The Opposition blamed the Centre for the Winter Session of Parliament being unproductive. The leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the Opposition had been ready to iron out the differences, but the BJP and the Centre were not ready to hold discussions with the Opposition.

Kharge charged the the Winter Session started with 12 opposition MPs to manipulate the majority in the Upper House. The UPA has 68 members in Rajya Sabha, Opposition parties have 50 and two independent MPs were backing the Opposition. Thus, the Opposition has the support of 120 MPs against NDA’s 118. So they thought that if there is a voting on the Bills, the Government will be in minority. That is why they suspended 12 MPs without even naming them. They were eager to prove majority at any cost,” Kharge claimed.

He said the Opposition was hoping that there will be discussions on serious issues such as distress of farmers, unemployment, inflation and Chinese encroachments. We had given many notices for this. “But on the first day of the session, they suspended 12 MPs who are articulate and active. They flouted the rules and the Constitution to suspend the MPs. The BJP was not ready to solve the stand-off. They always said suspended MPs must express regrets. I was ready to express regret on behalf of the 12 MPs, but the BJP was not ready to accept this proposal. The BJP wanted to pass all the Bills without any discussion,” he added.

‘Government pressure’

He alleged that the Government was putting pressure on the Chairpersons of the House. He said Chairman Venkaiah Naidu is the guardian of the House and he was helpless. “He used to adjourn the House if I stand up to raise any issues. He told us to solve the stand off between ourselves. But the Government was not ready to accept,” he said. Chowdhury said important Bills were disposed in 20-25 minutes. The Centre was bulldozing its agenda and the Opposition cannot be blamed for the ruckus in the House.

Congress Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh said the Opposition, from November 29 onwards, tried to point out that the suspensions were unconstitutional. Justifying the absence of the Opposition from the proceedings, he said. “It was a collective decision taken by 15 opposition parties. We met every morning at 9:45 am and decided on what to do for the day. It was a collective decision. It was consensual decision. It was a decision reflecting our frustration over the continued suspension and the unwillingness of the government to get the resignation (of Union Minister of State for Home, Ajay Mishra, whose son Ashish Mishra is an accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and farmers’ death). So, to use the Chairman’s language, suspension plus lack of resignation is equal to frustration,” he added.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW