SP, TMC skip Congress protest: Is Parliamentary deadlock coming to an end?

The Winter Session of Parliament, which began on Nov 25 and runs until Dec 20, has been marred by repeated disruption due to Opposition protests

The Congress found itself without key allies, including the Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress, during a joint Opposition protest in the Parliament complex on Tuesday, signalling a possible end to the Parliamentary impasse. The protest, spearheaded by members of the INDIA bloc, focused on the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into allegations of bribery and fraud against the Adani Group.

 

Opposition demands in Parliament

Rahul Gandhi, Sanjay Singh (AAP), Misa Bharti (RJD), and Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena-UBT) led the demonstration at the Makar Dwar entrance of Parliament. Protesters included MPs from the Congress, AAP, RJD, Shiv Sena (UBT), DMK, and left parties, among others. However, the absence of SP and TMc highlighted fissures within the INDIA bloc.

 

 

On Monday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said to ANI, “Different parties have different perspectives, TMC has said that it is a part of the INDIA alliance but they sometimes have different agenda.”

 

Opposition parties reiterated their demand for accountability from the Prime Minister and demanded a JPC probe. The Congress has argued that the indictment of Adani Group officials by US prosecutors vindicated its call for a deeper investigation into the conglomerate’s activities. The Adani Group has denied all allegations, calling them “baseless”.

 

Breaking Parliamentary deadlock

The Winter Session of Parliament, which began on November 25 and runs until December 20, has been marred by repeated disruptions. Opposition protests have stalled proceedings over demands for discussions on:

1. Adani allegations

2. Sambhal violence

3. Manipur situation

 

On Monday, both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned after being disrupted throughout the day. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju emphasised the need for cooperation and proposed discussions to resolve the impasse.

 

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla convened a meeting with floor leaders of various parties on Monday to address the stalemate.

 

Congress member Gaurav Gogoi, TDP’s Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, DMK’s TR Baalu, NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule, Samajwadi Party’s Dharmendra Yadav, Janata Dal-United member Dileshwar Kamait, RJD’s Abhay Kushwaha, TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant and CPI(M) leader K Radhakrisnan were present for the meeting.

 

The upper and lower houses of Parliament agreed on the following:

December 13-14: Constitution-related discussions in the Lok Sabha

December 16-17: Constitution-related discussions in the Rajya Sabha

 

The Parliament is expected to resume functioning with a focus on listed legislative business and agreed discussions, but tensions over the Adani issue continue.

 

[With agency inputs]