Chopper deal debate: Bankruptcy, GST bills immediate casualty in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: The recently-inked government-Congress ceasefire in Parliament became the immediate casualty of Wednesday’s heated debate in the Rajya Sabha over the VVIP chopper deal. This would mean little prospects for the passage of key bills, including the keenly - awaited Bankruptcy Code Bill and GST Bill in Opposition-dominated Rajya Sabha in the remaining days of the budget session.

Soon after Congress MPs staged a walkout during defence minister Manohar Parrikar’s reply to the debate, senior party members including floor leaders held a meeting where they decided to strongly protest from Thursday in the Houses against the “highly objectionable tone and tenure of speeches made by Manohar Parrikar and Subramanian Swamy”, a party source said .

They have also decided to “demand an apology” from the duo, the sources added.

“There was an agreement between the senior government representatives and Congress floor leaders that both sides would conduct themselves in a responsible manner and cooperate with each other in passing bills. But the deliberately irresponsible and unrealistically threatening and shockingly unproductive manner in which Manohar Par rikar and Subramanian Swamy spoke in the House also meant the two together have ambushed the agreed peace pact for smooth conduct of Parliament. Now, the knives are out and it is not going to be a one-way street in the Houses,” a senior Congress leader said. Among other things, Parrikar in his reply had vowed to prosecute those whose names were mentioned in the court order in Italy.

According to the leader, the development will not only hit bills such as Bankruptcy Code Bill but also will “sign off any further chances of negotiations on the GST Bill”. While the government has the adequate numbers to resist the Opposition aggression in the Lok Sabha, it will be at the receiving end in the Rajya Sabha.