For the first time, the members of India’s opposition, spearheaded by the Congress party, filed a notice of no confidence in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday against Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. The opposition also alleged that Dhankhar was “highly politicized” in his conduct during the holding of the Upper House.
The opposition does not have the numbers to get a simple majority in the 243-member Rajya Sabha for the motion to happen; however, they insist it is symbolic. According to the opposition leaders, it will help to make a ‘strong statement’ about their wish to uphold parliamentary democracy and check the ruling government.
The ruling BJP, on the other hand, attacked opposition parties for disrupting the Parliament session. Some BJP leaders expressed disappointment with issues raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying protest actions are not befitting an opposition party. Further, opposition MPs outside of Parliament protested against crony capitalism associated withe th Adani Group company. They wore T-shirts and held black bags with caricatures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani on them with “Modi Adani Bhai Bhai” written on it.
The Rajya Sabha session was put off till 12:00 PM on Tuesday when opposition members started chanting slogans to sack the Vice President. It provoked the increasing mutual hostility between the opposition and the ruling alliance.
TMC MP Sushmita Dev vehemently condemned how the government was conducting parliamentary business. She also dismissed the NDA as a National Disaster Alliance by accusing them of jeopardizing public discourse on pressing matters, including inflation and increasing fertilizer costs. “The Parliamentary Affairs Minister should be ashamed that he can no longer control Parliament,” she said. As of Dev, the opposition has continued demanding free and proper functioning of Parliament as well as attending to pertinent national issues, and their voices remain unheard.
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