
any business again on Monday as the ruling and opposition sides engaged in heated arguments over continued disruptions amid protests over appointment of two governors and signing of the Naga accord allegedly without consulting the states concerned.
The Opposition said that not consulting the chief ministers of the states concerned with regard to appointment of governors to Bihar and Himachal Pradesh as also the signing of the Naga accord demolishes the talk of cooperative federalism.
While the Opposition accused the government of making no effort to end the deadlock, the ruling side hit back by saying that Congress was resorting to “disruption” as a determined strategy of not allowing Parliament to function.
Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said there is an “uneasy impression” that disruption over External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was only a “pretext” and “the real reason was the Congress does not want the GST Constitution Amendment Bill to get passed”.
Trouble broke out when K C Tyagi of the Janata Dal-United raised the issue of governors by wanting to move a motion under Rule 267 seeking suspension of business to discuss the appointments.
To enable him to speak, Congress members, who over shouting slogans in the Well over Lalit Modi and Vyapam issues, retreated to their seats.
Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad also raised the issue of appointment of governors and the Naga accord issue.
“New things are coming up... The concept of cooperative federalism has been demolished,” he said, while claiming that the CMs of the states concerned were not consulted over appointment of governors or the Naga accord.
In this context, he asked, “how will the deadlock end?”
At this, Jaitley said the government repeatedly tried to end the logjam but the opposition said that it was a considered decision not to allow Parliament to function.
Referring to the Naga accord signed with Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland - Isak-Muivah, he said the chief ministers of Congress-ruled states of Northeast had welcomed the pact in tweets but retracted after “pressure” from the party.
Jaitley said the CMs from the Congress-ruled states had boycotted the meeting called by the prime minister of the CMs of the region earlier this month.
Jaitley took strong objection to Congress members stopping their slogan-shouting to allow Azad and Tyagi to speak, saying, “It is unfortunate the way House is being conducted... The leader of Opposition is allowed to speak while the government is not allowed to respond.” “You can’t have the House conducted in a manner in which the government is not allowed to speak.”
He said it was the responsibility of the Chair (Deputy Chairman P J Kurien who was in the seat) to “safeguard the rights of the government”. Kurien also slammed the behaviour of the Opposition members.
Immediately thereafter, Congress members rushed to the Well again, raising slogans against the government.
Image: Members chanted slogans and rushed into the Well of the Upper House. Photograph: PTI
