Monsoon Session washed out; INDIA bloc skips customary tea

NEW DELHI: Marred by protests by the opposition throughout its sittings, Parliament's monsoon session turned out to be all but a washout, more so in terms of debates, and the rancour was reflected in the decision of Congress and its allies to keep away from the customary get-together over tea at Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's chamber at the session's conclusion.PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah - both attacked by the opposition for not attending Parliament proceedings - were present in LS as Birla skipped his practice of summing up the House's performance and brought the curtains down on the session as soon as business started.BJP squarely blamed leader of the opposition in LS Rahul Gandhi as the House's productivity plunged to a low of 19% - it was 39% for Rajya Sabha - saying proceedings were sacrificed "at the altar of his arrogance, delinquency and sense of entitlement".Congress blamed govt's refusal to heed the opposition's demands, including a discussion on the theft of donations at Ram temple and Modi's statement on the issue.Govt, however, pushed through its legislative agenda in the din, as Parliament passed 12 bills. Only one of them, Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, had the opposition agreeing to discussion, as it allowed it to raise the issue of the NEET-UG paper leak student protest.The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill was sent to a joint parliamentary committee for scrutiny due to protests from the opposition and church bodies, while govt's widely speculated move to revive a Constitution amendment bill to raise LS's strength by 50% and execute a one-third quota for women from 2029 did not come to pass.Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said Congress kept changing the goalpost as govt had agreed to its demands . "This is not good for democracy," he said. He reached out to Rahul to attend the tea but the LoP refused.With many in NDA of the view that some opposition MPs are unhappy with the uncompromising hardline taken by their brass, BJP kept its attack focused on Rahul.BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said Rahul may think such "irresponsible" conduct would benefit him but Congress was bound to suffer more electoral defeats as people did not appreciate such arrogance. "Parliament is not a theatre. It will not function under your sense of entitlement and exceptionalism. This attitude of 'my way or the highway' will not work," he said.Congress claimed govt was scared like never before. Opposition unity and solidarity was on full display, RS MP Jairam Ramesh said.RS chairperson C P Radh-akrishnan expressed concern over "persistent disorder and frequent disruptions", saying loss of working hours deprived the House of meaningful discussion and debate on matters of national importance.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.