Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi attacked the government, calling the parliamentary debate a ‘hollow formality’. He said that the debate has no meaning without discussing the presence of the PM and the resignation of the minister. The opposition is continuously protesting on this issue.
New Delhi [भारत]July 22 (ANI): Senior lawyer and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Wednesday targeted the ruling government over parliamentary proceedings. He described the offer of discussion as a “hollow formality” if the opposition’s key demands, including a debate on the minister’s resignation and the presence of the Prime Minister, continued to be rejected.
Addressing the media in New Delhi, Singhvi rejected claims that the government was open to constructive debate. He argued that holding a structured discussion without genuine executive accountability fails to preserve democratic processes. Singhvi stressed that a meaningful debate requires substantive discussion with key ministerial accountability and active participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and not just procedural debate. He criticized the practice of using numerical majority to pass votes after normal debate hours, and described such sessions as shouting contests that routinely serve as a cover to move things forward.
He said, “The government is not ready. What you are being told is misleading. The point was to show some flexibility… to discuss resignations and concrete measures and for the Prime Minister to join the discussion. Just having a discussion where people shout at each other and then vote by majority, it is just a formality, an empty formality… Neither is the Prime Minister willing to speak, nor is he willing to discuss the resignation of the minister. So, what are they really prepared for?” The Congress leader stressed that government statements suggesting that the government is ready for open talks do not reflect its unwillingness to accommodate the opposition’s terms.
Opposition protests and police action
The comments come amid heightened tension between the ruling party and opposition benches over legislative accountability and House management. Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with several other opposition leaders were taken into custody following police action during the party’s protest near Lok Kalyan Marg in Delhi. Congress had demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
On July 20, the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) held a ‘Sansad Chalo’ protest in the national capital, which was responded to by the police. Opposition leaders have strongly criticized the police action and alleged that protesters were “lathi charged” and tear gas was used. Meanwhile, opposition MPs today protested against the government in the Parliament complex by wearing black clothes. Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Priyanka Gandhi and others were present at the protest.
High Court notice on police action
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Center and Delhi Police on three PILs alleging excessive force by the police during the July 20 protest march organized by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and directed the authorities to preserve the CCTV footage and all other relevant electronic records related to the incident.
A division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tejas Karia gave four weeks’ time to the defendants to file their reply and posted the case for further hearing on September 11. The Court directed that the CCTV footage and other relevant records be preserved as per the applicable Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). (ANI)
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