18th Lok Sabha session begins | BJP’s undeclared Emergency over, will protect Constitution: Opposition

Despite divisions within, the Opposition put up an united face. In the morning, Opposition members including Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi, gathered at the spot in the Parliament complex where the statue of Mahatma Gandhi once stood and then marched to the Lok Sabha chamber waving copies of the Constitution and raising slogans like “long live Constitution”, “we will save Constitution” and “save our democracy”.

Clearly, the Constitution was the Opposition’s theme. The Congress had brought in four boxes full of copies of the Constitution.

PM Modi with Ministers L Murugan, Jitendra Singh, Kiren Rijiju, Arjun Ram Meghwal. (Express Photo By Anil Sharma)

Inside Lok Sabha, the three Opposition members — Congress’s Kodikunnil Suresh, DMK’s T R Baalu and TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay — who were named on the panel of chairpersons to assist pro-tem Speaker Bharthuhari Mahtab walked out when the oath-taking began to protest against Mahtab’s appointment. The Opposition members were heard shouting “violation of Constitution” when the remaining panel was sworn in.

Leading the charge against Modi, Kharge said: “Prime Minister Modi made a longer than usual customary address today. Clearly, even after moral and political defeat, the arrogance remains. The nation was hoping that Modi ji would say something on many important issues.”

He said the expectation was that Modi would “show some sympathy towards the youth regarding the paper leak in NEET and other recruitment examinations, but he did not take any responsibility for the massive rigging and corruption of his government.” Modi also remained silent about the recent train accident in West Bengal and “utter mismanagement” of the Railways, he said.

“Manipur has been in the grip of violence for the last 13 months, but Modi ji did not bother to visit the state, nor did he express any concern about the fresh violence in his speech today. Be it the floods in Assam and the Northeast, the back-breaking price rise, the historic fall of the Rupee, or be it the exit poll-stock market scam, Modi ji is silent. The Modi government has kept the next census pending for a long time, PM Modi was completely silent even on the caste census,” he said.

Referring to Modi’s remarks about the Opposition, he said: “You are giving advice to the Opposition, you are reminding us of the 50-year-old Emergency, but have forgotten the last 10 years of undeclared Emergency, which was ended by the people. People have given their mandate against Modi ji. Despite this, if he has become the Prime Minister, then he should work. ‘People need substance, not slogans’ — remember this yourself. The Opposition and INDIA Janbandhan want consensus in Parliament, we will keep raising the voice of the people in the House, on the streets and before everyone,” Kharge said.

Speaking to reporters, Rahul said: “We will not allow the attack on the Constitution by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah… This attack is not acceptable to us.” Asked if the Opposition’s message was reaching the people, Rahul said: “Our message is reaching the public and no power can touch the Constitution of India, we will protect it.”

“Psychologically on the backfoot, Narendra Modi is busy saving his government… INDIA’s strong opposition will continue its pressure, raise the voice of the people and will not allow the Prime Minister to escape without accountability… First 15 days of NDA: horrific train accident, terrorist attacks in Kashmir, plight of passengers in trains, NEET scam, NEET PG cancelled, UGC NET paper leak, rising prices of milk, pulses, gas, forests blazing with fire, water crisis and deaths due to lack of arrangements during heat wave,” he said.

Congress communication head and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said Modi had shown no evidence that he understood the true meaning of the people’s verdict “which saw him eking out only a narrow and dubious win in Varanasi”. He said the PM, who suffered a personal, political, and moral defeat in the elections, said nothing new in his customary pre-session address and resorted to diversion as usual.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra said the BJP fell short of a majority because the people had realised that it is against the Constitution. “From 303, the BJP is down to 240, they are running a minority government. They kept saying ‘400-paar’ but could not even get a simple majority. The only reason is that the people of the country have understood that there is BJP on one side and the Constitution on the other. People have chosen the Constitution,” she said.

She, too, said there was an “undeclared Emergency” in the country under the BJP government. “I was not born during the first Emergency, but they (BJP) had been running an undeclared Emergency for the last 10 years and the people of the country said it would not be allowed,” she said.

RSP’s N K Premchandran said that talking about the 1975 Emergency was “insignificant” and “irrelevant”. “It happened in 1975, 50 years have lapsed, it is totally irrelevant. We are talking about things that are happening at present. It is insignificant to talk about the 1975 Emergency at this juncture,” he said.