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The two houses of Parliament on Thursday adjourned till further notice, marking a near-washout of the session and the lowest budget-session productivity in recent memory.
In the Lok Sabha, the government had planned to debate and pass nine Bills other than financial legislation. It could pass one. The Rajya Sabha was to pass 18 non-financial Bills. It succeeded with three.
Much of the time went in arguing and recriminations: The Treasury Benches demanded Congress leader Rahul Gandhi apologise for his “anti-Indian” remarks on foreign soil while the Opposition refused to let the house function until its demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to investigate the business affairs of a top Indian conglomerate and alleged its links with the government was accepted.
The session saw the disqualification of Gandhi as Lok Sabha MP following his conviction and a two-year prison sentence in a defamation case. It saw the reinstatement as MP for Lakshadweep, of Mohammad Faizal, who was disqualified following his 10-year sentence that was set aside by the Kerala High Court.
The lower house barely functioned in the second half of the session, and even the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address was marked by interruptions. The Finance and Appropriations Bills (both Central and for Jammu and Kashmir) were passed after minimal discussion.
On the last day, the house functioned for six minutes. Opposition members from the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam came to the well, raising slogans and carrying placards with their demand for a JPC probe.
“You have lowered the dignity of the House. This behaviour is not good for the parliamentary system and the country,” the speaker told Opposition MPs.
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MPs of the Congress and DMK, mostly dressed in black, ignored the speaker’s pleas and continued their protests.
Similar scenes were evident in the Rajya Sabha after it adjourned soon after meeting to reassemble at 2 pm. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar informed the house the suspension of Congress MP Rajani Ashokrao Patil for filming its proceedings had been extended beyond the budget session, based on the privileges committee’s recommendations.
Before that the DMK’s Tiruchi Siva and the Congress’ Shaktisinh Gohil sought clarity on the implications of Dhankhar’s Wednesday decision to reject Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s objection to the Rajya Sabha discussing a statement of Gandhi. The chairman, however, was firm on his decision.
Amid protests by Opposition members over the suspension issue, Dhankhar read his valedictory remarks and adjourned the Rajya Sabha sine die.
The chairman said: “How ironical that disorder in Parliament is turning out to be the new Order -- a new norm that decimates the essence of democracy ..… how worrisome and alarming! Paramountcy of debate, dialogue, deliberation and discussion in Parliament has yielded to disruption and disturbance…weaponising of politics by stalling functioning of Parliament is pregnant with serious consequences for our polity”.
Condemning the washout of the session, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said the Opposition disturbed the proceedings and insulted Parliament by wearing black clothes.
“The country is watching what the Congress is doing for one leader, Shri Rahul Gandhi. We all saw how the Congress gang went to the Surat court to put pressure on the judiciary. And a Congress leader said there should be separate rules for the members of the Gandhi family,” Rijiju said.
Soon after adjournment, Opposition leaders addressed a press conference after a public march carrying the tricolour from Parliament House to Vijay Chowk. Party leaders from like-minded Opposition parties like the DMK, Samajwadi Party, RJD, Shiv Sena (UBT), AAP and NCP participated in the march. The Opposition boycotted the customary evening tea hosted by the Lok Sabha speaker.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said at the press conference: “For the first time in my career I saw the ruling party itself creating disturbance….The Modi government talks a lot about democracy, but does not walk the talk.”
