New Delhi: The newly installed Narendra Modi government was tested in Parliament on the first day of the budget session with the treasury and opposition benches locking horns on Monday.
Question hour was blocked in both Houses by an irate opposition.
While the Lok Sabha witnessed repeated disruptions leading to daylong adjournment, the two sides traded allegations and counter-allegations amid noisy scenes.
Slogan-shouting started as soon as the Lok Sabha started its proceedings at 11 as the ideologically divided opposition parties closed ranks in a bid to corner the Modi government, which took charge of the nation on May 26 following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) massive victory in the general elections.
The opposition had moved an adjournment motion to discuss the price increase issue.
The deadlock had however started even before the session began as the Modi government outrightly declined debate under rules that entail voting, despite commanding a brute majority while agreeing to discuss the issue.
Since the ruling party is unlikely to blink, the deadlock is expected to continue for some time as finance minister Arjun Jaitley, who is leader of the house in the Rajya Sabha, tried to blame the price rises on the previous Manmohan Singh government in his response to a debate.
“Prices of some commodities rise because lack of supply, it is not possible to fill this gap in this gap in five weeks ... what surprises me is that the party which brought the economy to this stage wants put the blame on someone else today,” Jaitley said in his response to the debate much to the annoyance of the opposition which walked out in protest after his reply.
In the Lok Sabha, Minister For Parliamentary Affairs M. Venkaiah Naidu also tried to blame the Manmohan Singh government for the rise in prices of essential commodities.
“You cannot hold a one month old government responsible for price rise ...” Naidu was heard saying amid a din created by the slogan-shouting opposition.
The BJP and its allies have absolute majority in the Lok Sabha and the government faces no threat of getting defeated even if it accepted the demand for voting.
“We will not allow it as the opposition has nefarious ideas of dividing the NDA (BJP-led National Democratic Alliance),” said a BJP leader.
BJP suspects that since the inflation is a sensitive issue, some of its allies may decide to vote against the government with an eye on the upcoming assembly elections later this year.
With the two sides appearing adamant, the deadlock is expected to continue for some time.
In between, however, the opposition may allow some important business to be conducted including presentation of railway budget on Monday, followed by presentation of economic survey on Tuesday and budget on Wednesday.
Prices of some essential commodities like potatoes and onion have risen suddenly while the Modi government announced increases in railway passenger and freight fares last month in its bid to bring the railways out of the red and mobilise funds for its modernisation.
