Congress Accuses Government of Keeping Parliament on 'Ventilator' Over Delimitation Bills

The Congress party on Monday alleged that the government is artificially prolonging the Monsoon Session of Parliament to buy time for securing a two-thirds majority to pass the proposed Delimitation Bills. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh described the situation as keeping Parliament on a "ventilator."

Mr. Ramesh pointed out that both Houses were adjourned sine die on August 13, yet the session has not been prorogued even after 25 days. He noted that prorogation typically occurs within three to four days of such an adjournment, making the current delay highly unusual.

Drawing a parallel with the 2015 Monsoon Session, Mr. Ramesh recalled that the government had similarly kept that session open for 28 days after adjournment. He said that in 2015, the government was hoping to gather the numbers to pass the GST Bills, which required a two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha. That effort ultimately failed, forcing the government to engage in meaningful consultations with the Opposition.

The Congress leader asserted that the current delay is driven by Union Home Minister Amit Shah's efforts to secure a "super-tainted" two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha for the Delimitation Bills. He questioned how long the government would persist before accepting that its strategy of threats and intimidation has failed.

The government's push for the delimitation-linked Constitution Amendment Bill suffered a major setback during the Budget Session. The Bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha, with 298 MPs voting in favour and 230 against, falling well short of the 352 votes needed for the required two-thirds majority.