Parliament got off to a stormy start on Monday (March 9) as it reconvened for the second half of the Budget session. While it was expected that Lok Sabha would witness pandemonium on Monday given that it was scheduled to discuss the Opposition’s motion seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla, this was not what derailed proceedings.
The Centre was stumped by the united Opposition’s vociferous demand for a discussion on the ongoing war in West Asia and its far-reaching geopolitical impact, particularly on India’s energy security. Opposition leaders in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha took strong exception to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar making a statement on “the situation in West Asia” in both Houses while their demand for a discussion on the same issue was rejected.
Opposition raises slogans in RS
In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge appealed to the Chairman, CP Radhakrishnan, to allow a short duration discussion under Rule 176 on “emerging challenges for India’s energy security” while asserting that the “fast changing geopolitical situation in West Asia is no longer limited to that region and has begun to impact India’s energy security”.
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Kharge tried to reason that allowing an immediate discussion was imperative, considering that 55 per cent of India’s crude oil imports come from countries in West Asia and disruption in this supply chain had begun to have an adverse impact on the Indian economy, particularly on energy security. The Rajya Sabha Chairman, however, rejected Kharge’s plea triggering raucous sloganeering from the Opposition benches.
As Jaishankar rose to read out his statement, Opposition MPs raised “we want discussion” slogans for some time before staging a walkout. In his statement, Jaishankar steered clear of making any mention of the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei in the joint US and Israel strikes, whose death Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to officially condole. The External Affairs minister also offered no details of the government’s assessment of the impact that the ongoing war is likely to have on India’s energy security, particularly on crude oil and LNG stocks, or what contingency plans the Centre had worked out if the war is prolonged.
‘Three guiding factors’
Instead, Jaishankar focussed largely on explaining measures that the Centre was undertaking to safely bring back Indians stranded in war-hit Iran and the wider Gulf region and simply asserted that there were “three guiding factors” in the Modi government’s approach towards the escalating crisis. “One, India is in favour of peace and urges a return to dialogue and diplomacy. We advocate de-escalation, restraint and ensuring the safety of civilians. Two, the well-being and security of the Indian community in the region is our overriding priority… And three, our national interest, including energy security and trade flows, will always be paramount,” Jaishankar said.
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The EAM made the same statement in the Lok Sabha shortly post noon amid similar scenes of chaos as had been witnessed in the Rajya Sabha earlier. However, while the Rajya Sabha did continue to function following the Opposition’s walkout, even taking up a detailed discussion on the working of the Union environment ministry; the situation in the Lok Sabha was markedly different.
Amid vociferous protests by the Opposition over the Centre’s refusal to discuss the war in the Gulf region and its impact on India, Lok Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments. Shortly after convening for the day at 11 AM, the House was first adjourned till noon following the customary obituary references, then at 12.33 PM till 3 PM and finally for the rest of the day at 3.08 PM as Opposition MPs refused to back down from their demand for a discussion on the war.
Lok Sabha adjourned for the day
With Lok Sabha being adjourned for the day at 3 PM, the discussion on the notice submitted by the Opposition seeking Birla’s removal as Speaker, which was part of Monday’s agenda, was not taken up. That the Opposition effectively derailed a discussion on a motion its own MPs were supposed to move was immediately lapped up by the Centre to slam its rivals for “irresponsible behaviour”.
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“The Opposition parties are confused. They do not know what they want to do. First, they gave a notice of no-confidence against the Speaker. Now, while that notice is pending, they have given a notice for an adjournment motion (to discuss the crisis in West Asia)… when we are ready to discuss your notice against the Speaker, then what is the meaning of coming with another notice… I have never seen such an irresponsible Opposition in my lifetime. The Opposition does not understand the basic ethics of this House… they do not understand the values of the Constitution,” Union Parliamentary Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said in the Lok Sabha as Jagdambika Pal, who was presiding over the proceedings, too slammed the Opposition MPs for disruptions.
To be sure though, the Opposition’s insistence that its motion against Birla be taken up after a discussion is allowed on the crisis in West Asia didn’t come out of the blue. The Opposition had begun to lay grounds for cornering the government on its response to the West Asia crisis on Sunday (March 8) as soon as it was known that Jaishankar would be making a statement on the subject on the first day of the post-recess session.
