Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting the Union Budget on Saturday.
With the Budget Session of Parliament underway, speeches by two prominent women are dominating the news space: The President’s address to a joint session of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on Friday, and the Union Finance Minister’s Budget speech on Saturday.
Talking about prominent women, let’s take a look at the percentage of women Members of Parliament in the Lok Sabha of the six largest political parties. The Telugu Desam Party has six per cent women MPs, the Bharatiya Janata Party has 13 per cent, the Indian National Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Samajwadi Party have 14 per cent each. The All India Trinamool Congress walks the talk with 39 per cent women MPs.
Here are some notes from my diary on what to expect, and what not to expect, in this ongoing session of Parliament.
Coldplay and Kumbh: At the two new cafeterias for MPs, will parliamentarians discuss how many of their colleagues watched the music concert in Mumbai? Or sipped Diet Coke in “dry” Ahmedabad? Or, will the Coldplay chatter over hot coffee lose out to the Kumbh Mela? The deaths of hapless pilgrims. Or, Yogi Adityanath and Amit Shah competing to turn a sacred dip into a photo op?
Fish ban: Even MPs who are against the very idea of banning anything have been calling for a ban on the basa fish that’s served in the Parliament canteen. Basa is a type of catfish that can adapt to extreme conditions, absorbing nutrients even from contaminated waters. Thus, it has a very high probability of carrying toxins in its body. Tasteless. Avoidable. But there are far more important issues to fight for, and bigger fish to catch!
Rajya Sabha MPs in Lok Sabha: MPs from the House of the People (Lok Sabha) are never allowed to be seated in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha). But the reverse happens. Now that the hallowed Central Hall is not used for joint sittings, the joint session takes place in the Lok Sabha.
As is convention, the President’s Address is written by the Union government. Political observers and opponents will track the number of times the following words/phrases are mentioned in the address: Price rise, youth unemployment, falling rupee, states deprived of funds, Manipur.
Missing Deputy Speaker: Even though the BJP had a comfortable majority in the 17th Lok Sabha (2019-24), the House never had a Deputy Speaker. Nothing has changed in the 18th Lok Sabha. Still no sign of a Deputy Speaker. I will bet my house that the NDA coalition, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will not fill this crucial constitutional position even during the ongoing session.
Who will speak the most: In the previous session of Parliament, excluding discussions on Bills and the Constitution, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha spoke for over four-and-a-half hours, or nearly 30 per cent of the time of the House. This was a record. Will the record be broken?
Impeachment motion: For the first time in history, an impeachment motion was filed against the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who is also the Vice President of India. The motion was dismissed on the grounds of technical impropriety. Will the Opposition submit a fresh motion? Wait and watch.
Bill scrutiny: In the 15th Lok Sabha (2009-14), seven out of 10 Bills were sent to parliamentary committees for scrutiny. In the 17th Lok Sabha (2019-24), this number came down to only two out of 10 Bills being sent for scrutiny. It’s unlikely this will improve in the 18th Lok Sabha.
Matters of urgent public importance: MPs have the right to call the attention of a minister to a matter of urgent public importance, following which the minister makes a brief statement and members seek clarifications. MPs may also draw the attention of the government to matters of urgent public importance by raising a discussion of short duration without a formal motion or voting. In the last session, no calling attention motions or short duration discussions were allowed in either House of Parliament.
Waqf Bill: Some political pundits were of the opinion that the Union government would bulldoze the Waqf Amendment Bill before the Delhi elections. That cannot happen. The Rajya Sabha has notified that February 3, 4, and 6 (the House will not be sitting on February 5 due to the Delhi elections) have been allocated for discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address.
Special invitee?: With the redevelopment of the Parliament premises, many regulars feel that the statue of Mahatma Gandhi has lost its place of prominence. In June last year, the statue was shifted to a less significant spot in the precincts. A colleague with a dark sense of humour suggested that Swami Pradiptananda, aka Kartik Maharaj, who was recently awarded a Padma Shri, might even be invited to the original location (at the entrance to Parliament) where the statue of the Mahatma once stood. Why? He is the same person who publicly said that it is “India’s misfortune that Mohandas Gandhi is considered the Father of the Nation”.
