No division, but sharply divided in the House
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi shook hands and ushered the newly-elected Speaker Om Birla to his chair, the Lok Sabha livened up to the spirit of consensual yet competitive politics.
But within a couple of hours, the momentary bonhomie gave way to both the Treasury benches and the Opposition digging into their entrenched positions. All it took was for Om Birla to call upon the Congress to condemn the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, and observe its 50th anniversary.
The Opposition immediately termed it as a “divisive statement”, leading to the first disruption and abrupt adjournment in the newly-constituted 18th Lok Sabha. This suggested that an orderly functioning of the House would be a challenge despite the initial impression that a coalition government and a stronger Opposition would prompt more give and take between the two sides.
The opposition, snapped by the government's refusal to commit the post of deputy speaker to it, had fielded its candidate, eight-term MP Kodikkunnil Suresh, for the speaker post, but did not push for a vote. Although there were a few feeble demands for a division – a vote – from the opposition benches, pro tem speaker Bhartruhari Mehtab declared Prime Minister Modi's resolution nominating Birla as the speaker as accepted and others “infructuous”.
When Union Minister and JD-U MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh asked about voting, Mehtab said the declaration was already made. The Opposition did not press for a division. Gandhi, who was appointed the Leader of Opposition on Tuesday, came forward to the treasury benches to congratulate Birla who was seated at the front row. Modi, Gandhi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijijju ushered Birla to the podium and he occupied the chair for the consecutive second term.
The issue of division became contentious outside the Lok Sabha. While the NDA leaders alleged that the opposition refrained from seeking a vote since it did not have the numbers, Congress maintained it would be “appropriate that there be a consensus on the first day” and that it was a “constructive step from our end.” However, its ally Trinamool Congress alleged that the Treasury benches were not sure of its numbers. “The election was not conducted in accordance with the law... Several members sought for division but were not allowed. Division was not held because the NDA did not have enough numbers for their motion,” TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee told reporters outside.
Inside the House, the Opposition tried to convey a strong message even as it felicitated the new Speaker. Unlike in the past when BJP enjoyed a clear majority, the Opposition leaders made it clear their voices need to be heard given their large numbers. “I am confident that you will allow us to represent our voice, allow us to speak, to represent the voice of people of India,” said Rahul Gandhi.
Many others including TMC’s Sudip Bandhopadhyay and SP’s Akhilesh Yadav recalled the suspension of around 150 MPs during the last Lok Sabha. Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of Samajwadi Party (SP), the third largest party in the House, hoped that actions like suspension of MPs would not be taken as they hurt the dignity of the House. Bandyopadhyay said: “It is my firm belief and so far as parliamentary democratic practice is concerned, the House belongs to the Opposition. This attitude needs to be adopted by the ruling party.”
What took the Opposition’s goat was the more than seven-minute-long statement on Emergency in which Birla condemned the “dark period” in the country’s democratic history and said the democratic values of India were crushed and the freedom of expression was strangled, that evaporated any signs of harmony in the House. This seemed to be an attempt to single out the Congress in the INDIA bloc; and indeed, it was only the Congress MPs who stood up and started raising slogans.
The ruling BJP and its allies, meanwhile, demonstrated outside at the Makar Dwar of the new Parliament building. The MPs, including senior ministers, raised banners that read “Horrors of Emergency: Some things never change” and “Dictatorial Mentality of Congress’s Reality” and shouted, “Maafi mango, maafi mango, Emergency ke liye maafi mango.”
Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw, Pralhad Joshi, Kiren Rijiju, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Gajendra Singh Sekhawat and Lalan Singh joined other MPs in attacking the Congress.
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