No end in sight to govt-Opposition standoff

The Winter Session of Parliament is headed for a washout with both the Opposition and the Centre sticking to their positions on demonetisation and on whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi should make a statement in the House on the issue.

BJP members stormed into the well in the Rajya Sabha shouting “Rahul Gandhi chor hai ;Sonia Gandhi chor hai (Rahul Gandhi is a thief; Sonia Gandhi is a thief) ”, only to witness Congress MPs direct the accusation at Prime Minister Modi .

The bitterness in the proceedings is being seen as proof that both groups are not ready for a consensus on how to continue the debate on the issue, which began last week.

The Lok Sabha too witnessed uproar and repeated adjournments over the issue. The Opposition members displayed placards demanding Modi’s reply and a discussion on the issue under Rule 56, which entails voting. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar maintained that the Centre was ready for a discussion under Rule 193. Question Hour continued amidst protests and at one point, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan asked Opposition members not to disturb the HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar. “If you want to come on TV, I will tell the Lok Sabha TV people to show you, but don’t disturb the Minister,” she said.

In the Rajya Sabha, as the House convened and observed silence over the death of passengers killed in the Kanpur rail accident on Sunday, senior members Sitaram Yechury and Mayawati demanded an obituary reference to those who died due to the problems created by the decision to demonetise high-value currency. Yechury said about 70 people, including 11 bank employees, had died because of the Centre’s policy, and demanded an answer from the government. His contention found support from all all Opposition members.

The Centre replied saying the Opposition was not interested in a debate. “Why are they running away from debate? It is clear now that the Opposition is not ready for debate and is coming up with new excuses to disrupt the House,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.

Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the 70 people who had died in the past 15 days were “also citizens of this country”. “We want such an obituary reference to come from the Chair,” he said.

Meanwhile, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi visited various ATMs in the city and said the Prime Minister was working for select groups of people in the country. “I have gone to the banks to see the situation myself in the morning. People there told me that they are facing a lot of inconvenience,” Rahul said.

“They said they are in the queue and deals are being made and cash is being taken out from the back door. And some selected people are given that cash. Those who are rich getting that and those who are poor they are made to stand in the queue (sic),” he added.

On Modi’s statement that the country would come out like gold after this exercise, Gandhi said: “For whom? I feel the treasuries of the PM’s own 15 or 20 people’s will be filled up and their loans will be waived. Poor people, those who are in the queue, will only suffer losses.”