Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 2: On a day the Trinamool Congress send a clear notice to the Congress that it was not with the opposition bloc if it keep disrupting proceedings of Parliament on the Adani row, the ruling BJP-led NDA and the opposition parties reached an agreement on Monday to break the Parliamentary impasse by agreeing to hold a debate on the Constitution.
The breakthrough came at a meeting of the floor leaders of different parties convened by the speaker Om Birla. The debate on the Constitution will be held on December 13 and 14 in the Lok Sabha, and 16 and 17 in the Rajya Sabha, the parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju announced hoping that proceedings in both Houses of Parliament would become smooth and peaceful from Tuesday. Several opposition leaders, who attended the meeting, also echoed similar sentiments.
“It is not good to disrupt parliamentary proceedings. We appeal to all Opposition leaders to make good on the agreement that all of us will ensure parliament functions smoothly from tomorrow,” Mr Rijiju said. The first session of parliament’s winter session began on November 25, with both houses getting adjourned fairly early due to disruptions. The session will go on till December 20.
The Congress has been persistent in raising the issue the indictment of the Adani group by the US prosecutors on alleged bribery and fraud charges. This coupled with vociferous opposition protests over matters such as the Sambhal violence and Manipur unrest have resulted in constant adjournments of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha since the Winter Session began on November 25.
Opposition parties had demanded discussions in both houses to mark the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly. The ruling BJP has been fending off Opposition attacks that Modi 3.0 would tinker with the Constitution. The BJP has accused the Congress of being the principal violator of constitutional norms and spirit when it was in power, asserting that the Modi government strengthened constitutional practices and principles during its over 10-year tenure.
Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah has more than once dismissed the Opposition’s claims that the BJP would amend the Constitution if it got a singular majority again in the Lok Sabha. “We have had the mandate to change the Constitution for the last 10 years, but we never did that. What do you think Rahul Baba and company would say, and the country will believe it? This country has given us a clear mandate, and the people of this country already know that Modi ji already had sufficient majority to change the Constitution, but we never did that,” Mr Shah had said in May.
Mr Rijiju’s recent comments at an event to announce programmes linked to the Constitution Day celebrations on November 26, however, have prompted the Opposition to take note again. The Constitution is not only a static document but a journey, and it has been amended before, Mr Rijiju had said at a media house gathering recently.
“The Constitution is a book. However, as a citizen, we have to follow a way of life. Many people have given their views on the Constitution from time to time, and they are constructive views. People have also looked at the Constitution with different views at different points of time, amendments have been made too,” the Parliamentary and Minority Affairs Minister said.
“I am not going into minute details about the Constitution as it will be a lengthy discussion. But everyone knows that the Constitution is not a static document. It is a journey, which has seen changes and will see changes. Except for the basic principles which are at the core, which we cannot and should not touch, nothing is permanent in a democratic system,” Mr Rijiju said.
On the Opposition raising other issues such as Sambhal violence and Manipur, Mr Rijiju said a decision would be taken in accordance with the rules. These issues have led to constant adjournments of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha since the session began on November 25. Some Opposition parties, especially the Trinamool Congress, want parliament to discuss a host of different issues, including unemployment, price rise and the Centre’s alleged discrimination against the non-BJP ruled states in fund allocation.
Sending a clear message that it is not with the main opposition Congress in disrupting Parliament over the Adani indictment issue, the TMC on Monday morning skipped the Opposition meetings at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s chamber convened to formulate the INDIA bloc’s joint strategy during the session. The Trinamool does not want to stamp its approval on the Congress’s agenda.
Sources in the Trinamool Congress said it wanted to raise six key issues in Parliament, including price rise, unemployment, funds crunch and the Manipur unrest. “But Congress only wants to press for the Adani issue. So, Trinamool has not attended the INDIA floor leaders’ meeting today.” The Trinamool source also said it is the only party in the INDIA bloc that is not an electoral partner of the Congress. “So there is a sentiment in the party that we are not bound to attend the INDIA bloc when our top points are not on the agenda.”
The Congress has been demanding that all business in the House be suspended for a discussion on the US Department of Justice indictment against directors of Adani Green. This morning too, Congress MP Manickam Tagore gave an Adjournment Motion notice in Lok Sabha to discuss the Adani issue. However, MPs of multiple parties, including the Congress, have sought discussions on various pressing issues such as the damage due to Cyclone Fengal, the violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal over a mosque’s survey, the targeting of ISKCON monks in Bangladesh and delay in procurement of paddy in Punjab.
The Adani Group has maintained that Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and senior executive Vineet Jain are clear of bribery charges. Gautam Adani has said this was not a challenge the group has faced for the first time and stressed that “every attack makes us stronger.”
Earlier, Trinamool general secretary and the party’s Number 2 leader Abhishek Banerjee had made it clear that Trinamool would prioritise issues of Bengal during the Winter Session. “Our stand is very clear. We will give priority to the issues of Bengal first. The Centre has blocked Bengal’s dues. We want discussions in Parliament on these issues. Go and ask Congress. I have said we will prioritise Bengal’s issues. What’s their stand?”
Earlier, senior Trinamool MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said the party did not want the Parliament to be disrupted. “We want Parliament to run. We don’t want to disrupt the House on just one issue. We will hold this government accountable on multiple counts,” she said. The Trinamool had earlier said it would raise the ongoing unrest in Manipur during the Winter Session and seek urgent actions by the Centre to bring peace to the Northeast state.
