Washout threat hangs over Winter Session: Jaitley

Concerned by the daily disruption of Parliament, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said the current session could also end up as a washout, with little legislative activity taking place.

“The last session of Parliament did not function. The current session of Parliament is also threatened with a washout,” he wrote in a Facebook post titled “Pt. Nehru and Parliament”.

GST Bill In a veiled reference to the Congress Party, the Finance Minister further noted that “the reasons for the washout keep changing every hour” even as the nation waits for Parliament to discuss key issues, including the Constitution Amendment Bill for the Goods and Services Tax.

“The nation is waiting for Parliament to discuss public issues, to legislate and approve a historic Constitution Amendment enabling the GST. All this is being indefinitely delayed”, he wrote.

Jaitley also quoted a speech by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru from the last day of the First Lok Sabha, which underlined the importance of the working of Parliament: “We have functioned, therefore, during these five years not only on the edge of history but sometimes plunging into the processes of making history.”

“Those who claim the legacy of Panditji”, the Finance Minister said, must question themselves on the kind of history they were making through such disruptions.