On Thursday, the second day of the Winter Session of Parliament, leaders of the opposition parties staged a walkout of the Lok Sabha, claiming they had been denied the right to bring up a number of concerns, including the one involving the governor of Tamil Nadu, R. N. Ravi.
Speaker Om Birla has rejected notifications from the opposition, including one about the dispute over the border between Maharashtra and Karnataka. Earlier in the day, Congressman Manicka Tagore proposed an adjournment to review “the activities of the Tamil Nadu Governor.”
“…he keeps more than 22 Bills enacted by the State Government at abeyance without any approval or to send the same to the consideration of Hon’ble President. For example, to Bills like NEET Exemption Bill and The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022 enacted by the State Government, the Governor has neither granted his consent nor sent to Hon’bIe President. Such activity of the Governor has led to state administration to be at standstill at every initiatives for the people of the state,” stated the letter from Tagore addressed to Secretary General Lok Sabha.
“Therefore, it is insisted that the House should come forward to discuss about the roles and responsibilities of the Governor and should take appropriate action to send a resolution to Hon’ble President for the benefit of common public,” it added.
The Karnataka-Maharashtra border issue and the apparent disrespect shown to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj later became a contentious debate. The Lok Sabha was then suspended for an hour.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a leader in the Congress, spoke earlier on Zero Hour about rumours of Chinese involvement along India’s border. However, the MP was not permitted to bring up the matter.
The Lok Sabha will discuss the Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019, which was introduced by the External Affairs Minister on Wednesday, as part of the legislative list of business scheduled for today. A bill to alter the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002, is also expected to be introduced by Union Minister Amit Shah.
There will be a total of 17 working days in the Winter Session of Parliament, which got under way on December 7. According to the announced schedules, the government intends to introduce a total of 16 new Bills during the session.