Historic shame in Parliament: Opposition walkout sparks fury
New Delhi, August 13: The Centre today alleged that this is the first time in the democratic history of the country that the opposition has been running away from discussions in Parliament, despite the government repeatedly calling on the opposition to participate in the discussions.
Addressing the media after the conclusion of the monsoon session of Parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the monsoon session was good in terms of results, with 12 bills being passed, but not good in terms of discussions. The overall productivity of the Lok Sabha proceedings was 19 percent, while that of the Rajya Sabha was 39 percent.
Both Ministers of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Arjun Ram Meghwal and L Murugan, Parliamentary Affairs Secretary Nikunj Dhar, and Additional Secretary Satya Prakash were also present at the press conference.
Rijiju said that they are not happy with the discussion, adding further and said that he has thirty years of parliamentary experience, but this time he witnessed something he had never seen or heard before. For the first time, he saw the opposition shying away from discussion. He said that in a parliamentary democracy, the opposition questions the government and demands answers, but here the opposition shied away from discussion, while the government kept calling for discussion. They even prevented Question Hour from continuing. They were unwilling to listen to the minister’s answers.
Responding to a question, he said that in the Lok Sabha, except for one bill—the Prohibition of Unfair Means in Public Examinations (Amendment) Bill—11 other bills were passed without discussion, although in the Rajya Sabha, most members, except for a faction of the Congress, participated in the discussion.
Taking a jab at the Congress, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said that many Congress MPs now believe their job is limited to waving placards and raising slogans. He said, “I feel bad for the new Congress MPs. I am a sensitive person. I can understand the pain of Congress MPs.” He expressed hope that the winter session of Parliament will go well.
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister thanked the media for their positive reporting on parliamentary matters.
