NEW DELHI: After a two-week virtual washout since the start of the monsoon session on July 18, the two Houses of Parliament are likely to return to work next week with a debate on price hikes, one of the main demands of the opposition, sources said. Lok Sabha is likely to have the debate when the House meets on Monday, followed by Rajya Sabha.
Opposition leaders protested inside and outside the House for a discussion on price hikes, the GST on daily essentials and some other issues. The unrest has also led opposition parties to close ranks even after the discordant notes seen during the presidential elections.
The protests also saw the suspension of 23 members of Rajya Sabha and four of Lok Sabha for “unruly behavior”. On Wednesday, the suspended MPs had even started a 50-hour dharna relay inside the Parliament premises.
If the Lok Sabha resumes the price hike debate on Monday, followed by Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, the opposition will “finally be able to make its way after shaking for 37 days to raise issues in the House,” according to TMC MP Derek O’Brien.
On Thursday and Friday, the Chambers remained paralyzed over the problem of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhuryrashtrapati‘reference to President Droupadi Murmu after the confrontation in the Lok Sabha chamber between Sonia Gandhi and the Union Minister Smriti Irani. Opposition parties stuck firmly behind Sonia when she was targeted by BJP members.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and Rajya Sabha leader Piyush Goyal had previously said the government was ready for a debate once Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, recovering from Covid, returned to work.
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