Congress MP Jairam Ramesh has outlined what he described as five major achievements for the opposition from the recently concluded Monsoon Session of Parliament, pointing to the deferment of several government initiatives and what he called the ruling alliance’s failure to secure the numbers needed for future legislative changes.
Speaking about the session, Ramesh said the government had intended to bring several major measures before Parliament but could not move ahead with some of them. He cited the postponement of the One Nation, One Election legislation as his first major point.
“The first achievement is that the One Nation, One Election bill, which the government intended to introduce during this session, has been deferred until the winter session,” Ramesh said.
He then referred to the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, which he alleged would result in the centralisation of universities. According to Ramesh, the report related to the legislation has also been deferred.
“the second major success concerns the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill that seeks the massive centralization of all universities…the report was deferred until the winter session,” he said.
Ramesh raises 130th Constitutional Amendment
Ramesh’s third point concerned the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, which proposed provisions relating to the removal of ministers, chief ministers and prime ministers from office under certain circumstances.
He claimed that the parliamentary process examining the legislation was still underway when the government decided that the report would not be tabled during the Monsoon Session.
“the third bill was the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirtieth Amendment) Bill, which proposed the automatic dismissal of ministers, Chief Ministers, and Prime Ministers…the report was being finalized, and a clause-by-clause discussion was underway, but it was announced mid-meeting that the report would not be presented in this session,” Ramesh said.
FCRA Bill also figures in Congress claims
Ramesh also spoke about the proposed Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) changes, claiming that there had been considerable speculation that the legislation would be introduced during the session.
He alleged that the government had been firm about bringing the bill but said its introduction did not happen.
“for the past 10 days, there was a massive media buzz suggesting the FCRA bill was just around the corner; the Home Minister remained absolutely adamant that it would be introduced. Then came a call from the US Vice President, and we saw the result. There was pressure from us and from various organizations, but the US Vice President’s intervention was certainly a factor,” he said.
‘They do not have two-thirds majority’
For his fifth point, Ramesh turned to the numbers in Parliament. He alleged that the government had attempted to secure a two-thirds majority by engineering political splits, which he linked to its plans concerning delimitation.
“There is a fifth achievement as well. They were so eager for a tainted two-thirds majority; they engineered splits in parties, breaking the TMC and the Shiv Sena, and attempting to break others, all to secure that tainted two-thirds majority needed to pass the delimitation Bill,” Ramesh said.
He claimed that the government’s efforts had not resulted in the required numbers.
“now, it has become clear that there is no two-thirds majority. They do not have this majority, and they never will, no matter how hard they try,” Ramesh added.
Ramesh’s remarks came after the conclusion of the Monsoon Session, with the Congress seeking to portray the government’s inability to advance several proposed measures as a political setback.
