12 RS MPs were suspended to manufacture majority: Oppn

NEW DELHI: With both Houses of Parliament adjourned sine die a day before schedule, the Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC), two Opposition powerhouses, on Wednesday alleged that the government suspended 12 MPs to “manufacture” a majority in the House for the quick passage of legislation.

As proceedings in the Rajya Sabha, which witnessed the maximum disruptions over the suspensions of Opposition lawmakers, were concluded, the Congress, for the first time, revealed that it was ready to read a statement to express regret over the behaviour of the suspended MPs in the monsoon session and end the logjam.

“We came prepared to raise issues such as unemployment, inflation and Chinese aggression. But the government was not eager to discuss any issue. We were 120 MPs, they were 118. They wanted to manufacture a majority and the suspension was part of the government’s plan,” leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters here.

“...As soon as we said something, they would adjourn the House. The chairman adjourned the Rajya Sabha due to government pressure,” he added.

Speaking on the row over the suspension of the MPs, Kharge said: “I said that whatever happened, it was done. On the same day (November 29, when the MPs were suspended) I was ready to read a statement to express regret on behalf of everyone. Why should we increase the problem? …despite our best efforts, they (the government) did not listen to us.”

HT on December 18 reported how the Congress had prepared a draft statement, containing the phrase “regrettable incidents”, to be read out by Kharge in the House. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “I personally met the Chairman, leader of the house Piyush Goyal, and parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi. Kharge told Goyal on the evening of November 29 and on the morning of November 30 that if you want, I will stand up as LOP and say that what happened in the monsoon session is a matter of regret…” Trinamool Congress’s RS leader Derek O’Brien, who was suspended on Tuesday for hurling a rule book at the Chair in the Upper House, pointed how the Opposition’s planned protest lasted the entire season. “While we maintained distance with the Congress, we coordinated through CPI-M, DMK and Shiv Sena,” he said.

BOTH CONGRESS AND TMC REFUSED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE LOGJAM IN PARLIAMENT