JOIN USOpposition’s role is to caution government when it goes wrong: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the functioning of the Parliament is the responsibility of the government and the Opposition’s duty is to participate in the legislative process, raise issues of people’s concern, and express their opinions.
Talking about the disruptions in the Parliament, Chowdhury in an interview with The Indian Express said, “What is happening is that Bills are being passed without any discussion now because of which the Opposition’s views on Bills are neither articulated nor reflected. Bills are being bulldozed.”
“We have made certain demands. It is our legitimate right. We are using all legitimate instruments… following all established practices to press our demand for a discussion on the Pegasus scandal in the presence of either the Prime Minister or the Home Minister,” he added.
He further addressed the claims of the government on the Opposition running away from the Parliament. “The Opposition’s role is to caution the government when it goes wrong. I have told the Speaker (Om Birla) too that…. had the Opposition not cooperated in the previous sessions how would have the productivity of the House gone up?” he asked.
Chowdhury also mentioned that the productivity of the House has gone up since 2019 due to the participation and cooperation of the Opposition.
“We are not ministers sitting in Delhi. We come from far-flung areas. We are not going to Parliament everyday to have a feel of the House. We are going to Parliament to raise issues that concern the people and identify and point out to the government deficiencies and lacunae in its functioning,” he added.
Recently, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi had said that the Opposition wanting to discuss the Pegasus spyware issue, which is a “non issue”, is stalling the parliamentary functioning.
“When the entire world is discussing this… how can it be a non-issue?” questioned Chowdhury, adding that India’s name is being taken everywhere. "French President Emmanuel Macron had called a national security meeting to discuss the Pegasus spyware issue. He had spoken to the Israel Prime Minister too. In Hungary, there are demands for resignations of ministers. And our government is saying it is a non-issue."
Chowdhury said that the Opposition is ready to have a discussion with the government but the Centre has not yet initiated any step to diffuse the situation that’s going on.