Chaos costs Parliament’s Winter Session half of its time | India News

The functioning of Question Hour, too, was significantly affected. According to PRS, Question Hour did not function in Rajya Sabha for 15 of 19 days, and in the Lok Sabha for more than 10 minutes on 12 out of 20 days.

Only one Bill has so far been passed by the 18th Lok Sabha since it was elected in June, the PRS report said, “the lowest in the last six Lok Sabha terms”. The Bill — Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, 2024 — was passed by the Lok Sabha in August and by the Rajya Sabha in the winter session.

Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other INDIA bloc MPs protest against Amit Shah (PTI)

Two Bills introduced by the government for the implementation of ‘one nation, one election’ were referred to a 39-member parliamentary panel for further scrutiny.

Here’s a recap:

For four days — during the “Discussion on the Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India” in Lok Sabha on December 13-14 and in Rajya Sabha on December 16-17 – Parliament went into deliberative mode without disruptions. But, while there was largely consensus on the views of the Constitution, the tone and tenor were of intense acrimony as the Treasury and the Opposition accused each other of having damaged the Constitution and insulted B R Ambedkar.

Replying to the two-day debate in Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress of inflicting repeated blows on the Constitution and said the Nehru-Gandhi family had committed the “sin” of denigrating, damaging and subverting it. He also targeted the Congress saying it had always opposed reservation and was now playing “a game” to bring in quota based on religion.

Targeting the BJP, Rahul Gandhi said V D Savarkar had rejected the Constitution and that the Hindutva ideologue wanted that “the book India is run by (the Constitution) should be superseded by this book (Manusmiriti)”. “And this is what the fight (between the BJP and the Opposition) is about,” Gandhi said.

Rahul’s Rajya Sabha counterpart, Mallikarjun Kharge, also took on the BJP and the RSS, saying “RSS leaders opposed the Constitution in 1949 because it was not based on the Manusmriti…”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman kept up the Government’s attack on the Congress.
Replying to the debate in Rajya Sabha on December 17, Shah said: “There is a fashion these days — Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar… Had you chanted the name of God these many times, you would have been blessed with heaven in seven births.”

This triggered an uproar: the next few days saw the Congress protest to demand Shah’s resignation and a scuffle Thursday between the Opposition and ruling MPs at the Makar Dwar, the main entrance to the parliament building.

While the BJP alleged that MPs Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput fell and sustained injuries after Gandhi pushed them, the Congress wrote to Speaker Om Birla claiming that Gandhi was “physically manhandled” by three ruling party MPs. Kharge also wrote to the Speaker saying he was “physically pushed by BJP MPs” and demanded an inquiry.

After the faceoff, both BJP and Congress lodged complaints with Delhi Police; and an FIR was registered against Gandhi.

Before the debate, the session was largely about disruptions — by the Opposition as it demanded a discussion on Adani’s indictment in the US on bribery charges; and by the Treasury as it attacked Congress over its alleged links with George Soros.

While the first week of the session, which began November 25, was washed out in the wake of the Congress’s insistence on a discussion on Adani and the government’s reluctance to accept it, the standoff came to an end as both reached an agreement, which was reflected by the announcement of a special discussion on the Constitution.

However, days later, the chaos was back, this time due to the BJP targeting Gandhi and the Congress, alleging that a “dangerous triangle”, comprising Soros, global investigative news network OCCRP, and the Congress plus Gandhi were trying “to derail India’s success story” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The session also saw the Opposition move to impeach Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chair Jagdeep Dhankhar, accusing him of bias. It was, however, rejected.