No end to Parliament deadlock, 3 Bills passed in din

There was no end to the deadlock in Parliament as the Modi government pushed through its legislative agenda amid protests by opposition members over demand for a probe into allegations of snooping as part of the Pegasus project.

The Rajya Sabha passed three Bills, including one that allows the government to ban strikes, lock-outs and layoffs in units engaged in essential defence services as opposition members waved placards and raised slogans in the Well of the House.

Both the Houses of Parliament witnessed repeated adjournments as opposition members demanded a discussion on Pegasus revelations, which has been dubbed by the government as a “non-issue”.

“Congress is trying to 'hijack' positive thinking of those Opposition parties who are in favour of discussion & smooth functioning in Parliament,” Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

Also read: Modi slams Opposition for stalling Parliament, terms it 'self-goal'

The opposition also forced repeated adjournments in the Lok Sabha where the government introduced two Bills – Central Universities (Amendment) Bill that seeks to set up the Sindhu Central University in Ladakh and the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill that seek to bury the ghost of retrospective tax.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury tried to raise the issue of the death of a girl from a scheduled caste community in the Lok Sabha but was disallowed by the chair.

The Rajya Sabha witnessed a face-off between opposition and treasury benches over the suspension of six Trinamool Congress members on Wednesday.

Also read: Bill to amend Central Universities Act for establishing university in Ladakh introduced in Lok Sabha

“When the House was adjourned for the day, they wanted to come and take their bags. It is wrong to disallow them from collecting their material from the house after the House is adjourned.... you will have to face the consequences,” Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge.

Naqvi hit back saying the government had no objections to the protests by the opposition, but was concerned when they resorted to violence.

“The way a security official has been hurt and violence done. Our objection is to the way they want to hijack the House proceedings through their violence,” Naqvi said.