With just a week’s proceedings left in the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, Opposition leaders on Sunday posted a video on social media reiterating their demands that they have raised in the House since the session began on July 19. The 26-day long Monsoon Session of Parliament will end on August 13.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien and Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge shared the video, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government of not listening to the Opposition or answering important questions in Parliament. The video featured clips of speeches in Parliament from leaders of 10 Opposition parties.
“Mr [Narendra] Modi, come listen to us,” O’Brien tweeted.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament has seen several disruptions over the past few weeks as the government and the Opposition have reached an impasse over discussion into allegations that the Pegasus spyware was used to spy on several politicians, journalists and activists in India.
The government has refused to hold discussions on the allegations of surveillance, while the Opposition has repeatedly insisted on deliberating on the matter.
“You are not allowing the discussion we have been asking for the past 14 days and you are passing a Bill which can be discussed later,” Kharge was heard saying in the video. “If you have courage, begin the discussions on Pegasus now.”
Vandana Chavan of the Nationalist Congress Party and Manoj Jha of the Rashtriya Janata Dal also demanded for discussion on the spyware in the video.
Trinamool Congress’ Sukhendu Shekhar Roy alleged that there was no freedom of expression in the House, while Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP RS Bharathi demanded a discussion on the “quality of democracy” in the Parliament.
“Whether it is about farmers, about the economy, safety and security of women...just the words mentioned by the Opposition makes them silence our voices, makes them adjourn Parliament, makes them mute our microphones,” Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena said.
Leaders of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Aam Aadmi Party and Communist Party of India (Marxist) were also heard delivering speeches in the video.
In order to take up pressing matters in Parliament, the Opposition has held meetings and joint press briefings to put pressure on the Narendra Modi government. Among the other matters, politicians in the Opposition also want discussions on the farm law protests and the rise in fuel prices.
The video released on Sunday was a compilation of speeches on these matters by Opposition leaders.
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