Opposition boycotts Parliament; BJP-led NDA seeks to turn it into battle of 'Bihar pride'

The Opposition on Tuesday announced the boycott of Parliament till the suspension of its eight MPs are revoked even as the BJP-led NDA sought to play the 'Bihar pride' card ahead of the Assembly elections in the state with Deputy Chairman Harivansh going on a 24-hour fast, serving tea to protesting lawmakers and Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeting in his support.

The government insisted that it could revoke the suspension of the lawmakers, who were accused of "unruly behaviour" during the passage of two contentious agriculture Bills in Rajya Sabha on Sunday, if they expressed regret even as the eight MPs sat on an overnight sit-in protest in Parliament House, which ended soon after Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad announced the boycott.

The announcement was made by Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad in Rajya Sabha in the morning and Leader of Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in Lok Sabha in the evening.

Follow live updates on the Parliament's Monsoon Session here

DH on Monday reported about the Opposition's plan to boycott Rajya Sabha on the issue of suspension of MPs.

The day started with 'Gandhigiri' by Harivansh, a JD(U) MP from Bihar who is in the eye of the controversy with the Opposition accusing him of not allowing voting on the contentious "anti-farmer" Bills, by driving to Parliament House and serving tea to the protesting MPs and later announcing that he will observe a 24-hour fast, which Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu described as a "Gandhian way and JP's (Jaiprakash Narayan) way".

Also read — Suspended Rajya Sabha MPs hold indefinite protest in Parliament

Modi followed it up with tweets saying, "To personally serve tea to those who attacked and insulted him a few days ago as well as those sitting on dharna shows that Harivansh-ji has been blessed with a humble mind and a big heart. It shows his greatness. I join the people of India in congratulating Harivansh-ji.”

He highlighted that Harivansh is an MP from Bihar and said, “For centuries, the great land of Bihar has been teaching us the values of democracy. In line with that wonderful ethos...Harivansh-ji’s inspiring and statesman like conduct this morning will make every democracy lover proud."

Congress chief whip Jairam Ramesh responded, “The shadow of the forthcoming Bihar elections has fallen over Parliament now. It is all very well for Constitutional authorities to demand respect. They must, in fact, command respect by their non-partisan actions.”

Bihar is going to polls in the next couple of months and in the past two days, NDA leaders have been raking up the 'Bihar pride' claim through Harivansh. However, the Opposition was not impressed and continued to target Harivansh. They said the NDA strategy would not work and the farmers of the country would rise in revolt against the Bill.

Suspended MP and CPI(M) Rajya Sabha leader Elamaram Kareem told DH that Harivansh's visit to their protest site was "nothing but drama" and one staged for the cameras.

Congress Deputy Leader Anand Sharma said Harivansh was "shedding crocodile tears" for Parliamentary democracy after “brazenly violating” rules and his "token fast" was "nothing but a farce". "Hypocrisy will not wash away the sin of doing injustice to India's farmers," Sharma tweeted.

Also Read | Derek O'Brien, 7 other Rajya Sabha MPs suspended for remainder of Monsoon Session over uproar on Farm Bills

Rajya Sabha witnessed passionate speeches by Azad, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda (JD-S), Tirchi Siva (DMK), K Keshava Rao (TRS) and Praful Patel (NCP ) demanding revocation of suspension while Leader of House Tawarchand Gehlot, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and JD(U) floor leader RCP Singh training guns at the Opposition.

Soon after Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, Azad raised the issue of suspension of MPs and the incidents of Sunday and said nobody would be happy about what transpired on Sunday but highlighted that the "last straw that broke the camel's back" came when Harivansh did not allow voting on the motion to send the Bills to Select Committees.

Emphasising that he would not approve the breaking of microphones or standing on table by three MPs inside Rajya Sabha, Azad said the Leader of Opposition is being reduced to be a mere member as restrictions are put on the time he could take for his interventions.

Announcing the boycott of Rajya Sabha, he set three conditions for the Opposition's return to the House -- government bring a new bill to rein in private players and ensure that they adhere to Minimum Support Price for agricultural products, ensuring MSP as per M S Swaminathan Commission report and revoking suspension of the MPs.

Ramesh cited seven reasons for the boycott of the session, which included the manner in which the Bills were "bulldozed" and the suspension of MPs without listening to them, the manner in which the Leader of Opposition was not allowed to speak and not referring Bills to Parliamentary panels.

Gehlot said Azad was trying to defend the Opposition MPs' conduct, which the latter himself described as unfortunate.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the government will not press for continuation of suspension of MPs if they expressed regret. "Is it not painful that the Opposition MPs almost attacked the Deputy Chairman? One marshal was attacked, they threw papers at the Chair. Is it the right way?" he said.

JD(U)’s Singh opposed any move to revoke the suspensions and said the intention of the MPs should be taken into consideration though they are talking about emotions. "They are sitting on a dharna as if they are fighting for independence," he said. Harivansh is a JD(U) MP.