Winter Session of Parliament: The Lok Sabha functioned for less than an hour and the Rajya Sabha for about 75 minutes in the first week of the winter session of Parliament, marred by opposition protests over a host of issues including the Adani, Manipur bribery case, and violence in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh.
Both Houses of Parliament were suspended for the fourth day in a row on Friday due to protests. Parliament will meet again next week, on December 2.
In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla said people wanted the House to function, while in the Rajya Sabha, Speaker Jagdeep Dhankhar said the protesting members were setting a bad precedent.
The winter session of parliament started on Monday. The procedure was suspended because the opposition started protests in both Houses. There were no cases on Tuesday due to Constitution Day. For the same reason, the proceedings in both Houses were also suspended on Wednesday. The protest also continued on Thursday and Friday.
The Congress and other opposition parties are demanding a discussion on the violence in Manipur and the bribery allegations against the Adani group. The INDIA bloc is demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into allegations against the Adani group. Opposition MPs in both Houses of Parliament shouted slogans in Parliament.
Only a few questions could be answered in the Lok Sabha during the week. A motion was also passed in the Lok Sabha for extension of the term of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. No other matters could be taken up. The Lok Sabha functioned for six minutes on Monday, while it ran for 16 minutes on Wednesday, 14 minutes on Thursday and 20 minutes on Friday.
The Rajya Sabha functioned for 33 minutes, 13 minutes, 16 minutes and 13 minutes respectively, according to a report in Deccan Herald.
The Congress, however, questioned what it called the 'great mystery' and wondered why the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is not opposing the postponement.
On the contrary, the government is facilitating the aggression of INDIA parties, especially against Modani, and also against Manipur, Sambhal and law and order in Delhi.
“On the contrary, the government is facilitating the aggression of INDIA parties especially against Modani – and also against Manipur, Sambhal and law and order in Delhi. There is clearly a lot to feel defensive and apologetic about,” Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, said in a post on X.