Late Sunday evening, Congress communications in-charge and chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh had posted on X, “It has been let known that the External Affairs Minister will make a statement in both Houses of Parliament on the situation in West Asia. The problems with such Ministerial statements are that (i) they convey little of value over and above that is already known; and more importantly (ii) MPs are not given an opportunity to seek clarifications or ask questions. What the Opposition wants is a full-fledged debate.”
Meeting of floor leaders INDIA bloc
Sources said that when Rajya Sabha’s Leader of Opposition, Kharge and his Lok Sabha counterpart, Rahul Gandhi, met floor leaders of the INDIA bloc parties on Monday morning, there was a consensus that the Opposition “must not let the Centre get away with the EAM simply making a statement in Parliament on an issue that has far-reaching implications for India across various spheres”.
Also read: Rahul: Govt not allowing discussion on West Asia fearing it would expose PM
A senior Opposition leader who was part of the floor leaders’ meeting told The Federal“There are 10 million Indians living in Iran, Israel and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries who are directly in harm’s way due to this war; our energy security is at stake because of the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and the disruption caused by the war in countries across the region from whom we import crude oil and LNG, the stock markets will also get impacted adversely; so the economic and social implications on India are huge… then there is the issue of foreign policy; we have practically abandoned non-alignment and are now pretty much standing with Israel and the US against Iran, an old ally, because our Prime Minister is under obvious pressure from (US President) Donald Trump. All of this makes it important that the government is not allowed to get away with merely a statement in Parliament, the Opposition should be allowed to question the government on all of this.”
A Congress MP, who was expected to speak on the motion seeking Birla’s removal as Lok Sabha Speaker on Monday said, “The Opposition’s motion is important and we all want it discussed but the fact is that the situation emerging in the Gulf is more important because it impacts our people and our country’s economic interests and safety directly whereas the motion seeking Birla’s removal is more about the interests of the Opposition; about how our leaders are not allowed to speak in Parliament. The government is calling us irresponsible for demanding a discussion on a subject that concerns the economic interests and energy security of 1.4 billion Indians.”
Motion against Birla likely to be taken up on Tuesday
Some in the Opposition concede that by disrupting Monday’s proceedings and not allowing the Lower House to take up the motion against Birla that 118 of its own MPs had endorsed, the INDIA bloc had given the Centre a chance to claim that while it had “agreed to debate even a motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker, it was the Opposition that ran away”. However, senior INDIA bloc leaders are of the view that since the motion against Birla will anyway be taken up for discussion, most likely on Tuesday itself, the Centre’s line of attack “will not hold for long while the Opposition has the entire second half of the Budget session to keep hammering its demand for a debate on the West Asia crisis and its impact on India.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav contextualised Monday’s events in Lok Sabha saying, “When we had submitted the notice against the Lok Sabha Speaker, the situation in Iran and West Asia was not what it is today; as political leaders, both Opposition and the Centre are duty bound to respond to emerging challenges and issues with the urgency they deserve.”
“When lives of 10 million Indians living in that region are at stake, when our energy security and our markets are at stake, when the government has been forced to increase the price of (domestic) LPG cylinders by Rs 60 as a response to what is happening in West Asia; is it not important that the government takes the country into confidence, through Parliament, on measures it is taking to deal with the unfolding crisis and safeguard our country’s interests. In such a situation, would it be right for us as the Opposition to give precedence to our motion against the Speaker and speak of our grievances instead of demanding answers from the government on issues concerning the whole country,” Yadav told The Federal.
As the ruckus unfolded, Lok Sabha’s Leader of Opposition Rahul told reporters outside Parliament that the ongoing war in West Asia could lead to a “paradigm shift in global politics” and “threaten Indian economy with huge losses”; something he claimed was “already being felt with the rise in LPG prices, the losses in the stock market and the price of crude oil reaching historic levels”.
Returning to his current pet peeve, Rahul said the discussion on West Asia was not being allowed in Parliament because “the Prime Minister is being blackmailed, he is compromised and is afraid of more revelations”.
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