The Trinamool Congress has accused the government of not giving the Opposition its due space in the winter session of Parliament.
“Short duration discussions are to be held once a week. In four weeks of Parliament, only one short duration discussion was held. The Opposition has been short-changed, we have been cheated,” the Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien said. The short duration discussions provide the Opposition the opportunity to discuss important issues. The lone short duration debate held was on the state of the Indian economy.
Fifteen Bills, including the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, were cleared in both houses of Parliament, but not a single amendment moved by the Opposition party was accepted by the government, the Trinamool Congress said.
“In the last two legislatives days, we spent 12 hours discussing Citizenship (Amendment) Act and The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2019. Where was the PM?,” Mr O’Brien questioned. He said that the Prime Minister has a busy schedule but not sparing even 12 minutes during a 12-hour debate is a sign of arrogance. “He could have come to listen if not to speak. That is the problem with this government, they don’t want to listen, the arrogance of this government is reflected in the arrogance of two top leaders of this government,” he said.
