Opposition parties on Wednesday staged walk outs in both Houses of Parliament after being denied a discussion on the India-China border issue. In the Lok Sabha, the walk out was led by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.
As soon as the Zero Hour began, Congress leader of the House, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, demanded that a discussion on the India-China border situation be held and gave the example of late former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru allowing a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the India-China war in 1962.
“We have been demanding a discussion on the India-China border situation. In 1962, when India-China war took place, Jawaharlal Nehru, in this House, had given 165 MPs the chance to speak, and a decision was taken on what to do only after that,” Mr. Chowdhury said.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay also demanded a discussion in the House. He said his party members were staging a walk out in protest against the “attitude of the government”.
Speaker Om Birla, however, said that a decision could be taken on the matter only in the Business Advisory Committee and continued with the proceedings of the House. As the Speaker continued with the Question Hour, members of the Congress, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the National Conference (NC), among others, walked out of the House.
Scenes in the Rajya Sabha
Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said Opposition parties wanted a debate on the border situation, and a detailed discussion to get full information on Chinese aggression and encroachment on Indian territory, and that they stood by the Indian Army and the country.
Congress member Mallikarjun Kharge speaks in the Rajya Sabha on December 14, 2022. Photo: Sansad TV
Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh said no notice had been given by any of the Opposition parties on the issue and a debate could not be allowed. “There is no permission for discussion,” he said, and called for taking up the listed Zero Hour submissions.
“Our effort from the start has been that we get full information and the country is also informed of what the actual situation there is,” Mr. Kharge said, adding there was “some information that China had built bridges on vacant land”. “We are for the country. We are with the Army,” he added.
Mr. Kharge continued to speak but his mike was switched off.
The Deputy Chairperson said he had on Tuesday stated that clarifications on the Defence Minister’s statements were not allowed as it was a sensitive issue.
Opposition members shouted slogans for some time before staging a walk out. MPs of the Congress, Left parties, the TMC, the NCP, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), and the Shiv Sena were among those who walked out.
Congress hosts meeting
The decision to walk out if the government refused a discussion on the border skirmish was taken by 17 Opposition parties, which met before both the Houses convened for the day. The meeting was hosted by the Congress president, Mr. Kharge.
Among the parties that attended the meeting, apart from the Congress, were the RJD, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Communist Party of India (CPI), Janata Dal-United (JD-U), DMK and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
The TMC skipped the meeting. However, its chief whip in the Rajya Sabha, Sukendu Sekhar Roy, said that their Lok Sabha leader Sudip Bandhopadhyay, who was slated to attend the meeting, had to give it a miss because of ill health. “But we conveyed to all of them that we will abide by the collective decision,” Mr. Roy said.
Opposition MPs had walked out earlier in the day, also in protest against various issues. As soon as the House met for the day, members from the Congress and the DMK wanted to raise certain issues. One of the members displayed a placard with the words “Justice for Stan Swamy”.
One of the leaders pointed out that, so far, the opposition’s response has been disjointed and all the parties should put out a joint statement, listing out their reasons for protests, and at the same time underlining the opposition’s trust in the Armed Forces.
