Stage set for govt, Oppn MPs’ face-off on Constitution in RS

The Rajya Sabha will take up on Monday a two-day discussion on 75 years of the Constitution in the backdrop of a turbulent last week in the Upper House

The Rajya Sabha will take up on Monday a two-day discussion on 75 years of the Constitution in the backdrop of a turbulent last week in the Upper House. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will initiate the debate while leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge is set to be the first speaker from the opposite side.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar greets as he arrives to conduct the proceedings of the House during the Winter Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Friday. (ANI)

Union home minister Amit Shah will be replying to the debate in the Rajya Sabha, government functionaries indicated.

The Lok Sabha witnessed a spirited discussion on the 75-year journey of the Constitution of India last week, with its share of attacks and counter-attacks between the treasury and the opposition benches, but avoided any major disruption and adjournments.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have traded allegations over the last week over alleged links of the principal opposition party to US billionaire George Soros and bribery charges against the Adani Group. The commotion is likely to steer narratives during the debate. Some lawmakers from both parties did not rule out the possibility of the debate on the Constitution turning into an all-out verbal war between the two sides.

Opposition leaders maintain that the discussion in Rajya Sabha might take place at a different scale. “The way the opposition and the ruling side sparred over issues such as George Soros, Adani and the opposition’s notice for the removal of Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, it is possible that the issues might find its way in the debate on Constitution,” an opposition leader said.

Derek O’Brien, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader in the Rajya Sabha, said: “We want Parliament to run, we want to raise issues affecting people. If BJP does not disrupt Parliament again, we will take up the debate on the Constitution and expose them.”

The BJP is expected to have strong line up of speakers, including Sitharaman, leader of the House and Union health minister JP Nadda, petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri, environment minister Bhupender Yadav, lawmakers Ghanshyam Tiwari, Surendra Nagar, Sudhansu Trivedi and Brijlal. Sitharaman will be the first speaker in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, while Nadda will speak on Tuesday.

Besides party chief Kharge, the Congress will rely on senior leaders like Abhishek Singhvi, Randeep Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Naseer Hussain as key speakers in the debate.

O’Brien told HT that the TMC may line up as many as 10 speakers during its stipulated time. The third largest party in the Rajya Sabha, TMC’s participants will include its floor leader O’Brien, who will speak after Nadda and Kharge, Saket Gokhale, Sagarika Ghose, and Nadimul Haq.

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has picked Debashish Samantaray as its opening speaker, who will be followed by Subhash Khuntia, Sulata Deo, Muzibulla Khan and Niranjan Bishi.

The atmosphere in the Rajya Sabha is even more tensed following the submission of a notice signed by 60 opposition lawmakers seeking removal of chairman Dhankhar. While the Opposition’s notice saw a number of ministers rallying behind Dhankhar, Kharge’s public outburst against the chair created a further rift between two sides.

Kharge raised “serious concerns” over Dhankhar’s “impartiality” while highlighting 10 issues including suppression of “Opposition voices” and “Bias in Sansad TV coverage”, launching another round of public attack on the Vice President even as the ruling dispensation stood steadfast in Dhankhar’s support.