Kharge, JD(U) urge Govt to introduce women’s quota Bill

Addressing Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Kharge said if the Chairman takes up the issue, the government will respond. “We all wish the Women’s Reservation Bill is brought and women given what is [their] due,” the Congress leader said.

Later in the discussion, JD(U) MP Ram Nath Thakur, too, raised the demand. He said now that the session will shift to the new Parliament building from Tuesday, “why doesn’t the government implement 33% reservation for women”.

Leader of the House Piyush Goyal, who started the discussion on the journey of Parliament, exhorted all members to work towards making India “corruption-free”. He recalled his own experience as a newcomer to Parliament in 2010, when then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee appreciated his maiden speech and said the Opposition had an important role to play in a democracy.

Responding to Goyal, Kharge said while Prime Minister Jawaharhlal Nehru would listen to the Opposition MPs with patience, Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not. On India’s G20 presidency, Kharge said the logo looked like “G2”, as the “0” got covered by an image of lotus in the design.

Goyal responded saying that Kharge could only see “2G — one ji and son ji”, in an apparent reference to former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

Trinamool Congress member Mohd. Nadimul Haque called on the government to protect federalism and not to penalise states governed by parties opposed to it politically, referring to the TMC-ruled West Bengal.

AIADMK member M Thambidurai also said federalism must be protected. “This is not a House of elders. I’m not [an] elder…. This is the Council of States.”