Barely a week is left for the winter session of Parliament to end but many bills, including the Goods and Services Tax Bill, are still pending.
Both houses of Parliament were adjourned repeatedly today due to protests over a host of controversies. While sloganeering against Punjab's ruling government over alleged atrocities against Dalits stalled the Rajya Sabha, the lower house saw disruptions over the "exclusion" of Kerala chief minister from a function in his state where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present. Protests were also held against the demolition of a Delhi slum that allegedly left a child dead.
Here are the latest developments:
With barely a week left for the winter session of Parliament to end and with many bills, including the mega reform Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill still pending due to repeated disruptions, the government has once again reached out to the opposition.
Hoping to garner their support, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met Congress leaders today to discuss the Bill and briefed them on measures taken to accommodate their views.
Soon after the Rajya Sabha convened for the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj began making a statement on her recent visit to Pakistan. But slogans raised by protesting opposition parties drowned out her voice. She continued reading her statement unfazed but could barely be heard in the din. Later she read out her statement in the Lok Sabha.
Ms Swaraj told the House that India and Pakistan would engage in a "comprehensive" dialogue on all issues including peace, security and Jammu and Kashmir and added that "India hopes new dialogue with Pakistan will mark a new beginning for peace and development in the region."
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned repeatedly amid the noisy slogan shouting by the opposition who were protesting against an incident in Punjab's Fazilka district where limbs of two men were chopped off on Saturday at a farmhouse allegedly owned by a leader of the ruling Akali Dal.
In the Lok Sabha, Congress and BJP members clashed over Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy's complaint that he has been kept away from a function in his state where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present. Congress, Trinamool Congress and Left lawmakers also walked out of the house over the issue.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh dismissed the charge as "baseless" and said the decision to withdraw the invite to Mr Chandy for the event in Kerala tomorrow was taken by a social organisation which is hosting it due to its "internal row" and the government had nothing to do with it.
At the Gandhi statue outside Parliament, a combative Rahul Gandhi led a protest against what his party calls poor treatment by the Centre of its chief ministers. He accused the PM of insulting the people of the state. "PM has insulted the people of Kerala by stopping the Chief Minister from attending the function. This is not acceptable to us," he said. He also alleged that he had been stopped from entering a temple in Congress-ruled Assam by "RSS people" during his visit to the state last week.
Also in Parliament, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) protested against the demolition of homes in a Delhi slum cluster by the railway police in an anti-encroachment drive that allegedly left a six-month-old girl dead and hundreds homeless. Speaking in Rajya Sabha, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu defended the demolition and said the girl died much before the demolition began.
The Rajya Sabha has barely functioned in the last few days with the opposition Congress protesting and forcing multiple adjournments alleging "political vendetta" after its two top leaders, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi were summoned by court in the National Herald case. They have also disrupted the Lok Sabha.
Post a comment