Parliament Budget Session 2018: Protests by Opposition paralysed House proceedings; AIADMK takes the lead

The Parliament appears to be headed for a washout during the second phase of the Budget Session owing to repeated disruptions of the proceedings of both Houses by members of the Opposition parties.

Several ministers belonging to various Opposition parties, such as Congress, AIADMK, Telegu Desam Party (TDP) have been protesting in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for several reasons, including the demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh, formation of a Cauvery Water Management Board and the Supreme Court order on the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The Rajya Sabha has regularly been adjourned by Chairman Venkaiah Naidu due to disorder in the House. The parties from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have been disrupting the proceedings over their state-specific demands. While TDP and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) members have been protesting and shouting slogans demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu parties — DMK and AIADMK — have raised the Cauvery water issue.

The Lok Sabha has witnessed similar adjournments owing to noisy protests by Opposition members.

The second half of the Budget Session began on a poor note on 5 March. The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day, within ten minutes of reconvening after lunch, after Opposition MPs shouted slogans against the government over its ‘failure’ to reign in scams in public sector banks and bring the scamsters back while Telegu Desam Party (TDP), still an ally of the NDA at the time, was protesting demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh.

Similar protests were repeated almost every day since then except on the ninth day of the Session when the government managed to pass two legislations — Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill and Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill — without debate amid the continued din. Opposition members had torn papers and thrown them around in the Lok Sabha as relentless protests by them and former NDA ally TDP disrupted proceedings in both Houses of the Parliament.

The crucial Finance Bill 2018-19 could not be taken up for discussion on the  seventh day of the second phase  of the Budget session due to continuous protests by the Opposition. Both Question Hour and Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha could not be held as several members from the TDP, Congress, AIADMK, TRS and Trinamool Congress trooped into the Well.

Congress members protested the Punjab National Bank scam and held placards demanding that diamond merchant Nirav Modi be brought back to India. “Chota Modi kahan gaya”, read one of the placards. TDP members were witnessed holding placards which read “follow alliance dharma”.

On the 16th day of the second phase of the Budget session, AIADMK members trooped into the Well of the Lower House, shouting slogans and demanding immediate constitution of the Cauvery Management Board. Many other Opposition members also demanded that the notices for the no-confidence motion against the NDA government be taken up. The House has so far failed to take up the no-confidence motion for discussion owing to repeated adjournments and protests

In the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition protests forced the adjournment of proceedings for 18th consecutive the day without transaction of any business as members trooped into the Well and shouted slogans, drowning every other voice. MPs belonging to Congress, Trinamool Congress, BSP, TDP and parties from Tamil NaduDMK and AIADMK, were in the Well even before Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu could settle down in his chair.

Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party led the charge against the government, accusing it of being “anti-Dalit”, in an apparent reference to the Supreme Court ruling on the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Members of the main Opposition party also raised the issue of India’s biggest bank fraud, alongside the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Members of the TDP and KVP Ramachandra Rao of the Congress held placards demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh.

The proceedings in the Lok Sabha were also disrupted, amid slogan shouting by AIADMK members seeking early constitution of the Cauvery water management board.  As soon as the House met for the day and took up the Question Hour, AIADMK members rushed into the Well shouting slogans such as “we want justice” and “we demand Cauvery board”.

on the 18th day, AIADMK and Congress members  also got into a heated exchange even after the Lok Sabha was adjourned, apparently over remarks by Congress MP KC Venugopal that the Tamil Nadu party was “match-fixing with BJP” by not allowing the House to function and taking up the no-confidence motion.

The AIADMK had similarly disrupted the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha. The Upper House had been unable to bid farewell to 40 retiring MPs or transact any business for the 16th day in a row as the Chairman adjourned the House after AIADMK MPs stormed into the Well protesting over the Cauvery issue.

Both Houses of the Parliament could not transact any substantial business for the 19th day straight due to continued uproar and noisy protests by the Opposition. The only listed business the Rajya Sabha could take up was that 41 newly-elected members took oath or affirmation in the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was named the Leader of the House following his re-election.

However, soon after the new and re-elected members took oath, members of various parties trooped into the Well raising slogans in support of their demands. Members of Congress, TMC, Samajwadi  Party, BSP, TDP and DMK and AIADMK, rushed into the Well soon after the oath ceremony.

The proceedings in the Lok Sabha were also disrupted due to protests by AIADMK members seeking early constitution of the Cauvery water management board.

On the penultimate sitting of the Budget Session on Thursday too, the Lok Sabha was once again unable to take up the no-confidence motion notices given by Opposition MPs amid ruckus inside the House as MPs from the AIADMK and other parties trooped near the Speaker’s podium, carrying placards and shouting “we want justice”.

Congress Leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the Opposition wanted a debate on the no-confidence motion.

“We want to have a debate… Don’t say the Congress does not want a debate,” Kharge said referring to statements by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, who blamed the Congress for the disruptions.

Blaming the Congress, Kumar said, “If the House is not functioning… Congress, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are to be blamed.” A huge uproar was heard from the Congress benches as the minister made his remarks. Eventually, the Lok Sabha was adjourned once again.

Going through the actions of all the parties in both the Houses makes it seem likely that neither the Opposition nor the government wanted the House to conduct any business. While at one end there were MPs of Samajwadi Party, TMC, Congress and BSP raising slogans over the SC/ST Act and the bank fraud, DMK, AIADMK MPs were raising the Cauvery issue. Congress’ allegations that AIADMK is causing disruptions on BJP is not completely unfounded, especially knowing the influence the party has over it .

As for former NDA-alliance partner TDP, which had been protesting so that the no-confidence motion could be taken in the Parliament, raising slogans even when the House is ready to take the no-confidence motion seems to defy the purpose.

With inputs from PTI and IANS