The Trinamool Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena on Sunday said their MPs will not attend Parliament when it reconvenes on Monday. Sources said the House will convene on Monday, and the priority would be to clear the Finance Bill. “With Delhi going into lockdown, there is every chance that Parliament would be adjourned after that,” said a source.
While the Trinamool wrote a strongly-worded letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu, informing them of the party’s decision, NCP chief Sharad Pawar tweeted that he has asked MPs to help their constituents.
The Trinamool’s letter has been signed by the party’s legislative leaders in both Houses — Sudip Bandopadhyaya and Derek O’Brien.
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“The Prime Minister himself has spoken about the urgent need for social distancing and the need to not assemble in large groups and those above the age of 65 should take abundant care,” said the letter, adding that in the face of all this, keeping Parliament open “was not the example to set.”
Instead, the letter said, MPs should be sent back to their constituencies to co-ordinate efforts for relief work. “The All India Trinamool Congress has advised all of its parliamentarians to go back to their respective constituencies. As required in a couple of cases, our MPs are following self-isolation protocols,” the letter said. Rajya Sabha MPs Sukhendu Shekhar Roy and Derek O’Brien are in self-isolation at the moment.
The letter also suggested that both Houses be adjourned after the passage of the Finance Bill, 2020, preferably on Monday.
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Unlike the Trinamool and NCP, the Congress members of the Lok Sabha will be attending the House on Monday. Speaking to The Hindu , Opposition leader in the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury blamed the government for delaying the Finance Bill that allows the imposition of taxes.
“The government had been non-serious all this while and was taking things lightly. There no reason why the Finance Bill was not taken up immediately after guillotine was applied on various Demands for Grants,” Mr. Chowdhury said.
