PM slams Oppn as Parliament’s winter session begins with adjournments over Adani issue

PTI, NEW DELHI, NOV 25, 2024: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday slammed the Opposition, saying those rejected by people 80-90 times were trying to control Parliament by resorting to hooliganism for their own political gains. Addressing reporters ahead of the start of the winter session of Parliament, Modi said such a handful of people did not succeed in their intentions, but the people of the country observed their actions and punished them at an appropriate time.

Modi's remarks came days after the BJP-led coalition won the Maharashtra Assembly elections by a landslide, bagging 235 seats and relegating the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi to a distant 49 seats in the 288-member House. Earlier, the BJP registered a surprise third consecutive victory in the Haryana polls, trouncing the Congress, which was billed as a pre-poll favorite.

"There should be a healthy debate in Parliament, but unfortunately, certain individuals are trying to control Parliament for their own political gains, resorting to disruptions and chaos," Modi said. "Though their tactics ultimately fail, the people watch their behaviour closely and deliver justice when the time comes," he added.

Modi said he had been repeatedly urging Opposition colleagues, and some also agreed, that Parliament should function smoothly. "But those who have been continuously rejected by the public ignore the words of their colleagues and disrespect their sentiments and that of democracy," the Prime Minister said.

The Winter Session of Parliament began on Monday and is scheduled to continue till December 20.

"The most troubling aspect, however, is that such behaviour (disruptions) stifles the rights of new MPs — those who bring fresh ideas and energy from all parties," the Prime Minister stated. He also said the new members were often denied opportunities to speak in the House.

"In a democratic tradition, every generation has the responsibility to prepare the next generations. But those who have been repeatedly rejected by the people — 80-90 times — neither allow discussions in Parliament nor respect democratic principles or the aspirations of the people," Modi said.

"They do not realise their responsibility towards the people. As a result, they consistently fail to meet public expectations, leading to repeated rejection by the electorate," he said.

Modi said he hoped that the new members from all parties would get opportunities to speak in Parliament. The Prime Minister mentioned that the current session of Parliament was special in many ways, with the most significant aspect being the 75-year journey of the Constitution.

"This is a momentous occasion for democracy. Tomorrow (Tuesday), we will collectively begin the celebration of the 75th year of our Constitution in the Samvidhan Sadan. The Constitution framers debated every point in great detail while drafting the Constitution, resulting in this excellent document. A significant pillar of this is our Parliament and its members," Modi said.

However, the Opposition leaders said on Monday that the government does not want a public debate on the Adani issue, as both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day amid demand for the suspension of business to take up the matter for discussion.

Leaders from several Opposition parties gave adjournment notices for discussion on the issue of the indictment of Adani group founder-chairman Gautam Adani and others in a US court on bribery charges. The Chair in both Houses of Parliament refused permission for the debate and adjourned proceedings for the day.

"Yesterday, at the all-party meeting, the whole of the Opposition proposed to take up a discussion on the bribe allegations against the Adani group. The charge is on Adani, but the BJP is feeling the pain," Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said. "Most parties had given notices to discuss the issue, the leader of the opposition objected that such an important issue was not being taken up. As a result, the House was adjourned till Wednesday," the Congress MP said.

"I do not understand, instead of adjourning the House, they could have discussed it. It shows that the government does not want to allow any public debate on the Adani issue. We are not raising this issue, the issue has been raised by the Department of Justice (US). It shows there is something wrong," he told newspersons.

Lok Sabha MP from the Congress KC Venugopal said: "They are very much scared of discussing the Adani issue. They are not even ready to hear one word from the Opposition on the issue."

"Within a second, they adjourned the House. They are scared of this issue being raised," he said, adding that the Opposition will continue its agitation. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said both sides need to cooperate to ensure that the House functions.

"All Opposition parties wanted to debate the issue, but the government was not ready. It should be discussed in the Business Advisory Committee. The point is everyone should be taken along to make Parliament function, all important issues should be discussed," the Lok Sabha member from Thiruvananthapuram said.

"As an MP, I want to come here and debate, but it needs cooperation from both sides," he added. Rajya Sabha member from the Aam Aadmi Party Sanjay Singh said there are serious allegations against Adani which need to be discussed.

Dola Sen of the Trinamool Congress said it felt like the treasury benches did not want to run the House as it adjourned the proceedings even though there was no ruckus.

"Today, sitting in the Rajya Sabha, I felt the treasury bench did not want to run the House. Nothing happened, there was no ruckus, no one staged any protest, but there were two adjournments, and the second time, it was adjourned for the day. It was the policy of the treasury bench, they are blaming us unnecessarily," she claimed.