Delhi services bill, Manipur violence and no-confidence motion set up stormy week in Rajya Sabha

The remaining five days of the monsoon session will see intense debates in both houses of Parliament as the Lok Sabha will debate the no-confidence motion from Tuesday and the Rajya Sabha will discuss the contentious Delhi services bill on Monday, even as the Opposition is likely stand its ground on the Manipur issue that has led to an impasse in the Upper House.

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On Monday, all eyes will also be on the Lok Sabha secretariat as it will start the process to reinstate Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, following the Supreme Court’s order on Friday staying his conviction in a criminal defamation case.

Lok Sabha officials said the authenticated copy of the Supreme Court order will be reviewed and necessary action taken. “After the order is studied, the process usually takes less than 30 minutes. The proforma for such notifications are readily available with the secretariat,” said an official.

The reinstatement, however, can turn into a lengthy process if the secretariat decides to seek law ministry’s opinion, as it happened in Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Md Faizal’s case earlier this year. The Lakshadweep MP got a stay in his conviction from Kerala high court in January but waited for nearly two months before he could return to the Lok Sabha. “But chances of such a move are remote. This is an order of the Supreme Court,” said a senior official of the Lok Sabha, asking not to be named.

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INDIA alliance parties will meet on Monday at 10am, which will be followed by a meeting of Congress MPs at 10.30am.

In both the meetings, Opposition leaders will discuss plans on future moves if Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification is not revoked at the earliest. “We all expect the Lok Sabha Speaker to take the right decision at the earliest,” said Congress’ Lok Sabha lawmaker Manickam Tagore.

Trinamool’s Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, said, It’s been over 48 hours since the Supreme Court stayed the unlawful conviction of Shri Rahul Gandhi. The Lok Sabha secretariat must immediately comply with the Supreme Court’s order. Any delay is unjust and in defiance of India’s highest court.”

The first meeting will also fine-tune the Opposition’s strategy for the Delhi services bill in the Rajya Sabha.

“The parties have decided to field Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi as its first speaker in the Delhi debate,” said a senior leader.

Singhvi represented the Delhi government in the Supreme Court for the Delhi government vs LG case, the order of which was overturned through the Delhi ordinance. “He is in the best position to put forward the legal and political arguments,” said a Congress leader, asking not to be named.

But the Opposition’s strategy is to use the debate on the Delhi bill, that was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, to highlight issues in Manipur. “The INDIA alliance will find ways, within the rules of Parliament, to expose the Narendra Modi government on Manipur,” said Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O’Brien.

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An exclusive debate on Manipur, however, remains uncertain. A senior Congress strategist said, “We had proposed to the government a committee with four members from both sides to discuss the draft of the motion for a debate on Manipur under Rule 167, which entails passage of a sense of the House motion. If any minister is saying they are waiting for our draft, it is falsehood.”

Opposition members are adamant that the debate on Manipur should happen on Tuesday or Wednesday in the Rajya Sabha, and not on the last day of the session, as proposed by the government.

“There is no reason why the Manipur situation can’t be discussed in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday or Wednesday after the Delhi bill is debated on Monday,” said a Trinamool leader in the Rajya Sabha, “We don’t want to wait till Friday.”

The debate on the no-confidence against the Union council of ministers will take place between August 8 and 10 in the Lok Sabha, the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the House, chaired by Speaker Om Birla, decided last week. PM Modi will reply to the debate on August 10.

According to PRS Legislative Research, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have utilised just 24% and 47% of their time respectively.

The government introduced 18 new bills during this Monsoon session.

The Lok Sabha has cleared 15 bills and the Rajya Sabha approved 12 bills. Both Houses of Parliament have cleared nine pieces of legislation.