Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 11: The smiling faces in the Speaker’s room betrayed the acrimony the ruling BJP and the opposition had shown against each other throughout the monsoon session as the prime minister Narendra Modi and the Congress president Sonia Gandhi sat in adjoining sofas.
The monsoon session of the Lok Sabha ended abruptly on Wednesday morning, two days earlier than schedule consequent to the continuous protests and daily disruptions in both houses of parliament as the opposition demanded allocation of time for a debate on the alleged Pegasus spyware issue and the farmers’ protests against the three contentious farm laws but the government refusing to budge.
The meeting in his chamber was convened by the speaker Om Birla after he was forced to abruptly adjourn the House even as the vice-president Venkaiah Naidu, the chairman of the Rajya Sabha deeply regretted the “sacrilege” by the opposition members “violating the temple of democracy.”
The meeting at the Speaker’s chamber was also attended by the union home minister Amit Shah, the Congress’s Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and leaders of the Trinamool Congress, Akali Dal, YSR Congress and BJD among others. Sources said the Speaker urged all parties to cooperate with the functioning of the house in future.
Both the government and opposition parties blamed each other for the standoff. As the opposition protested on a range of issues including the Pegasus snooping scandal, fuel prices and the Covid crisis, the government was accused of rushing through bills without discussion.
“I saw PM Modi for the first time today. When everything is over, he shows up. The government passed bills without discussion. Except for the OBC Bill, all other Bills were passed within minutes – another record by this government,” said Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
Speaking to reporters, the Speaker said the Lok Sabha functioned only 21 hours in the month-long session and its productivity was at 22 per cent.
“I am hurt by the fact that the proceedings of the house did not take place per expectations in this session. I always make an effort to see that maximum business takes place in the House and discussions are held over issues related to the public. But there was continuous obstruction this time. This could not be resolved,” Om Birla said.
The Rajya Sabha saw similar disruptions and yesterday, opposition members stood on the table at the centre of the house and one MP threw the rule book at the Chair. Sources said Naidu was contemplating taking actions against some members named for their alleged unruly behaviour and may report the incident to the Parliamentary Ethics Committee.
“I am distressed at the way this sacredness was destroyed yesterday when some members sat on the table, some others climbed on the tables of the house, perhaps to be more visible, was an act of sacrilege. I have no words to condemn the act as I spent a sleepless night,” Naidu said in the house breaking down with emotion.
Some opposition MPs on Tuesday had climbed the officials’ table at the centre of the Rajya Sabha, waved black clothes and threw files during a discussion on the farmer protests over three central laws.
Describing parliament as a temple of democracy and the centre of the house as the “holy sanctum sanctorum,” Naidu said: “I have no words to convey my anguish and to condemn such acts as I spent a sleepless night…last night” He broke off, choking up. After a long pause, he resumed: “I struggle to find out the reason or provocation for forcing this august house to hit such a low yesterday.”
Naidu said the opposition could have discussed their objections to the farm laws in the house, protested or voted against it. “But it is for the government to act. You cannot force the government to do this or not to do this… Yesterday was a golden opportunity for the concerned members to have gone on record…but it seems their sole intention was to not allow the house to function.”
Naidu’s comments, however, did not go down well with the opposition who alleged that the Chairman was expected to remain neutral but he was “actually speaking for the government.” Though the visuals of the opposition protests were not shown yesterday, MPs shared them on Twitter. “I was very sad and deeply anguished,” Naidu said, asking members to “seriously reflect” on what happened.
By the time he was wrapping his statement, the opposition members had gathered around the table, clapping and chanting slogans. Congress member Pratap Singh Bajwa, who stood on the table Tuesday and threw the rule book at the Chair, told the media persons, “MPs who threw the rule book towards the Chair wanted that the Chair must follow the rulebook in ĺetter and spirit.”
Another Congress leader, Jairam Ramesh, tweeted: “Presiding officers in Parliament are supposed to be neutral umpires, not partisan players. They cannot present a totally one-sided picture of goings on in the House and further aggravate the situation. Misplaced emotion leads to commotion.”
The monsoon session of parliament, which began on July 19, has been a cycle of disruptions, adjournments and protests in both houses over a range of subjects, mainly the Pegasus snooping scandal involving allegations that opposition politicians, journalists, activists and others were targeted by Israeli Pegasus spyware sold only to governments.