Parliament watchers heaved a sigh of relief when the Lok Sabha resumed normal functioning on Monday afternoon with a discussion on price rise as demanded by the Opposition. The hours-long debate that saw Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responding to the lawmakers’ concerns came about after the government agreed to revoke the suspension for four Congress MPs. Until Monday, most of the monsoon session, which began on July 18, had been a washout in the wake of various controversies. The session has time until August 12 to make up for the lost time.
In an interview with TNIE, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi talks about MPs’ behaviour inside the House and the wastage of public money in the lost hours of parliamentary debates.
Excerpts:
Why were Opposition members not allowed to speak on price rise in the last two weeks?
From day one, we have been telling them that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was down with Covid and that she would recover within a few days. Since she is the right person to answer all their queries, we told them the debate could take place when she was present in the House. However, the Opposition kept on insisting, resulting in wastage of public money and Parliament time.
The logjam has led to suspension of some MPs. Will all suspensions be revoked?
When we were in the opposition, we never got placards to the House. Opposition MPs not just held placards before the Speaker, but even advanced towards the ruling party gallery. The House has a sanctity about which they did not care. We are not expecting their apology. The least they can say is that they will not repeat it or bring placards in future. Their suspension can be revoked. If such a response does not come from the members, their party floor leader can convey that.
The GST has been a burden on people. What is the government stand?
The GST Committee has approved tax on many essentials. The committee members include CMs of Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan and other party leaders. Why didn’t they raise the issue there? Let them take it up before the GST Council; the Finance Minister will take a call.
Only 10 days are left for the monsoon session to end. Do you see normal debates taking place on various bills?
We had earlier indicated that there are 32 bills on various issues. We will bring some to the House. We will allow the Opposition to take part in debates if their MPs do not create a ruckus to disturb the proceedings.
Will the government ban outfits such as the Popular Front of India and SDPI?
This is under discussion. I cannot reveal anything now. Home Minister Amit Shah will announce a suitable decision.
How are the Vice Presidential election preparations going on?
Our candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar is from a humble background. We are requesting even non-NDA MPs to vote for him. We are confident of him winning with a larger margin than our Presidential candidate has won.