Congress on 5 January held the BJP responsible for the impasse in Rajya Sabha due to which the Triple Talaq Bill could not be taken up, and accused the ruling party of trying to use Parliament as a "rubber stamp".
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said that for the first time in the country's parliamentary history, people could see ministers stalling proceedings leading to an impasse for the last three days and the Bill could not be taken up.
Whenever there were Assembly elections in any state the prime minister never used to hold more than one or two rallies...This new trend since the last 3 and a half years. Whether it’s Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, UP or Gujarat. The Union Cabinet ministers are being given work of election committees & campaigning. Under the leadership of the prime minister all the union ministers settle in the state for two months to fight the elections. This is not good for democracy and the development of the country.Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of Opposition
"They (the ruling BJP) are squarely responsible for this impasse in Rajya Sabha. For the first time, Union ministers and (ruling party) MPs were seen standing in Rajya Sabha and stalling Parliament," he told reporters.
Azad said the government was responsible for the situation and the House not being able to take the triple talaq bill for sending it to a select committee for further scrutiny. He said the current bill does not have provisions for taking care of Muslim women whose husbands would be sent to jail.
Congress whip in Lok Sabha Deepinder Singh Hooda alleged that the government was not taking Parliament seriously and was using it as only a "rubber stamp".
"They do not believe in Parliament. They only believe in Ordinances. They only use Parliament as a 'rubber stamp'," he told reporters
(With inputs from PTI)
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