Government passed 8 bills this week in Rajya Sabha but opposition stuck to demands

New Delhi: Amid the stalemate in the Upper House of Parliament the government pushed Bills in the House this week though the opposition continued its protests.

The government rushed through six bills in the House and the opposition alleged that the government is undermining Parliament.

The government on Thursday managed to pass three bills between brief adjournments -- The Constitution (Scheduled Tribe) Order (Amendment) Bill, The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Bill, The Essential Defence Services Bill, 2021.

On Wednesday too it passed three Bills amid protests from the opposition. The Bills were passed in approximately 45 minutes of the House proceedings.

The Limited Liability Partnership Amendment, 2021 was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 24 minutes. Soon the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Amendment, 2021 was passed in 16 minutes and the Bill on Airport Economic Regulatory Authority of India too was passed in a hurry.

The Upper House of Parliament was adjourned for the day on Tuesday after passing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021 while on Monday the House passed, The Inland Vessels Bill, 2021.

The government has been blaming the opposition for the stalemate and not resolving the issues on Thursday.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge blamed the Centre for the stalemate and said that the opposition is ready for a discussion on the Pegasus snooping issue. Kharge and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh traded barbs as Kharge mentioned that he had got a call from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to resolve the issue, but no member of the opposition has got any official invite for any meeting so far. In response to Kharge's charge, the Defence Minister said that he had not given any assurance and had only said that the House should hold a proper discussion and the pandemonium should stop.

Also, 6 TMC MPs were suspended for a day by the Chairman. It was alleged that a TMC MP broke the glass of a door on being stopped from entering the House.

The opposition wants that the government should allow a discussion on the snooping row, farm laws and fuel price hikes under Rule 267. However, the government says that on the snooping row only clarifications can be sought after the minister's statement while on the farm laws a short duration discussion has been allowed in the House but the opposition is not ready to discuss it before discussing the Pegasus issue.