TMC hits out at Centre over 'hurried' passage of Bills in Parliament

The TMC hit out at the Centre on Friday over the "hurried" passage of bills in Parliament, stating that 25 bills were rushed through in the last eight days, on an average of one every 10 minutes. The party also walked out of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) on the same issue.

"Are we moving from democracy to autocracy? Disregard towards Opposition and constitutional provisions. Bills are being passed without any discussion. Within eight days in the Rajya Sabha and six days in the Lok Sabha, 25 bills have been passed in less than 10 minutes (per bill). Absolute disregard to the MPs.

"In the Lok Sabha, a member asked for division, he was not granted it. Instead, the House was adjourned. This government is moving towards ordinances," Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said at a press briefing.

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She said in the first 30 years of Parliament, there was only one ordinance and in the next 30 years, there were two.

"This time, there has been 3.7 ordinances. When in session, the primary function of the House is to pass those ordinances. Why call Parliament at all? Every time a member stands up, we are not allowed to speak. The Business Advisory committee is like a kirana (provisional) store. We have to haggle to discuss people-centric issues. We have important issues to discuss. We wanted to discuss the anti-farmer agriculture bills, price hike and Covid mismanagement, but there is no discussion," Ghosh Dastidar said.

She alleged that while during the previous governments, at least 40 per cent of the bills were referred to the standing committee, now only one out of every 10 bills follows that route.

"When the Israeli government, the French government are investigating (the Pegasus snooping issue), why can't we? Who is spying on us? Who is unleashing this military spyware? Hasn't the country got the right to know? We have the right to ask. We want to discuss the issue complying with the norms. They (Centre) are bulldozing it. This is not acceptable," Ghosh Dastidar said.

TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Shekhar Ray brought up the issue of the absence of a deputy speaker in the House, stating that the post has been lying vacant for 782 days.

"Our request for the prime minister's presence in the House has not been heeded. This government is dangerous for people. The prime minister has gone on record saying due to disruptions, the House is not functioning properly. In every Parliament, whenever the Opposition does not get space to place people's concerns, disruptions are obvious.

"From day one till today, neither the adjournment motion nor (rule) 267 notice was allowed. For the past four-and-a-half years, not a single 267 notice has been admitted in the Rajya Sabha. The government is running away from a discussion. Why are (Home Minister) Amit Shah and the prime minister silent?" he asked.

Ray is an invitee to the BAC as he is one of the members of the panel of the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman.

While both Ghosh Dastidar and Ray pointed out that for the Opposition, the Pegasus issue remains primary, on Friday morning, a three-member delegation of TMC MPs comprising Prasun Banerjee, Dola Sen and Aparupa Poddar visited the "Kisan Sansad" at Jantar Mantar to "show solidarity with farmers".

Leaders from the Congress and 14 other opposition parties too visited the site to not only stand with farmers, but also to display unity among the anti-BJP parties on similar issues.