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Aditi Tandon in New Delhi
The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha is testing the nerves of the Congress-led Opposition like never before. It has been a rough run for the non-NDA camp in Parliament so far with the ruling BJP, buoyed by a sweeping General Election mandate, pressing ahead with controversial Bills notwithstanding parliamentary committee scrutiny.
That the government has full majority in Lok Sabha and is breaking Opposition ranks, besides supplementing its previously weak numbers in Rajya Sabha, has ensured the passage of long-pending contentious Bills. These include the Right to Information Amendment Bill, Protection of Human Rights Amendment Bill, National Investigation Agency Amendment Bill and Aadhaar Amendment Bill.
Over the next week, the government, having extended the session until August 7, plans to clear 18 more Bills besides tabling in Rajya Sabha controversial legislations which the Lok Sabha has cleared. Top among these are the anti instant triple talaq Bill, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Amendment Bill; the DNA Technology Use and Application Regulation Bill and the Code Wages Bill.
Lack of coordinated Opposition strategy in both Houses is only aiding the government’s frenzied legislative push, with the non-NDA camp looking confused and disunited.
The biggest jolt to the Opposition came last Thursday when the government broke its ranks in Rajya Sabha to stall a move of referring the Right to Information Amendment Bill 2019 to the select committee. An Opposition resolution in this respect was defeated with 117 MPs voting against it and only 75 in favour. As the government scored, the Congress, TMC and Left MPs walked out, protesting the ministers’ “brazen” attempts to influence the manner of voting — an unprecedented act that drew criticism from Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaish Naidu.
Though 17 non-NDA leaders later came together and urged the RS Chairman to prevent the Opposition voice from being smothered, the damage had already been done.
Asked why the Opposition was divided on the RTI Bill, Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma said there was no division. “TRS and BJD which voted with the government are not part of the Opposition. The government is disrupting Parliament by hurriedly passing legislations without scrutiny. Sensitive Bills that impact a substantial mass of society must be debated thoroughly,” Sharma said.
The fact, however, is that the Modi Government successfully wooed fence-sitters TRS, BJD, YSRCP. It even ensured that the BSP and NCP stayed away from the vote, indicating the complete absence of cohesion on the Opposition side. Opposition leaders privately acknowledge lack of coordination. UPA chief Sonia Gandhi called the first meeting of the Opposition only on July 24 though the session began way back on June 17. The meeting had become urgent after the government hurriedly pushed the RTI Bill in the Lok Sabha.
Though the Opposition was briefly united on seeking PM Modi’s clarification on US President Donald Trump’s offer of mediation in Kashmir and on the extension of Parliament session until August 7, the unity soon frittered away as the government refused to budge. That led to a quick change of strategy with leaders agreeing to corner the government for “disregarding parliamentary conventions in pushing its legislative agenda”. The Friday letter of 17 non-NDA leaders to Naidu was a result of this altered strategy.
Opposition leaders are furious at delays in the constitution of parliamentary standing committees. “Under normal course, committees are constituted in a month. But here nothing has been done so far,” says CPI general secretary D Raja, who just retired from RS.
LS secretariat sources, however, say committee constitution has been delayed in the past until September and the government was well within its rights to bring Acts replacing many pending ordinances.
Further, the smooth run of the Lok Sabha is also being attributed to new Speaker Om Birla striking a balancing act and giving both the Opposition and the Government equal opportunity to speak. There is now less rancour in LS, less disruptions and much more debate.
The government, for its part ,is playing strategically by bringing all the contentious legislations to the Lok Sabha first, and by forcing the Opposition on the defensive.
The Congress has found itself on the back foot on many an occasion in Lok Sabha. For example, the party kept saying it was not against the triple talaq Bill as a whole but was against only a specific clause criminalising the husband’s act of divorce. But when it came to voting, the Congress walked out.
Likewise, party MP Manish Tewari opposed the NIA Amendment Bill saying it would turn the nation into a police state. But when AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi sought a sudden division, the Congress ended up voting for the Bill because the NIA was established by the UPA.
What of debate?
"It is a welcome relief that Parliament is functioning. It should never be dysfunctional but it is also a forum for informed debate and non-partisan engagement on issues of national interest." — Ashwani Kumar, former Law minister
Views being ignored
"The govt has a brute majority in the LS, has supplemented numbers through defections in RS. Even constructive suggestions on Bills, which require serious consideration, are being ignored." — Manish Tewari, Congress MP
Govt conduct Worrying, says first-time Cong MP
"Yes, the Lok Sabha Speaker is trying to accommodate all of us but the worrying part is the resistance of the government in sending even one Bill to the select committee. I am distraught." — Amar Singh, Congress MP from Fatehgarh Sahib
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