MPs keep low hopes on normal functioning as Monsoon Session resumes August 1

With the first two weeks witnessing a near washout, MPs are now heading to the second half of Parliament’s Monsoon Session on Monday with very little expectations of normal functioning even as a discussion on price rise is on the table in the very first two days of the week.

The government managers insist that they would want a discussion on price rise in Lok Sabha on Monday and in Rajya Sabha the next day, the BJP is unlikely to let it go to put the Congress on the mat over controversial comments made by party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on President Droupadi Murmu.

On its part, the Congress has already anticipated trouble and Chowdhury has written to the President seeking her apology for his ‘Rashtrapatni’ remarks but the BJP is not satisfied and is likely to insist on an apology from none other than party chief Sonia Gandhi.

Countering the BJP, Congress MPs will raise the decibel levels on Union Minister Smriti Irani for her behaviour against Sonia inside Lok Sabha on Thursday. Congress had alleged that Smriti and other MPs heckled Sonia after the House adjourned over the ‘Rashtrapatni’ remark.

Also Read: Sonia-Smriti spat: Breaking the 'don't talk to me' impasse

Upping the ante, Chowdhury, who is Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, on Sunday wrote to Speaker Om Birla seeking "unconditional apology" from Smriti for "yelling Droupadi Murmu repeatedly without prefixing Honourable President or Madam or Smt. before the President's name".

MPs now fear that the competitive politics of the BJP and the Congress could derail another week of Parliament functioning. In the past two weeks, Lok Sabha functioned for 15:45 hours and Rajya Sabha for 11:08 hours while both the Houses were to function for a minimum of 58 hours. In Rajya Sabha, no Zero Hour submissions or special mentions could be made on eight days while Question Hour could not happen on six days.

"Opposition parties want Parliament to run and hold this government accountable. Prediction: Government will disrupt from next week," Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O'Brien tweeted.

DH on July 28 reported that a discussion on price rise in Parliament may not end all problems for the Narendra Modi government, as the Opposition has made it clear that they would need a similar detailed debate on the controversial ‘Agnipath’ military recruitment scheme in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Also Read: Opposition Two weeks washed out in Parliament, 32 Bills pending

While Lok Sabha passed two bills – The Family Court (Amendment) Bill 2021, The National Anti-Doping Bill and The India Antarctic Bill, 2022 – in the past ten days, not a single Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha.

The second week of Monsoon Session also saw suspension of 23 Rajya Sabha MPs till Friday and four Lok Sabha MPs for the rest of the Session as they disrupted the House demanding discussion on price rise. Some of the MPs were also demanding a discussion on the Gujarat hooch tragedy.

The suspended Rajya Sabha MPs sat on a 50-hour-long, non-stop protest in Parliament House while the Lok Sabha MPs will continue to sit on protest when the House is in Session.