JOIN USMonsoon Session: Government, Opposition on war path
Nearly 200 hours were to be spent cumulatively by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in 17 sittings during the just concluded Monsoon Session of Parliament. Of this, the Houses could run for just 49.35 hours and the remaining 150.72 hours were lost in disruption, as the government and the Opposition remained adamant on not meeting mid-way.
If the issue of discussing Pegasus episode first was the bone of contention throughout, the last couple of days of the session, which was curtailed by two days, saw vociferous protest that sometimes turned physical in Rajya Sabha over farmers’ issue and a contentious Bill on insurance sector. Some Rajya Sabha MPs climbed the reporters’ table, an MP threw a file on the Chair, another climbed the TV stand and climaxed by a scuffle with marshals, whom the Opposition claimed outnumbered the lawmakers.
The government turning an uncompromising Opposition’s disruption tactics on its head by passing Bills amid din may be nothing new but this Monsoon Session would stand out for another reason – there is a rupture in the relationship between the Chair and the Opposition, which has shed its inhibition to call out the presiding officers in public. They always had complaints about the Chair but both sides had so far managed to confine it to the House. This Session also marks a further deterioration in the relationship between the government and the Opposition. Both sides blame each other for the stalemate.
Tension has been escalating in Parliament since the 2020 Monsoon Session when the government passed the three contentious Farm Bills amid vociferous Opposition protest leading to suspension of eight Opposition MPs for “unruly behaviour”. In a reversal of roles, the BJP now blames the Congress-led Opposition for the disruption in Parliament. The Congress and other Opposition parties, on the other hand, seek to counter it by quoting late BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, who were Leaders of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, respectively. They point out how the Winter Session of 2010 (on 2G scam) and 2012 Monsoon Session (on coal block allocation) witnessed almost complete washout.
Jaitley and Swaraj had defended the disruptions multiple times when the BJP was in Opposition. If Swaraj said “not allowing Parliament to function is also a form of democracy, like any other form”, Jaitley had said, “there are occasions when an obstruction in Parliament brings greater benefits to the country…Our strategy does not permit us to allow the government to use Parliament without being held accountable...We do not want to give the government an escape route through debate.”
Parliament during 2009-14 (UPA-II) is said to have had least productivity so far with Lok Sabha at 61% and Rajya Sabha at 66%. From the 2G scam in 2010 to the appointment of Central Vigilance Commissioner in 2011 and coal block allocation the next year, the Manmohan Singh government was on its toes during this period. More worrying signs for Parliament watchers are that the last four sessions had been adjourned sine die even ahead of schedule.
The indications for trouble were evident on July 18, the day before this year’s Monsoon Session was to start as Pegasus snooping issue snowballed into a controversy with media publishing a leaked database of people who were potential targets of snooping using the controversial Israeli spyware. In the next few days, names of Opposition leaders and those from judiciary among others cropped up. The Opposition was clear from day one that it wanted a discussion on Pegasus first followed by one on repeal of farm laws and economy.
For the Opposition, discussing Pegasus first was non-negotiable and the government was not in favour. There were similar scenes every day in Parliament with the Opposition rushing to the Well of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, flashing placards and shouting slogans. The Zero Hour and Question Hour were badly impacted even as the government got down to pass bills ignoring the Opposition protest.
The Lok Sabha passed 20 Bills during the 17 sittings while Rajya Sabha had 19 legislations cleared. Fifteen Bills were passed in Lok Sabha without any MP participating in the debate. On an average, Lok Sabha passed a Bill in 34 minutes and Rajya Sabha in 46 minutes. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha together spent 23.20 hours in passing these Bills. The time taken for legislative business touched this high because the Opposition paused their protest to pass the Constitution (127th Amendment) Bill to restore states’ power to identify Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The MPs spent 13.46 hours debating this Bill.
No piping down
The government initially showed signs of accommodation by scheduling a discussion on Covid-19 in Rajya Sabha on July 20, the second day of the session. The government move came, sources said, after Opposition leaders indicated that they were not keen to accept an invite to a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Covid-19 situation outside when Parliament was in session. When the proposal came hours before the scheduled meeting called by Modi, the Opposition accepted it but said in no uncertain terms that they were not piping down their demands.
Opposition leaders claim that there were no meaningful attempts from the government for a resolution throughout the Session and point to leaders like Jaitley and Rajnath Singh earlier taking initiatives to break the deadlock in Parliament during Modi-I. They accuse the government of “unilaterally” moving ahead with a discussion on farmers’ issues ignoring their formulation for the debate. It was seen as further escalation. A meeting between government and Opposition leaders in Rajya Sabha was called only on August 10 to find a middle-path on the Insurance Bill but there was no headway as the government refused to accept the demand for sending the Bill to a Select Committee.
This meeting came amid the Opposition MPs creating ruckus in the Rajya Sabha during the discussion on farmers’ issue. On August 11, a “deeply anguished” Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu broke down in the House saying he had a “sleepless night” following the ruckus and blamed the Opposition saying the sole intention appeared to be to not allow the House to function. The Opposition did not take it kindly with Congress Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh tweeting that it was “a totally one-sided picture” that could “aggravate” the situation and that “misplaced emotion leads to commotion”.
There was more to come six hours later, as the government insisted that the Insurance Bill be taken up. All hell broke loose as even senior Opposition MPs rushed to the well as a large number of marshals threw a protective cover to prevent the MPs, leading to a scuffle. Allegations flew thick and fast as Parliament adjourned sine die. Opposition MPs complained that marshals manhandled them and did not spare even women members. The government rebutted the allegations and marshals filed complaints against MPs. NCP supremo Sharad Pawar later told Naidu during a meeting that he never saw such a situation inside the House in his nearly five decades of Parliamentary experience.
The developments inside the House had its reflections outside too. There were allegations that Deputy Chairman Harivansh was “threatened” and “abused” by some Opposition MPs during a discussion while Naidu was criticised by Kharge on Twitter for not “speaking a word” against the attack on “women MPs inside the House”.
Last week, eight Union Ministers held a press conference to counter the Opposition narrative but interestingly none of the senior ministers like Rajnath Singh or Nitin Gadkari were fielded. Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met and decided to look into past incidents and action taken to handle unruly MPs. Action that would be a “deterrent” to MPs is what is being contemplated. Days have passed but efforts to calm down the tempers have not begun.