Parliament was adjourned hours ahead of scheduled close Tuesday after a raucous stand-off between the ruling BJP and a bloc of opposition MPs over allegations of links between Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and media houses and think-tanks funded by businessman George Soros.
Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were suspended for the day, but not before Speaker Om Birla lamented MPs dishonouring the House. “Ours is the largest democracy in the world and it fulfils the hopes and aspirations of (over a billion) people. We have to maintain that dignity… but I have seen things happening that are not good,” he said after a particularly disruptive moment.
“Be it members from the opposition or the ruling party, everyone should maintain dignity and work in such a way that a positive message goes out of this ‘temple of democracy’,” he said.
Agreements and disagreements are part of a healthy democracy, Mr Birla told the MPs and urged on both sides to sit across the table and resolve their differences amicably.
Mr Birla’s reprimand came after opposition MPs – demanding discussions on various issues, including the BJP’s Soros-Sonia Gandhi allegations – refused to allow the start of Question Hour. “Please allow the House to function smoothly,” Mr Birla asked as they flagged the Soros issue.
Shortly after the adjournment, BJP MP Sambit Patra blasted the opposition and the Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, who is their leader in the Lok Sabha. “Rahul Gandhi ji doesn’t know how to behave like an LoP,” he said, “… and it is unfortunate they are not letting Parliament function.”
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also targeted Mr Gandhi, accusing him of not believing in parliamentary democracy and claiming that other opposition MPs, including those from the Congress’ allies – the Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool – had made similar complaints to him.
“The Congress in Rajya Sabha is looking for debate and discussion (but) it is only Rahul Gandhi who doesn’t want it… Probably he doesn’t believe in parliamentary democracy,” Mr Rijiju said.
The Rajya Sabha No-Confidence Vote
Meanwhile, across the hall in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress-led INDIA bloc has moved a vote of no-confidence in Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar, alleging partisan functioning of the House.
The notice – with 50+ signatures by MPs from the Congress, Bengal’s ruling Trinamool, the Aam Aadmi Party of Arvind Kejriwal, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, Tamil Nadu’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal of Lalu Yadav – was submitted to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
Calls for the vote erupted Monday after chaos in the House; this was after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party attacked senior Congress leaders – Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi – over alleged links to businessman George Soros and a media organisation partly funded by his foundation. The Congress responded firmly through party boss Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Rajya Sabha Chair’s handling of this face-off was what triggered the Congress’ call for the motion against him; Mr Kharge managed to point out Mr Dhankhar was allowing comments against Mrs Gandhi despite rejecting 11 notices by BJP MPs to discuss this issue.
The concerted attacks by the BJP come as the opposition tries to raise issues like the violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal over the survey of a mosque and the United States indictment against the Directors of Adani Green Energy – a renewable energy company owned by the Adani Group.
It also follows a report by French media company Mediapart that claimed “hidden links between the OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) and the US government”.
The BJP has alleged the Soros-founded OCCRP publishes reports “targeting” India, and that these are then used by the Congress to criticise the ruling party and government, and Indian business interests.
The Congress has just as firmly refuted the claim. “We are patriots…” the party thundered in response.
