New Delhi : The weather in the Capital is slowly moving towards a cold winter, but the political temperature shows little signs of coming down. Sensing the possible political heat in the winter session of Parliament, Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan has penned a ” reflective missive” to all members virtually imploring them to learn from various examples like the sea, the rivers and even the jungle king to remain within their limits and ”maintain decorum.”
Mahajan, who had suspended 25 of the 44 Congress MPs during the previous monsoon session for ”disrupting the proceedings,” wrote: “In every aspect of life, everybody expects decent and moral behaviour from each other. As Speaker, can I expect that in the Lok Sabha, which we call the temple of democracy, we all will show behaviour as per the acceptable decorum, so that the prestige and purity of the House is upheld?”
The suspensions during the monsoon session had taken place as Opposition and the government remained deadlocked for weeks after demands were made for the removal of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over various controversies. There has been no change in the political situation over these issues, and on the contrary a large number of other issues like price rise and growing intolerance have been added to the list of the opposition’s agenda.
In her letter, Mahajan has also acknowledged the possibility of differences, but also advised restraint saying: ‘‘It is not unusual to have differences of opinion in a democracy on any platform of ideas. Up to this, it is fine. But, at times, beyond the agreements and disagreements, decency is thrown to the winds, that leads to a situation of deadlock. In that situation, there is a negative impact on all of us, and on the entire country. “
One of the key legislations that is expected to figure in this session is the major economic reform to introduce a uniform rate of taxation through the GST bill. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley is reported to be working on some changes in the present bill, so as to make it more acceptable to the Congress party. The BJP does not have the numbers to get the bill past the Rajya Sabha, and the Congress support hinges on some demands that have been consistently rejected by the government. In order to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament, union parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu will meet leaders of the National Democratic Alliance in both Houses on Tuesday, a day before he holds an all party-meeting on November 25 to reach out to opposition.
