The Winter Session of the Parliament got off to a decidedly rocky start on 27 December, after lawmakers met after a four-day break for the Christmas weekend. Both Houses of Parliament saw uproar over Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde’s controversial statement on secularism.
- Ruckus in Lok Sabha over Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde’s controversial comments on secularism and the Constitution
- Government and the Opposition reaches truce in the Rajya Sabha over Narendra Modi’s attack against Manmohan Singh
- Lok Sabha passes The Goods & Services Tax (Compensation to States) Amendment Bill 2017
Lok Sabha Paralysed by Hegde's Comment
The Opposition today virtually paralysed the Lok Sabha proceedings demanding dismissal of Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde for his controversial comments on secularism and the Constitution while the government appeared to distance itself from his comments.
Raising the issue in the House which witnessed repeated adjournments, Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, quoting Hegde said the minister compared those supporting secularism to "children of unknown parentage", besides denigrating Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution.
Calling the remarks totally unacceptable, the Congress leader further said, "It means we all who support secular thoughts are not born to their parents."
The Congress members also displayed posters demanding immediate sacking of Hegde, who is the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Kharge alleged that Hegde had also denigrated the architect of the Constitution, BR Ambedkar, by his remarks that the current dispensation came to power to "change" it.
The Opposition uproar led to several adjournments of the House.
Rejecting Kharge's comments, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar claimed the Congress leader was trying to distort what Hegde had said. He, however, did not comment on Hegde's remarks or try to defend him.
Truce in Rajya Sabha
The government and the Opposition reached a truce on Wednesday in the Rajya Sabha over Narendra Modi's attack against his predecessor Manmohan Singh during the Gujarat polls with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saying the prime minister didn't question Singh's commitment to the nation.
Following Jaitley's statement, the Congress also reciprocated by disapproving of Mani Shankar Aiyar's criticism of the prime minister after which the House resumed normal business.
"The statement (by Modi) did not question nor did he mean to question the commitment of Manmohan Singh or Hamid Ansari, the former Vice President. Any such perception is completely erroneous. We hold these leaders in high esteem and their commitment to the nation," said Jaitley, who is Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha that has been rocked over the Congress' demand for an apology from the Prime Minister.
Following Jaitley's brief statement, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad also read out from a prepared statement in which he distanced the Congress from Aiyar's statement against Modi saying the Congress disapproves of any attempt to bring down the dignity of the Prime Minister's Office.
Aiyar had during the Gujarat polls described Modi as a "person of low level". The prime minister had said the Congress leader had called him a low caste personb=. The Congress subsequently suspended Aiyar and issued him a showcause notice and asked him to apologise.
Forest Bill (Amendment) Tabled in Rajya Sabha
The Forest (Amendment) Bill 2017 is tabled in the Rajya Sabha for discussion. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh argues against the bill. Meghraj Jain argues for the bill and states it will aid farmers.
Jaitley Denies That PM Modi Questioned Former PM Manmohan Singh
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addresses the Congress’ criticism of PM Modi who had accused the Opposition party of colluding with Pakistan during the campaigning for Gujarat elections. Modi had questioned former PM Manmohan Singh, Hamid Ansari and Mani Shankar Aiyer for attending a private dinner with Pakistani officials.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley says,“The perception that the PM questioned these leaders is held erroneously” and adds that the BJP government holds the leaders in “high esteem.”
Leader of Oppostion Ghulam Nabi Azad thanked Jaitley for the clarification and disassociated his party from Mani Shankar Aiyar’s “neech” comment.
I thank the leader of the House for clarification on what has been an issue of contention. I, on behalf of my party, say that we disassociate from any comments made by any member during elections that may have hurt PM’s dignity, also we don’t want any such thing to be said in future.