Chaotic start to Parliament’s Monsoon Session; Sushma ready for debate, says Jaitley

ImageCourtesy: PTI

The Monsoon session of the Parliament commenced with utter chaos, with the Opposition sticking firmly to its demands and the Lok Sabha getting adjourned in less than 30 minutes. The opposition raised the matter of Lalitgate and demanded resignations of both Swaraj and Raje, while the government offered discussion and debate on this.

Right in the beginning of the session, the BSP, led by Mayawati, opposed the Land Bill in the Lok Sabha.

In both the houses, the matter of Lalitgate was brought-up. In Rajya Sabha, Congress MP Anand Sharma raised the issue of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj clearing travel allowances of Lalit Modi and the over surfacing of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s name into it. The Congress questioned the humanitarian grounds on which the clearance was granted to Lalit Modi, the erstwhile IPL commissioner against whom 14 FIR’s have been filed by the Enforcement Directorate.

Before the house had to be adjourned, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asserted that Sushma Swaraj was ready for a debate on the matter, while adding that the Opposition was not interested in sort of discussion on key issues.
“We get a distinct and clear impression that the opposition wants disturbance for some time. They don’t want a discussion. The government is publicly declaring, as we have in the House, that we are ready for a discussion in any format, at any time,” he told reporters after Rajya Sabha was adjourned repeatedly over the issue.

The Finance Minister said they had offered to discuss and debate over the issue, which was rejected by the opposition, following which they asked the house to be adjourned for the opposition to come prepared for a debate, for which, Jaitley said, the Opposition was not ready.

The opposition has been demanding resignations of Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje, as their names have surfaced in the Lalitgate issue.

“We are asking the government of the day to initiate a high-level inquiry. Till then, they (ministers in question) must step aside. Discussion in the house is not a substitute to investigation. Discussion should be after the resignations. Government is preventing a proper discussion in the house,” Sitaram Yechury of the CPI.

The Congress government had served a notice to the Parliament for suspension of Question Hour and proceedings, to take up the discussion against Sushma Swaraj, Raje and Chauhan. However, the Finance Minister said, “State issues cannot be discussed in Parliament as per past precedents and the federal politics of the country.”

“Obviously state issues can’t be discussed. There has not been a single precedent in the history of Indian Parliament where state issues are discussed. That’s the part of federal politics of India. But as far as other issues are concerned, we offered that we are ready for discussions and we are ready right now for a discussion,” Jaitley said.

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About Suyash Karangutkar

Suyash Karangutkar is a young, dedicated and an enthusiastic journalist who has a deep interest in National and International Affairs. He is an ardent political spectator who finds politics fascinating. At Spectralhues, he heads the Mumbai team and covers National Affairs & Politics. He also occasionally writes columns for Spectralhues. He can be followed on Twitter @columnistsuyash