Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were brought to their knees on Thursday by the smaller parties in the two Houses. Although the principal Opposition — the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left parties — reached an agreement with the government on sequencing discussions on price rise and black money, they were thwarted by the Telangana Rajya Samiti, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party and the Janata Dal United. The combined strength of these parties is between five and ten per cent of the total strength of each House.
For the Congress, it was doubly embarrassing as MPs from its own party who are leading the statehood movement for Telangana jumped into the well of the Lok Sabha and held up proceedings, provoking Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj to call the government’s parliamentary management “a monumental shame”.
For the third successive day in the winter session neither House was able to transact any business. However, given that the bigger parties are committed to enabling the House to run, on Monday normal business may be resumed.
On Thursday’s action was as much an act of rebellion against the Congress as it was against the dominant BJP. The MPs for statehood of Telangana wanted to show the government and the Congress that they had begun the next phase in their agitation — holding up proceedings in Parliament until their demand was met.
JDU MP in the Rajya Sabha, N K Singh, said the BJP had pressed its demand to discuss black money before price rise, a move they did not agree with, for inflation was an issue that had left no Indian untouched.
Bahujan Samaj Party leader SC Mishra said, “The Congress and the BJP may have come to an understanding that black money will be discussed first. But they are fighting for number three and number four position in Uttar Pradesh where elections are going to be held. We are fighting to retain power. For us, an indictment of the Centre on price rise is the single most important poll issue”.
Explaining the entire sequence of events leading to the agreement with the government, Sushma Swaraj, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said at every stage, the Opposition cooperated with the government in toning down the wording of the resolutions and even persuading the Left parties to accept the dilution.
“We did this because we wanted a discussion, even if it was not entirely on our terms. We kept the Left fully informed at all stages. But the government made no effort to persuade its own people to return to their seats”.
The chances of a normal discussion tomorrow look dim. In any case, on Fridays both houses are engaged in Private Members’ bills after lunch. So the morning session represents only a small window of opportunity. Government sources said Monday could see resumption of Parliament’s normal routine, beginning with a discussion on price rise, followed by one on black money.
