As tensions rose in Belagavi on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, Lok Sabha members Supriya Sule and Basavaraj Bommai accused each other of “making ad hoc statements” and conspiring to break Maharashtra, and BJP MPs from Karnataka objected and pointed out the Supreme Court is looking into it.
Sule also wanted the Union Home Ministry to intervene. The NCP walked out of the Lok Sabha after that.
It was a smooth start to the Winter Session, barring a few minor disruptions.
Among others, Congress’s leader of House, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, and Trinamool Congress’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay flagged changes made in the composition of Parliamentary committees; Congress MP from Kerala Hibi Eden raised the issue of the four-month-long protest by fisherfolks against Vizhinjam sea port project in Kerala — the agitation was called off on Tuesday — and sought a Central package for their rehabilitation; and YSRCP’s Chinta Anuradha urged the Health Ministry to provide two-day menstrual leave for women to ensure a rise in women’s participation in workforce.
While BJP governs Karnataka and Maharashtra (in alliance with Eknath Shinde’s Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena), Sule brought up the people of Maharashtra getting “beaten up” in Belagavi border areas. “There’s been a conspiracy to break Maharashtra for the past 10 days. BJP rules both states…but Karnataka’s CM keeps making statements about Maharashtra’s. It’s time for (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah to intervene.”
BJP members from Karnataka rose in protest, but Speaker Om Birla said it’s a sensitive issue. The Supreme Court is dealing with the matter, says BJP MP S C Udasi.
Shiv Sena’s Vinayak Raut said, “The Karnataka government and police are doing injustice to the people of Maharashtra.” This type of suppression is unacceptable.”
Congress’ deputy leader, Suresh Kodikkunnil, had earlier called for an adjournment motion, saying the border dispute had triggered violent incidents and was becoming a law and order problem.
The Congress leader of the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury raised the issue of what he called “consistent attempts to rob the Opposition of their rights” at Zero Hour. Both Chowdhury and TMC’s Bandyopadhyay pointed out changes made to House panel compositions.
“Opposition party chairs are no longer appointed to parliamentary committees,” Chowdhury said. Congress’ chairmanship of the IT panel has been taken away; TMC has no chairmanship. There’s a tradition and precedent that says the Opposition gets positions.”
According to Bandyopadhyay, even though TMC is one of the biggest parties in the House, it won’t have any committee chairmanships.
Members questioned the powers of the Chair, which can make such decisions, Speaker Birla said. It’s also against the rules,” he said.
There are no longer any major committees headed by the Congress and TMC, including panels on IT and Home Affairs.
The YSRCP’s Chinta Anuradha says: “There are a lot of women who experience menstrual disorder, as well as illnesses related to menstruation, like endometriosis and ovarian cysts, which disrupt their daily lives and cause significant workplace stress, which is a common ailment today. Women who have paid menstrual leaves can rest when they need it most, be more productive at work, and find it easier to stay in the workforce as a result.”
Announcing the protest by fisher folk in Vizhinjam, Congress’s Eden said the proposal for an international seaport was floated in 2015. There’s been a huge agitation in Vizhinjam for 140 days because the seaport’s construction has destroyed the lives and livelihoods of the fishermen, Eden said.
He said the construction had caused a lot of erosion on the northern side. In the last four years, 300 families have lived in a cement godwon,” the Congress MP said. ”
The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre was built on land donated by these community years ago. It led to the demolition of the church, the bishop’s house, and the cemetery. Despite this, the state government’s accusation – that these people were against the development – isn’t true.”
Eden also asked for a scientific study on the port’s impact and a Central package for their rehabilitation.