Although the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha has moved 324 amendments to the motion thanking the President for his address to Parliament, not even one is likely to be passed. This is because the opposition parties have not been able to consult each other on the issue.
The motion, which was moved by BJP President Amit Shah on Monday, and will be put to vote on Tuesday, is thus likely to be passed without any amendments.
Although the BJP does a majority in the Upper House, the Opposition is divided, making things easy for the incumbent.
“We have not decided whether to go for voting or not. The leaders of various opposition parties could not meet and take a decision,” a senior leader from the Opposition benches told
In each of the last two years, the Opposition had been successful in moving amendments to the motion. In the first year, it was on the issue of ‘black money’, while in the last year it was in connection with the Haryana government’s decision to make education mandatory for contesting elections.
SP members in the Upper House have moved more than hundred amendments to the motion. The Left parties have also moved about 100 amendments. Congress MPs and members of other Opposition parties have together have moved more than 100 amendments.
The amendments moved are regarding the “failure” of the President to mention issues such as unemployment, rampant communal polarisation and even the differences of opinion among the judges of the Supreme Court.