Jairam Ramesh calls Parliament 'pale shadow', recalls Nehru's era

Jairam Ramesh slammed the Centre, calling Parliament a 'pale shadow' of its past. He cited a 1954 debate where Nehru gave more time to the Opposition, contrasting it with the current stalemate over Rahul Gandhi's address in the Lok Sabha.

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday took a jibe at the Centre, calling the Parliament a "pale shadow of its former self" amid a stalemate in the Lok Sabha over Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's address.

Ramesh shared an excerpt from the 1954 Parliamentary debate on a resolution to remove the Speaker, in which former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru asked the Deputy Speaker to grant the Opposition more time despite a massive majority in the House. Jairam Ramesh's post comes in the backdrop of Congress MPs signing a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, sources said on Monday.

Ramesh Cites Nehru's Accommodating Approach

"In the First Lok Sabha, the Indian National Congress had 364 out of a total of 489 seats. And this was the approach of the then Prime Minister when there was not even a recognised Leader of the Opposition. The Parliament that Nehru built up day-after-day by sitting, speaking, listening, and accommodating is now a pale shadow of its former self," the Congress leader wrote on X.

Excerpt from 1954 Lok Sabha Debate

The excerpt shared by Ramesh read, "On the afternoon of December 18, 1954, the Lok Sabha took up a Resolution moved by the Opposition for the removal of the Speaker. This is how the debate began: Deputy Speaker: The House will now take up the Resolution. Jawaharlal Nehru: Sir, may I make a submission to the House? You were pleased to allot two hours for this discussion. Deputy Speaker: Yes, from 3.30 PM to 5.30 PM."

"Jawaharlal Nehru: Normally, you do adopt some kind of proportion, but I should like to submit that in this particular case, more time should be allowed to the Opposition than to the Government Benches. We do not wish to take too much time, and I hope, hon. Members on this side will not take too much time of the House in their speeches. Naturally, we will have to say something, which we will do. But I would submit for your consideration that the Opposition should have more time," the excerpt from the discussion read.

Stalemate Over Rahul Gandhi's Address

Ramesh took a dig at the Centre as the Opposition alleged that the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, was not allowed to speak in the House during the discussion on the motion of Thanks to the President's Address. Gandhi cited General MM Naravane's unpublished memoir to discuss the 2020 standoff against China.

No-Confidence Motion Against Speaker

Meanwhile, the no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has the support of the Samajwadi Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has not yet declared its position. Congress' floor managers are in talks with other parties. Sources said that the party has clarified that it has enough MPs to submit a no-confidence motion notice. Even if one or two parties do not support it, Congress intends to move the motion within the constitutional timeframe.

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