Oppn must apologise to nation for bringing disrespect to Parliament: Govt

New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) Condemning the Opposition's 'behaviour' in the just-concluded Monsoon Session of the Parliament, the government on Thursday demanded the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha to take strictest possible action against the unruly members of Opposition, who should apologise to the nation for their conduct.

Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi, Anurag Thakur, Bhupender Yadav, V. Muraleedharan and Arjun Ram Meghwal held a joint press conference at the Shastri Bhavan here on Thursday and condemned the 'unruly' and 'violent' behaviour of the opposition parties led by the Congress.

The ministers in particular criticised the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for demeaning the parliamentary procedure.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said, "The Monsoon Session concluded yesterday, but the behaviour of the Opposition has been most unfortunate since day one. At the party meetings held a day before the commencement of the Monsoon Session, the opposition parties had indicated that they would not allow the House to run smoothly and the session would be washed out."

Joshi pointed out that the government accepted all their (Opposition's) demands like short duration discussions as asked by the opposition parties.

"The Chairman of the House allowed short duration discussions as demanded by them (Opposition) over price rise, Covid and agriculture. Despite that, the Congress and its friendly parties did not allow the Parliament to function properly," Joshi said.

Referring to the Opposition's demand for discussion on the Pegasus issue, Joshi said, "The Chair allowed suo moto statement and clarification on their demand. In spite of all this, the opposition parties did not allow discussion on important Bills, which were passed amid din."

Joshi further said that during 2004-14, discussions were not held on many Bills, which included some important Bills such as the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, which too was passed amid din.

"With all my responsibility, I am telling you that myself and Piyush ji told the Opposition that we are ready to extend the session up to Monday and we are not going to curtail it. We requested them to support the passing of Bills with discussions. But they threatened that if we try to pass the Bills, a more disastrous situation than yesterday will unfold," he said.

"Whenever a Bill is introduced, it is for the welfare of the people and it is the basic duty of the Parliament to pass it. Even after seven-and-a-half years, the Congress is not able to digest the people's mandate and thinks that it has the birth right to remain in power, which (Narendra) Modi has snatched," Joshi said.

The minister also said that they (BJP delegation) have met Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu and demanded strictest possible action against the unruly members of the House, so that no one repeats such actions in the future.

Union minister Piyush Goyal, who's also the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, said, "The Opposition's act was shameful and disrespectful to the Parliament and a clear sign that they are trying to divert the attention from the main issues."

"We met the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and made an earnest appeal that strongest possible action should be taken against the deplorable misconduct by the Opposition members and for the assault on the Parliament security staff, who were trying to protect the Chair. Security staff do not belong to any side," Goyal said.

Union minister Anurag Thakur said, "The Monsoon Session of the Parliament ended on Wednesday and the whole country witnessed how the opposition parties spread anarchy from 'Sadak se Sansad' (street to parliament). They must apologise to the country for their behaviour."