Congress walks out of all-party meet to 'protect Constitution'

Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and AAP walked out of the all-party meeting ahead of the Monsoon Session. Congress cited protecting the Constitution, while others protested against the recognition of rebel MPs and alleged 'hijacking' of lawmakers.

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari on Sunday said that they walked out from the all-party meeting, held earlier today, in support of what happened with other opposition parties, including Aam Aadmi Party, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Trinamool Congress.

Speaking to the media, Tiwari said that the Congress walked out to protect the Constitution. "The way the Constitution was disregarded and whatever happened with TMC, Aam Aadmi Party, and Shiv Sena, Congress has also walked out in their support and to protect the Constitution," he said.

Opposition Parties Voice Protest

Echoing similar concerns, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant questioned the recognition granted to rebel MPs and said his party had also opposed the move by walking out of the House. "The affliation granted to them (Rebel MPs), where is that term in the books of law? We too have protested against it and walked out of the house."

Raising the issue from the Aam Aadmi Party's perspective, AAP Rajya Sabha MP ND Gupta alleged that several of his party's MPs had been "hijacked" and said the matter was still pending before the authorities. "In our case, of 10 MPs of the Rajya Sabha, 7 have been hijacked and our petition to decide whether this is valid or not is pending. In spite of this fact, they have allotted independent separate seats in the Rajya Sabha. This is a mere hijack and murder of the democracy," he said.

Link to Women's Reservation Bill, Delimitation

Meanwhile, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji linked the issue to the government's handling of the Women's Reservation Bill and the proposed delimitation process, saying the Opposition had concerns over the way both issues were being connected. "You can see how the BJP has been bringing MPs from other parties into its fold. They are likely still short of the required numbers by about six seats. Therefore, they would inevitably need to rely on the INDIA opposition bloc. They tried to link the Women's Reservation Bill, which we had already unanimously passed in 2023 without any dispute, to the delimitation process. We all support women's reservation, but there were apprehensions regarding the way they sought to introduce delimitation alongside it, particularly concerning the composition of the Delimitation Commission," she said.

Invitation to Rebel Faction Triggers Walkout

Earlier in the day, Opposition parties staged a "walkout" from the all-party meeting convened by the government ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament over Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju extending an invitation to the National Citizens Party of India to take part in the meeting. They said the move was against the norms, and the TMC rebel MPs' merger into "so-called NCPI" has not been approved by the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Speculation Ahead of Monsoon Session

Meanwhile, the Monsoon Session of Parliament is set to begin on July 20 and is scheduled to end on August 13. The mergers have ignited speculation around the Centre bringing back the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which proposes an increase in the number of seats in the Lok Sabha up to 850 and implementing the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in legislatures.

The NDA is likely to move closer to the two-thirds majority mark of 360 in the House of 540 members, with three seats currently vacant. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)