Govt to push legislation in final week of session

NEW DELHI: With just five days left until the end of Parliament’s monsoon session, the central government is looking to push through a constitutional amendment that aims to restore the power of states to identify backward castes, at a time the Opposition has indicated that it will stick to its strategy of demanding a debate on the Pegasus spyware controversy and the contentious agriculture laws.

So far, the monsoon session of Parliament, which began on July 19, has been rocked by frequent protests and disruptions. Both Houses have seen Opposition lawmakers troop to the Well, hold placards and shout slogans against the government over their demand to discuss the Pegasus row, the three farm laws and rising fuel prices. Last week, a Rajya Sabha MP -- TMC’s Santanu Sen -- was suspended for the session for alleged “unruly” behaviour, with Opposition leaders accusing the Chair of not allowing them to express their views.

According to Opposition leaders, the government has not yet reached out to the parties to seek support for The 127th Constitution Amendment Bill 2021, which aims to bypass a May 2021 Supreme Court ruling that said only the Centre could notify socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) — and not the states.

The new bill effectively bypasses the apex court’s decision, which triggered protests by state governments and other backward caste (OBC) groups. It also comes ahead of crucial elections in five states early next year.

Opposition support to pass the bill is significant as a constitutional amendment requires two-thirds majority of lawmakers who are present during the proceedings, with at least 50% in attendance.

A senior Congress strategist aware of the matter indicated on Sunday that the party will not budge from the demand for a debate on Pegasus.

Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha, Jairam Ramesh, also hinted that the party is unlikely to shift its stand on Pegasus in the last five days of the session. “Remember what happened in 2010,” he said, pointing out how the 2010 winter session was a washout as the BJP, then in Opposition, vigorously demanded a joint parliamentary probe into allegations of corruption in the 2G spectrum allocation. The Trinamool Congress’s Lok Sabha leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the party, too, will continue to raise issues and demonstrate. “We will stage dharna at the Gandhi statue (in Parliament) on the violence against our party workers and leaders in Tripura. Inside Parliament, the Pegasus remains our key theme,” he said, referring to the alleged attack on TMC workers in Tripura by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders. The BJP has denied any involvement in Saturday’s incident in the north-eastern state.

Other parties, however, said that the constitutional amendment is an important issue. “This is an important bill and I personally want it to be cleared,” said Elamaram Kareem, Rajya Sabha MP of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

In the three weeks of the monsoon session, opposition parties have largely presented a united front against the BJP-led government in Parliament.