Stormy first leg of Budget session over; Lok Sabha to meet again on March 9

Stormy phase sees Opposition protests over India-US trade deal and memoir row; eight MPs suspended, House to reconvene on March 9

The fractious first leg of the Budget session, which saw heated exchanges over the India-US interim trade deal and the unpublished memoir of former Army chief M M Naravane, which led to the suspension for the rest of the session of eight Opposition MPs, concluded on Friday.

 

In the Lok Sabha on Friday morning, Opposition members raised slogans demanding the resignation of Union Minister Hardeep Puri. They also protested against the India-US interim trade agreement, forcing an adjournment. The proceedings of the Rajya Sabha were adjourned at 1 pm after the scheduled Question Hour.

 

Speaking to reporters, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the government has shelved a plan to bring a motion against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for using unparliamentary language against the prime minister, as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP, Nishikant Dubey, has submitted a notice to initiate a “substantive motion” against the Congress leader on the same issue.

 

The Union minister stated that the Speaker would be consulted on whether to send the matter to the House Privileges Committee, the Ethics Committee, or bring it directly to the Lok Sabha. “It has not yet been decided,” he said.

 

In a post in Hindi on X along with the video, Gandhi had said on Thursday, “FIR is filed, a case is registered, or a privilege motion is brought — I will fight for the farmers.” “Any trade deal that takes away the farmers’ livelihood or weakens the country’s food security is anti-farmer. We will not let the anti-farmer Modi government compromise on the interests of the food providers,” he had said.

 

Gandhi on Friday met leaders of farm unions from across the country in the Parliament House complex, during which the need for a nationwide movement to oppose the India-US interim trade deal as well as safeguarding the livelihoods of farmers and farm labourers was discussed.

 

The House will now reassemble on March 9 and is scheduled to sit until April 2, when it will seek to pass the Finance Bill. The three-week recess period will allow standing committees to examine allocations to various central ministries given in the Union Budget.

 

The Budget session, which began on January 28, also witnessed the rare occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi not replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address after Speaker Om Birla requested him not to attend the Lok Sabha given the Opposition’s protests. The Opposition also submitted a notice to move a resolution to remove Birla as Speaker. Birla decided not to chair House proceedings till the issue relating to his removal was settled. The resolution seeking Birla’s removal as Speaker is likely to come before the House in the second part of the session beginning March 9.

 

Leaders from various Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha have demanded that a discussion on the working of the External Affairs, Rural Development and Commerce Ministries be taken up when the House reconvenes, sources said.