Logjam in Parliament over Uttarakhand crisis

On the opening day of the second half of the budget session of the parliament, the Uttarakhand issue figured prominently in both the houses. Even as the Rajya Sabha could not transact any business and was adjourned for the day amid noisy protests by the Congress and other opposition parties the Lok Sabha also witnessed some unprecedented scenes.

In the Rajya Sabha, the leader of opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad charged that the government was ‘deliberately provoking’ the opposition and “does things during the session or just days before the session so that Parliament does not function”. Azad said that during the last winter session, the dulyelected Arunachal Pradesh government was ‘brought down’ and the Centre did not stop till it installed its own government there. He added that President's rule has been imposed in the past also, but never in such a ‘crude’ way.

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) reminded Naqvi that leader of the house Arun Jaitley had said in the last session that discussion on issues, even if sub-judice, cannot be prevented in the House. "Apply your own precedents," he said. KHARGE SQUATS IN LOK SABHA: In some rare scenes, Congress president Sonia Gandhi joined the slogan shouting Congress members and the party’s floor leader Mallikarjun Kharge squatted in the well of the house to demand a discussion on the Uttarakhand issue. When speaker Sumitra Mahajan pointed out that a discussion cannot be held as the matter is subjudice, Kharge responded: “What do you mean Uttarakhand matter is subjudice? Aren’t Ram Mandir and Ishrat Jahan issues sub-judice?” Kharge charged the central government with killing the constitution and bringing down the non-BJP state governments by pressurising and dividing MLAs. Union home minister Rajnath Singh rejected the charge that the central government is toppling the state governments and observed that both the Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments fell because of the ‘internal problems’ within the Congress.

PM’S HOPE: Before the session got underway, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed the hope that members would involve themselves in free discussions like the last time and important decisions will be taken. "The first part of the Budget session was very productive. All the parties helped in running Parliament smoothly and many important decisions were taken. And the MPs of all parties seemed happy about this. This time too we will discuss issues with similar enthusiasm and as per the tradition of democracy and take good decisions. This is my belief," he said. CONGRESS TAKES HARD STAND: After a stormy day in the Rajya Sabha, Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said that there is no question of cooperating with the government. “The era of goody-goody talk and constructive cooperation is over. We shall pursue the Uttarakhand issue relentlessly, and the only concession that would be made is to allow the discussion on the drought situation later this week,” he said.