Parliament session fruitful for govt, unsuccessful and damaging for Opposition: Kiren Rijiju

New Delhi: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said that the Opposition has broken decorum this Session and broken the trust of the government despite assurances that they will hold discussion.

Some members came prepared to disrupt instead of protests, Rijiju said, and added that for the first time the Opposition skipped the customary meeting with the Speaker.

Despite disruptions, he said, the Session was “fruitful and successful” for the government but “unsuccessful and damaging” for the Opposition.

“The government has to discharge its duties in national interest. The Opposition cannot prevent us from working with its protests,” he said. “It is unfortunate that they did not want to have a discussion on the pride of our nation, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the International Space Station. Our lawmakers were not even allowed to welcome him.”

Rijiju said that many new lawmakers did not get the opportunity to speak in Parliament, and that the Opposition has robbed them of the opportunity. “We have had repeated discussions with them and while they assure us that discussions will happen, they go back on their word at the last time. Maybe their leaders tell them to do this, but the trust between us is broken now,” he said.

“Protesting or disagreeing in a democracy cannot be questioned, but one cannot obstruct and stop the government from working,” he added.

The Session has seen the government and the Opposition clash over the discussion on the Special Intensive Revision of the Election Commission. The Opposition has been demanding a discussion and the government did not agree with the contention that it is an exercise undertaken by the poll body and it is beyond its mandate.

The Opposition, however, did not relent. The government then carried out business without the Opposition’s involvement. Legislations like the IIM (Amendment) Bill, the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill were passed with scant discussions even as the Opposition lawmakers trooped into the well of the House carrying placards.

The contentious Monsoon Session also saw the unexpected exit of Rajya Sabha chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. An impeachment motion against Allahabad High Court’s Justice Yashwant Varma was initiated and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has formed a committee which will file a report soon.