Combative Opposition, defiant govt — Parliament logjam lingers

Hardly any business has been transacted in the first three weeks of the monsoon session owing to Opposition protests and government’s failure to break the logjam. Among the longest in the recent history, the session will last one month.

The Congress-led Opposition INDIA bloc has been stalling proceedings seeking a discussion on the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Right at the outset, the Opposition had sought a discussion on the Pahalgam attack, the subsequent Operation Sindoor and the sudden announcement of a ceasefire on May 10. The government agreed and the discussion saw participation from Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh among others.

The responses from the ruling side, however, were centred around the mistakes of leaders in the past, while amplifying the alacrity of the government action in eliminating the terrorists behind the Pahalgam attack.

The focus then shifted to the ongoing SIR, with the Opposition stalling the proceedings seeking a discussion on the contentious issue. Its argument is that the exercise will lead to exclusion of the marginalised, poor and Dalit voters in the poll-bound state.

The government has, however, been citing a ruling by former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar, wherein he had said that constitutional bodies such as the Election Commission (EC) cannot be discussed in Parliament. Since the decision on the SIR has been taken by the EC, it cannot be discussed in Parliament, the Centre has maintained.

The Opposition for its part has been blaming the Centre for hiding behind excuses, saying that the EC’s conduct and electoral reforms have been discussed several times in Parliament in the past.

In the Rajya Sabha, debates on the EC and electoral reforms date back to 1957, covering the annulment of election rules, rescheduling and postponement of polls, debates on electoral reforms in 1970, 1981, 1986, 1991 and 2015 as well as the use of money power and urgent need to amend laws.

In the Lok Sabha, too, members have raised these issues repeatedly in the past, and the Congress has brought to the notice of the Centre matters such as the postponement of elections in Bihar and Tripura, and rigging of investigations.

The Centre has adopted a largely contemptuous attitude towards the Opposition’s demands, saying it is not interested in letting Parliament function, especially when several important Bills need to be passed. At the same time, the government has chosen to remain silent on the Opposition’s demands for a discussion on Chinese aggression along the LAC. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has even gone on to say that if the need arises, the government will be forced to get Bills cleared amid Opposition’s protests. It has done exactly so and has got the Merchant Shipping Bill, Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in the Goa Assembly Constituencies Bill, 2025, and the Manipur Appropriation Bill, 2025, passed in the Lok Sabha amid bedlam. The last one, related to expenses needed to run a state under President’s rule, required a serious debate on the situation prevailing in Manipur. However, the legislation was passed without any discussion.

This has been the trend in the past sessions as well, where key legislations have been passed amid bedlam. However, the national and administrative implications of such actions are realised only much later, necessitating further amendments to these laws. This entails a lengthy revisiting of laws passed in haste. The exercise has to be carried out again that results in loss of precious parliamentary hours as well as public money.