Another Stormy Day Expected In Parliament Over Delhi Ordinance Bill, Manipur Row: 10 Points

After two weeks of chaos and ruckus, Parliament will convene again today for what is expected to be another stormy sitting of the House. Manipur had been the focus since the first day of the monsoon session and this week, the Delhi ordinance and no-confidence motion are going to be another set of issues that are likely to create a stir in both Houses. MPs of the opposition’s INDIA bloc returned to Delhi on Sunday (July 30) after a two-day Manipur visit. The leaders attacked the Centre and state government for the situation in Manipur.

10 Points On Parliament Monsoon Session

Opposition leaders visited relief camps, met the Manipur governor and urged the authorities to restore peace in the violence-torn state. They have been demanding PM Narendra Modi’s statement on the matter inside Parliament has been hampering the business of the House for the last two weeks. Now, as the Monsoon session resumes for another week, the leaders are likely to intensify their agitation.

While the delegation asked the Governor to restore normalcy in the state as soon as possible, it also criticised the Union and state governments for turning a blind eye to the state’s ‘precarious’ and ‘volatile’ situation.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday appealed to the opposition MPs who returned from Manipur to join a discussion in Parliament on the ethnic strife in the northeastern state and share their experiences from the visit. His statement comes as Parliament will convene on Monday amid the Monsoon session which has been witnessing sloganeering and protests as the opposition remains persistent in demanding a statement from Prime Minister on the Manipur violence in both Houses of Parliament, a demand rejected by the Union government.

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) is preparing to introduce a motion in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Monday (July 31) concerning the ethnic conflict in Manipur. Following the return of a 20-member delegation of MPs from the opposition INDIA alliance who visited Manipur over the weekend, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to address the assembly on the situation in the violence-stricken northeastern state, according to media reports. 

The Lok Sabha will also discuss the no-confidence motion this wee that was brought in by the opposition over the Manipur issue.. Earlier on Sunday, Congress MP Manish Tewari claimed that all bills passed after the no-confidence motion was admitted in the Lok Sabha are “constitutionally suspect” and asserted that any substantive legislative business must succeed the outcome of the motion, not precede it, reported PTI.

Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha has said that no legislative business should take place in the Lok Sabha once a no-confidence motion has been accepted. Talking about bills that are seeing passage through the lower house amid continuous uproar over the Manipur issue, Chadha said that he appeals to the Speaker to not take up any bill for discussion until the trust vote is taken up. 

This comes after the Opposition front, named INDIA, submitted a notice for a no-confidence motion against the government in Lok Sabha on Wednesday in a bid to corner Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Manipur ethnic violence. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla later admitted the motion after a head count of over 50 MPs as required under the rules. Birla said a date and time for discussion on it will be fixed by him after consultation with all parties.

Manickam Tagore, Congress whip in Lok Sabha, said the motion was the Opposition’s last weapon against the government. “We wanted to break the arrogance of Modi. He is behaving as an arrogant person – not to come to the Parliament and make a statement on Manipur…We feel that it is our duty to use this last weapon,” ANI quoted Tagore as saying.

Meanwhile, the Delhi ordinance is slated to be tabled in the Parliament this week which aims to give the Centre control over services in the national capital. The Janata Dal (United) has issued a three lined whip to the party’s Rajya Sabha MPs for the Monsoon session of Parliament to support the party’s stand by voting against the Centre’s Bil over Delhi Services. Deputy Chairman Harivansh has received a party whip for the first time during his entire tenure, his office told ANI. Aneel Prasad Hegde, Chief Whip of JD(U) in the Rajya Sabha, said all MPs have been issued a whip. 

Aam Aadmi Party leaders also called on former Prime Minister and JD(S) Supremo H D Deve Gowda and appealed to him to fight against the Delhi ordinance. The party leaders in Karnataka led by their state president H N Chandrashekar, popularly known as Mukhyamantri Chandru, called on Gowda, who is an Upper House member, in an attempt to shore up support from non-BJP political parties to defeat the Delhi ordinance in the Rajya Sabha.