Cracks appeared in the Opposition, which has so far has been united in protesting against the government for allegedly forcing the State Bank of India (SBI), Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and other public sector institutions to invest in the Adani Group. While a section of the opposition insisted on carrying on with disrupting the Parliament session, one set led by Trinamool Congress (TMC) wanted to participate in a debate to articulate their position on the issue.
“Today, we wanted to debate at 2 p.m., but some of our friends in Opposition wanted it to start tomorrow. We feel that it’s a great opportunity to put across our views and expose the government. There are other State-centric issues like depriving the States of Central funds,” Derek O’Brien, the TMC’s parliamentary party leader in the Rajya Sabha, told The Hindu. However, he said the difference between the Opposition parties is only limited to “tactics”. “Our strategy is the same, the tactics may wary,” he said.
Also Read | Opposition MPs protest in Parliament premises on Adani issue
Opposition parties till last week had decided that after two days of disruption, they would let the House function, though in the meeting on Monday morning, according to sources, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) insisted that the Adani issue cannot be clubbed along with other scheduled debates. The Congress, which was not entirely on board, acquiesced in the “spirit of accommodation” according to sources in the party.
According to its pre-decided schedule, the opposition held a joint protest at the Gandhi statue before Parliament convened for the day. The TMC was represented by Lok Sabha MP Mohua Moitra and Rajya Sabha MP Shantanu Sen.
Another meeting has been called by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday to discuss the Opposition’s strategy ahead. According to sources, the party is likely to convey that the strategy of disruption cannot be continued. .
Speaking to reporters after the Rajya Sabha was adjourned within a few minutes in the morning, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram said that in the last three days, every single notice given by the Opposition under Rule 267 of the Rajya Sabha to debate the issue has been rejected. “It is beyond our comprehension how every notice can be defective,” he said. He underlined at the same that the Opposition is not in favour of disrupting the House. “People of India should know, we do not want to disrupt the House. We want an orderly discussion on a matter of grave public importance. And the only way to discuss a matter of great importance is to give notice under Rule 267 and seek permission from the Chairman to start a discussion. Every attempt in this direction has been rejected by the Chair. We are deeply sorry, disappointed,” Mr. Chidambaram said.
Also Read | Opposition persists with its demand for probe into Adani row
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) Rajya Sabha floor leader Tiruchi Siva said that rejecting the Opposition’s notices on technical grounds did not help since the entire nation was looking to the Parliament for answers on how exactly the SBI and LIC would be impacted by the fallout of the Hindenburg revelations on the Adani Group. “They [the government] say you can discuss everything during the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President. But even if we were to raise it, the government is not bound to reply. That is why we are insisting on a structured debate,” Mr. Siva said.
BRS leader Keshav Rao accused the government of obfuscating the issue. “We need a focused debate on Adani, only then can we explain what exactly one group has been going, how ports even without tenders are handed over to him,” Mr. Rao said.
The RJD, another party that has been insisting on a focused debate on the issue, said that it is not as if the Opposition is asking for a personal privilege. “We are concerned about the Prime Minister’s image too. He [Gautam Adani] is closely identified with the Prime Minister. We are asking for a Joint Parliamentary Committee [JPC, to look into the issue] to help salvage his image. There was a JPC on the allegation of ₹50-crore kickback in the Bofors gun deal. Subsequently, no merit was found in the allegations. All we are saying is the more the government tries to cover up, it stands exposed. The emperor has no clothes,” Manoj K. Jha, Rajya Sabha MP and the RJD’s national spokesperson, said.
Published - February 06, 2023 04:06 pm IST
