Session Unprorogued for Record 88 Days: Congress

New Delhi: Congress on Monday pointed out that the monsoon session of Parliament has remained unprorogued for a record 88 days and alleged that Union home minister Amit Shah is still trying to "manipulate" the two-thirds majority required to push through the Constitution amendment bill on delimitation.

Referring to Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiran Rijiju's statement last month that the longest period for which a parliamentary session had remained unprorogued was 87 days, in 2008 during the UPA regime, Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said: "Even so, going by the Union minister's own reckoning, a new record has been set today (Monday). And unlike in the past, including in 2008, this record has been set to give time to the Union home minister to somehow manipulate a super-tainted two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha to get the dangerous and destructive delimitation bills passed."

He also expressed confidence that a "united Opposition" would once again vote against the contentious Constitution amendment bill if the home minister "repeats his trademark bulldozer tactics".


Meanwhile, another Congress spokesperson, Pawan Khera, sought to explain Kharge's "Diwali-Eid remark", arguing that the word "Eid" literally meant "tyohar" (festival). "Can they (BJP people) Google what Eid means? Eid means 'tyohar', Diwali ka 'tyohar', Holi ka 'tyohar', that's what he means," he said. Notwithstanding the occupational hazard of party spokespersons, many in the Congress felt that Kharge should have been more careful with his words and avoided an unproductive controversy, particularly in the aftermath of his recent "Modi ka baap bhi jayega" comment.