Parliament Adjourned Amid Protests Over Shah’s Ambedkar Remarks & ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bills
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Parliament was adjourned sine die after the Opposition protested over Amit Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar. The ‘One Nation, One Election’ bills were also referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
View of the Lok Sabha during the Winter session of Parliament (Photo;PTI)
Both Houses of the Parliament were adjourned sine die on Friday following a ruckus on the premises after protests by MPs of the Opposition bloc over various issues, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar.
Before being adjourned, the Lok Sabha on Friday also referred the two bills on ‘One Nation, One Election’ to a joint committee of Parliament.
MEMBERS FOR JPC ON ONE NATION ONE ELECTION
The 12 Rajya Sabha MPs, as members for the Joint Parliamentary Committee would include Ghanshyam Tiwari, Bhubaneswar Kalita, K Laxman, Kavita Patidar, Sanjay Kumar Jha, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Mukul Balkrishna Wasnik, Saket Gokhale, P Wilson, Sanjay Singh, Manas Ranjan Mangaraj and V Vijayasai Reddy.
The 27 members from Lok Sabha were nominated to the JPC earlier this week.
The Committee will submit its report to Lok Sabha by the first day of the last week of the next session.
RUCKUS IN LOK SABHA
As the House met, Opposition members raised slogans hailing Ambedkar and slammed Amit Shah.
Instead of taking up the Question Hour, Speaker Om Birla asked Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to move the resolution to refer the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 referred to Joint Committee of Parliament comprising 27 members from the Lok Sabha and 12 from the Rajya Sabha.
The resolution was adopted by a voice vote amid noisy scenes.
Slogans of ‘Jai Bhim‘ reverberated in the House as the Speaker read out directions barring demonstrations and protests at the gates of Parliament.
As the protests continued, the Speaker adjourned the House sine die.
Even before the House proceedings began, Congress members raised slogans “Jai Bheem, Jai Jai Bheem“.
Amid the slogans by the Opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered the Lok Sabha chamber.
As Meghwal moved the resolution, Congress members led by Manickam Tagore stormed the Well raising slogans.
Protesting Opposition members remained in the Well as ‘Vande Mataram’ was played as per convention at the end of the Parliament session.
Except for the Trinamool Congress, most of the Opposition party members, including DMK and NCP, joined the protest from their seats.
Congress member Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also present in the House.
The Lok Sabha was then adjourned sine die (indefinitely), bringing to an end the Winter session which began on November 25.
LOK SABHA SPEAKER WARNS OF ACTION OVER PROTESTS
On Friday, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla warned members of action if any of them resorted to demonstrations and protests within the premises of Parliament.
“Do not resort to demonstration or protest at any gate or anywhere in Parliament premises. Else, the House will have to take serious action,” Birla said in the House on Friday.
“It is not proper to hold any kind of protests or demonstration at any of the gates of Parliament. You will have to follow the rules in this regard. I urge you once again to take this warning seriously,” Birla said in the House.
RUCKUS IN RAJYA SABHA
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday after the House adopted a motion to nominate 12 members to the joint committee of Parliament on simultaneous polls.
When the House met this morning, it witnessed protests by Opposition members and was adjourned amid the din.
The Chairman also held a meeting with Leader of the House JP Nadda and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge besides leaders of various opposition parties in a bid to end the impasse in the House.
The motion was adopted with a voice vote to nominate 12 members of the Rajya Sabha to the joint committee on simultaneous polls.
The Chairman then made his concluding remarks, saying this session’s productivity stood at a mere 40.03 per cent with just 43 hours and 27 minutes of effective functioning.
“As Parliamentarians, we are drawing severe criticism from the people of India and rightfully so. These persistent disruptions are steadily eroding public trust in our democratic institutions,” he noted.
“It is time to choose between meaningful debate and destructive disruptions,” he said before adjourning the House sine die.
‘ONE NATION, ONE ELECTION’ BILLS
The two ‘One Nation, One Election’ (ONOE) bills, including one requiring an amendment in the Constitution, lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections and were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday after a fiery debate.
BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab is being considered to head the joint committee of Parliament that will scrutinise the two bills proposing simultaneous elections, sources said on Thursday.
With the BJP set to get the position of the chair for the crucial panel, official sources said Mahtab’s parliamentary experience may weigh in his favour.
The strength of the committee was increased from 31 MPs to 39, giving representation to more parties.
While the panel already includes BJP’s PP Chaudhury and Anurag Thakur, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of the Congress is another prominent member on the committee.
Among the Lok Sabha members, 17 are from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, including 12 from the BJP.