Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seems to be miffed with the way the Parliament is supposed to be functioning, especially since it is functioning the way it seems to be. Earlier today, the Gandhi scion ranted against the Centre and the functioning of the parliament.
Surrounded by a retinue of Congress leaders, Mr Gandhi lamented that bills after bills are being passed in the parliament and that is not how the legislation is intended to work.
The official Twitter account of Youth Congress quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying: “Bills after Bills are being passed in the Parliament. This is not the way to run the Parliament.”
Bills after Bills are being passed in the Parliament. This is not the way to run the Parliament.
— Youth Congress (@IYC) December 14, 2021
Shri @RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/kSxF58IzvW
While Rahul ranted about the functioning of the parliament, the textbook definition of the parliamentary form of government says its function is to legislate, advise, criticise, and ventilate the public grievances; and that of the Executive, to govern. Thus, one of the most elementary functions of the parliament is to draft laws and pass Bills. A Bill is a statute in draft and becomes a Law once it receives approval of both Houses of Parliament and the assent of the President of India.
Legislators are elected to the parliament so that they heed their constituents’ demands and formulate policies and pass Bills that address their grievances and facilitate their life.
However, given Rahul’s past antecedents and his penchant for making comments without having knowledge about them, one may be inclined to believe that this might be another instance when the Gandhi scion had shot himself in the foot and fulminated against the basic functioning of the parliament.
Nevertheless, there’s also a video of Rahul Gandhi’s protestations about the way the parliament is working. In the video, Gandhi rails against the Centre, adding that the opposition is not being allowed to speak on any issue. He also bemoans that opposition members have been unjustly suspended and the parliament is functioning without their presence. He also says bills after bills after bills are being passed while the opposition members remain suspended and the Prime Minister remains absent from the Parliament.
विपक्षी सांसदों के निलंबन को 14 दिन हो गए हैं। जिन मुद्दों पर सदन में विपक्ष बहस करना चाहती है, उनपर हमें बहस नहीं करने दी जाती। जहां विपक्ष आवाज़ उठाने की कोशिश की जाती है, उन्हें निलंबित कर दिया जाता है। ये लोकतंत्र की हत्या है।
— All India Mahila Congress (@MahilaCongress) December 14, 2021
– श्री @RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/iBC9YogdMf
It is worth noting that the Rajya Sabha on the first day of its business in the Winter Session suspended 12 MPs, including Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi and Trinamool MP Dola Sen, for the remaining part of the current session. The MPs were suspended for misconduct and unruly behaviour in the House.
Rahul Gandhi attacks the Centre to pull a veil over shenanigans of opposition parties
Though Rahul accused the Centre of ramrodding bills in the parliament without seeking consultation from the opposition MPs, it is imperative to mention that it is the opposition legislators who create ruckus in the parliament when they lack numerical superiority to reject the bills. Another tactic employed by the legislators when they are in minority is to stage a walkout at the time of discussion of important bills. They deliberately indulge in such behaviour so that later on they can accuse the government of passing the bills without deliberating upon it in the parliament.
Earlier in February 2021, PM Modi had asked the opposition party members to deliberate upon the three farm laws that were passed by the government in September 2020. The laws, in some form or the other, were promoted by most opposition parties, including Congress, TMC, when they were in power or in their poll manifestos. However, in the wake of the farmer protests against the bill, they back-pedalled on their stance and vehemently opposed the laws aimed at modernising agriculture. So when PM Modi called for an all-party discussion on the laws in Feb 2021, the opposition staged a walkout and refused to debate over the issue.
As for the suspension of the opposition members, the Indian constitution invests power in the chair of the House to suspend legislators he deems to be indisciplined. And the same Constitution allows the working of the parliament in absence of the suspended members, lest legislators would use suspensions as an incentive to disrupt and delay the proceedings of the parliament.
Therefore, Rahul Gandhi’s grumblings against the functioning of the parliament appear nothing more than a disingenuous tirade, aimed at painting the Centre in a bad light while relieving the opposition of its responsibility of putting up strong checks and balances to rein in the government. In a sense, Rahul is trying to pull a veil over the shameful abdication of duty of the opposition parties and passing the buck on the Centre for their own inadequacies.
Moreover, parliament is meant for civilised, healthy debates and not a place where minorities can bully the ruling party into submission with crass, uncouth and extortionist behaviour. The BJP has the numbers and it is but natural that they will leverage its numerical advantage to pass the bills to their liking.
