PARLIAMENT DIARY
DIVIDED OPPOSITION BEHIND RAJYA SABHA DISRUPTION
In the beginning of the current session of Parliament, the Opposition parties in Rajya Sabha informally came to an agreement that one particular party would raise certain issues and all others would support it.
In the process, Rajya Sabha is getting adjourned every day. In the first two days, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party raised the issue of reservation. Next, the Trinamul Congress and the Congress demanded a debate on Rafale and a reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP is very keen to introduce the Citizenship ( Amendment) Bill which is politically very sensitive for the ruling party. As the House gets adjourned it could not be taken up so far. Assam deputy chief minister Hemanta Biswa Sharma has already arrived in the capital. Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal is also supposed to come. But they could not convince the Opposition parties to allow the Bill to be tabled at least. Otherwise, the Bill will face a natural death the moment Lok Sabha polls are announced.
MPS CRY FOUL OVER VAJPAYEE’S PORTRAIT
President Ram Nath Kovind will unveil the portrait of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the Central Hall of Parliament — the first such portrait of a BJP leader. The BJP is not keen on having Vajpayee's portrait in the vicinity of
Gandhi family portraits so a place was found in the front row of the Central Hall next to Lala Lajpat Rai. In fact, one Central minister suggested to put all the portraits of the Gandhi- Nehru family together in one place. But, it was avoided. There is a committee that decides the location of portraits and statues inside Parliament. But some MPs raised a procedural question about the decision. According to them, no meeting of the panel was held recently but some of them were informed about the decision.
ROY CONFIDENT OF BJP VICTORY IN BENGAL
On Sunday, the West Bengal police filed an FIR against BJP MP Mukul Roy in connection with the murder of a TMC MLA in the Nadia district. But Mr Roy was seen in the Parliament on Monday. Many BJP MPs and journalists were curious to know about his political fate. Mr Roy expressed confidence of wresting a minimum of 15 parliamentary seats for the BJP in West Bengal in the coming Lok Sabha elections, after which the TMC government led by Mamata Banerjee would collapse like a pack of cards. Only then, he will enter the state in a victory mood.