New Delhi— Trinamool Congress Members of Parliament held an overnight dharna at Parliament House, protesting the manner in which the Viksit Bharat G RAM G Bill was cleared by both Houses in the early hours of Friday.
The sit-in began around 1 am outside the main gate of the old Parliament building shortly after the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill amid chaos. The protest is scheduled to continue until noon on Friday.
Senior TMC leaders Derek O’Brien and Sagarika Ghosh said the agitation was directed against what they described as the government’s “bulldozing tactics” in pushing the legislation through Parliament without adequate discussion.
Ghosh alleged that Opposition parties were given barely five hours to examine the Bill before it was taken up for passage. She said the rushed process undermined parliamentary procedures and denied lawmakers the opportunity for meaningful debate.
The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill late Thursday night amid noisy scenes, with several Opposition MPs raising objections and later staging a walkout. The House witnessed repeated disruptions as members protested against the timing and handling of the legislation.
Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan expressed strong displeasure over the disorder in the House and repeatedly urged members to maintain decorum. His remarks came after Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge spoke beyond his allotted time during the debate.
The passage of the Bill in the early hours has triggered sharp political reactions, with Opposition parties accusing the government of undermining democratic norms and parliamentary conventions.
