File photo: The Parliament House in New Delhi.
The Congress and the BJP have issued whips to their lawmakers of Parliament's Upper House, Rajya Sabha, to be present during the session on Friday, sources told NDTV. While the Congress wishes its members to be there to continue its protests, the wary BJP wants its members to be present to counter the Congress' moves, sources said.
A whip - an official instruction that party lawmakers have to follow - is usually issued when bills are passed in Parliament.
But this time, the whip was issued on Thursday as many lawmakers go back to their constituencies over the week-end, sources said. With the Congress boycotting the Lok Sabha following the suspension of 25 of its 44 lawmakers, Rajya Sabha is expected to be the new battleground.
The Congress wants all its 68 Upper House members to be present to ensure that its daily demonstration outside Parliament at the Gandhi statue retain a "sizable" tag. The party has only 44 lawmakers in the lower house and without the larger Rajya Sabha numbers, the protest against the suspension of 25 members would appear depleted.
The BJP wants its members at hand to prevent the Congress from passing a motion, sources said. The NDA lacks majority in the Upper House, with 68 lawmakers belonging to Congress alone.
The Monsoon session of Parliament has been disrupted repeatedly following Congress demands for the resignation of BJP ministers Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan over what is being called the "Lalitgate" and the Vyapam scam.
Following the strident protests by the party, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan suspended 25 Congress lawmakers on Monday. The suspension built a new unity among the opposition, with nine parties boycott ting the Lok Sabha on Tuesday to show solidarity with the Congress.
There were speculations that the Speaker would review the decision, but that has not happened. The logjam has held up several key bills, including the government's flagship Goods and Services Tax Bill.