Opposition toughens stand, washout of session likely

NEW DELHI: Raising the possibility of Parliament’s monsoon session being a washout, opposition Monday told govt that a discussion on the Ram temple donation issue and Union minister Amit Shah’s statement on police’s alleged crackdown on students are a must for the legislature to function normally. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called the absence of PM Narendra Modi and Shah from both Houses an “insult to democracy”.Amid opposition’s protest, a bill in Lok Sabha to replace an ordinance that increased the number of SC judges from 34 to 38 was passed without discussion, with parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju slamming opposition for not participating in the debate in both Houses and alleging outside that they were not allowed to speak.Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, amid the din, introduced the bankers’ books evidence bill to replace a British-era law with the objective of including all forms of records maintained by banks, including digital and cloud-based, as admissible evidence in the court of law in sync with digital dependence of the banking system.Opposition’s stand in Parliament, then later at BAC meetings, was indicative of the continued disruptions. Govt has given no assurances on the demands.At the BAC meeting, SP MP Dharmendra Yadav and Congress’s Kodikunnil Suresh took the lead to demand a discussion on alleged donation theft at Ram temple in Ayodhya, with an intervention by PM. They were backed by Shiv Sena, NCP-SP and other opposition MPs. Opposition also demanded a statement by Shah on police action on students.

Rijiju claimed there was no one in LS to guide Congress MPs. Opposition’s demand is a separate issue. They must participate in discussions over the bills, he added. “Rahul Gandhi didn’t even attend the House today. Congress has completely fallen apart. Such important bills are coming up but they are not participating,” he said.Given the ongoing standoff in Parliament over opposition’s twin demands, the BAC meeting indicated that the monsoon session may be headed towards a washout.Congress MP KC Venugopal said “Shah used to be very active in the previous sessions. Why is he not attending this session?” Opposition MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Dimple Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav, NK Premachandran, Mahua Moitra, Gurjeet Aujla, Deepender Hooda, Mansoor Khan, Manish Tewari, and Jebi Mather held a protest in Parliament complex on the temple issue.