NEW DELHI: Acceding to the Opposition’s demand, the Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a motion extending the time for the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on Waqf Amendment Bill to submit its report on the controversial legislation till the last day of the Budget session next year.
The development was seen as an attempt to end the logjam in Parliament, which witnessed noisy scenes and subsequent washout of proceedings for the third consecutive day after its opening for the winter session.
The motion was passed even as the Congress-led Opposition protested in the Lower House demanding a debate on the Adani issue and the violence in Manipur and Sambhal.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the conduct of the Congress was “condemnable as the motion for extending the joint panel’s report submission deadline was brought on its request”. The Lok Sabha could not function beyond 12 minutes and was adjourned for the day, seconds after the motion was adopted.
Incidentally, the motion to extend the joint panel’s tenure was moved a day after the government had accepted the Opposition’s other demand of having a discussion on the Constitution in Parliament. Sources said the discussion in the Rajya Sabha was to begin on December 2 (Monday), which, the BJP-led treasury benches were hoping, would lead to a thaw in the logjam.
With the Trinamool Congress having indicated to the Congress that it was more keen on raising public-centric issues like the Sambhal and Manipur violence along with price rise rather than focusing too much on the Adani issue, sources in the INDIA bloc said it remained to be seen what kind of floor management was in place next week in the Lok Sabha as the Rajya Sabha would be busy with the discussion on the Constitution.
On Thursday, the Rajya Sabha too did not see any business as the proceedings were washed out within 15 minutes after an initial adjournment in the morning.
During the brief period when the Rajya Sabha met, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar “pleaded” with the Opposition to let the House run. He said that the MPs had missed a historic opportunity to be productive as the occasion marked the start of the final quarter century before the Constitution turned 100. He said parliamentary disruption was not a remedy, but a malady. “It weakens our foundation,” he said.