Govt hints at winding up Parl session early

Even as Parliament remained paralysed for the seventh consecutive day on Tuesday since it started second phase of the budget session on March 5, the government dropped first hint of winding up the session early, maybe this week itself, instead of the scheduled closure on April 6.

The hint came in the Lok Sabha’s business agenda for Tuesday, listing guillotining of the outstanding demands for grants in the Union Budget for 2018-19 at 5 pm and passing of the related Appropriation Bill.

The Congress expressed shock over the government running away not only from discussion on its scams but trying to shut the discussion on the demands of six ministries, including railways, agriculture and social justice, that were cleared the business advisory committee by giving notice of the guillotine.

Congress’ Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge said it only indicates the government’s attempt to end democracy and neither the Prime Minister nor the Parliamentary Affairs Minister is taking any interest to persuade own allies like TDP and AIADMK to allow the Houses to function.

Once the budget is passed by the Lok Sabha, it need not go to the Rajya Sabha if the daily din continues and that may complete the primary task of the session to wind it up early, the government sources said.

Demands are generally guillotined after discussion and voting of demands of some of the ministries in the two Houses, but no such discussion has taken up because of daily disruption, though the government was listing discussion and voting of demands of the Railway Ministry and Social Justice Ministry every day in the Lok Sabha and that of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation om the Rajya Sabha.

Kharge and Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday levelled a direct charge of conspiracy on the government in not letting Parliament run. “Government is instrumental in organising disruptions by raking up different issues through its own allies” to prevent discussion on the bank scam, French fighter aircraft purchase scam, farmers’ demands and other misdeeds of the government, Kharge and Scindia said.