Winter Session: Parliament impasse stays on as Opposition steps up protests

Opposition leaders (File image)

The stalemate in Parliament seems to continue with the Opposition planning a protest march on December 21 even as the Winter Session enters its final days.

The Opposition parties, on December 20, turned down the government’s invitation for talks to four parties whose MPs were suspended for “unruly behaviour” during the Monsoon Session. They insisted that all parties should be invited for the talks.

READ: Explained: All you need to know about the Bill seeking to link Aadhaar with electoral rolls

The Opposition is up in arms to oppose the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday and force the government to send it to a parliamentary panel. The Bill, seeking to link Aadhaar with the electoral rolls, was passed in the Lok Sabha amid Opposition protest on December 20.

The Congress has issued a three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha MPs asking them to be present in the House to support the party’s stand.

The ruling BJP has 97 MPs in the 245-member Rajya Sabha. The halfway mark for a majority is 123. Seven seats are vacant in the Upper House now. While the BJP is the single-largest party, it is expected to get support from non-Congress, non-BJP parties like TRS and BJD in the Upper House while passing the controversial Bill.

Members of Opposition parties in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will also take out a protest march from Parliament to Vijay Chowk in the national capital to press for their demand of holding a discussion on the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and sacking of junior home minister Ajay Misra Teni for his son’s alleged involvement in the violence.

A similar march was taken out on December 14 to protest against the suspension of 12 members from the Upper House for the ongoing Winter Session.

The proceedings in both the Houses have been disrupted after leaders of Opposition parties, including the Congress, demanded sacking of Ajay Misra Teni over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and roll back of suspension of 12 MPs.

Eight people were killed in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 after being knocked down by a vehicle allegedly driven by Ashish Misra, the son of Ajay Misra Teni.