The Congress on Thursday charged the NDA Government for making attempts to “escape” parliamentary scrutiny on many issues and Bills during the just-concluded Budget Session. Seeking to dismiss the Government’s claims that the Opposition slammed brakes on legislation-making initiatives, the party charged the Narendra Modi Government with “bulldozing” all Bills through the lok Sabha using its “brute majority” as the Congress was just 44 in a House of 543.
leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and leader of Congress in the lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge termed the two-month Budget Session as “undemocratic” behaviour. Kharge said this was evident from the fact that out of a total of 55 Bills only five or six have been referred to the Standing Committee. “These included four Bills which were referred on the last day of the Budget Session,” Kharge said at a joint Press conference with Azad.
Azad said the tactics the Government used for the passage of Bills in the Rajya Sabha where it does not have a majority were by turning “normal” Bills into “money” Bills, so that the Upper House cannot go against such measures. He complimented all Opposition parties for remaining “vigilant and alert” against the tactic of turning non-money Bills into money Bills to escape the scrutiny of the Rajya Sabha. Whatever happens in the lok Sabha is as per the wishes of the BJP, Azad said, parrying a direct question whether the Congress was critical of the Speaker for declaring certain Bills as money Bills.
When asked whether the Congress was in favour of re-promulgation of the land ordinance, Azad said it was a matter for the Government to decide after considering legal aspects but added that the Government’s problems were far from over despite the Bill being sent to a Joint Committee. Both the senior leaders claimed that number of parties opposing the land Bill has “swelled” with some from the Treasury Benches joining the Opposition bandwagon “By now, the number of Opposition parties including those which are not in the Opposition, has swelled... They are not with the Government on the land Bill,” Azad said. Kharge said earlier, leaders of 14 Opposition parties had marched to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on the issue.