After a break for Onam, Parliament is set to resume today but the BJP seems unlikely to let either of the two houses function, as it continues to seek the resignation of the Prime Minister over the CAG report on the allocation of coal blocks.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is away in Teheran attending the Non-Aligned Movement, and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had taken the fight to the BJP MPs on Tuesday and could continue to lead her party’s MPs as they attempt to get the BJP to engage in debate over the issue, instead of disrupting Parliament.
As Firstpost pointed out, the Congress has become more aggressive over the issue, and has been taking on the BJP, press conference for press conference, as it attempts to get the Opposition back into Parliament and into a debate.
Opposition MPs have been disrupting Parliament all of last week. PTI
In a meeting with Parliamentary members on Tuesday, Gandhi had referred to blackmail being the “bread and butter” of the BJP and had asked her MPs to defend the government’s policies.
However, the BJP has made it clear that it has no plans to relent in its campaign against the Congress and has said it is preparing to launch nation-wide campaigns in order to educate people about the losses to the exchequer due to the coal block allocations.
While other political parties sit on the sidelines hoping that the two parties will resolve their differences and allow the house to function, neither the Congress or the BJP look like they have any plan to back down.
The casualty, as always are the people and the laws that govern them. Multiple laws like the Whistleblowers Protection Bill, amendments to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act among others lie waiting for the attention of lawmakers who have been spending their time shouting in Parliament instead of debating legislation.
