‘Big blot and shame’ on people who used Parliament to play petty politics: Goyal

PTI, Aug 12, 2021, 7:48 PM IST

Opposition parties did not allow smooth functioning of Parliament and converted the ”temple of democracy” into a platform for hooliganism, and it is a ”big blot and shame” on people who played ”very petty” politics, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

Just to prove a point, Opposition parties made the monsoon session of Parliament a washout and did not allow the House business to run, he further said.

”We saw such unsavoury instances being played out in Parliament and top it off with a bunch of lies that were being played out today on TV. Really one feels ashamed that how a poor leadership over the last many decades largely revolving around a few people and their families has actually killed Indian enterprise and Indian animal spirit,” Goyal, the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, said at a CII webinar.

The biggest issue which the Opposition was fighting was to block a bill which should have given domestic insurance companies power to serve the people better, he claimed.

The government, Goyal said, has taken measures which are good for the nation and people at large.

”If Parliament is not allowed to function, if our temple of democracy is converted into a platform for hooliganism, for violence, I think it is a big blot and a shame on people who have used our temple of democracy to play out very petty politics and I would say a mindset which was anti-progress, anti-development, and anti-people,” Goyal said.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday expressed pain that the House did not run smoothly during the monsoon session. The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die yesterday, bringing an end to the stormy monsoon session which was scheduled to conclude on August 13.

Opposition protests over the Pegasus snooping row, farm laws and other issues had continuously marred the proceedings since the start of the session on July 19.

The Question Hour witnessed disruptions on most of the days during this session, while the House managed to pass a raft of bills, including the constitutional amendment bill that will allow states to make their OBC lists.