NEW DELHI: The political sparring over air pollution in Delhi escalated on Saturday after a proposed parliamentary debate on the issue was dropped, sparking a fresh war of words between the government and the Opposition.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju blamed the Congress for the cancellation by sharing a video of disruptions in the Lok Sabha during the passage of the VB-RAM-G Bill, the Opposition accused the government of lacking the intent to hold the discussion, arguing it could have been scheduled for December 19.
Posting the video clip of chaos in the Lok Sabha on ‘X’, Rijiju said, “See this! How many times will you keep lying in the name of Jawaharlal Nehru ji? Keep quiet if you are not aware of Parliament rules. The Speaker adjourned the House due to unruly conduct of Congress MPs. He called the House again only for Vande Mataram.”
Countering Rijiju, Congress MP Manickam Tagore called it a “lie” and said that the government lacked the “intent to run the House”. In a post on ‘X’, he said that if the government was serious about conducting the debate, they would have ensured the House functioned smoothly to allow the debate.
Tagore wrote: “Please see the timestamp in the video—it is 1:22 PM on 18 December. The VBGRA Bill was passed in the LS when the House was not in order. Air pollution was listed next. If you were sincere, you should have allowed the pollution debate after lunch or on 19 December at 11 AM. The intention was clearly not there...”