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India’s Parliament concluded its least productive session in more than a year, marred by brawls between lawmakers and opposition calls for investigations into Gautam Adani, the billionaire businessman and ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The latest sign of discord came Thursday, as members of Modi’s governing party filed a police case against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over a scuffle that they said ended with two of their members being hospitalized.
The opposition Indian National Congress said its members were attacked during a protest at the parliament’s New Delhi compound. Gandhi on Thursday said that leaders of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party confronted them with sticks as they attempted to enter the parliament building.
The chaotic week underscored the escalating tensions between India’s ruling BJP and the opposition after Modi’s party lost its majority in the parliament following six-week elections that concluded in June. The deepening polarization has caused normal business to stall, with barely any legislative discussions taking place and most sessions adjourning on and off through the day.
India’s lower house of parliament has functioned for about 60 hours during the 19-day session, making it the least productive parliamentary period since the session concluding in July 2023, according to the latest data by PRS Legislative Research. For the upper house, the number of functioning hours plummeted to about 43.4.
None of the bills listed to be taken up in this session have been passed by both houses and only two debates took place over the three week session, according to PRS. The opposition in the meantime filed a motion of no-confidence against the speaker of the upper house, Jagdeep Dhankhar, citing bias against the opposition during the proceedings.
This year’s national election resulted in the opposition having more power in the lower house than any time in 10 years, leaving it better able to mount protests against the ruling coalition and push for discussions on contentious issues.
Opposition lawmakers began the winter session of parliament on Nov. 25 calling for a debate about the US indictment of tycoon Adani in an alleged bribery plot. The lawmakers shouted slogans and loudly interrupted the proceedings until speakers were forced to adjourn.
Recently, lawmakers had also raised issues about the violence in the northeastern state of Manipur and the recent spike in pollution.
This week’s chaos kicked off after opposition members complained about comments by Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah about one of the key drafters of India’s constitution. The members called for Shah’s resignation after the remarks — which were taken as an insult to lower castes — and tensions escalated throughout the week.
At the beginning of the session, Modi warned the opposition against disrupting proceedings and asked for a “healthy debate”. On Friday morning, Dhankhar reprimanded the politicians for the chaos. “We fail our citizens through conduct. These parliamentary disruptions mock public trust and expectations.”
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