Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed the Central government alleging that the Opposition was not allowed to speak in the Parliament during the recently-concluded monsoon session and termed it as “murder of democracy”.
New Delhi [India], August 12 : He said the voice of 60 per cent of the people in the country was “crushed and humiliated”. Speaking to reporters at the Vijay Chowk during a protest by the Opposition over the demand to repeal the three farm laws, the Wayanad MP said, “Today, we had to come out here to speak to you (media) as we (Opposition) are not allowed to speak in the Parliament. This is the murder of democracy.” “The Parliament session is over. As far as 60 per cent of the country is concerned there has been no Parliament session. The voice of 60 per cent of the country has been crushed, humiliated and yesterday in the Rajya Sabha physically beaten,” he said. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that the Opposition did not get a chance to present their views in the Parliament and added that the alleged attack on women MPs in Rajya Sabha was against democracy.
“The opposition did not get a chance to present their views in Parliament. Yesterday’s incident against women MPs was against democracy. It felt like we were standing at the Pakistan border,” Raut said. Hitting out at the Central government, RJP leader Manoj Jha said that the Insurance Bill was passed by the ‘Martial law’, and not the Parliament. “We had heard about the Martial law in our neighbouring country but we witnessed the situation like Martial law in the Parliament yesterday. The Insurance Bill was not passed by the Parliament, but was passed by the Martial law,” Jha said.
“We wanted to discuss the farmers’ agitation, Pegasus report, unemployment, and other issues in the Parliament but we were not given the chance to do so. The people will break the ego of the government,” he said. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the Centre does not want to run the Parliament proceedings properly. “The government is passing laws without discussions. There should be a discussion on COVID-19 vaccination, current economic situation, unemployment, farm laws but the government is running away,” he said.
Opposition parties on Thursday held a protest march against the Central government’s decision to adjourn the Parliament sine die on Wednesday, two days before the scheduled conclusion. They also demanded to repeal the three farm laws. The protest march began from Parliament and concluded at Vijay Chowk. The Opposition MPs were seen carrying the placards saying ‘black farm laws’. Ahead of the protest march, Opposition leaders also held a meeting at the office of Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss the alleged manhandling of women members in the Upper House yesterday. During the recently-concluded monsoon session of Parliament, the Opposition forced adjournments in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over their twin demands including repeal of three farm laws and probe into allegations of surveillance using Pegasus spyware.
